Looking for the Real God

Today's Christianese phrases is, "It's all part of God's plan." Christy dives into the potential motivations behind why we use this phrases and points out that it's often once again a form of spiritual bypassing. We say something Christian to avoid dealing with questions, doubts, and negative emotions. Digging into Scripture, Christy shows how we must hold the tension between God's goodness and po...

Today Christy takes apart the Christianese phrase "just have faith." What do we mean when we tell people to "have faith?" What is the definition of faith? Can we really have enough faith to avoid sickness or poverty? Christy digs into Scripture and once again discovers the tension and paradox of truth. She looks into whether faith is required for healing and asks what faith actually accomplishes i...

On today's episode Christy tackles the Christianese phrase, "God won't give you more than you can handle." Is this phrase biblical? Where did it come from? Why do people say it? Christy explores spiritual bypassing -- the way we quickly bypass pain with a spiritual statement -- and dives into the life of the Apostle Paul. What if God sometimes chooses to give us more than we can handle because He...

Christy begins her next series on Christianese phrases talking about finding God's will for our lives. What if in our attempts to discover God's will we have actually over complicated it all? What if there is no formula? What if God has already told us His will? What if there is no big plan for our lives? Christy breaks down our religious traditions, uses Scripture to remind us of truth, and sugge...

Christy introduces her next series about strange things Christians say and do, by telling the story of the weirdest women's retreat she ever attended. Not only was she given a princess tiara and told to ask God for a new name, there were men with large swords positioned strategically around the back of the room during every session. Fortunately her roommates were also not buying into the madness....

Christy discusses Holy Saturday as she encourages her listeners to embrace the spiritual discipline of lament. Lament draws us into God's Presence even as we feel the deep pain of grief and loss, even as our hearts break over the brokenness in the world. In lament we feel every bit of our emotion, but we feel before our Heavenly Father as we choose to trust in His goodness and love. Link to sign u...

Christy concludes her mini-series on the Unexpected God with a look at the last Passover Jesus celebrated with His disciples. Jesus did not fit the Jews' idea of the Messiah even though the entire Passover meal pointed to Him. Where as humans seek for money, power, and fame, Jesus sought humility, obscurity, poverty, and servanthood. He was not who we expected God to be. But because of Jesus life,...

Christy continues the journey through Jesus' last week on earth by exploring the story of Mary anointing Jesus. She looks at two prominent characters in the story: Mary who sits at Jesus' feet, and Judas who would betray Him. Christy contemplates the way Jesus accepted and loved them both. Scripture Referenced: Matthew 26:6-13 Mark 14:3-9 John 12:1-8 This is a public episode. If you would like to...

Christy begins a series exploring some of Jesus' last days on earth. He was not the Messiah anyone expected, and He certainly didn't line up with the religious Jews' view of God. In this first episode Christy tells the story of Jesus cleansing the temple and driving out the people selling animals and exchanging money. She gives some background to the story and then makes connections between the re...

Christy finishes her series on things that keep us from God by talking about unbelief. She knows that this is a complicated topic and something that has been used to spiritually abuse people. But Christy also knows that without faith it is impossible to truly know God. She shares from her own life, from Scripture, and contemplates the church culture at large. Scripture Referenced: John 3:17-18 Heb...

The religious Jews thought God was their father. But they argued with God in front of them and wanted to kill Jesus when he challenged their firmly held beliefs. What if we are more like the religious Jews than we are willing to admit? Christy continues talking about the things that keep us from God this time admitting her own prideful, religious heart. Thanks to some painful church hurt, Christy...

Over the next few weeks Christy explores things that keep us stuck in religion rather than moving into a relationship with the Real God. Today's topic is fear. Christy contemplates the way the religious Jews missed Jesus while comparing the Jews to modern American Christians. She wonders if we have also created our own version of God in a way that would make us just as threatened if the Real Jesus...

