The Sacred Slope

40. Sara Cunningham (Free Mom Hugs) & Kelly Mellen (Making Things Right) – Women of Faith Showing Up for the Queer Community

What does it look like when women of faith choose love over fear and show up for the queer community?

Alexis sits down with Sara Cunningham, founder of Free Mom Hugs, and Kelly Mellen, Managing Director of Making Things Right, for a joyful, deeply personal conversation about faith, allyship, healing, ...

39. Rev. Roberto Che Espinoza (Baptist) – Becoming Human With One Another (Pride Month Reissue)

This week, Alexis Rice welcomes Rev. Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza, PhD (@drrobertoche), pastor, scholar, and founder of Activist Theology and Our Collective Becoming.

Roberto’s life and ministry embody a theology rooted in interdependence, tenderness, and justice. A Latinx trans man, theologian, and ordained Baptist minister, Rober...

38. Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez (Non-Denominational Megachurch Culture) - Conversion Therapy Dropout

What if the choice between being gay and being Christian was never a choice at all?

Alexis sits down with Timothy Schrader Rodriguez, author of Conversion Therapy Dropout, for a deeply personal conversation about surviving eight years of conversion therapy, working behind the scenes at some of the most influential evangelical megachur...

37. Bishop Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir (Church of Iceland) – A Nation Led by Women, and a Bishop Who Says Queer People Should Be Safe in Christianity

When a nation is led by women at the highest levels - the President, the Prime Minister, the Mayor of Reykjavík, the National Police Commissioner, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Bishop of Iceland - something becomes visible: women in power isn’t an exception, it&rsqu...

Pride Month Series- 🌈 Happy Pride!

36. Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines (Disciples of Christ/UCC) - The Progressive, Open & Affirming Pastor Evangelicals Warned You About

What does a conversation with a progressive, open and affirming pastor actually sound like?

For many people raised in evangelical spaces, progressive pastors were often presented as people who had compromised biblical faith or wandered too far from Christianity. But what...

HAPPY PRIDE!

🎙️ 35. Rocky Roggio (Director, 1946: The Movie) - 1946: The Year the Word “Homosexual” Entered the Bible (Pride Month Reissue)

One mistranslation changed theology, policy, families, and the lives of millions of LGBTQ people.

Alexis sits down with Rocky Roggio @rockyroggio, director of the award-winning documentary 1946: The Movie @1946themovie, to explore the year the word “homosexual&rd...

34. Science & Faith Part 2 - Pastor Will Rose (ELCA Lutheran) - The False Choice Between Faith and Science 

Alexis Rice sits down with Pastor Will Rose, ELCA Lutheran pastor in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, co-host of Systematic Geekology, and creator of the faith and science podcast Your Matter Matters, for a deeply compassionate conversation about curiosity, science, deconstruction, and why asking honest questions should n...

33. Science & Faith Part 1 - Dr. Janet Kellogg Ray (Science Educator & Christian) - Science Asks How & When. Faith Asks Who & Why

Alexis Rice sits down with Dr. Janet Kellogg Ray, science educator, university lecturer, Christian, and author of Fish with Feet: Human Evolution and the Image of God, for a deeply honest conversation about evolution, evangelicalism, scientific literacy, and the false choice so many Christ...

🎙️ 32. Sharon McMahon (We Are Mighty) & We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For

Alexis Rice sits down with Sharon McMahon, bestselling author, educator, and creator of “@SharonSaysSo,” for a deeply moving conversation about history, democracy, courage, faith, and the ordinary people who shape the world around us.

As Sharon releases her new children’s book, We Are Mighty: 12 Ordinary Americans Who Did the N...

🎙️ 31. Jeremy Steele (United Methodist, Skeptic Pastor) - Stop Ceding Faith: Democrats and Media Need Progressive Pastors Now

Alexis sits down with Jeremy Steele (@skeptic.pastor), a United Methodist pastor, author, and self-described “deep skeptic,” for a bold, unfiltered conversation about faith, politics, and the stories shaping Christianity in America today.

