Filthy Hope | Faith. No Filter.

Filthy Hope
  • 5.0 (14)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

The Podcast that talks Faith. No Filter. Got questions about God you don’t feel like you can ask in church? Drawn to Jesus, but disconnected from the polished, clean-cut side of religion? You’re not alone, and you’re in the right place. This is Filthy Hope. A safe space for conversations about Jesus, life, and the grey areas in-between. Join Rev. Ness, Rev. Jon, and our guests as we explore tough and taboo topics, like doubt, hardship, trauma, shame, and finding hope through it all.

  1. 31 mins ago

    The art of saying goodbye: lessons from a lifetime of funerals

    CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses death, dying, funerals. Please take care listening. For support, you can reach out to: Lifeline 13 11 14 or Griefline 1300 845 745. Why do funerals bring out the best and the worst in us? 0:00 – Content warning 2:13 – Intro: Faith. No filter. 2:36 – Two clergy, a lifetime of funeral stories 4:47 – Jon's "year of death" 7:35 – An open casket with nothing to view 8:46 – A mother jumps on the coffin 10:30 – Behind the curtain at the crematorium 15:54 – A party in the palliative care room 21:32 – A fight breaks out mid-eulogy 24:41 – Glitter, bubbles and sticky notes 29:31 – The cost of avoiding grief In this episode of Filthy Hope, hosts Rev Ness Williams-Henke and Rev Jon Humphries take off the pastoral filters to have a radically honest conversation about death, dying, and their wildest experiences presiding over funerals. From family fights erupting at the lectern to grieving mothers throwing themselves onto lower caskets, they expose the raw grit of human pain when modern life breaks down completely. But it's not just shock value and dark humor. Ness and Jon dig deep into the sociological and spiritual costs of our sanitized, fast-paced death culture, calling out the tragedy of modern "McFunerals" that rush families through their pain. By exploring bizarre, beautiful, and deeply personal celebrations—featuring bubble machines, sticky notes, and heavy metal bling—they map out how reclaiming authentic rituals is the only way to slow down, process raw trauma, and discover real, enduring hope in the trenches of grief. #FilthyHope #GriefAndLoss #RadicalHonesty #FuneralDisasters #MessyFaith #LifeAndDeath #PastoralCare #McFunerals #HopeInTheDark

    The art of saying goodbye: lessons from a lifetime of funerals

  2. 10 Aug

    Faith through cancer: stories of grief, hope & unanswered prayers

    CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses cancer, terminal illness, death and dying, including a detailed description of a death at home. Please take care listening. For support, you can reach out to: Lifeline 13 11 14, Cancer Council 13 11 20, or Griefline 1300 845 745. Do you pray expecting a miracle, or expecting reality? 0:00 – Trigger warning: cancer, death & dying 1:04 – Intro: Faith. No filter. 3:23 – Ness’s father: terminal diagnosis with 3 months to live 6:45 – Rejecting polite religious rituals 10:08 – Unexplained shrinking of tumors 13:30 – Mindset and the biology of wellness 16:53 – Jon’s father: a rapid and aggressive decline 20:15 – Dark humor at the deathbed 23:38 – Dismantling the myth of peaceful passing 27:00 – The isolation of public everyday grief 31:15 – Redefining the true anatomy of miracles In this episode of Filthy Hope, hosts Reverend Ness Williams-Henke and Reverend Jon Humphries lay down their guards to have a raw, unfiltered conversation about cancer, death, and the limits of human control. Sharing two radically opposing stories about their own fathers' battles with disease, they explore the dizzying space between a miraculous, decades-long survival and a swift, agonized passing. The hosts pull no punches as they wrestle with their own internal theological friction, debating whether we should pray with aggressive supernatural expectancy or with grounded, clear-eyed reality. Moving past sanitised church platitudes, this discussion provides a gritty, deeply empathetic look at how to find genuine grace, operational peace, and deep human connection right in the middle of active loss. #FilthyHope #FaithNoFilter #ChristianPodcast #GritWithGrace #GriefAndLoss #CancerSucks #CancerJourney #FaithUnfiltered #Miracles #DeathAndDying #TerminalDiagnosis #TheologyOfSuffering

