Losing Our Religion
464 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 146 ratingsLosing Our Religion with host Zac Gandara is a wild often comedic ride alongside a community of diverse humans each seeking their desired life and ideal experience away from the dogma and exclusivities they may have been raised to believe.
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Episodes
EPISODE 012: Art & Being: John Criscitello
October 14, 2015 00:34 - 1 hour - 56.7 MBJohn is one of the few people I have ever met that has no religious background at all. He would refer to it as a more naturalist upbringing. However, his experience with televised American Christianity is hilarious. John is an amazing artist. A man that speaks his mind and doesn't seem to have a lot of walls or filters that are holding him back from creating art and using words. His transparency in the subject matter of his work such as rampant materialism, capitalist culture, gay culture, ...
EPISODE 011: There is Power in Being Public: Lysia Nieves
October 07, 2015 00:50 - 1 hour - 55.9 MBWe've always wanted Losing Our Religion to be a hilarious and candid look at religion and culture, where I, a former American pastor has drinks with former religious freaks, and others I used to shun. Like Gays, Anarchists, Queers, Atheists, Transsexuals, Punk Rockers, and the rest of us that are considered rejects on this island of misfit toys. This episode is finally getting to that goal. Misfits UNITE! Much of the heart behind Losing Our Religion has been to highlight how much we can lea...
EPISODE 010: Christian Anarchy?: Tooth & Nail Alumni Jeff Bettger and Matt Johnson
September 30, 2015 02:11 - 1 hour - 59 MBJeff Bettger & Matt Johnson have known each other for over 20 years. They've played in multiple bands together in and outside of Tooth & Nail Records. Ninety Pound Wuss, Raft Of Dead Monkeys, Suffering And The Hideous Thieves together and then Matt has played been in Blenderhead, Roadside Monument, and a shit ton of other bands. They also both happened to be drawn into the Mars Hill Church culture and served as Pastors. These Tooth & Nail boys and I sit down with whiskey, beer, beards an...
EPISODE 009: Things Being Learned After the Institution: Seth McBee
September 23, 2015 04:46 - 1 hour - 68.8 MBIt's funny how often the friends that you need in certain seasons tend to show up. Although I know that's not all of our stories, because there's been many seasons of hard times in my life that no one showed up. Seth was a friend that came into my life right after I left the machine (aka institutional mega-church). We've both had a lot of institutional detoxing to do over the years, and it was nice to do it together. Seth was also an elder with an Acts 29 Network church, yes the Network tha...
EPISODE 008: Labeling Our Own "God's": Michael Schmitt
September 16, 2015 03:30 - 1 hour - 65.8 MBLabels are STUPID! I hate titles, categories and the boxes we put each other in. SO many of us have this need to label ourselves and each other. Far too often we embrace the labels they put on us; we put them on our chests like scarlet letters. We even put them on other people and miss out on the beauty that's in their life, because we can't see past the label.. I mean, labels work great when you're organizing your junk drawer, but somehow they always fall short when we use them to desc...
EPISODE 007: They're Not All Bad Right?: Nathan Parrish
September 09, 2015 08:57 - 1 hour - 83 MBWelcome, my friend Nathan Parrish to the show. Nathan does tattooing - art - and music - IN FACT he's currently touring with Christian Mega Group KUTLESS, that's what he does. But what we do, doesn't define who we are. Nathan is a good man, an inquisitive doubter like myself, and someone whose curiosity just doesn't let him roll over and obey someone's commands just because they said so. Like me, he wants to know why. What happened to that? When we were kids, we asked why about everyth...
EPISODE 006: The Magic of Questioning Everything: Taylor Hughes
September 02, 2015 04:00 - 1 hour - 71.7 MBWhat if you had spent 20 years giving your life to an institution, then as you began to see what was on top of it, knew you couldn’t do it anymore and resigned? But instead of a thank you, you were given a bribe. A $12,000 nondisclosure agreement to keep you quite about your experience there. Then a threat that if you didn't sign it they would make you pay back the $22,000 scholarship money that had given you? WELCOME TO THE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS CORPORATION…where you are no longer an act...
