Give Me 1 Reason

This guy has my heart, he is one of my first generation ‘Cup' kids, a youth center I operated in 2003 – 2009. When I Went to college in my 40's he was in my first philosophy class and observed in first person my religious mind being blown. Brad is talented beyond words. A musician, member of several bands through the years, one was the up-and-coming Christian pop group Alakrity in the 2000's. He is now a podcaster and hosts The Album Concept hour along with having a part in several others. More importantly Brad is passionate about social justice and lives out his convictions daily. We discuss BLM, wealth inequality, using your privilege to make a difference, radical resistance, and the state of the church. Brad also shares his desire to hold on to the person and story of Christ though is no longer a Christian. No matter who you are, you will find something in this conversation to make you think. Last but not least it is recorded in Brad's lovely podcast studio, so the sound quality is wonderful! Thank you Brad for the honor!

These two young people are articulate and humorous as they honestly share with me what it means to be a trans person. Their stories of coming out to their family are different, yet they both are seeking to find common ground with those they love, yet at the same time standing up for their unique personal identity. We mused about religious belief and the relevance of prayer. I attempted to make the case that God is a ‘they’ and we laughed about pronoun mishaps as they sought to educate me further. We discussed ‘dead names’ and how healing it is to be fully immersed in your identity. As I left this conversation, I was completely smitten by these beautiful humans and their desire to help create a world of radical acceptance for all.

Bobby Mann is one of the many reasons I appreciate young people. He grew up in a small town in the Midwest as he puts it ‘in a fairly non diverse bubble.’ As he entered college, many things that he had thought formerly did not make sense to him anymore and he has gained a richer experience coming to understand and embrace diversity. He has an audacious goal for his gen z generation, that they would be the ones to eradicate racism. His enthusiasm and passion make you believe it could be a possibility. Thank you, Bobby, for a pandemic interview as the world goes crazy!!

Do not miss this one, Brandon is a friend I met when I was a non trad 42 year old church lady headed to college and he was an 18 year old metal head in my philosophy class. Our journeys have collided at different points in our lives the last 14 years and here we are. He honestly tells me what he thought of my worldview and comments in class those eons ago as well as how philosophy sent him on a long strange trip of doubt, belief and then back to doubt. Articulate and engaging, Brandon is honest and non judgmental but at the end of the day, only wants to believe what is true. Islam, Psychedelics and the meaning of life....just a few of the things we discussed. I loved this conversation and gleaned so much from it, I hope you do as well

This is my guy...a precious young man I have had the privilege of running into a few times the last couple of years. His light and energy is contagious. He let me know he wanted to talk to me after hearing my last episode on Dogma Debate. I honestly had no idea where he was coming from and was surprised to say the least. Richie is honest, forthright, heartfelt and deeply sincere as he lays out what he believes and then tells his story which left me in tears. I must tell you I foolishly recorded this in a bar and the back noise is frustrating though my producer worked hard to minimize it. I must say it is so worth it!!! Again,, had no idea before I entered this one what it would entail and I am so proud of it and him

A story about....A Christian mom who is a pastor talks with her atheist sons...they ask the hard questions and she is challenged in her core as she second guesses the way she raised them...in the end there is nothing but love. __________________________________________________________ This was again hard for a parent to hear but important for a parent to hear. I listen as my two oldest tell me why they have left the faith as I search for reasons and answers to their questions. Sometimes it is painful and challenging to your worth as a parent to have these honest conversations yet I am very proud of the fact we can have them. Human suffering, the problem of evil, why God is not worthy of our worship and why wont I give in and give up my faith in light of their seemingly reasonable rejection of the God of the Bible are just a few of the things discussed. Hard to hear till the very end and it ends not resolved but we all learned more about each other and I am good with that. I affirmed their religious past and why I felt we did the best thing for them at the time, the things that seemed silly now yet I still defended them. This was done in the middle of the night over Christmas and again...whiskey ;)thankfully To my sons, I love you forever, I'll like you for always...as long as I'm living...(you know the rest)

This one is especially hard. As many of you know my first podcast episode on Give Me One Reason was with my firstborn son Ryan who has been an atheist for sometime. Though difficult, I ventured into this territory again 25 episodes later to have an honest, heartfelt and somewhat painful talk with my second born Michael Price this past Christmas. In this episode, Michael admits that his relationship he felt to God was somewhat organic and felt real in spite of the indoctrination he received growing up in a Christian home. He recalls years of wanting to be a missionary someday as a young boy and then actually doing it for almost a decade of his life. A former YWAM staff member (Youth With a Mission) and a heart first, zealous young believer, Mikey now has some pretty shocking things to say that were hard for me as his mother to hear. But I not only heard, I did my best to listen as the midnight hour was far gone and a bit of whiskey was still in my glass. I love you so Michael ...I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always...

