I recently spent a few days away from my computer and the internet, so I had a chance to catch up on a bunch of podcasts I had grabbed but not got around to listening to. One of them was Outchurched, a series of phone interviews from “The One True” Dan Tripp and “the” Ryan King. Both guys consider themselves to be “outchurched” - they have a strong Christian background, but don’t get on well with the American Church in its various forms. The podcast is largely discussions between these guys as they share their background and thoughts, and work through their issues. It’s a kind of mild-mannered session from a therapist’s waiting room.
One of their claims is that they want to steer clear of the jargon and loaded terms used in many Christian discussions. In practice they seem to be inventing almost as many of their own as they go along - the eponymous “outchurched” and Dan’s favourite “churchianity” to name just two. The podcast episodes I listened to sounded interesting enough that I recorded and sent an “audio” comment, and you can hear Dan and Ryan dissect it in their podcast number seven.
Read more at Outchurched, or subscribe to the RSS 2.0 feed.
While I was attending the conference I mention in the ‘cast, I browsed the sprawling Christian bookstall, and was intrigued to find The Christian Culture Survival Guide, which takes a humorous aim at some of the same absurdities. If you like Dan and Ryan’s take on things, you may want to pick up a copy, even if it’s only for the bullet-point asides like “Fifteen Kinds Of Church People To Look Out For", and “Eight Ways To Know If You Might Be Worshipping Your Pastor".