EPISODE 005: The Wrassle Roo Underwear Revolution: Jonathan Bowles
August 26, 2015 03:17 - 1 hour - 59.5 MBEntrepreneur, podcast host, and underwear revolutionist Jonathan Bowles! The first time I have drinks with a fellow podcaster on the show. We discuss the faux pas you face when leaving institutional religion, getting to what's next, and moving on. Jonathan is a pioneering pirate, a voice for what's next and a professional encourager. After a 16 year career in institutional religion, Jonathan and his wife Kirby decided to think differently and live adventurously. They founded a non-profi...
EPISODE 004: Coming Out of Both Closets: Michael Schmitt
August 19, 2015 02:06 - 1 hour - 70.8 MBWhat if most of your life you felt like you had to hide? That if you shared what you really felt, you’d be beaten up? Rejected? Shamed? What if you knew you could continue to hold in your doubts? Your secrets? But for how long? Could you continue to live a lie just so that others wouldn’t be made to feel uncomfortable by your questioning? What if you realized you had nothing to fear? That you could learn to live out in the open, and if those you cared about rejected you, you’d find a...
EPISODE 003: Marriage: Depression: Take Your Meds
August 11, 2015 21:22 - 1 hour - 63.2 MBMy wife Jen I sit down for the first time recording together. We have a great time! She tells her story. We open up a bit more about the freedoms found after leaving institutional religion, and we discuss how she continues to heal after the death of her mom, depression, anxiety and taking medication without condemnation. This was a big deal for me to have Jen not only want to do the show but have a great time doing it. Jen is primarily the quiet one, the introverted one, the hardworkin...
EPISODE 002: Anarchy in Motion: Pete GK
August 05, 2015 20:25 - 1 hour - 59.9 MBMy friend, poet, writer, and anarchist Pete GK and I have a great time discussing life, anarchy, and his poetry. Pete also works with Seattle homeless on a daily basis. What would it look like to make yourself available to others? Are there actual victims in America, or can anyone pull themselves up by their bootstraps? JOIN US Join the CounterCulture Society: http://eepurl.com/bwqMWT Become a Producer: https://www.patreon.com/losingourreligion Find Out More: http://www.losi...
EPISODE 001: Mistakes Were Made: Jeff Bettger
August 05, 2015 20:19 - 1 hour - 83.1 MBFormer punk rocker and former Mars Hill elder JSuffering (Jeff Bettger) and I talk about his upbringing. His punk rock influences, from the Dead Kennedy's, Sex Pistols, The Dehumanizers, Minor Threat, to the Circle Jerks and the Thrasher Magazine Skateboard Music Comps and Bombshelter Videos. As well as his journey after the Mars Hill debacle that he was a key elder in exposing. If you’re into music, you’re going to love this episode. JOIN US Join the CounterCulture Society: http://eep...
EPISODE 000: Welcome to the Freak Show: Zac Gandara
August 05, 2015 20:13 - 1 hour - 73.2 MBHi, I'm Zac Gandara. The host of Losing Our Religion. I am a former evangelical mega-church pastor. Although I was baptized catholic as an infant, then as a protestant in elementary school, then as a pentecostal in High School. Now? I'm trying to heal after my traumatic exvangelical exit from institutional religion. How have I healed since my exit from religion in 2011? Very irregularly. If you keep listening to this podcast, you're going to hear my story of healing and transformation, as ...
EPISODE 000: Welcome to the Freak Show
August 05, 2015 20:13 - 1 hour - 66.7 MBHi, I’m Zac Gandara. The host of Losing Our Religion. I am a former mega-church pastor now commune living lover of sinners. I'm learning that punk rock and even anarchy are a little bit like Jesus. I like to meet people from every gambit of life, sit down over drinks and hear their stories. This is my story as My friend, and favorite MAGICIAN Taylor Hughes helps me to talk through and share. I try to get through it without getting too emotional, and he brings his light-hearted caring p...