The Synchrony Podcast

So you've met someone, and they seem really interested in a relationship! But then you suddenly learn that they're talking to other people at the same time. Should the 'talking' relationship be exclusive? In this episode, Megan and Steven discuss this common dating headache and provide some suggestions for how to address it. Spoiler that will surprise no one: clear communication wins every time. M...

In last week's episode, we talked about the 'sinkhole' swallowing Apostolic men and why we should be paying attention to it. In this episode, Megan and Steven discuss why that gap is so difficult to close with traditional approaches to Men's Ministry, and what they're doing to bridge it.  Men: Join the Discord server here! https://discord.gg/hqZmtuMws9 Also, men can meet your first match...

Where have all the "good men" gone? We've been wrestling with this question for two years, and frankly we didn't want to believe that there was the massive gender disparity in committed Apostolics that people were telling us was there. In this episode, Megan and Steven correct some of their failed demographic assumptions and visualize a hypothesis that they think is pulling our future husbands, fa...

If you've battled through difficult emotions around weight and health, and their relationship to your dating life, this one is for you. In this episode, Megan sits down with Certified Nutrition Coach Liv Hill, who after losing over 150lbs naturally a decade ago has dedicated her energies toward serving the Church by bettering the health of its people. The goal of this podcast is NOT to push a...

Please note: This episode will cover topics suited to adult audiences, including pornography, sexuality, and addiction. This is our second episode containing a frank discussion about pornography addiction and its impact on dating and marriage in the church. Our goal here is twofold: we want people who are struggling with pornography addiction to feel seen and have hope, and we want those who have...

Please note: This episode will cover topics suited to adult audiences, including pornography, sexuality, and addiction. Hey folks: Steven and Megan here. This episode is a deep dive into our personal history with pornography and its impact on our relationship. Our goal here is twofold: we want people who are struggling with pornography addiction to feel seen and have hope, and we want those who ha...

Erik and Stephanie met over a Synchrony call and felt an immediate connection, but that didn't mean that the road to forever would be smooth. Now, months into their new marriage, Megan and Steven sit with them to hear about how God crafted their story and helped them overcome the challenges that came with the big changes he had in store for them. Men: You can meet your first match FOR FREE right n...

In this unconventional episode, Megan catches you up on what's been going on at Synchrony: the great, the exciting, and the challenging. She and Steven will be back soon with more conversational episodes. Join us for an in-person meetup on Thursday, 9/25/25 at the City Foundry in St. Louis! 12:30-2:30pm. Lunch is not catered, so pick up some food with a vendor and come hang out to chat. Follow our...

If you're excluding dating partners based on this criteria, you may be keeping yourself from great opportunities and putting words in the mouth of God. In this episode, Megan and Steven discuss one of the ways that people may be preventing God from writing a better love story than they could have envisioned. Come see us at the Cultivate Conference in Pasadena, TX September 12-13! Register here: ht...

What are the most important things that inform who is "compatible" with you? This week, Megan and Steven continue their deep dive into the matching process and discuss how the data we gather during the consultation process informs how we hand-select matches for each client.  Come see us at the Cultivate Conference in Pasadena, TX September 12-13! Register here:  https://www.cultivateconf...

We've been hand-selecting potential partners for Apostolic singles for over two years now, but how does it actually work? Is the matching process driven by an algorithm, or by AI? How do we know what to match on in the first place? In this episode, Steven and Megan dive into the nitty gritty of how we collect the data from each client to determine who should match with who.  Come see us at th...

Modern dating is rife with 'cringe' interactions that can leave a potential dating partner with a negative perception. But are we making a mountain out of a molehill and leaving good people on 'read' for no reason? In this episode, Steven and Megan dive into the details of why awkward initial interactions can signal the start of a great connection. Singles at SEA 2026: We'll be setting sail Februa...

