Confessions of a Tantric Pastor with Anthony Michael Artwork

Sex, Drugs, & Soul

Welcome to Sex, Drugs, & Soul, where the sacred gets spicy, the growth gets real, and the self-discovery comes with a side of mischief. I’m Kristin Birdwell, author, host, & playful professional line-blurrer between the profane and the profound.

On this podcast, we break the rules, shed the shame, and get intimate through vulnerable conversations, sensual explorations, aaaand the occasional existential crisis.

I bring raw stories, deep wisdom, and unfiltered conversations with fellow seekers, sensual enthusiasts, experts, and pleasure revolutionaries. We’re talking sexuality, self-expression, psychedelics, spirituality, and all the beautifully messy things that make us human.

If you’re ready to rewrite your story, drop the ‘shoulds,’ and live a life that turns you on… join me for a fun ride of inspiration and reclamation.

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Sex, Drugs, & Soul

Confessions of a Tantric Pastor with Anthony Michael

November 17, 2025 • Kristin Birdwell • Season 4 • Episode 12

What do you call a pastor who trades Bible verses for breathwork and starts preaching the gospel of pleasure?

In this episode, I chat with Anthony Michael, a former pastor turned tantra teacher, community builder, and “minister of pleasure.” Together, we dive into the intersection of religion, sexuality, and sacred embodiment.

From his 17 years in ministry to creating tantric play parties and a thriving conscious community in Houston, Anthony shares the radical journey of transforming guilt into grace and discovering how sex can be a prayer and pleasure can be devotion.

🎧 Inside:

What happens when a pastor discovers Tantra
Healing religious shame and sexual repression
Why “safe masculine presence” makes the feminine bloom
How divorce, desire, and devotion became his catalysts
Finding God in orgasm
The divine masculine, safe presence, and embodied leadership
Rewriting your gospel through love, wholeness & desire
The surprising overlap between theology and sexuality

A conversation for anyone who’s ever felt torn between God and pleasure, holiness and wholeness. Spoiler: they might just be the same thing.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Welcome & “What’s turning you on right now?”
02:00 – From pastor to tantra: the safe masculine presence
05:30 – Growing up in the church & early call to ministry
09:00 – AOL chatrooms, Jesus moments, and hearing “the call”
11:00 – Seminary stories & inclusive churches
13:30 – Divorce, sexual awakening, & first casual encounters
17:00 – Getting fired from church
20:00 – Redefining sex, casual connection, and healing codependency
22:30 – Meeting Samantha on Tinder & birth of Houston’s Tantra community
26:00 – From sermons to sacred sex: ministry of pleasure
31:00 – Codependency, control, & inner work
33:00 – Reimagining Jesus, Christ consciousness, & inner divinity
37:00 – God in the bedroom: “Jesus would fuck—and he’d be good at it”
40:00 – Mary Magdalene, Gnostic Gospels, & divine union
44:00 – Creating safe spaces for sensuality & shadow
46:30 – Potential vs. kinetic energy: the physics of a play party
49:00 – Breath, sound, & grounding in Tantra
50:00 – What his younger preacher self would say now
51:00 – If I preached today… “The gospel of oneness and sex as sacred”
01:02:00 – Divine masculine/feminine and shifting collective energies

Connect with Anthony:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/anthony._michael/

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