Truth Trauma Theology

What does Bible study look like after inerrancy? Do you have to give up studying Scripture when you no longer believe in its literal interpretation? Can you still believe this book is sacred even while renegotiating your relationship to the church? In  Knock at the Sky: Seeking God in Genesis after Losing Faith in the Bible,  Liz Charlotte Grant offers compelling answers to these questions and mor...

What is Toxic Shame? How does it affect those trying to live for Christ? What does the Bible say about shame? In this Patreon Spotlight Dr. Conny Nussbaum joins the discussion to share insight regarding what the Bible says about shame. Conny previously presented her research during a Patreon-exclusive meeting and I wanted to make sure it saw the light of day! Her research is clear, meaningful, and...

What are my spiritual gifts and how do I unlock them? What does the Bible say about the various spiritual gifts? How do I partner with the Holy Spirit? How do I bless the church with my gifts? How does trauma interfere with my understanding or use of my gift? In this conversation we bring our series to a close as Tim Sherrill joins to discuss how to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Many people do...

In this episode we explore how the Old Testament portrays the Holy Spirit's presence. It seems confusing to reconcile how the OT describes the Spirit's activity as opposed to what we see in the NT. Dr. Monje joins to discuss the fundamental questions Christians have when reading the Holy Spirit of the OT. Q.What was the Jewish understanding of the Spirit? Definition of ruach? Uses of ruach...

How do we know if we are hearing God's voice or our own? How do we know if we are in step with the Spirit? Is it possible to lose the Spirit? How does the Spirit direct our thoughts or emotions? In this conversation we explore the various ways the Holy Spirit speaks to us. How does the Holy Spirit speak to our conscience? How does the Holy Spirit sanctify us? How does the Holy Spirit convict u...

In this episode we begin a 4-part series on the Holy Spirit. Dr. Andy Boakye joins the discussion to help clarify the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a New Covenant Christian. Andy masterfully explains the original greek context and gives us an understanding of why Paul taught a specific theology regarding the Holy Spirit. This is just the beginning of this conversation! The Holy Spirit as...

How do we know if a situation should be considered spiritual abuse? What are the various types of abuse that can occur? Are we using the most effective terms when we talk about trauma in a faith context?    In this episode we will be discussing the specifics of spiritual trauma starting with the basics. Dr. St. Jean is a professor of Social Work at King University who has served in churches for de...

How do we support our children's decisions when we do not agree with them? How do we exude unconditional love for our children without compromising what we personally feel called to? How do hold a "both-and" with some of the more complex issues? Karen Louis of Good Enough Parenting joins the conversation to discuss the concept of Autonomy Granting vs Autonomy Support. This concept he...

If you are interested in becoming a Patreon Member visit www.patreon.com/kylespears Sam Youngblood is one of my Patreon Community members who helps to research various topics on the Biblical Literacy Team. This is also part of a new interview series where I interview various members who are in the Patreon Community. Churches are faced with a constant need to understand the cultural demands around...

Lisa Euthon was baptized while a college student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and has spent the last 30 years serving in different ministries in Missouri, Texas, and Kansas. She, and her husband Tyler, are the proud parents of two boys. Lisa has worked within the medical and education settings walking alongside individuals of all ages and backgrounds as they have navigated diagnoses tha...

Life happens! Many of us find ourselves at a point we never thought we'd be. Not only has life thrown us curve balls, we have to somehow keep going. However, if we are not careful we can stuff our feelings along the way and think we are being strong. Resilience is more than gritting our way through life, it is about our willing to be vulnerable about what's challenging. Patty joins the cha...

Brian is best known for some of the songs he's written that are sung by those in International Churches of Christ around the world -- songs like "Be with Me, Lord," "I Need Your Love," "Great Among the Nations," and “Anchor for the Soul.” Having written songs in the alternate rock genre for a long time he set out to write some really simple, easy-to-sing songs tha...

