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The cohosts recorded a live episode at Revoice 22 to finish out the season. We ran into some technical difficulties so the cohosts recorded some extra content during a retreat. They talk about what they learned this season and answer questions from the audience. Listen till the end to hear some exciting announcements!

For our last patron chosen episode of the season, Kristyn Komarnicki joins Josh, Grant, and Henry to talk about relationships across belief spectrums. Kristyn works as the director of dialogue and convening at Christians for Social Action and she is the creator of Oriented to Love dialogues about sexual/gender diversity in the church. Kristyn gathers Christians of different sexual orientations, gender identities, and theological convictions together so they can begin to know, understand, and love each other, in search of a unity that is deeper than agreement. Josh, Grant and Henry have all participated (or "gone through" as we say in the episode) in Oriented to Love dialogues. We engage with her on what she has learned from these dialogues about building relationships with people that belief differently than us.

As we draw close to the end of our season, Henry and Grant talk with our friend Gabriel about resilience and living with HIV. They discuss "poster child" culture in churches, what it is like to live with HIV today and much more.

Dean is back with us! His episode in Season 1 (S1E4 | Dean on Mixed-Orientation Marriage) has stood as a fan favorite episode. Today, he is back on the podcast with Ashley and Henry to give us a life update which includes that fact that he and Lisa have now divorced. Dean gifts us with his vulnerability as he shares about the resilience in his own life through the past few years. We cannot talk about marriage without also talking about the reality of divorce. Thank you, Dean, for the gifts that you continue to give to our community.   If you are interested in checking out the playlist Dean put together you can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Sm704MLmZtgYRHLsYAq9w

Wes Hill is back and John Starke joins us as well! Bekah and Ashley talk with them about prayer and how it plays into resilience. 

Elizabeth and Bekah sit down with the legendary straight ally, Misty Irons. Misty has been advocating for and standing in the line of fire for queer people in the church for multiple decades. Her work for our community means she has in many ways shared in the church hurt and marginalization that too often happens to queer people in faith settings. Elizabeth, Bekah, and Misty come together in this episode to discuss the difficult question, "Should I stay or should I leave my church?" They each share some of their experience related to this complex question. We hope it can help give you some insights if and when you process these questions around finding a church home, especially after experiencing church hurt. 

Grant talks with artist Joel Briggs about creativity and storytelling in art and how they all help us live with resilience. Joel Briggs is a fine arts painter based in San Diego, California. He works predominantly in contemporary figurative representational oil painting. His work currently explores the intersection of traditional religious symbolism with the present-day embodied experiences of shame and sexuality. His work can be found on Instagram @joelbriggspaints

In this episode, Elizabeth sits down with our good friends Adelynn and Ben to talk about their experiences of faith and gender as trans Christians. They discuss transitioning, dysphoria, the trans feminine experience and what they would love to see change in the trans conversation occurring in Christian faith communities.    Important note for those new to the trans conversation: Side B is a theological view specifically on sexual ethics and marriage, not gender identity. Therefore Side B Christians have diverse views on gender identity and trans Christians in Side B spaces express their gender in diverse ways. Conversations like these are important opportunities for our cisgender listeners and community members to take a posture of humility and listen. 

This week's episode topic was picked by our patrons. Josh and Ashley are talking with Keifer Lucchi, a missionary in Central Europe, and Jesse White, a university student preparing to go into missions in East Asia. From navigating missions organizations to cultural contexts, all four of them share about their experiences in missions from Latin America to Europe to Asia. Thank you to our patrons who chose this topic!

Art Pereira is back and talking with Elizabeth about the committed friendships in his life. Elizabeth also shares about important committed friendships in her life as well. What does commitment look like in friendship especially when it is with a friend who is or plans to marry? What does resilience look like in relationships? 

Johana Marie Williams has returned to the podcast to talk with Bekah and Grant about processing doubt and deconstruction. Deconstruction especially has been a main topic of discussion recently. So how do we engage this discussion around faith and sexuality? What do we do when we find ourselves in the midst of a time of deconstruction? Listen now to hear our cohosts and Johana Marie share from their experiences.

Mary, our cohost from Season 2, is BACK! She has returned home to Life on Side B to talk with Ashley, Grant, and Josh about how we engage with queer media as Side B Christians. What media most impacted us? How do we engage it when our values are different? What counts as queer baiting? This episode gets a little unhinged but we hope you enjoy this special Pride month episode.

This episode has been a long time coming. Grant talks with Collin, Michelle, and Will about asexuality and grey sexuality. They cover various aspects of their experiences as ace Christians pursuing celibacy. 

Paolo Errico joins Josh this week to talk about sexual integrity. How does it differ from sexual purity? How does the closet work against the process of integrity in queer lives? How do we restore integrity when our lives begin to compartmentalize? Paolo and Josh share vulnerably from each of their experiences pursuing sexual integrity and we hope it can be helpful for you all.    Here are the books that were mentioned in the episode: The Deeply Formed Life by Rich Villodas Tenderness by Eve Tushnet

This is a conversation we have been looking forward to for a long time. Many of you know of Jackie Hill Perry. Today, Elizabeth, Henry and Ashley are sitting down with her to talk about her newest book, Holier Than Thou, plus the intersection of faith and sexuality and how she navigates conversations on racial justice.

Lesli is back and talking with Henry and Bekah about grief - grief over the loss of their wife, the loss of sexual intimacy in a life of celibacy, and the pain of church hurt. There is so much wisdom packed in this episode. Lesli shares how embracing grief helps us embrace God. 

Josh is talking this week with Sarah Claire Smith, a licensed mental health counselor and the soul care director at Providencia WPB, where Josh attends. Sarah Claire shares about what is means to listen to your own story in order to process trauma and pain so that we can better engage in healthy community.    The book Sarah Clair quotes is My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem

Today, Ashley, Elizabeth and Josh are getting "back to basics," discussing the question: "What do we wish we would have known back when we came out and entered Side B spaces for the first time?" 

This week, Greg Piken is joining us from SoCal and sharing insights as a counselor on how to build emotional resilience in our lives. Josh and Bekah talk with him about working through breakdowns, processing second adolescence, and how to support each other in a community such as the Side B LGBT+ Christian community which has high levels of trauma. 

This week, Bridget Eileen Rivera is back and talking with Henry about her new book, Heavy Burdens. You can tell from his questions that Henry has read this book more than once! They have a great conversation. Pick up your copy of Heavy Burdens today!