Podcast
The "What If Project” began as a podcast back in 2017. I was finishing up my doctoral degree at Alliance Theological Seminary and was tasked with writing a paper detailing how I would both define and share the Gospel in today’s modern world.
Phew.
And that got me thinking.
Because.
I mean.
What exactly IS the Gospel, right? Like, what if the Gospel is something much different or much bigger or much more expansive than what we’ve been told? What if it’s more than going to heaven when you die? More than believing the right things? More than having good theology? More than saying a prayer and vocalizing your “belief in Jesus”?
Those questions created MORE questions and before I knew it I was wondering if there were different ways of thinking about …
Heaven.
Hell.
The Bible.
End Times.
Etc.
… that were different than what I’ve been taught about these things my whole life. I started to invite on various guests to talk about the questions I had (we’ve talked to Alexander John Shaia, Brian McLaren, Diana Butler Bass, Bart Ehrman, Elaine Pagels, NT Wright, and more!) and before I knew it, I had guests lined up 2 or 3 months out and saw the downloads start to climb as people seemed to have the same kinds of questions I had.
Soon, the questions became bigger - “what if there are ways of thinking about God and mental health and spirituality and politics and the world at large that are different than what our traditions have handed us, different than the answers we’ve gotten from our side or our team or our church or our family?” As the questions began to expand, so did the topics as we began looking at things like Tarot Cards, Astrology, Witchcraft, Politics, and more.
The goal, though?
It’s always the same - to remain in a posture of curiosity as I listen to the stories of others and learn about how they have come to view the world. We are (at the time of writing this) 350 episodes and 500,000+ downloads in … and we’re just getting started.
Episodes drop once a month (sometimes 2) with other weeks in the month dedicated to other creative things - writing, painting, video, etc.
Here are some of our recent episodes that have really struck me (you can find them on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts).
Pull up a chair, my friend - you are welcome here.
Much love.
Glenn