    Faith through cancer: stories of grief, hope & unanswered prayers

  3. 3 Aug

    Are miracles real?: faith, suffering & why some prayers go answered

    What happens when you pray your heart out, but the miracle never comes? 0:00 – Intro: Faith. No filter. 0:39 – Ness’s heart block miracle 2:09 – Sitting with the team who don't get healed 6:00 – Challenging rigid religious systems 9:00 – The guilt of selective healing 15:00 – The exhaustion of unanswered prayers 17:22 – “God is not Oprah” 21:00 – The mystery of divine timing 24:00 – Validating anger toward God 26:41 – Finding hope in permanent loss In this episode of Filthy Hope, hosts Rev Ness Williams-Henke and Rev Jon Humphries sit on opposite sides of the same question: Are miracles real? In this raw, unfiltered conversation, our hosts dive into the spectrum of miracles and the painful realities of faith. Balancing Ness's shocking cardiac recovery with Jon’s lived experience of losing his father to cancer, they dissect why the church's traditional vocabulary around divine healing often leaves grieving people out in the cold. Instead of hiding behind generic platitudes, the hosts track the messy journey through physical agony, survivor's guilt, and the mystery of a God who sometimes provides logistics while leaving the disease untouched. Ultimately, this conversation reframes the ultimate miracle: not as a magical exit from human suffering, but as the stubborn ability to find joy, connection, and grace right in the middle of our harshest realities. #FilthyHope #FaithNoFilter #ChristianPodcast #GritAndGrace #Miracles #UnansweredPrayer #GriefAndLoss #FaithAndDoubt #DivineHealing #UnitingChurch

    Are miracles real?: faith, suffering & why some prayers go answered

  4. 27 July

    Questioning God: neurodivergent, queer & keeping faith

    Content Warning: this episode references suicidal ideation and psychiatric hospitalisation. If you need support, reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14.What happens when your church says your neurodivergence “makes people uncomfortable”? 0:00 – Intro: Faith. No Filter.1:39 – Doubting the “miracle stuff”3:22 – The discomfort of church culture6:30 – Embracing religious doubts and questions9:47 – The bible's core message10:57 – Kicked out of church for being "too much"15:04 – Jesus answers questions with more questions19:42 – Rejecting absolute certainty in faith23:01 – Finding your community26:03 – Everything she swore she'd never become28:13 – Discovering hard-won Joy in dark placesIn this episode of Filthy Hope, hosts Rev Ness Williams-Henke and Rev Jon Humphries welcome back Rachel for a radically transparent discussion on the intersection of autism, asexuality, and faith deconstruction. Rachel shares her journey of walking out on exclusionary church groups, recovering from a severe mental health crisis, and rediscovering her musical voice within a safe, authentic environment. The conversation strips away corporate religious jargon to explore what it means to live out grace when traditional ideas of instant miracles fall short.Together, they challenge the idea that faith requires absolute certainty, highlighting instead how asking hard questions opens the door to genuine personal growth. From humorous reflections on the absolute simplest summary of scripture to the raw reality of leaning on lifelines during survival moments, this episode offers a grounded blueprint for sitting with the messy elements of life while actively manufacturing joy.#FilthyHope #FaithDeconstruction #FaithNoFilter #QueerChristian #NeurodiversityInChurch #MentalHealthSurvival #RadicalGrace #ModernMiracles #AutismAndFaith #ADHDAndFaith

    Questioning God: neurodivergent, queer & keeping faith

  5. 20 July

    The chaplain's daughter: from psychiatric ward to finding your purpose

    ⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses depression, panic attacks, hospitalisation and a disclosed low point involving suicidal thoughts. If any of this affects you, Lifeline is available 24/7 on 13 11 14. What does faith look like from a psych ward bed?0:00 – Trigger warning0:30 – Intro: Faith. No filter.1:26 – Meet Rachel. 25-year-old musician raised in the church4:18 – Diagnosed with ADHD at age 1117:27 – A senior school rejection breaks her spirit22:13 – A panic attack derails the stage she once loved24:37 – Hospitalised in a psych ward26:44 – Coming to terms with being asexual and queer31:26 – Finding her way back to music and worshipIn this episode of Filthy Hope, hosts Rev Ness Williams-Henke and Rev Jon Humphries sit down with Rachel Humphries (Jon's own daughter) for the first of a two-part conversation. Raised as a Chaplain’s kid inside the school he worked in, Rachel grew up believing music was her calling, until a private-school culture that prized "excellence" over commitment told her otherwise. What followed were years of depression and PTSD, a panic attack that took her off a stage she'd never feared, and a night she told her mum she wasn't "good”, words that landed her in a psych ward.Together they wrestle with the harder questions: how do you hold onto faith when the place that raised you also broke you? What does healing look like when you're queer, asexual and self-sacrificing to a fault? Rachel doesn't offer easy answers: she calls herself "a terrible Christian" in the same breath she talks about leading worship every week. But she's back on stage, fronting a band, and figuring out grace one gig, one Sunday, and one honest conversation at a time.#FilthyHope #ChristianPodcast #GritWithGrace #FaithNoFilter #ChaplainsKid #PsychWard #MentalHealthAndFaith #AsexualAndChristian #QueerAndChristian #WorshipLeader

