Episode Details

🎙️ 3. Rev. Dr. Chris Davies (UCC) – When the World Feels Like It’s on Fire: A Raw Conversation with a Pastor for the Soul

In this deeply vulnerable and pastoral episode of The Sacred Slope, Alexis Rice welcomes back Rev. Dr. Chris Davies, a reverend, theologian, and executive minister in the United Church of Christ. What unfolds is not a traditional interview, but a sacred conversation about grief, fear, joy, and faith in a moment when the world feels unbearably heavy.

🌍 The world is so chaotic right now
If you’re scrolling social media looking for catharsis, Rev. Dr. Chris Davies has it for you. This episode offers soul care in a time of collective grief—when outrage cycles, political fear, and spiritual exhaustion have left so many feeling lost and alone.

Alexis and Chris reflect on how their relationship began during the COVID and George Floyd era, when a single act of pastoral care—holding space for a stranger—became a catalyst for The Sacred Slope. Together, they explore what it means to tend the soul when institutions fail and anxiety is high.

✨ In this conversation, we explore:
• What real pastoral care looks like beyond “hot takes”
• Why Christian nationalism is an empire project—not the Gospel
• Why joy is not escapism, but resistance
• How queer communities survive through celebration and belonging
• Why exvangelicals are uniquely equipped for this moment
• How faith can remain rooted in love, not fear or purity tests

Chris reminds us that faith has survived fascism, empire, and collapse before—and God is still found in the cracks.

🕊️ Voices & References
• United Church of Christ – @ucc.coalition
• Rev. Darrell Goodwin – @revdgoodwin 
• The Daily Show – @thedailyshow 
• RuPaul's Drag Race – @rupaulsdragrace 
• Dan Savage – @dansavage 
• Sharon McMahon – @sharonsaysso 
• Find Hope Now – https://findhopenow.org

💛 A note to our listeners:
If this conversation helps you, please share this episode with someone who may need it right now. Please also subscribe, follow, rate, and review the podcast so The Sacred Slope can continue reaching those searching for care, clarity, and community.

#Christianity #Deconstruction #OpenAndAffirming #ProgressiveChristianity #Exvangelical #FaithAfterEvangelicalism #ChristianNationalism #QueerTheology #WomenInMinistry #MentalHealth #TheSacredSlope

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About The Sacred Slope
Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity.
Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion.

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🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice
🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence
📬 Nominate a guest: alexis@thesacredslope.com

🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿
Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control