Becky Aste is a trauma-informed marriage coach and the host of “Your Breakthrough Blueprint”, a top 10% globally ranked podcast. She is the CEO and creator of “I Do Breakthrough”, a company dedicated to equipping highly ambitious wives to repair thriving connection in their marriage by moving trauma out of the body. After spending a decade researching and going through every mainstream modality of...

In her latest book, Free and Fully Alive: Reclaiming the Story of Who You Were Created to Be , popular faith-leader, speaker, and certified life coach Karrie Garcia shares something most Christians can identify: “I was taught that God wants us to live freely, but I never understood what that kind of freedom meant or felt like. It seemed like a good idea in theory, but elusive—I had no idea how to...

After the release of their groundbreaking book, A Church Called Tov, which recorded the stories of abuse and toxic church cultures at some of the most prominent churches in the United States, New Testament scholar and blogger for Christianity Today Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer heard from a flood of people who had experienced similar instances of abuse. After all they’ve seen and heard, they s...

Although Christians are followers of the Truth, many find themselves tempted by the alternate “truths” offered by conspiracy theories. Christianity and conspiracy theories have had a long, complicated relationship. But today conspiracy theories are bringing our already polarized society to the brink of chaos. QAnon, the Big Lie, and anti-vaccination theories thrive online, disrupting faith communi...

Most Christians have encountered phony posts on our feeds meant to rile us up. But not everything we see on social media is so obviously absurd. As online spaces increase in importance, we urgently need to consider how to love our neighbors on the internet—and this includes sharing the truth. Rachel I. Wightman is a librarian, an educator, and a believer in finding the integration of faith and fac...

This is the second installment of the interview with Amy that discusses the grief of the next generation. Amy shares from her presentation from the Telios Conference in February which specifically addresses the various losses GenZ has experienced. How has the securitization of schools affected the next gen? How the challenges of the pandemic has stripped their hopefulness about the future. How can...

In this conversation we discuss the impact of trauma on our theological imagination. Amy discusses her doctoral research from a theoretical trauma studies perspective. Amy describes the impact of suffering on our theological imagination and preaching. She discusses what she calls an "Enfleshed homiletic" where she describes the relationship between the body and the sermon. Dr. Amy McLaug...

In this conversation we discuss the various ways that we can partner with the Spirit to help us transform into the image of Christ. 1. You have written a series called Drawing Near to God. What made you create this study series? 2. How long did it take you? What have you learned from writing this series? What is different? 3. You talk about how the way you teach can impact someone’s thinking, pers...

In this episode we ask some though questions about forgiveness in the church. We know that we are commanded to forgive, but is forgiveness also a process? Andrew wrote a paper that has received criticism due to his perspective on forgiveness. I invited him onto the channel to discuss his perspective and the criticism he has received.

Where do house churches fit into the call of the Great Commission? In this conversation we discuss role of house churches in the call to share the good news. Matt Dabbs who also has a YouTube channel called Revolution of the Ordinaries joins the conversation to discuss his experience making disciples through the house church model. Support the channel through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kyles...

House Churches is becoming one of the hot discussions in modern churches. Are they a threat? Are they biblical? Should we see them as a way that God is working? John Porter joins the channel to discuss his experience of leading a house church. Why did you decide to pursue a house church model? What does the New Testament say about house churches? Why do you think house churches seem to create tens...

Have multicultural churches made racism in modern churches a thing of the past? Are movements that pride themselves on being racially diverse effective in addressing racial injustice in the church? Should multicultural churches address racial injustice from the pulpit? In this episode, Kevin Holland who serves as the Lead Evangelist for the Turning Point congregation in LA joins the conversation t...

Kylie and Romika have recently launched their coaching business that seeks to help women move forward in the healing process. In this episode we discussing the process of forgiveness and the pitfalls we fall into that keep us stuck. We discuss the misconceptions about forgiveness and how we can develop a healthy definition of forgiveness. Tell us about why you decided to start your podcast and coa...