Trigger warning: this is a direct conversation about human anatomy, infertility, and gender-specific challenges to conceiving biological children. Discussions around fertility and age drive so much of who we select as dating partners, but are we basing those assumptions on facts, or myths? We'll dive in and see if we can help clarify how age should and shouldn't play into your assessment of who yo...

Megan and Steven are thrilled to introduce you to the newly-minted Mr. and Mrs. Orten, one of our first Synchrony couples! In this episode, we sit down with them the day before they said 'I do' to reminisce about their journey through the Synchrony process, their first meeting, and how being matched on their values smoothed the path to a beautiful love story. Congratulations, Jaken and Victoria! S...

Singleness is hard, but great friendships can make it easier. But what happens when one friend moves past their single season, and you're still in yours? In this episode, Megan and Steven discuss the challenges and tensions that arise when friends move into a new stage of life at different times, and how you can work to reinvent the relationships that are the most important to you during those sea...

If the dating game has left you feeling angry, you're not alone--we're pretty upset about the state of things in our dating culture, too. In this not-so-feel-good episode, Megan and Steven grapple with their own feelings of frustration at all of the challenges of the dating landscape and offer some suggestions on what we should do about it.  Singles at SEA 2026: We'll be setting sail February...

We're matchmakers, so you might think that we think marriage is for everyone. That's not the case. In this episode, Megan and Steven dive into the value proposition of marriage and why, for some, it may not be worth the investment. Singles at SEA 2026: We'll be setting sail February 6-9, 2026 out of Miami, Florida on Wonder of the Seas and visiting The Bahamas!  Prices subject to change, but...

There are issues in our lives that we expect to vanish the moment we say "I do," but do they actually go away? Will marriage be the thing that makes you the person you want to be, or is it something else? In this episode, Megan and Steven discuss the transformative power of marriage and its limits to change who you are.  Singles at SEA 2026: We'll be setting sail February 6-9, 2026 out of Mia...

We're generally not big fans of focusing on aesthetics or using photos to identify partners, but we have to acknowledge that most people are utilizing photos to make judgments about dating prospects. So what are your photos saying, and how can you optimize them to create a message that will be well-received? In this episode, Steven and Megan dig into some of the highs and oh-so-lows of dating prof...

"You're either with us, or you're against us." False binaries tell us that there are only two possible outcomes when many different outcomes may be available to us, and we use them all the time to structure how we understand our world. Is this hurting our dating culture? In this episode, Megan and Steven discuss what false binaries are, how they show up in dating conversations, and how to interrog...

She's familiar, approachable, and as comforting as she is beautiful-- 'the girl next door' is a staple of American dating culture, and an archetype that many men seek out. But where did that archetype come from, and just how firmly rooted in reality is it? In this episode, Steven and Megan trace this idea back to some of its origins and unpack just what it says about how men's perspectives on rela...

In the world of "appropriate" romance, period dramas and regency literature have a corner on the market among Apostolic women who want to enjoy a romantic story free of innuendo. But are these books and movies helping us build a healthy dating culture, or hurting us? In this episode, Megan and Steven discuss one of the most well-known works of literature (and its movie adaptations) and the impact...

When the societal and cultural pressures on young, Single Apostolic men are unrealistically high, the risk of them fading from the Church increases. Is the number of single 35-50 year-old women disproportionately higher than the number of available men in that range, and if so, what is causing us to lose our young men on the cusp of starting Apostolic families? In this episode, Megan and Steven sc...

We make no bones about it: we view excessive consumer debt as a huge risk factor in dating relationships, to the point where we turn away clients who carry consumer debt in excess of their annual income. Why do we feel so strongly about something that (in today's economy) seems so normal, even expected? In this episode, Megan and Steven unpack their feelings about debt and why it's a massive red f...

Loneliness is a slow killer in both the physical and spiritual body. What would it look like for the church to cure it? This week, Megan dives into that question with Synchrony client and healthcare provider Beth Cleavenger, who shares some insights from her own deep dive on the physical impacts of loneliness.  Read the 2023 report from the Surgeon General of the United States on the health i...