    The chaplain's daughter: from psychiatric ward to finding your purpose

  6. 13 July

    Heart attack survivor: a medical miracle in the face of death

    Is it medicine, prayer, or both that healed her heart? 0:00 – Intro: Faith. No filter.  1:14 – The moment her heart stopped 2:29 – On the brink of death, alone overseas 11:03 – A stunned cardiologist finds no trace of the tear 16:00 – A new diagnosis: left bundle branch block 23:03 – The night before surgery, her daughter feels called to pray 27:51 – Pre-op ECG comes back clean 32:35 – Why do some get healed while others don't? 37:28 – The deeper healing of the heart In this episode of Filthy Hope, hosts Rev Ness Williams-Henke and Rev Jon Humphries dive into a story that bridges the gap between medical trauma and inexplicable grace. Ness recounts her terrifying history with SCAD heart attacks and the paralyzing PTSD that followed, leading her to become a "frequent flyer" at the emergency room. She shares the raw reality of living with a "permanent" heart blockage and the mental toll of a body that seems to be falling apart at every turn. The conversation takes a radical turn as Ness describes a moment of miraculous faith involving her daughter, a bold prayer, and a pre-surgery medical test that left doctors in disbelief. Together, Ness and John wrestle with the heavy questions: Why do some get healed while others don't? How do we find hope when our biology fails us? This isn't a sugar coated miracle story; it’s an unflinching look at how God moves in the mess of blue toes, ICU beds, and the "holy friction" of a life lived with no filter. #FilthyHope #FaithNoFilter #HeartHealing #FaithAndAnxiety #MedicalMiracle #GritWithGrace #ChristianPodcast #SCADSurvival #PrayerWorks #MessyFaith”

    Heart attack survivor: a medical miracle in the face of death

  7. 6 July

    From survivor to psychologist: how do you treat child sex offences?

    CONTENT WARNING: this episode discusses child sexual abuse, paedophilia and the treatment of people who commit sexual offenses. If you need support, you can contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 (Australia, 24/7) or Lifeline on 13 11 14. Can we truly offer grace to the "unforgivable"? 0:00 – Intro: Faith. No Filter. 1:38 – Reverend Dr. Peter Powell returns for part three 3:42 – Child sex offenders: identity vs. the offense 7:05 – The trauma of the taboo 9:55 – The "Venus flytrap" offender vs. the true pedophile 13:23 – Treating offenders through the story of the Prodigal Son 26:25 – Peter shares his own story as a survivor 30:24 – The paralyzed man: healed, but never "cured" 32:49 – Remorse versus repentance In this episode of Filthy Hope, hosts Rev. Ness and Rev. Jon engage in a gut-wrenching conversation with Rev. Dr. Peter Powell about his 35 years of work as a psychologist with sex offenders. Peter, a child sexual abuse survivor himself, pulls back the curtain on the psychological reality of abuse, focusing on attachment disorders and the difficult path of cognitive rehabilitation. He challenges the church and society to move beyond labels while maintaining the strictest boundaries of accountability. The discussion explores the messy intersection of theology and psychology, using the parables of the Prodigal Son and the story of the Paralyzed Man to illustrate that while divine forgiveness is absolute, the earthly consequences of abuse are often permanent. Ness, Jon and Peter sit with the discomfort of the unthinkable, and unpack the difference between remorse and repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation, and what it actually costs to keep choosing grace when the filth in front of you is this real. #FilthyHope #FaithNoFilter #ChristianPodcast #ForgivenessAndFaith #TraumaRecovery #ChildSafetyAdvocate #RestorativeJustice #FaithAndPsychology

    From survivor to psychologist: how do you treat child sex offences?

  8. 29 June

    Embracing neurodiversity: can ADHD make you a better psychologist?

    Can ADHD make you a better psychologist? 0:00 – Intro: Faith. No Filter.3:54 – The impossible and ridiculous mind7:52 – A workable plan for "madness"11:57 – Lessons from a neurodiverse life15:53 – Mentoring 35 ADHD kids at once19:53 – Deconstructing the "Problem Child"23:51 – The tough love of being average27:53 – Driving yourself mad with intensity31:51 – Theology of the ordinaryIn this episode of Filthy Hope, hosts Rev Ness Williams-Henke and Rev Jon Humphries continue their conversation with Reverend Dr. Peter Powell, minister, psychologist and late-diagnosed ADHD advocate. Peter reflects on what it means to own your neurodivergence rather than apologise for it, sharing the coping mechanisms, hard-won self-awareness and dark humour that have shaped both his life and his work with others.He unpacks his four-pronged approach to supporting neurodiverse kids, makes the case that it is always the adult's responsibility to create an environment where a child can thrive, and argues that punishing difference is not just ineffective, but actively harmful. He also explores what he calls the "theology of the ordinary," the idea that being unremarkable in some areas is precisely what allows you to serve others well.#FilthyHope #ChristianPodcast #ADHD #Neurodiversity #ADHDParenting #DifferentNotBroken #FaithAndMentalHealth #FixTheSystem #ADHDAwareness #FaithNoFilter

    Embracing neurodiversity: can ADHD make you a better psychologist?
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5
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

The Podcast that talks Faith. No Filter. Got questions about God you don’t feel like you can ask in church? Drawn to Jesus, but disconnected from the polished, clean-cut side of religion? You’re not alone, and you’re in the right place. This is Filthy Hope. A safe space for conversations about Jesus, life, and the grey areas in-between. Join Rev. Ness, Rev. Jon, and our guests as we explore tough and taboo topics, like doubt, hardship, trauma, shame, and finding hope through it all.

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