Some songs are too dangerous for the songbook—and that's exactly why we need them. Richard Bruxvoort Colligan joins Dawn and Ruth from Rochester, MN fresh from selling his Iowa home and diving into his first book: “Dangerous Songs: The Psalms in a Gloriously Disrupted Life,” dropping April 21 with a music-focused kickoff event.

Here's what makes this conversation so compelling: Richard's not talking about the pretty, comforting Psalms you hear in worship. He's diving into the extreme songs—the ones about thriving, desolation, and unknowing. The violent ones. The frightening ones. The ones that make you go "wait, this is in the Bible?"

He shares what he learned about ego through the editing process, his writing journey, and how the Psalms aren't just ancient poetry but raw, honest expressions of what it means to be human when life gets gloriously disrupted. Plus, he's got future book ideas brewing and runs "psalmimmersion" on Instagram.

This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered why we sanitize the Bible's most honest moments, or who needs permission to bring their whole messy, complicated, disrupted life to their faith.

LINKS:

Support this podcast by becoming a patron patreon.com/u11072417

Richard's music: https://www.worldmaking.net/

Follow him @psalmimmersion on instagram

Find Dawn's coaching at bigpicturebigpurpose.com

Happy mail for ministers at consecrate.cratejoy.com

00:00 Finding Yourself in Psalms

00:26 NYC Snowstorm Survival

02:06 Taxes That Actually Help

05:20 School Closures and Meals

05:57 Microwaves and Power Problems

07:05 Space Heaters and Cold Venues

09:21 Psalm for Conference Lament

00:18 Meet Richard and New House

11:30 Cat Talk and Holy Week Jokes

12:24 Book Origin Story

13:29 Dangerous Songs Book Launch

13:53 Writing Process and Ego

14:49 Author Editor Tension

15:14 Daily Writing Routine

16:43 Book Structure Explained

18:21 Thriving Desolation Unknowing

20:19 Devotional Use Today

21:22 Launch Events Singing Psalms

22:59 Beatles Meets Psalms

23:50 Hard Psalms Canon Questions

25:39 Future Books Promotion

28:11 Personal Faith Takeaways

29:44 Ancient Text Modern Shock

31:22 Publisher Credits Wrap

32:42 Where To Find Richard

33:11 Final Thanks Call To Create