Broken to Beloved Podcast

What if the church has been telling women the wrong story about their spiritual gifts for centuries? Historian and author Beth Allison Barr and I dive deep into the forgotten narratives of women's ministry, uncovering a rich and powerful history that challenges everything we've been taught. From the abbesses who wielded more authority than most modern pastors to the prophetic voices syst...

What if the key to understanding your present lies buried in the stories of your past? In this episode, I talk with Adam Young about his new book Make Sense of Your Story and the transformative power of story work. We explore how desires and disappointments reveal who we are, why self-contempt must be replaced with kindness, and how the path through trauma leads to connection. Adam provides practi...

In this episode, we dig into how most men never got a proper "sex talk"— just rules about staying pure and anatomical basics, without any guidance on how to handle feelings, desires, and attraction in a healthy way. Jolman shares how men can learn to appreciate beauty (whether it's a sunset or steak) without spiraling into shame or lust, and explains the important difference between...

Ever wondered what happens when a birth doula becomes a biblical scholar? In this episode, I chat with Liz Charlotte Grant, whose fascinating path includes helping deliver babies before diving deep into writing about Genesis. She shares how working with birthing families taught her about letting go of control and making space for people to find their own way—something that completely transformed h...

"Burn it all down." It's a common cry heard from many who have experienced spiritual abuse or find themselves disentailing from the disorienting process of deconstruction. And for those who have been asking the hard questions, wrestling with our beliefs, and navigating complicated relationships, it can be a very real, cathartic, and terrifying thought. But what if burning it down is...

The 2025 Annual Summit is over! This episode is part 2 of our live Q&A session from Wednesday, January 22 with Amy Fritz and Colby Wilkins, hosted on YouTube Live. We responded to emails sent in with the biggest struggles and questions sent in from over 300 Summit attendees.  If you missed the Summit or want to watch any of the sessions, you can still get an All Access Pass. It's still av...

The 2025 Annual Summit is over! This episode is part of our live Q&A session from Wednesday, January 22 with Amy Fritz and Colby Wilkins, hosted on YouTube Live. We responded to emails sent in with the biggest struggles and questions sent in from over 300 Summit attendees.  If you missed the Summit or want to watch any of the sessions, you can still get an All Access Pass. It's still avai...

Our third Annual Summit starts today! Be sure to register for the Summit to get over 15 sessions packed with practical tools to help name, process, and navigate our experiences of spiritual abuse and religious trauma to move toward healing and wholeness. We have an incredible lineup for you this year, including speakers like Kate Boyd, Ben Cremer, Becky Castle Miller, Christopher Stewart, Colleen...

Our third Annual Summit is happening next week from January 21–25, 2025 , and I can't wait to share it with you. Today, I'm sharing a sneak peek at some of our incredible sessions, including excerpts from my conversations with Adam Young, Jenai Auman, Curt Thompson, MD, and Kayleigh Clark. You'll hear about story work, finding our identity and sense of self, navigating shame, and fi...

It's here!  Our third Annual Summit is happening January 21–25, 2025, and I can't wait to share it with you. We have an incredible lineup for you this year, including speakers like Curt Thompson, MD, Adam Young, Jenai Auman, Dr. Janyne McConnaughey, and lots more. Over 5 days, you'll get 15+ sessions, plus live Bonus Sessions and Community calls throughout the week.  And it's A...

This is a special episode swap with my friend Steve Carter and his Craft and Character podcast. This episode was originally released in September 2024. In this episode of the Craft & Character podcast, Steve Carter interviews pastor and thought leader Brian Lee about healing from church hurt. Brian has a heart for those who feel like wanderers looking for a safe place to land. He has created a...

This is a special episode swap with my friend Amy Fritz at the Untangled Faith podcast. This episode was originally released in August 2023. Dr. Karen Swallow Prior joins Amy Fritz on the Untangled Faith podcast to talk about how Stories, Metaphors, and Images have influenced the Evangelical imagination. We should always be trying to be aware of cultural influences and think about how they shape u...