Christy tackles the problem of evil. If God is real and good and powerful, then why is there so much evil in the world? This is a good and valid question that must be addressed. Rather than give pat Christianese answers, Christy reminds her listeners of a few important points. She encourages them to wrestle for themselves, reading Scripture, taking the time for the hard questions, and seeking the...

Christy honestly shares her heart as she compares the religious leaders of Jesus' day to our Modern American version of the Evangelical Church. Christy encourages her listeners to rethink, wonder, question, doubt, and more than anything look for the Real God. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for being more attached to the tradition of men than the commandment of God. Christy seems a troubling similar...

Christy finishes her series on the American Evangelical Church by asking the question why. Why do we seem to come back to this place of religious behaviors? What are we really looking for? Acknowledging that everyone is attempting to fix a broken world no matter which side of any issue they are on, Christy points her listeners back to Eden. People feel the brokenness because the world is broken. W...

Christy continues to explore the problems within American Evangelical Christianity by discussing the Pharisees and Sadducees. If the Real Jesus was physically here on Earth today, would we miss Him? Would we be uncomfortable or irritated by Him? Maybe even furious like the religious leaders were? Or like the curious crowds would we be seeking to touch Him and experience His power? Would the truth...

Christy continues comparing her time with Bill Gothard's Christian cult to the problems within broader American Evangelical Christianity. She looks at how people got sucked into Gothard's teachings and suggests there are three things that make us the most susceptible to false teaching: when we are afraid, when we are ignorant, and when we are isolated. Related Link for Recovering Grace: A Bill Got...

Christy continues to dive into the connections between the Christian Cult she grew up in and the mess we see in American Evangelical Christianity today. As she asks the question, "How?" Christy explores various false ideas that many of us think are Biblical. She tackles Christian Nationalism, what it means to be in the world but not of it, and the seven mountain mandate. This is a public episode....

As Christy continues to ask hard questions regarding Evangelical Christianity and the culture it has created, she looks into the 7 Basic Principles promoted by her Christian cult. What happens when our beliefs are almost true? When they sound biblical but miss the mark? Christy talks about teaching children at the Basic Seminar despite her own doubts and confusion. She looks into the ways we long...

Christy begins Season Six of Looking for the Real God with a dive into the evangelical cult she was a part of for almost a decade. She remembers her first experience being one of thousands of young people dressed in navy and white, and ponders a history that was both positive and negative. Christy remembers how angry she was then the Duggar family first burst on the scene, and wonders why Evangeli...

Christy finishes her series on rethinking Christmas with a reminder of who Jesus came to be: not just a baby in a manger, but a Savior on a cross. God's wrath, justice, and punishment for sin might not seem like Christmas messages, but Jesus came for one reason -- to die. Unless we remember that, we will always be missing the real magic of Christmas. A God who loved us enough to become one of us,...

As Christy continues to Rethink Christmas, she reminds her listeners that Jesus is God with Us. His entire life was a picture for us of who God really is rather than who we expect him to be. Instead of seeking power and fame and a position of authority, Jesus came quietly, humbly, and without fanfare. As we look at the mess of our modern evangelical church, it's easy to be discouraged. But Christy...

Christy continues her season on Rethinking Christmas by looking at all the extra details and traditions that we have added to the Christmas story over the years that aren't actually in the Scriptures. She wonders if maybe we feel disillusioned with the season and struggle to find the meaning of Christmas because we have lost sight of the reality. Jesus came humbly even in His birth to serve and no...

Christy continues her series on rethinking Christmas with a look back at the Jewish history and culture at the time of Jesus' birth. We often miss the anticipation of the Messiah as modern Western believers. We also miss the history of exile and occupation the Jews faced. The time when Jesus was born was messy and complicated, not unlike our own current experience. And yet Jesus did not come to bu...

Christy begins her series on Rethinking Christmas with a look at our modern messy church. She talks about The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Podcast and the way it is exposing the junk that is going on in many churches. Christy contemplates the way people seem to divide into two camps: one that holds onto all of the Christianese traditions and beliefs and one that rejects anything not lining up with h...