Provocative, non-religious conversations about life, love and God.
Hosted by Jonathan Puddle and Tryphena Perumalla-Gagnon.
Text transcriptions are available for most episodes.
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This week I had the great pleasure of chatting with John Mark McMillan all about his brand new album, “Peopled with Dreams.” An accomplished singer-songwriter, John Mark is quite possibly my favourite musician on the planet, so this was a real treat. We talked about life and death and gods and a God who bleeds alongside us, and the connection between love and suffering. Listen today!
Read MoreAuthor and conference speaker Danielle Strickland joined me on The Puddcast this week to discuss how women and men can work together for a brighter future, one in which girl’s self-confidence doesn’t peak at 9 years old, where 1 in 3 women will not experience unwanted sexual attention and where men don’t live in fear of sexual accusation. We discussed power, fear, corruption and the Billy Graham rule, too. Whoever you are, you need to listen to this!
Read MoreThis week I chatted with theologian and New Testament scholar, Michael Bird, who was responsible for editing the landmark work,The New Testament in it’s World, with NT Wright. Mike and I talked about how to read the New Testament, what it tells us about power, empire, community, culture, history and more.
Read MoreDavid Kinnaman is President of the Barna Group, specialists in church-related research. He joined me on the show this week to discuss what is working in churches around the world looking to build resilient, faithful disciples. We also discussed using research as a lens on what’s happening in culture, and using that as a means of helping the church understand its times and the way forward.
Read MoreMy guest this week is poet and artist Morgan Harper Nichols. We talked about Morgan’s upbringing, her lifelong search for a creative outlet, her self-doubt and feelings of insufficiency, and the surprise success of her artwork and poetry. We also discussed Instagram as a platform that can foster personal intimacy and connection. Expect lots of graceful thoughts, kind words and laughter.
Read MoreIn November last year, I spent two weeks in South Africa volunteering at a children’s home and daycare centre. Today I’m honoured to share with you the story of the centre’s founder, Maria Gaba. Maria’s story is one of overcoming traumatic childhood abuse by the power and love of God. It is honest, brutal at times, yet ultimately hope-filled. The work Maria does is nothing short of remarkable, and she gives all the glory to God. You will come away impacted, I promise you.
Read MoreThis week I am joined by Courtney Burg AKA Mombojombo, to talk about everything to do with trauma-informed parenting. We touched on boundaries, safety, self-regulation, rewiring your own brain, tantrums, and changing your parenting to reflect the unconditional love of God. Even if you’re not a parent, there’s something in here for you!
Read MoreMy guest this week is Episcopal priest and poster of popular liturgical reflections, Father Kenneth Tanner. We discussed the character of God and what it means to participate in the life of God, who has already done all things and redeemed all of creation for our benefit. It might leave you speechless at the goodness of God.
Read MoreThe one and only Sarah Bessey joined me on the Puddcast this week. We had a rich and tender dialogue on pain, grief, the tension between where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we’re going… and how to find safety along that road. We talked about making room for the stories that don’t get told as well as how to honour the legacy of Rachel Held Evans while being faithful to our own callings as well.
Read MoreCara Meredith, author of The Color of Life, joined me on the show this week to talk about the unique role white people can play in racial justice and reconciliation work. Cara is a former high school English teacher and used to work in the non-profit outreach sector before focusing on speaking and writing. We talked all about how to have our eyes and ears opened to the realities of injustice and how to start feeling the pain of it ourselves, as a way to enter the conversation holistically and with integrity.
Read MoreMy guest this week is Pastor Gricel Medina. Serving in the Evangelical Covenant Church, Gricel has been involved in planting and mentoring multi-ethnic church congregations and has served on a number of boards and committees for racial gender equity, among many other things. She shared her powerful life story and we discussed the problems of a white-centric and male-centric church leadership culture. Get ready!
Read MoreGena Thomas joined me on The Puddcast to talk about immigration, family separation, border issues, language, power, foster care, and being Christ to others while also seeing Christ in others. We discussed some of the stories told in her new book, Separated by the Border, all about her family’s journey to return a young girl to her mother, after she was separated from her family at the border. Get your tissues ready.
Read MoreJefferson Bethke (along with his wife Alyssa) is a popular YouTuber, as well as an author and speaker. You know him from the spoken word video Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus. Jeff has a new book out on hustle culture and the importance of slow, quiet, spiritual rhythms. We discussed a whole bunch of things, from social media to Sabbath. Listen here or anywhere you find podcasts.
Read MoreJaye Thomas is a world-renowned worship leader and songwriter from Kansas City and a good friend of mine. Jaye and his wife Nayomi recently left the staff of IHOP to focus on their ministry, Song of Hope. With three primary pillars: Bible study, community discipleship and worship for people in prison, Jaye and Nayomi are actively ministering the love of God to people in church and out of church. Jaye and I discussed freedom, hope, self-righteousness and seeing Jesus in people we don’t expect to find him in.
Read MoreGary Thomas, bestselling author of Sacred Marriage, joined me this week to turn my whole world upside down. His latest book, When To Walk Away: Finding Freedom from Toxic People hit me square between the eyes and so we talked about difficult relationships, protecting our identity and mission, and knowing when to call it a day. Gary covers toxicity in the context of church, workplace relationships, parents, marriages and more. Please listen to this important discussion.
Read MoreShane Pruitt is a blogger and evangelist, who, along with his wife Kasi have 5 kids—3 through adoption. Kasi oversees the Adoption & Foster Care Ministry at Lake Pointe church, and Shane, who is also the Director of Evangelism for The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, joined me for a broad ranging discussion on authenticity, personal hardship, adoption, God’s sovereignty, and rethinking God’s will for your life. We also discussed his book, “9 Common Lies Christians Believe - And Why God’s Truth is Infinitely Better,” which he explained was the fruit of hearing too many bad Christian clichés during some of the hardest times of their life.
Read MoreNatalie Frisk oversees the curriculum development for kids from birth to high school at The Meeting House (think Bruxy Cavey). She joined me on The Puddcast to talk about parenting and discipleship of children, especially in a context of deconstruction. How do you raise kids to care about faith when you’re busy cleaning up the junk in your own spiritual life? Natalie had many amazing and insightful things to share.
Read MoreThis week Max Lucado joined me to discuss happiness, that elusive joyous emotion we all want to feel all the time. Max’s latest book is called How Happiness Happens: Finding Joy in a World of Comparison, Disappointment and Unmet Expectations, so we riffed on that subject for a while and also talked about writing, pastoral ministry and a few other things. Listen now.
Read MoreRuth Chou Simons, author & popular creator of inspirational artwork joined me this week to talk beauty, truth, art, history, trends in wallpaper, the industrialization of modern education, how to have a conversation with your children, and surviving the moment by moment hopelessness that besets all of us while we await our own maturity. Sound packed? It sure is! Listen today and enter the giveaway to win a copy of Ruth’s latest book, Beholding & Becoming: The Art of Everyday Worship.
Read MoreSarah Ball is a highly energetic, “can-do” mother of 5 who was floored by crippling panic attacks and generalized anxiety. The kind of person who just didn’t understand depression was riddled by it until God drew her into healing, a journey which included therapy, emotional counselling, spiritual healing, physical health & fitness, and more. Sarah is the author of the award winning devotional, Fearless in 21 Days: A Survivor’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety, which we discussed in this interview.
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