This is a special episode swap with my friends at the "Why God Why" podcast. This episode was originally released in February 2024. In this raw and poignant episode of Why God Why , we delve into the delicate and often painful topic of church harm and the credibility of Christianity. Hosts Amanda D'Angelo and Peter Englert are joined by returning guest Brian Lee, who bravely shares...

This is the last episode in our series on what we value at Broken to Beloved. You can also listen to our previous values, Curiosity over Certainty , Goodness over Wickedness , and People over Position . This week, I'm presenting our final three values as a work in progress: Connection over Isolation Wholeness over Brokenness Agency over Prescription Given the choice, I want to include and wel...

Broken to Beloved has been officially operating for just over a year now, and I'm proud of the way we've made a difference for thousands across the world. We've worked with individuals in 49 states and 55 countries. We've heard and held your stories, and offered practical tools to move toward healing and wholeness through our Summit, Cohort, Book Club, Podcast, Conference, and...

We're continuing our series on what we value at Broken to Beloved. You can also listen to our previous values, Curiosity over Certainty and Goodness over Wickedness . This week, I want to talk about how we want to view people. We believe that all of humanity is created in the image of God, and is therefore crated with intention, purpose, and beauty. Beloved. We believe that we are created for...

This the second episode in a short series on our values. You can listen to our first shared value, "Curiosity over Certainty" in Episode 20 here . By choosing goodness over wickedness, we affirm the original goodness of every human being and reject a theology that shames, demeans, and devalues. We choose a view of humanity rooted in Genesis 1, not Genesis 2. We reject a “worm theology” t...

CW/TW: This episode includes references to some child physical abuse and to overtly Christian language. How does our story and theology impact our identity? How do the stories we tell ourselves or are reminded of change the way we see ourselves? How much do they keep us from seeing and embracing our inherent belovedness? In this week’s episode, I speak with Broken to Beloved board member Brett Dea...

Can you really ever know when you’ve experienced spiritual abuse by church leaders and organizations? Victims and survivors are so often manipulated and gaslit that they question their own memories and experiences. This is the work Organizational Psychologist Lianna Chong is setting out to complete. Through her work with the Spiritually Abusive Leadership & Climate Survey, she is hoping to hav...

Deconstruction has become a polarized term in the past few years. Added to the arsenal of pastors and church leaders, it’s most often used to to dismiss or demean those who have walked away from their church, or to stoke fear into the hearts and spirits of those asking hard questions. What was once a word meant to invite conversation or to indicate an desire to learn more and grow deeper has been...

Here’s the first in a short series on our core values. They’re a work in progress, but I want to share them so you have an idea of our guiding principles. This week, I’m starting with our desire to show curiosity over certainty. How many times have we found ourselves in harm’s way for asking a question? How many times have you been met with absolutes, principles, or fundamental truths with no room...

Broken to Beloved is officially one year old! This week, I’m taking a few minutes to reflect on what we’ve seen in the last year, and to provide a brief update on the podcast. I can’t begin to tell you how incredibly grateful I am for each of you who listen. We’ve just hit 10,000 downloads, and have listeners in 49 states and 63 countries outside of the US! This podcast wouldn’t exist without you...

CW: While not explicit, this episode will talk a lot about sex, sexual ethics, and beliefs around sex in and outside of marriage. If you grew up in church in the 90s and through the 2000s, it’s highly likely you were brought up in purity culture. If you’re here, it’s likely you’ve found yourself deconstructing and disentangling your thoughts and beliefs around sex and sexuality ever since. Dr. Cam...

Surprise! We have a little bonus episode to share from the personal experiences of a few cohort alumni. If you’ve experienced spiritual abuse, religious trauma, or church hurt/harm and are looking for a safe place to gather and process, then the THROUGH Cohort is for you. Over 8 weeks, we’ll work together to build trust, find a community of others who share stories like yours, provide safe and com...

How many of us know someone who talk about holiness and righteousness, then in the same breath can be found cursing out their opposing political party or candidate? For many of us, the disconnect of faith and politics (or is the over-connection?) has caused much tension and conflict. For some, it’s led to questioning our faith, deconstructing why we believe what we do, and leaving our churches. Se...