Hole in My Heart Podcast

Oh, wow. This story.  How does one woman go from a childhood of following Jesus as much as she knows how, to professional hockey, to same-sex relationships, to transitioning to male for six years, to finding the real Jesus, and then to de-transitioning in the midst of a loving church community? This episode has her story. Hear a testimony and take part in a conversation on how to walk well with pe...

Is anyone else feeling like they are in a rut in their marriage? Maybe you’re not in crisis mode, but it’s kinda just . . . meh? It’s easy to function; to sit on opposite couches and scroll on your phone. But, do you wonder if marriage could be better than that—not with some fantastical potion or even a weekend intensive per se, but what if it began with small, simple movements of risk toward one...

We are going to talk about singleness until we as the Church get this right, friends. People talk about how marriage gives us a vision of eternity in how two different people seeking union shows the world a picture of how God (who is so different from us) will be one with His church. But, how does singleness show us a picture of what we will experience in the new heavens and new earth? Author and...

It’s the end of 2023, so we are reflecting, looking ahead, and asking, “Do Laurie and Steve look alike?” Lol… (Matt and Laurie’s kids seem to think so…) HOWEVER, the conversation mostly revolves around… What did we learn in 2023? Based on what we learned, how do we want to engage 2024 with more wisdom? What simple tool did and are we using (and you can use, too) to plan the year?   Grab the last o...

This time of year can feel unfair: “Just kick back and enjoy the season! But also get the perfect present for everyone. But don’t do too much! #selfcare But do enough so that you tell people you love and appreciate them. But don’t! But also do.” Thank the Lord we brought in our friend and wellness expert, Bonnie Gray, to help us learn how to approach this and every season not with another way to p...

Ya’ll. This episode.  It could put language to some things some of us have been holding onto for too long. How? Author and scholar Zach Wagner, author of ‘Non-Toxic Masculinity,’ unpacks: What is toxic masculinity? How does it relate to Purity Culture? How did Purity Culture affect both men and women? How can men and women approach each other with a gospel lens instead of a sexual-threat lens? How...

How would you pastor a congregation filled with a range of people from academics to farmers, and then walk them through the human sexuality conversation? Pastor Aaron Henning, lead pastor at State College Alliance Church in Pennsylvania, tells us how engaged the topic with a congregation that was and is exactly that makeup. How did he do it? What did he learn? How did fear interplay with his preac...

Today we continue our Courageous Pastors series by interviewing Tom Kang, a lead pastor in Los Angeles, CA, on how he led his congregation through the human sexuality conversation.  Additionally, we explore: What is unique about Tom’s West Coast church and their cultural vibe? How can pastors cascade the human sexuality conversation to all of their leaders in a realistic way? Why did he choose a d...

We are so excited about this: Today, we are launching a mini-series interviewing three pastors from the South, the West Coast, and the East Coast on how they went from conceptualization of a sermon series on human sexuality to actualization. Why? In 2019, Barna shared the results of a study that said three of the top four things pastors feel both pressured and limited to speak on are related to hu...

We get questions related to this topic often. Parents and disciple-makers of young kids are understandably anxious and wondering;  How can we guide kids in a way that makes them both courageously truthful and loving? Pastor and author, Sam Allberry, comes back on the show to help us answer discipleship questions based on his new children’s book on marriage, ‘God’s Signpost.’ In addition to questio...

Moving forward can feel terrifying: Like we are jumping out of an airplane and we don’t know if we have a parachute. Why does it feel that way?  Today, author, multi-ministry founder, and teacher, Christine Caine, joins us to answer this question as well as:  What happened to us in Covid that made us extra afraid of moving forward? Why is moving forward not automatically betraying or ignoring our...

Today on the podcast, ministry leader Brenna Blain joins us to help us discern how, when, and where to share our own stories with others. Together, we unpack: How do you know when you are ready to share? What was Brenna’s most challenging audience to share with? What are the benefits and challenges to opening up? //Highlights: “The question I have not always gone to but I need to go to is, ‘Why? W...

It’s the season seven launch!! We are so glad to be back with you all, and are equally glad to engage last season’s identity theme one more time to ensure we take it from the ethereal to the practical. The person here to help us do this is the author of ‘Finding Your Best Identity’ and ministry leader, Andrew Bunt. Andrew joins the team today to talk about: How can we know which parts of us are th...