Heather shares her perspective on the stance of the church in general in LGBTQ people and how this has framed her worldview and caused her to second guess things she heard as a child. She was in an open and accepting household to her own sexuality and feels loved and is grateful for that. She honestly has never had a negative experience having to do with religion though she is familiar it and knows they happen. She reminds us Jesus had two dads and celebrated love with people others thought were unworthy. Thank you Heather for joining us!!!

Strahinja is a Serbian born young man who is an Orthodox Christian. He explains why he is a believer and why he believes Orthodoxy is more generous and simple than American Evangelicalism. He is easy to listen to and his kindness shows through in this podcast.

Joseph has listened to ¾ of the Dogma Debate catalog and enjoys pondering issues of faith and doubt. He said he would love to go on and debate the famous David Smalley but he cannot let go of that last thread that prevents him from being an atheist. He got saved at 17 and even spoke in tongues but is not sure what it adds to his life at this point. Drawn to logic and reason that should trump superstition, he had a remarkable experience that he cannot explain during a car accident. I have been waiting since the inception of this podcast to talk to Joseph and I was not disappointed. It was a fun and spirited conversation that made me go ’hmmmm’ a few times. Joe is anti Apostle Paul and feels he hijacked the pure message of Christ. Also, Joe brings up why books were not continually added to the Bible throughout the years…is God dead? Is that voice still speaking and who can judge if it is valid or not? Join me for a thoughtful and deep dive into issues of faith.

Close to death 11 times in his life, a creative DJ/audio master who sees his work as art and seems far older than his 21 years. Jamison has an eclectic friend group with varying degrees of belief and non belief who subscribe to three basic rules in life to maintain their friendship. He talks about why he gets up in the morning and what gives him hope for the future

Spencer talks honestly about post military life and the challenges of being conservative politically as a young adult. He talks about politics, faith and the danger of Red Flag laws. Though he does consider himself a believer, he resonates with Gospel of Thomas and as a universalist believes we all have a spark of the divine.

Meet Ellie, a thoughtful girl who wants to edit movies and is good at looking for that gotcha moment in life and film that makes you think! Her parents met at Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and she came from a devout Christian home. She remembers hearing about the rapture and being scared she wouldn’t go if she didn’t tell everyone she knew about Jesus so they wouldn’t go to hell. As a young girl, her first statement meeting people was ‘Do you know Jesus?’ She believes now she has had a real experience with God although much of her youth she just believed what she was told. She came from the purity culture and tried very hard to resist the ‘worldly urges’ albeit somewhat unsuccessfully as a normal teenage girl, feeling shame about her inability to please a stringent God and her family. Marked by shame, she came to terms with some heavy hitting issues about her faith and her own sexuality.

Join me as I interviewed this amazing human being. Sky currently works on a hemp farm in Vermont, however was a former youth pastor and worship leader. Our discussion was eclectic as he gave an honest critique on Rainbow gatherings and the social conscious movement. Most interesting to me Sky also gave his explanation on why he has kept the most basic and fundamental faith tenets of his youth as well as described unique ways he feels god speaks to him. In the midst of the insanity of the world today, he shares what brings peace to his world and how we should let that peace form our own paradigms. ***Music credit goes to Dacota Muckey

This podcast happened unintentionally. I decided to record the advice my husband was giving me regarding an issue I was having with some Facebook interaction. I have many people of different faiths and no faith on my Facebook page and quite recently there had been some harsh words and criticism of my views regarding faith and spirituality by two pastors in particular, Hundreds of posts and countless emails have now culminated in a rather scathing email warning me of witchcraft and being in danger of hell and misleading others in the same direction. The one letter especially was very harsh and I was wondering how I should respond. My husband says what he feels and this was his response to me...and to them.

This frank and honest conversation with 20 very special and dedicated students was eye opening as they answered the question 'What keeps you awake at night?' The freedom to doubt, to find their own way, the state of our planet and our inability to work together. These kids help me believe the future is full of hope because they will be in charge :) Thoughtful and intelligent, you wont be sorry!

Wow! This guy had me engaged. A 20 year old former student who was raised Jewish and Catholic by a business minded family, Very articulate, we sparred about my liberal leanings politically and he turned the tables on me a few times :) Bobby passionately talked about politics and religion and why they both matter to him. More importantly, how he has NOT given up hope in this scary world and will one day maybe run for office? He caught me red handed a few times and definitely made me think. You will definitely enjoy this one!!