Jeremy returns to The Sacred Slope to challenge some of the...

🎙️ 30. Christina Zini (United Methodist/Lutheran) -  This Is What Christianity Looks Like When It’s Not About Control & The Sacred Slope Turns 1!!!!! With music by Derek Webb!

Alexis Rice sits down with Christina Zini, a friend of 20+ years, a leadership coach, Christian woman, global citizen, for a deeply personal and reflective conversation marking one year of The Sacred Slope.

Christina shares her journey of faith ...

🎙️ 29. Part 2. Reproductive Rights - Rev. jessica young chang (UCC): Faith, Freedom, and Who Gets to Decide

A note:
 This is so hard to talk about.

I was raised to believe this was the issue.
The line you could never cross.

And if you did… you were wrong.
 You were evil.

So I get it. I really do.

But after listening to real stories…
 and sitting with real people…
 I realized this...

28. Part 1. Reproductive Rights: Valerie's Story - Pregnancy, Cancer, and a Life-or-Death Choice

Alexis sits down with her childhood friend Valerie Ruschke for a deeply personal and emotional conversation about reproductive rights, faith, and medical reality.

At 16 weeks pregnant, Valerie was diagnosed with aggressive Stage 3 HER2-positive breast cancer. Doctors told her she had less than a 10% chance of survival unless she terminate...

🎙️ 27. Mattie Mae Motl (Bible Scholar) - Loving Jesus Too Much to Let Him Be Weaponized

Alexis Rice sits down with Mattie Mae Motl, a Bible scholar, theologian, and PhD candidate studying the New Testament (with a focus on Romans), for a powerful and deeply clarifying conversation about biblical scholarship, deconstruction, and reclaiming faith.

Mattie Mae Motl shares her story of growing up Southern Baptist, falling in love with Sc...

26. Justin Telthorst (Catholic, Empty Chairs) - A Gay Catholic on Faith, the Pope, and the Empty Seats in the Church

Alexis sits down with Justin Telthorst, a gay Catholic, speaker, and creator of Empty Chairs @emptychairshome for a moving conversation about faith, identity, church hurt, and belonging inside the Catholic tradition.

Justin shares his story of growing up Catholic, surviving conversion therapy, wrestling with conscience...

25. Andrew Whitehead (Sociologist, Author, Christian) - American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church

Andrew Whitehead joins Alexis Rice for a powerful conversation on Christian nationalism and the ways it shapes faith, identity, and public life.

Alexis and Andrew explore what Christian nationalism actually is (and isn’t), how it shows up in everyday spaces, and why it can be so diffic...

🎙️ 24. Julie (Aakadewin-o Waawaashkeshi Kwe) Francella (Ojibwe, Batchewana First Nation) - We’re Still Here: Indigenous Wisdom, Empathy, & the Wounds Beneath Hate

Alexis sits down with Julie (Aakadewin-o Waawaashkeshi Kwe) Francella - an Ojibwe professor of Indigenous Studies, mental health professional, writer, artist, and @SiriusXM co-host, for a powerful conversation on Indigenous wisdom, trauma, empathy, and staying h...

🎙️ 23. Kristin Mockler Young (Non-Denominational Pastor) - The Other Side of Certainty

What if losing certainty isn’t losing your faith… but the beginning of a deeper one?

Alexis sits down with Pastor Kristin Mockler Young @kristinmockleryoung, teaching pastor at Mosaic Church @mosaicclt, host of the Becoming Church podcast , and author of the upcoming book, The Other Side of Certainty, to explore what happens when the ...

🎙️ 22. Rev. Brandan Robertson (Progressive Pastor) - Queer & Christian: Reclaiming the Bible, Our Faith, and Our Place at the Table

What if being queer and Christian was never the contradiction you were taught it was?

Alexis sits down with Rev. Brandan Robertson, pastor, activist, and author of Queer & Christian, to explore how scripture has been misunderstood, weaponized, and reclaimed.

Brandan shares his journey from a fund...