The Uplift

What if the Jesus you need most is not a new Jesus, but the real Jesus reintroduced? Pastor Damian Chandler returns in Episode 9 of The Uplift we call “Jesus: The Remix” - a message that does not change Jesus, soften Jesus, or reinvent Jesus, but invites us to see Him clearly again. Beyond cultural filters, religious assumptions, and incomplete versions of Christ, this episode brings the focus bac...

What if ignoring your limits does not make you faithful - it just makes you tired? In Episode 8 of The Uplift, Maxine sits down with wellness expert, life coach, personal trainer, and URNX CEO Helen Macey, along with Breath of Life Fellowship member, HR professional, fitness leader, and sports enthusiast Jean Joseph, for a practical and deeply honest conversation about self-care, stress, movement,...

What if one of the most spiritual things you could do this week is stop? In Episode 7 of The Uplift, Pastor Crystal Ward delivers a clear, timely, and deeply practical proclamation on the concept of Sabbath, self-care, and the kind of rest our culture keeps training us to ignore. In a world that glorifies hustle, exhaustion, overthinking, and nonstop productivity, she makes the case that rest is n...

What if one of the strongest things your faith could do is admit it doesn't have all the answers? Episode 6 of The Uplift brings author, communication professor, and speaker Heather Thompson Day into a conversation many believers have quietly had in private but rarely feel safe saying out loud: What if I'm wrong? Not wrong in a way that destroys faith, but wrong in a way that humbles it, d...

Some wounds don't come from the world. They come from the church. Episode 5 of The Uplift is the most personal conversation in the series so far — a 74-minute expert-facilitated panel roundtable that goes into places most faith communities still refuse to name. The topic is spiritual abuse: how it gets taught to children, how it operates through scripture, how it entangles love with performanc...

What if everything you thought about the church was actually a love story? In Episode 4 of The Uplift, host Maxine invites Pastor Damian Chandler‚ church planter, marriage and family therapist, author, and Associate Youth Director of the South Central Conference‚ to deliver a message that starts with a man chasing a girl and ends with God chasing all of us. The format is intimate by design: a pre-...

Is the church the building or the people? It sounds like a simple question — until five people with five completely different upbringings try to answer it at the same time. In Episode 3 of The Uplift, Devonte opens with a framing monologue and then hands it to moderator Shawn and a roundtable of four panelists — Jean Lemeau, Dr. Celeste Baldwin, Levi Decaile, and Stephanie Ashmeade— for an honest,...

Church hurt, spiritual trauma, and healing after toxic church culture. Tichianaa Armah - psychiatrist and assistant clinical professor at Yale University - joins The Uplift co-host Devonte for a candid conversation on faith, mental health, and separating God from painful church experiences. Discover how honest dialogue, supportive community, and spiritual resilience can help break cycles of harm a...

Why has the church — called to be the greatest force of love on earth — become one of the most polarizing institutions in modern culture? In the debut episode of The Uplift, hosts Devante and Shawn a powerful message from Pastor Wesley Knight - an honest, unflinching conversation about why so many people are walking away from the church, and what it will actually take to bring them back. Pastor Kn...

Meet the voices behind The Uplift — a new podcast from Breath of Life Fellowship in Stamford, CT. This isn't your typical church podcast. The Uplift brings honest conversations, powerful preaching, and practical insight for people who love God but still have real questions about life, faith, and church. From church hurt to mental wellness to rediscovering who Jesus really is — this is faith fo...