Meghan joins me for an honest conversation about the language we use to express our beliefs and the concerns of how the church represents Christ. She lays our her own unique history of growing up Catholic and then living as a sincere and dedicated atheist before she discovered her faith anew only recently. Meghan identifies as Queer and discusses openly the judgement of the church but the haven she has found in her new Episcopal faith community. Meghan is articulate and refreshingly open as she looks to the future hopeful yet believing we must be free to challenge the status quo of the power structures inherent in the church today

A conversation with a college class discussing the roots of childhood faith, the difficult task of forgiving our selves, the gender of God and can a psychic show you if God is real...

KM is a female wrestler, athlete and EMT Fire Medic. She grew up religious but left her faith behind and ironically discovered it in Africa in the midst of horrible suffering. Brave enough to reinvent herself after a life of some poor choices she is taking her life back and kicking ass and taking names. This girl is a fighter in all the ways that matter.

Mackenzie grew up going to church once in a while but her values came form a strong sense of family and commitment. When she got to college, she joined a baptist Bible study and prayed a prayer that left her feeling uneasy and confused. In pondering religion and wondering what JEsus was really all about, MAckenzie asked a life changing question...'God, show me if you are real' Less than 48 hours later something happened to her that changed her mind and heart. Join me for this emotional exchange and honest discussion.

Josiah Price is a unique young man with an amazing journey. He has a unique perspective on life and God. A cancer survivor who had been declared brain dead at one point, he recalls how that has shaped his life, how he wants to be remembered and what he thinks is wrong with religion. He is witty and wise far beyond his years and even gives a shout out to some special people he has met along the way.

Colleen is a self acknowledged atheist but definitely identifies as 'Spiritual but not Religious.' A traumatic and abusive past with the only church goer she knew as a child left her with a strong distaste in her mouth for God. As she seeks for truth and clarity in her life, she navigates the world balancing her innate questioning cynicism with a sincere desire to have hope. Articulate and strong, Colleen engages on a personal level.

Kicked out of church and private school in sixth grade for asking the wrong questions left Jennifer scrambling to make sense of her religious upbringing. Surrounded and supported by her family, they journeyed together to maintain that which was important to them in spite of what they had experienced. For Jennifer, now in her second year of college she believes God is broader and bigger than what she had originally believed but still ponders the reason for suffering and struggles to see this God she still believes in at work in the world today.

Dacota is quickly becoming a music festival staple. His passion and style stopped me in my tracks when I had the chance to see him perform. His song 'Believe in Something' let me know I needed to interview him, I was not disappointed. His honest reflection about his journey from Christian to agnostic/atheist was sincere and thought provoking. No surprise he was definitely labeled as 'anointed' in the church and when you hear his music you know he has something different. Look him up on social media!

Remember the song 'Give me one reason' by Tracy Chapman? That song resonated with me on a different level and inspired me to ask young people 'what are your reasons to believe or not believe in God?' without an attempt to convert or convince. I am inviting you to join the conversation and listen with an open heart. Though it may be painful as a parent of a millennial who is challenged by their own son or daughter's reservations, maybe it will be easier to hear the voice of someone else say things that you would benefit from hearing. After all, we are all just walking one another home...lets love while we can... Life is short...and our young people are our richest resource.

Logan is a Political Science/Sociology major who is intrigued with his family 's spiritual journey while trying to carve out his own. His love and loyalty run deep as he struggles to make sense of what works for him. Passionate to make a real difference, he went to school to be an accountant but quickly changed directions as other things grabbed his attention. Logan was more than willing to talk on his views of faith, spirituality and his own identity.

This girl will rock your world. Growing up in a evangelical charismatic home, she talks honestly about how it has influenced her life now as a soft Wiccan. We cover speaking in tongues, patriarchy, creativity and her fear of childbirth because of her mom thinking it was ok to be a part of the process at the tender age of 3....and yes that mom is me. This one is well worth dealing with the car noise in the background :)

Jackson is an articulate IT major in his junior year of college. He comes from a rich family legacy of serving the poor and is particularly passionate about his Catholic Faith. He shares things that give him hope about the future of the Church and how his generation responds to issues of faith and doubt.

Thomas is an engineering student at UW Whitewater. He is from Norway and is passionate about philosophy and making a real difference in the world. His thoughts and reasons for being an atheist were well processed and thought out. His gentle, kind demeanor is compelling and I was honored to speak with him about Camus, the meaning of life and using our talents to improve life for others.

This podcast started with an idea my firstborn son and I had 2 years ago. Ryan is 36 and has been an atheist for several years. We cover various topics that we strive to find common ground on and honestly discuss Ryan's upbringing in an evangelical/charismatic family with no holds barred. Both parents and young people dismissing their faith will resonate with this interview and find a take away.

Ben and Emily are two friends who share a love for the Catholic faith. Emily is a psych major and Ben is a journalism/communication major. Ben shares his experience a s a gay Catholic and Emily shares her desire to see faith become a relevant pursuit for her generation.