Prodigal Pastor

What do we actually mean when we talk about “atonement”? In this episode, Jonny explores what the cross accomplishes—and why Christians have never agreed on exactly how it works. From the biblical metaphors of ransom, reconciliation, victory, and sacrifice to the different theories Christians have developed throughout history, we’ll explore why atonement is bigger and more beautiful than any single explanation. And through it all, we’ll return to a simple center: the cross reveals the love of God and makes us at-one with God.

David Fitch has spent decades helping the church imagine a more faithful way of being in the world. In this conversation, we explore the journey that shaped his theology—from Wall Street to church planting, from academic writing to accessible books like Faithful Presence, The Church of Us vs. Them, and Reckoning with Power.

Along the way, we talk about what it means to be a "neo-Anabaptist, Pentecostal, holiness theologian," why the church needs practices more than programs, and how followers of Jesus can navigate a post-Christendom, politically polarized culture without retreating into fear or grasping for po...

In this episode of Prodigal Pastor, Jonny sits down with theologian, church planter, and Yale professor Matthew Croasmun for a wide-ranging conversation about Scripture, theology, sin, emergence theory, and what it means to live a life worth living. Together they explore how asking difficult questions about the Bible can actually deepen faith rather than destroy it, why Scripture is less like a rulebook and more like a place of encounter with the living God, and how charismatic spirituality shapes the way we read and discern Scripture in community. The conversation then turns toward Matt’s groundbreaking work in The Em...

In this episode of Prodigal Pastor, Jonny sits down with New Testament scholar Jennifer Garcia Bashaw to explore how we read the Bible—and how it reads us. Drawing from her books Serving Up Scripture and Scapegoats, Jennifer shares her journey from growing up in a Southern Baptist context to pursuing biblical scholarship after confronting limiting interpretations of Scripture around women in ministry. Together, they unpack her powerful cooking metaphor for biblical interpretation—showing how reading Scripture is both an art and a process shaped by our stories, cultures, and assumptions—and discuss how Jesus’ life consistently centers those pushed t...

After a full stretch of conversations on atonement, this week’s episode of Prodigal Pastor takes a different turn—into rest.

In the week following Easter, we practice Sabbath as a community at Missio Dei, making space to breathe, reflect, and “rest into resurrection.” This episode is an extension of that rhythm.

Jonny sits down with his friend and fellow pastor Scott for a wide-ranging, unhurried conversation about fly fishing, spirituality, discipleship, and the kinds of practices that form us over time. What begins as a conversation about being on the water becomes something deeper—a reflecti...

In this episode, Jonny sits down with theologian and pastor Greg Boyd to explore one of the most transformative ideas in contemporary theology: what if God truly looks like Jesus—crucified?

Together, they trace Greg’s journey from academic theology into pastoral ministry, and into a lifetime of wrestling with Scripture, violence, and the character of God. The conversation centers on what Greg calls a “cruciform hermeneutic”—reading the entire Bible through the lens of the cross—and how that reshapes everything from troubling Old Testament passages to the nature of the kingdom of God.

They also dive i...

In this episode, Jonny sits down with New Testament scholar Michael Gorman for a rich conversation about atonement, the cross, and the new covenant. Together they explore what atonement means, what many popular models miss, and how the death of Jesus is not only the source of salvation but also its shape. Along the way, they talk about participation, transformation, reconciliation, and why the cross matters not just for individuals, but for communities and the whole life of faith.

In this episode, Jonny sits down with theologian and seminary professor Dr. Mark Baker to talk about the cross, the atonement, and why the way we tell that story matters—pastorally, biblically, and ethically.

Mark shares the story of becoming a scholar shaped by mission work in Honduras, where poverty, violence, and “toxic theology” forced deeper questions: Who is the God we believe in? What kind of God does our atonement story portray?

From there, we explore what atonement means (“the saving significance of the cross and resurrection”), why Christians often collapse a wide biblical vision into a...

Jonny talks with Jeremy Duncan about reading Revelation well—through Jesus, not fear. Together they unpack rapture culture, empire, and apocalyptic despair, and explore why Revelation is less about predicting the future and more about forming a hopeful, nonviolent people in the present.

Jonny sits down with Dr. R. Dennis Edwards—New Testament scholar, longtime pastor, and Jonny’s former professor—to talk about how leaders and everyday Christians can read Scripture with more depth and humility. Dr. Edwards shares his journey from a storefront church where questions were discouraged to a life of ministry, church planting, and teaching, then explores what’s changed today: growing skepticism toward “experts,” thinning Bible literacy, and the way modern content habits shape faith. Together they unpack what it means to read the Bible in community—with the historic tradition, with present-day voices across cultures and social location...

In this episode, Jonny sits down with Old Testament scholar Dr. Ingrid Faro (Northern Seminary) to talk about her book Redeeming Eden, where she with deep but accessible scholarship helps us reread the story of women throughout the Old Testament. Dr. Faro shows us what we get wrong, especially concerning how women in the Bible have been vilified, sexualized, marginalized, or misread through cultural lenses that aren’t actually the Bible’s and how their stories are actually essential to redemptive history.

Resources Mentioned

In this conversation, Dr. Tim Geddert (biblical scholar and longtime professor) shares why reading the Bible as a storychanges everything—from how we handle ethics, history, and “hard texts,” to how we understand discipleship and the role of the Old Testament. We talk about why people today are often persuaded by experiencing Scripture rather than “solving” objections, why “story” doesn’t mean “fiction,” how Jesus both affirms and re-reads the Old Testament, and why the church should never draw a straight line from Israel’s national wars to modern nationalism. Along the way, we explore Scripture as a drama we’re invited to participate...

What if the Bible is less “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth” and more a rescue story that finds its hinge in Jesus? In this conversation, Jonny sits down with pastor, theologian, and author Meghan Larissa Good to talk about how a Jesus-centered lens changes the way we read Scripture, wrestle with difficult texts, and practice discernment in real time as church leaders.

They explore how genre, narrative arc, and the crucified Christ reframe everything from Noah’s ark and Judges to Revelation and Paul’s household codes. Meghan offers a grounded, accessible way to hold a high view of Sc...

In this short trailer episode, Jonny Morrison introduces Prodigal Pastor, a podcast for leaders, seekers, and anyone trying to live in the tension of real life. You’ll hear about the heart behind the show and the kinds of conversations and reflections to expect.

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