“I think there are reasons we deny our pain including that we can are overwhelmed (‘Where do I start?’), the fear of ‘This will make things worse”… Or, we don’t have he community around us to help us process.” --Steve O'Dell Today, as only the Holy Spirit can do, these first three Shorts episodes link together. So today, we continue our accidental theme of "Spiritual practices that help us to beco...

“One thing I have learned about Jesus is that He wants to sit in uncomfortable emotions with me [Heb. 4:15]. If I am not willing to sit in these emotions, then how is He supposed to sit in them--with me?” --Matt Krieg Oh, dear, wise Matt. Today on HIMH Shorts (where we toss around the host table, “How has the gospel been good news for you lately?), Matt brings up his topic of emotional resilience…...

Heyyyyy!!! We may be in-between seasons, but we missed you all so much we wanted to drop three, surprise mini-episodes for the next three Fridays!! In HIMH Shorts, Matt, Laurie, and Steve will host brief (heh heh, we will try!), one-topic conversations answering, "How has the gospel been good news for you lately?" This week, Laurie is up! She heard YOUR requests for a walk-through of her Episode 2...

Today, we wrap up season six by asking Matt, Laurie, and Steve if we have met our goal for the season: “Do you feel like you can walk into any room confidently because your identity is more rooted in Christ?” So, have we? :D We truthfully answer this question as well as: What we do when we feel tempted toward sexual sin or with wanting to buy everything in Pottery Barn? How is Laurie’s health? Has...

The lines are open, friends, and we are taking your questions today! What questions? How do you recommend talking with young kids about LGBTQ things/the definition of marriage? Should marriage make us happy or holy? (Or is that the wrong question to ask?) What qualifies as abuse in a relationship? (How does it compare to misuse of a person?) How should we engage with libraries where they prominent...

Oh, man…from start to finish this conversation sings…! Author and ministry leader, Toni Collier, helps us to finish the final “I am” in our identity series by exploring “I am healing for…” What we mean by this is when you’re going through a dark time, have you ever considered the people you will impact if you keep going through the darkness to the light? What if you gave up? Whom would that affect...

Today, we talk codependence (over-reliance on people for our sense of stability), counter-dependence (under-reliance on people), and interdependence (healthy dependence on people) on the podcast, and the conversation does not disappoint. Psychologist and author, Dr. Alison Cook, leads us biblically through questions about codependence as well as: Is it right or wrong to put others first? How can w...

What is it about adult friendships that can make them so hard to cultivate? People move, change, or we simply lose touch. What is the secret of friendship making (and keeping)? (Is there one?) Author and founder of The Friendship Lab, Sheridan Voysey, is back on the podcast today to help us unpack these questions as well as: Why is friendship often overlooked? Is it true that 1 out of 4 adults in...

Humanity’s desire to “be known” starts somewhere deep in the soul. However, when some of us experience being known, it can be such a jarring experience that we move toward a couple of options: Stoicism (“I’m good without that deep knowing…that’s too uncomfortable…”) or addiction/consumption (“I need that feeling more!”). What’s the proper response to being known by God and others? With friend of t...

Today, we continue our identity series by exploring our deep-rooted need to know we are redeemed. Why? How? We ask these questions and more of our guest, theologian and author, Branson Parler. We also explore… What if we feel we are too far gone to be redeemed? How does suffering play into this conversation? How does all of this help us walk with friends who wrestle with gender? //Highlights: “In...

If you take away how people perceive you and how you perform tasks, what is left of you? Today on the podcast, we are launching a series on identity with the goal to help us know who we are “in Christ” so deeply that we can walk into any room with confidence. Join us today as we talk about the origin of this series as well as: What comes to mind when you think of yourself? Why did engaging the sex...

Whenever we hear people talking about some of the topics we engage in (sexuality, marriage, addiction, sin, repentance, trauma, etc.), we hyper-tune our ears for what they believe and how they hold to what they believe. If you’re curious about our views, this is the episode for you! Today, we answer: What is our philosophy of approaching the LGBTQIA conversation? Why do we start the sexuality conv...