The Side Aisle

To wrap up our limited series podcast, we bring together threads from across the conversation: family, politics, belonging, and the stories we tell about what makes a life “good.”Drawing from our own experiences in evangelical spaces, we talk about how our formation shapes the way we show up in hard conversations today.At the heart of this episode is an invitation to build a life that reflects your actual values, not just inherited or aspirational ones. This season has been about learning how to live and relate in complicated times with integrity, curiosity, and care.Thanks for listening from the Side Aisle. A special thanks to all of our paid subscribers on Substack for making it possible for us to have these kinds of conversations. Thanks, too, to Dan Koch for the music and Nate Sahr for audio engineering. Submit your questions for us to discuss on thesideaisle.comOrder Sara's new book Nervous SystemsOrder Kendall’s newest book Bake and PrayOrder Amanda’s latest book, Holy UnhappinessOrder Lore’s latest book, The Understory(All books linked to support independent bookshop, Nooks)Find Lore on Sayable and InstagramFind Amanda on Provisions and InstagramFind Sara on Bitter Scroll and InstagramFind Kendall on Edible Theology and Instagram

In this episode of The Side Aisle, we reflect on what it means to live authentically in public, especially in a digital world that rewards oversharing. Not everything meaningful is meant to be shared, and not every story is ready to be told. Instead of asking what will resonate most online, we consider a deeper question: what is actually ours to share?We think through how vulnerability can create real connection, and how easily it becomes performative when shaped by likes, attention, and immediate feedback.We also connect this to vocation, understanding how our sense of calling should guide how we show up publicly.Plus, listener questions. A special thanks to all of our paid subscribers on Substack for making it possible for us to have these kinds of conversations. Thanks, too, to Dan Koch for the music and Nate Sahr for audio engineering. Submit your questions for us to discuss on thesideaisle.comOrder Sara's new book Nervous SystemsOrder Kendall’s newest book Bake and PrayOrder Amanda’s latest book, Holy UnhappinessOrder Lore’s latest book, The Understory(All books linked to support independent bookshop, Nooks)Find Lore on Sayable and InstagramFind Amanda on Provisions and InstagramFind Sara on Bitter Scroll and InstagramFind Kendall on Edible Theology and Instagram

What does it look like to stay faithful inside institutions that sometimes disappoint us? When do you stay, and when do you go?In this episode, hosted by Amanda, Lore, Sara, and Kendall get honest about their own church histories. including formative moments and the tension of engaging politically and spiritually in communities that don't always make it easy.The group talks about what it actually takes to create space where people with genuinely different views can stay in the room together and stay curious.If you've ever felt the friction of faith and politics colliding inside a community you love, this one is for you. Plus, listener questions. A special thanks to all of our paid subscribers on Substack for making it possible for us to have these kinds of conversations. Thanks, too, to Dan Koch for the music and Nate Sahr for audio engineering. Submit your questions for us to discuss on thesideaisle.comHow to Start a Conversation at Church About Immigration (Women of Welcome)Order Sara's new book Nervous SystemsOrder Kendall’s newest book Bake and PrayOrder Amanda’s latest book, Holy UnhappinessOrder Lore’s latest book, The Understory(All books linked to support independent bookshop, Nooks)Find Lore on Sayable and InstagramFind Amanda on Provisions and InstagramFind Sara on Bitter Scroll and InstagramFind Kendall on Edible Theology and Instagram

In this episode hosted by Kendall, we talk about The Good Life, and what that phrase even means in a world overloaded with wellness for sale, political and religious division, and competing ideals around family. We chat about how social media has become one of the most powerful forces shaping our definitions of fulfillment, often presenting polished versions of life that may or may not reflect reality. What values are we actually absorbing, and are they genuinely serving us? To explore that, we unpack two cultural phenomena shaping these conversations right now, the tradwife movement, which celebrates a return to traditional domesticity, and the manosphere, online male communities grappling with shifting gender dynamics, often in divisive ways. Though they seem like opposites, both are rooted in a longing for traditional values and reflect our broader cultural tension. We get into the nuance and contradictions, as we think it through together. Hope you'll join us. Plus, listener questions. A special thanks to all of our paid subscribers on Substack for making it possible for us to have these kinds of conversations. Thanks, too, to Dan Koch for the music and Nate Sahr for audio engineering. Submit your questions for us to discuss on thesideaisle.comOrder Sara's new book Nervous SystemsOrder Kendall’s newest book Bake and PrayOrder Amanda’s latest book, Holy UnhappinessOrder Lore’s latest book, The Understory(All books linked to support independent bookshop, Nooks)Find Lore on Sayable and InstagramFind Amanda on Provisions and InstagramFind Sara on Bitter Scroll and InstagramFind Kendall on Edible Theology and Instagram

In this episode hosted by Sara, we delve into complicated territory: engaging family across political differences. We explore how family shapes our political worldview in early years, what it looks like to raise aware and thoughtful kids, and offer ideas for reaching across differences in parent-child relationships, in marriage, and more.There's the tension a lot of us are sitting with right now: Do you cut off connection for the sake of your own wellbeing? Or do you stay connected no matter what? We talk about what it could look like to stay in relationship, when it's safe to, while maintaining healthy boundaries. This is a conversation about asking better questions and finding that even when political alignment is off the table, there might be something worth building across the divide. Plus, listener questions. * A special thanks to all of our paid subscribers on Substack for making it possible for us to have these kinds of conversations. Thanks, too, to Dan Koch for the music and Nate Sahr for audio engineering. Submit your questions for us to discuss on thesideaisle.comOrder Sara's new book Nervous SystemsOrder Kendall’s newest book Bake and PrayOrder Amanda’s latest book, Holy UnhappinessOrder Lore’s latest book, The Understory(All books linked to support independent bookshop, Nooks)Find Lore on Sayable and InstagramFind Amanda on Provisions and InstagramFind Sara on Bitter Scroll and InstagramFind Kendall on Edible Theology and Instagram

An introduction to The Side Aisle, in which we talk about why we wanted to do this and what feels difficult about these kinds of conversations. Also, why we don’t disparage the idea of "the third way", but what it means to us and why it’s important to clarify our terms. Books mentioned:Parker Palmer, A Hidden Wholeness, Chapter Ten, A Third WaySubmit your questions for us to discuss on thesideaisle.comOrder Sara's new book Nervous SystemsOrder Kendall’s latest book Bake and PrayOrder Amanda’s latest book, Holy UnhappinessOrder Lore’s latest book, The Understory(All books linked to support independent bookshop, Nooks)Find Lore on Sayable and InstagramFind Amanda on Provisions and InstagramFind Sara on Bitter Scroll and InstagramFind Kendall on Edible Theology and InstagramA special thanks to our paid subscribers on Substack for making it possible for us to have these kinds of conversations. Thanks, too, to Dan Koch for the music and Nate Sahr for audio engineering. 

Welcome to The Side Aisle, a podcast for those who know the either/or framework in faith and politics...just isn't working anymore.The Side Aisle is a conversation between four friends — Sara Billups, Amanda Held Opelt, Kendall Vanderslice, and Lore Wilbert — about struggling to live in this contentious cultural moment with both grace and conviction in our families, our churches, our communities, and online.  Where do you find belonging when your values have led you out of the mainstream and into the margins...a place we call the side aisle. The first episode in this limited series drops Wednesday, March 18. Listen anywhere you get your podcasts.