Spiritual Misfits Podcast · Meeting Ground

Spiritual Misfits, On the Way (LIVE at 'Words for Those Who Wander')

August 23, 2025·57 min·5 clips

Dom Faye recalls a sunset moment at age eight that sparked a 'holy ache' he never connected to church.

This live episode features hosts Will Small from Spiritual Misfits and Dom Faye from On The Way, joined by guests Suzanne Grimmett and Peter Catt, exploring spiritual navigation after traditional frameworks fail. The conversation unfolds before an audience at West End Uniting Church in Brisbane, centering on the experience of being a "spiritual misfit" who is still actively journeying. The panelists share personal stories of faith deconstruction, community, and searching for new maps in a disorienting world. Dom Faye recounts growing up in a charismatic evangelical Baptist church pastored by his father, contrasting that with a childhood memory of a transcendent sunset at Noosa that sparked a "holy longing." Suzanne Grimmett describes her shift from a fundamentalist framework in her twenties, emphasizing that feeling "stuck" as a misfit propelled her to keep moving through various faith communities. Peter Catt explains his comfort as a spiritual misfit who discovered the church later in life, using the metaphor of pilgrimage and walking to describe noticing small, transformative details like lines of ants. Will Small shares how becoming a father and working as a pastor while engaging with youth in a juvenile justice centre created "cracks" in his own certainty. A profound question from a Year 12 student asks if Western society is so lost that its entire framework for understanding is corrupted, making clear sight impossible. Dom connects this to the work of philosopher Iain McGilchrist, who argues modern culture has become overly dominated by the left brain hemisphere's utilitarian, individualistic mindset. The panel discusses the need to reorient towards relationality and seeing oneself as part of a flow, being a "good ancestor." They explore the tension between idealism and the necessity of community, referencing Dietrich Bonhoeffer's warning that loving the *idea* of community can kill it. Peter Catt suggests functional communities often form organically around a shared purpose, like a cathedral's homeless ministry, rather than being explicitly organized. Will laments the loss of neighborhood connection, describing a walk at dusk where he felt profound grief over not knowing his nearby neighbors. The group speculates on the role of human community and "messiness" in a future shaped by AI, with Will suggesting AI might strip away our busyness and force us to ask bigger questions. Peter expresses hope, noting AI's limitations and proposing the shared meal as a timeless antidote. A question reframes church inclusion, suggesting all people are in a state of exile or alienation, needing a "table of shared healing" rather than a model where an in-group graciously includes others. Will reflects that his past sense of deep belonging in church community was sometimes predicated on being part of an "in-group" with an "out-group." The tone is conversational, reflective, and exploratory, blending personal narrative with philosophical and theological ideas. This episode would deeply resonate with listeners questioning their faith backgrounds, feeling spiritually homeless, or interested in post-evangelical thought. Those seeking definitive doctrinal answers or traditional apologetics might find the discussion too open-ended or nebulous.

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