What If I'm Wrong?

Today’s episode is a must listen. Mary DeMuth is the author of We Too: How the Church can Respond Redemptively to Sexual Abuse, and spends the first half of this conversation walking Heather through her own story. Mary is committed to equipping churches with tools to be able to navigate these conversations with grace.  Mary and Heather also discuss how Scripture is a redemptive story that can enco...

Today’s episode highlights the work that is being done by Christians for the incarcerated. Heather sits down with the first female president of Prison Fellowship, Heather Rice Minus and discusses what work still needs to be done outside of prisons, and in our communities, to help incarcerated individuals transition after serving their sentence.  During today’s episode Heather also provides an upda...

Today’s episode is for the person navigating a season of loss or grief, and trying to figure out how long this ache will last.  JS Park is a chaplain who has served for nearly 10 years and has held pain for thousands of patients and their families. He believes that our need to rush past pain, only suffocates our grief, and that grief is a voice that needs to be heard.  During today’s episode Heath...

Are there certain questions you don't feel like you can ask in church about the Bible? For today’s episode Heather sits down with Dr. Andrew Farley, a pastor and radio show host, asks him questions he often gets during his live radio show every night about the Bible. Andrew believes in grace, freedom, and the new covenant. If you have felt that religion offered you very little grace, less freedom,...

Is there such a thing as Good Baggage ? For today’s episode Heather sits down with Ike Miller and discusses the baggage that we experience in our past that sometimes impacts our present and future. But, is it possible that seeing our parents' parent, or do marriage, or live out their faith, can reveal to us how we can do things differently? Ike believes that his upbringing is what gave him a passi...

Welcome to part two of our two part series on technology, church and culture. For today’s episode Heather sits down with Brad Hill who is the Chief Solutions Officer at GLOO, where they’ve just developed a new initiative that helps churches navigate AI. What is AI? How is it impacting church culture? And should we be concerned as Christians about its potential? Heather gets answers to these questi...

Welcome to part one of our two part series on Technology, Church and Culture. On today’s episode Heather finally has a conversation she has been wanting to have since season 1, and that is on the topic of pornography. According to the Youth Pornography Addiction Center, 93 % of boys and 62% of girls are exposed to internet pornography before the age of 18. To discuss porns impact and what resource...

Welcome to part four of our four part series, Advice From a Woman . In this episode, Heather sits down with Rachel Marie Kang and talks about the relatively invisible matter of little losses. Life is full of love, but it is also full of loss. Like paper cuts to the heart, every big and seemingly insignificant loss--the loss of friendships, faith, dreams, health, community, and everything in betwee...

It is time for part three of our four-part series, Advice From a Woman . Today, Christian women face multiple tensions between home and work, navigating complex gender dynamics in the workplace, and social pressure to hold together picture-perfect lives. Joanna Meyer addresses a critical gap in Christian women's discipleship by speaking to the roles we play in public and professional life. Heather...

It is time for part two of our four part series, Advice from a Woman . Today Heather sits down with Kristen LaValley. Kristen explains the problem with formulaic Christianity. Eventually God allows something to enter our lives that we never saw coming, and can’t put into a box. We have a choice in those experiences to either let our understanding of God crumble, or let go of all our preconceived f...

In honor of Women’s History Month, today we begin a new four-part series called “Advice from a Woman.” In each episode, Heather will speak to a different thought leader to get her best advice on how to keep growing, praying, and choosing God in our everyday faith journeys. On today’s show Heather sits down with Jenn Schultz, the author of She’s Not Your Enemy . Jenn says we lose something when, by...

According to Charles Spurgeon, “Religion which costs a man nothing is usually worth nothing.” In her missionary and humanitarian ministry to Iran—including its persecuted Christians and scattered diaspora—Lana Silk has been learning the meaning of costly religion. This episode features Heather’s inspiring conversation with Lana. Guest Bio Lana Silk, the daughter of Lazarus and Maggie, serves as th...

