Hole in My Heart Podcast

Talking about walking away from toxic people can feel like a too-challenging (and maybe unbiblical?) conversation. But, shoot: Relationship expert and author, Gary Thomas, convinced us through his latest book and this interview that knowing when to walk away from toxic people is a critical practice for Christians. Jesus walked away from toxic people (or let them walk away from Him), and we should...

Guys? We got some big changes coming to Hole in My Heart Ministries, and we are excited to share them with you today. In addition to the changes, we are exploring a couple of your questions with some answers: Why does marriage have to be between one man and one woman? (We share our top three--well, four--favorite reasons.) How do we walk with and speak truth to a believer who believes a same-sex,...

God puts a dream inside of all of us. Wait. Does He? How does that work? And how do you know if it is a selfish one or something that is literally from Him? And what about those of us who feel like expendable folks--with "worthless" or no dreams? Lauren Chandler , wife to Matt Chandler (yes, that Matt Chandler ), and mother of three, is a worship leader, author, and helper of us in this conversati...

Many people abuse hearing from God. But just because they misuse the process, does it mean we shouldn't engage? Jim Samra, someone who literally wrote the book about it, helps us to think about how we can wisely approach listening to God. (And that book title is pretty funny: 'God Told Me: Who to Marry, Where to Work, Which Car to Buy ... And I'm Pretty Sure I'm Not Crazy.') Jim also guides us thr...

This is another episode where if we could pay you to listen to it, we would. We believe it is that important. Heather was born female, but in her young twenties, fully socially transitioned to male. Now, she is again living as her born-female self, and is running toward Jesus. How did this happen? You know, for all the conversations we have about gender/sexuality/etc., it's funny that we keep wait...

This is another one of those episodes seeking to answer questions we receive often: At what age do we start talking with our kids about sexuality? How do we do it, exactly? What about gender stuff? How do we help alleviate some of the blurring of the lines that is going on with gender these days--without holding onto stereotypes? Who better to help us out than author and teacher, Dannah Gresh ? Sh...

The purpose of this podcast is to "explore how the gospel is good news for everyone every day." Most often, we talk about how the gospel relates to sexuality/gender (as those conversations have been neglected for too long in the Church), however part of the good news of the gospel is it eliminates walls and barriers between people—racial barriers included. Our friend, Kinita Schripsema , helps us...

We get a decent amount of questions about how to engage healthy friendship (and touch) as single people. So, we asked one of our dear single friends, Meg Baatz, to help us navigate some more of this friendship quagmire. Some of the questions we explored include: What is the difference between finding community as a single person or as a married person? What is Meg's journey with finding community?...

This interview kicked our tails. Do you know what to do when you encounter someone who is experiencing homelessness? We thought we did ... sort of? Give them a few bucks? Offer a pack of things you have ready in your car? Pray with them? Terence Lester , activist, speaker, and author of I See You: How Love Opens Our Eyes to Invisible People , ​helps us practically navigate how we can better see pe...

Friends. We need them. They can also be a big challenge. It can be hard to put them in their proper, healthy place (neither diminishing them nor elevating them)—whether we are married or single. Today, we primarily look at how to have healthy friendships through the married lens, but single people? We believe and hope and pray you will be blessed, too. Kelly Needham , author of the new book Friend...

When Brad Klaver was ten, he watched three men in his church get publicly excommunicated for either experiencing attractions toward the same gender or for being in same-sex relationships. He made a vow to himself, "I will never share this part of me." Twenty-five years later, married to his wife and dad to four kids, God allowed this now-pastor to go through breakdown so he could experience breakt...

It's week two of our Broken/Beloved Pastor mini-series, where we try to break down stereotypes and halt the gossip train when it comes to pastors who leave their positions for various reasons. Today, we dive into the painful and gorgeous story of Johnny and Amanda McKenna. The middle of their journey includes him almost killing himself to hide his double life of affairs, pornography addiction, and...

This episode surprisingly convicted us because, well, we don't think much about food. But, good grief, what we miss out on when we see food as a way to shovel nutrients (or happiness) in as opposed to a way to know God more deeply. Food Network star, Melissa d'Arabian, invites us to the table with our creative, creator-of-food God. Through her vulnerable story and experience in the food entertainm...

The Church is precious. It's Christ's beloved and broken bride. But sex and sexuality conversations have notoriously challenged us for the last ... thousands of years. New York Times bestselling author, Mo Isom , helps guide us through some of these conversations we have forgotten, and does it with storytelling and great passion. (She takes us to church!) Grab a pew, and join us.   //: Highlights:...

Touch can be ... a touchy subject. Some of us can overemphasize it and others can shun it. When Laurie recently said to Matt, "I wish I could live in a touch-free world," she realized just how touchy (and painful) non-sexual physical touch can be. Instead of bury it, in classic Hole in My Heart Podcast fashion, we are bringing the conversation to the table. Matt, Laurie, Steve, and guest, Hayley M...

How many of us have fought (and do fight) with heart-pumping, air-constricting anxiety? How can we practically do battle with it? Bestselling author and popular speaker, Rebekah Lyons , helps us put on our boxing gloves to practically combat it.   //: Highlights: "We don't know freedom until we know bondage. So let's acknowledge we are so hungry for God's rescue, and let's ask Him to do a mighty w...

Therapist Matt leads us through a way we can pray that helps us envision the God who Sees Us and prepares us to lament.

There is intense pain in the world and in our hearts--based on national or personal tragedy. We may be quick to jump to anger, to text someone, to Twitter, to do something. These actions may not be wrong, but they can be wrong-hearted if we skip an important step: going to the Father with lament that leads to forgiveness and eventual love for our enemies. It feels impossible--really, truly loving...

When Laurie was a guest on Moody Radio, the station manager, Jack Haveman, was prompted to share this deeply personal and powerful story of God's breakthrough.

Friends? This podcast thing we do began as an act of obedience to God's prompting two years ago. We. Had. No. Idea. How. Much. it would bless us and others. No clue. Listening back to clips together got us feeling all the podcast feels again: Mostly, we felt the desire to fall on our faces and worship God who is knitting together this gorgeous thing called the Body of Christ. God is on the move, d...

A recent survey says that 90 percent of clergy believe it is their responsibility to speak on important social issues, but the top two issues they feel unequipped to speak on are LGBT+ and same-sex marriage. We need help. Thankfully, there are pastors like Bruce B. Miller who are willing to lead us as we lead others. In addition to walking us through beginning steps we can take as a church to bett...

One in two women and one in four men have encountered sexual trauma. The enemy's attempts to shred humanity through sexuality is pervasive, but those of us who have encountered sexual assault are not hopeless. Author and teacher, Dr. Dan Allender , guides us through this hope-filled terrain utilizing decades of experience and research in the field of sexual trauma. He unpacks answers to questions...

Lament. We've talked about it. We love it. Let's dig deeper than we ever have into it on this episode. If we don't lament, what kind of people will we be? Is there a line of honesty with God we shouldn't cross? ​How do we really do it? ​Pastor and author, Mark Vroegop , guides us through these questions and more with wisdom that can only come from someone who has suffered much, and has found his w...

She has a huge platform: Hundreds of thousands of followers, millions of books sold, and many Christians are at least familiar with the name " Ann Voskamp. " And yet when Ann writes, speaks, and engages social media, she does not hide behind the numbers. She writes grittily, authentically, and with boldness. How is this possible? How can someone with such a great impact on the world maintain such...

Matt and Laurie are doing an impossible thing (writing a book together?!) about their "impossible" marriage. Hear a little bit more about the start of their adventure!