Pastor Plek's Podcast

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. Maria’s life story doesn’t start with inspirational quotes, it starts with real danger: constant moving, absent parents, and trauma no kid should have to carry. We talk through what it’s like to grow up without safety, how silence after abuse can deepen the wound, and why “normal” can feel unreachable when you’re just t...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. Sapphira Felihkatubbee's story is the kind you don’t forget because it isn’t polished. We talk through a childhood shaped by instability, addiction, and the kind of survival mode that forces a kid to grow up fast, then we name what that can produce later: secrecy, anger, distrust, and relationships that start to fe...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. A planned home birth. A normal scan days earlier. Then a night that turns into sirens, an emergency C-section, and the kind of waiting that stretches time into something unrecognizable. I sit down with Kris and Christine Blasl to walk carefully through the story of their son, Knight, from late-term pregnancy decisions a...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. Secrets can make you feel powerful for a while, but they quietly poison everything you touch. Trudy sits down with us and tells the truth about her life, from becoming a teen mom and cycling through relationships to carrying childhood sexual abuse for decades until it erupted as anger and destruction. This conversation...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. Amir Keshavarz  didn’t “find faith” because life got easier. He found it after a childhood shaped by fear, a refugee escape, and the kind of grief that leaves you numb. Amir grew up in Iran and shares what it was like living under Sharia law, why his mom had to get the family out, and how a five day crossing through the...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. Some stories don’t fit into a neat testimony arc, because real healing is messy. Linda DiMartino sits down with me for a raw, honest conversation that starts with disbelief in God and moves through childhood sexual abuse, years of silence, and the deep question many survivors carry: “If God was real, why wasn’t He there...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. He went from “normal” suburban parties to IV heroin, fentanyl, and a life where stealing felt like the only job left. Ethan Hogan sits down with us to tell the full arc: a racing mind that never shut off, the lure of instant relief, and the brutal reality of addiction where overdoses feel like a simple fade to black.  I...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. A pastor feels a rare tug toward law enforcement during a prayer gathering and it won’t let go. We talk with Grayson Dzialo about what happens after that moment, when the calling sounds clear but the timing feels messy: pregnancy, finances, COVID-era unrest, and the slow work of getting on the same page in marriage with...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. Her life reads like a chain of impossible turns: a childhood shaped by addiction at home, a teenage slide from weed to pills and meth, a pregnancy at 17, and a marriage that turns violent and terrifying. Megan Lutostanski sits down with me to tell the whole story with clarity and courage, including the moments she wishe...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. A tattoo obsession, yoga teacher training, weed-filled nights, Reiki “attunements,” and a relationship that spirals into control and panic. Bobbie Schneeburger’s story isn’t tidy and that’s exactly why it lands. She walks us through what it feels like to be hungry for meaning and stability, then keep picking things that...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. Lydia Vadez doesn’t tell a polished story. She tells the true one, the kind that starts in survival mode and slowly learns what safety feels like. We sit down and trace her journey from a childhood marked by physical abuse, secrecy, and being blamed for things she couldn’t control, all the way to the moment she realized...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. A gospel booklet shows up in the mail behind the Iron Curtain and it changes a teenager’s life forever. Sergei grew up in Belarus under the USSR, where the aftershock of World War II, state propaganda, and restricted Christianity shaped everything from what people believed to what they feared. We talk through what “free...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. A single moment can split your life into “before” and “after” and you do not get to vote on the timing. Don and Susan Thayer know that kind of turning point firsthand, and they share their story with a level of honesty most people only admit in a counselor’s office: childhood trauma, adoption, ministry life, and the sud...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 384: The news cycle keeps daring Christians to pick a side fast, speak loud, and “own” someone online. We slow it down and ask better questions: what does Scripture actually say about rulers, war, and the temptation to turn political leaders into religious symbols? We start with Pope Francis, Vatican II, and the claim t...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 383: A certified letter can do what years of denial never will. When David Hennig opened mail warning him he was years behind on taxes and could lose his home. The “nice life” illusion cracked, and the real story surfaced: pride, hidden debt, emotional shutdown, and a marriage that quietly ran out of road. David walks t...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 382: A single question in a prison bunk rewired Cameron’s future: “Are you safe?” From there, everything changed. What began as a teenager’s slide into weed, cocaine, and quick money hardened into years of county time and a near-OD his own father—an EMS captain—responded to. But that stark wake-up call in a trustee camp...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 381: A war zone will test your body, your marriage, and your faith—and sometimes all three at once. Bruno DeCanto sits down with us to unpack a wild, unfiltered journey: anti-trafficking missions on Ukraine’s front lines, a marriage unraveling under pressure, and a stage 3 cancer diagnosis he hid so he could keep rescui...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 380: What does it take to move toward the world’s darkest places and bring people back alive? Covert missionary Bruno DeCanto is back to continue sharing a wild, human story that runs from South Sudan’s conflict zones to Ethiopia’s Tigray region and into the heart of Ukraine’s war. The mission is simple and brutal: extr...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 379: A nameless voice, a battered past, and a purpose that won’t quit. Bruno sits with us to unpack how a jailhouse encounter with Jesus turned a prize fighter into a quiet force against trafficking from Oaxaca and Panama City to the airstrips of South Sudan. This isn’t a highlight reel built on bravado; it’s a ground-l...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 378: Matt Badgley's life began with unimaginable trauma - conceived through rape to a drug-addicted mother. His childhood was marked by poverty, abuse, and abandonment, leading to a suicide attempt at 14. However, God intervened through Young Life ministry, where Matt encountered the unconditional love of his Heave...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 377: Discover how one man found hope after losing his wife, daughter, and son in just six years. This powerful testimony explores finding God in the midst of unimaginable grief and trauma. Kenneth Monroe's story addresses childhood abuse, military PTSD, sudden death, losing a child, grief counseling, and spiritual...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 376: A woman's powerful journey from religious extremism to authentic faith reveals the stark difference between controlling religion and true Christianity. Growing up in the Fraternal Society of St. Peter meant living under strict rules, complete isolation, and predetermined life paths. At 12 years old, she was to...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 375: What happens when a stay-at-home dad with a decade of youth outreach experience decides to run for the Texas House? We sit down with District 50 candidate John Hash to map the road from everyday life to the state Capitol, translating committee-speak, ballot rules, and campaign realities into plain English. If you’v...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 374: A 15-minute walk into a Venezuelan church changed everything. Manny grew up in Iran with loving, educated parents, a strict culture, and a head full of questions no one would answer. Kickboxing and Muay Thai gave him structure; wrestling shaped his base; but joy in worship—clapping, singing, smiling—gave him a firs...

Have a question or comment for Pastor Plek or one of his guests. Send it here. 373: What if your most generous years aren’t behind you, but right in front of you? We sit down with Jake Ridley, a faith-driven wealth advisor and church board treasurer, to unpack how a clear plan and a grounded theology of money can turn fear into purposeful action. From estate strategies that nudge giving upward tod...