This week Heather is joined by journalist Paul Kix, whose bestselling book You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live takes readers on a sweeping tour of the chaotic streets of Birmingham, Alabama, in the spring of 1963. It’s the story of the pivotal ten-week campaign of marches, nonviolent resistance, and overnight jail stays that helped turn the tide on Jim Crow segregation. Who...

Welcome to the final episode of our three-part “Listening to Black Creators” series for Black History Month. On today’s show, Heather gets to sit down with Kevin Olusola, a member of the three-time Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Pentatonix. Kevin shares his story, which he credits solely to God and his call to “radical reliance.” Oh, Kevin acknowledges that he had to do his part by putting in...

On today’s episode Heather gets to sit down with author, speaker, and activist Ally Henny to discuss Ally’s latest book, I Won’t Shut Up: Finding Your Voice When the World Tries to Silence You . Citing studies and anecdotal experience, Ally explains that in our society Black women are often made to feel like their very existence is too loud. Ally then walks us through some of the societal ways in...

On today’s episode Heather visits with theologian and author K.A. Ellis—the initials stand for “Karen Angela”—to kick off our three-part series for February, “Listening to Black Creators.” Mrs. Ellis, who was 42 when she married her husband Carl, talks about the experiences of single women in the church, as well as the true meaning of the word widow (it’s not just about the death of a spouse). She...

On today’s episode Heather is joined by Kat Armas. Kat is a Cuban American theologian and author who specializes in seeing Scripture in new ways. Her lens for engaging with the Bible reminds us that there is always so much more to Scripture than we notice at first glance. This week there’s also more of our new segment Friends in the Kitchen, featuring celebrity chef Danielle Kartes . Today, Daniel...

On today’s episode Heather visits with researcher and licensed social worker Holly Oxhandler to discuss Holly’s latest book, The Soul of the Helper , in which she encourages caregivers and caretakers (both professional and nonprofessional) to recognize their need for stillness, rest, and spiritual renewal. Holly says helpers are prone to trying do it all and are likely candidates for burnout. She...

On today’s episode Heather visits with Madison Prewett Troutt to discuss dating, waiting, and falling in love. You may recognize Madison from season 24 of The Bachelor, where she was a finalist. Madison made national news when she shared on the show that she was a virgin and saving herself for marriage. She later eliminated herself from the competition. Fans fell in love with Madison and her commi...

This week, in the final installment of our Meditation Monday devotions for 2023, Heather explains why Christmas is an appropriate time to be finishing this series. “Biblically speaking, there are 400 years of silence between the book of Malachi, which closes out the prophetic ministry of the Old Testament, and the words the angel spoke to Zachariah, who would be the father of John the Baptist, the...

Today Heather shares a devotional that reminds each of us of the place of hope. She says hope is how she gets out of bed in the morning. Hope is how she leans into the tensions of this life. It requires our vulnerability, but it also provides us with strength to keep going. Heather will be bringing you one more meditation next week to close out 2023. We hope these devotionals have challenged your...

On today’s episode Heather sits down with Mike “Mikey” Planeta. You may recognize Mike as one of the contestants on season 17 of the ABC dating and relationship reality television series The Bachelorette featuring Katie Thurston. Mike was eliminated in week 6, right before the show’s hometown dates. He made national news when he revealed on the show that he was a virgin and saving himself for marr...

Last week Viral Jesus hit 100 episodes. In honor of this milestone, Heather shares some thoughts on consistency, commitment, and patience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is our 100th episode! Thank you so much for being a part of the Viral Jesus community. And a special thank you to those of you who have journeyed with us 100 times and back. In honor of episode 100, Heather shares a devotional thought about faith, consistency, and perseverance from Romans 4:19-22 . This week, Heather also sits down with author Aaron Armstrong. Aaron’s latest book is called I’...

Today Heather shares a devotional message that reminds each of us that our circumstances do not correlate to God’s presence in our lives. Your circumstances are seasonal, situational, and circumstantial. They are not forever. They are not always. And they are not permanent. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who is forever. God is with us, even when it feels like...