A Reminder (To Myself)

I like to remind myself every now and again that the What If Project isn't something I've made for anyone other than me. And what I mean by that is that I didn't start the podcast to reach a particular group or speak to a particular tribe or encourage a particular set of people.

Rather.

I started the podcast because one day I packed my bags and said "goodbye" to Evangelicalism as I set out into the wilderness to discover another way. And as I set out on that discovery, my head was filled with all sorts of questions and my shelves started to hold more and more books that gave me even more and more questions; and I needed a place to process ...

All.

Of.

The.

Things.

I started out with a lot of solo episodes where I would literally write out 15-20 page manuscripts about various theological issues I was wrestling with and talk my way through them in front of the mic. And then I got brave and began to email authors whose books I was devouring - Alexander Shaia, Brian McLaren, Diana Butler Bass, etc. And then I got even more brave and started emailing scholars and thinkers who I thought might be able to answer various questions I had - Bart Ehrman, Elaine Pagels, NT Wright, etc.

All of that (all of those books, all of those conversations - everything!) was for ME, not for anyone else. I made it public only because a professor of mine said that other people had the same questions I did and that a small part of the universe might benefit from joining me for the ride. The heart of it, though, was always about me and my own journey.

Anyways.

I tell you that and remind myself of that because as I plan for future episodes ... I want to remind myself that regardless of the feedback I get on various topics/guests, I want to keep true to the heart of the show - it's about my journey and y'all are welcome to come along for the ride if you want or bail whenever you need to. I love when people suggest guests or even point me to books I didn't know existed.

BUT.

I'm pretty dismissive of feedback where people say they don't like an episode or a topic or whatever.

A while back, for instance, I invited someone onto the show who is a medium and I got all sorts of crap about it from a bunch of people. Some people couldn't believe that I'd talk to someone who "channels demons", others said I was going down a dangerous road and that I was being duped and that I was catering to a group of people and not being true to myself and the show.

I was tempted to take the episode down, to be honest, or maybe shelve it for a bit. But then I thought to myself, "what a load of BS. I talked to this person because I found her book fascinating and it helped me and (I think) enhanced my spirituality in a positive way. If other people find it helpful, great. If some people want to think all sorts of stuff about me, who cares. If people want to skip this episode, great. Keep the episode up and keep following where your heart leads."

I have more episodes coming up over the next 12 months that will deal with more things like mediumship as well as more about the Cosmic Christ, Buddhism, Hinduism, Tarot Cards, and more. The topics are (I think) a beautiful tapestry of color because that's the way my faith is beginning to look these days. I call myself a Christian, yes, but I call myself a Christian who sees a spark of the Divine in the various religions and spiritual ideas of the world. I see Jesus in Tarot Cards and inner child work and the Gnostic Scriptures just as much as I see him on the pages of the 4 Gospels.

AND.

Since following after Jesus is at the heart of my spirituality, I'll follow him wherever he may lead, even if it leads to places that others say are dumb or off limits or whatever.

OH.

And a note about Tarot Cards - I've been using them "devotionally" for the last month or so. Every morning I pull a card from a spread and meditate on it and it's meaning for me and my current place on the journey. I then read a chapter or 2 of the Gospels, recite a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, and then I write in my journal whatever the Spirit seems to be pressing on my heart. I used to think that Tarot Cards were from the occult and (therefore) entry points for the Devil and his demons to get into my life. Nowadays, though, I see them as yet another way that the Spirit of the Divine can speak into my life and help me uncover things about my life and my journey that I hadn't seen before.

... More on that in another post.

For now, though - thank you. Seriously, thank you … thank you for being on the journey with me, and thank you for your encouragement and your support of the project. It means so much to me and my family.

Much love,

Glenn Siepert