You Still Belong

"You are delightful." In the Season 1 finale of You Still Belong, Nathan McWherter tackles the ultimate remedy for the "rot" of disgust: curiosity and the image of God. We explore how the church has often traded its mission for tribalism, and why the path back to Jesus requires us to stop being victims and start being "detectives of beauty." Nathan shares the story of...

What do you do when the church you grew up in is no longer a safe place? In this episode, Nathan McWherter explores the heartbreak of being ostracized and the specific pain of watching friends choose the "tribe" over the relationship. We discuss how to reach out to those who have been pushed out, how to love difficult people from a distance, and why trading one "against" tribe for another only lea...

How do you move forward when the place that was supposed to be a sanctuary became a source of pain? In this episode, Nathan McWherter provides a roadmap for reintegrating into community without sacrificing your safety. We discuss the "vulnerability tax," the power of curiosity, and why "us versus them" language is a major red flag for anyone seeking healing. Whether you are rea...

"The past is prologue." For many of us, the trauma of our past isn't just a memory; it is a physical reality that shows up in our nervous systems every time we try to engage with faith. In this episode, we dive deep into the concept of disgust. We explore how the church often mislabels a biological "disgust response" as "spiritual discernment," leading to the shunning and rejection of people who n...

𝗟𝗔𝗗𝗬 𝗠𝗔𝗖𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗛 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗛: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 "𝗢𝗨𝗧, 𝗗𝗔𝗠𝗡 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗧" 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬! 🧼🚿 𝗦𝗨𝗕𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗘 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗩𝗘 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗔 𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗛 𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗧! 🤝✨ 🔥 𝗝𝗢𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧: http://www.nathanmcwherter.com ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 "𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗲" 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆. 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗘. ❌ 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗟...

What if the feeling in your gut isn't righteous anger but a biological trap? Pastor Nathan McWherter explores how politics and the church have co-opted our primal disgust mechanism to turn brothers and sisters into contaminants and why the Jesus Way is the only path out of the tribalism destroying our souls. Episode Description We live in a world of star-crossed families. Just like Romeo and J...

Betrayal is one of the most displacing experiences a human can have. When that betrayal comes from a pastor, a small group leader, or a mentor, it does more than hurt. It strands you. It turns you into what I call a Spiritual Refugee. Inside This Episode In this episode, we stop critiquing the system for a moment. We look at the personal wreckage left behind when a leader’s light goes out in their...

In this episode of You Still Belong , Dr. Nathan McWherter pulls back the curtain on the "Rotten State of the Church," specifically regarding the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. This isn't just a discussion on theology; it’s a deep dive into the Biology of Disgust. Why does the church treat certain sins as "unnatural" while overlooking others? Why do we treat humans made...

The church often acts like you have to be "pure" before you can be part of the family. That is a lie. I am looking at the "Out, darn spot" mentality that treats people as contaminants and why Jesus never required obedience as a prerequisite for belonging. Episode Summary The tragedy of the modern church is that we have become like Lady Macbeth, trying to wash away "spots" that are actually people....

The church often acts like you have to be "safe" before you can be loved. That is a lie. I am looking at the radical way Jesus treats the people the institution calls contaminants and why you don't have to change to belong. Episode Summary The greatest tragedy in the modern church is that we have made belonging conditional on performance. We have created a system where you are only welcome if you...

Have you sensed it? Not a rotten smell from some far off place, but a "wake of destruction" closer to home. You were never a contaminant. Y ou Still Belong. Religious institutions often become the very thing Jesus warned us about. I identify the "visceral glitch" (that physical knot in your stomach when you notice something is wrong but are told you are the problem). I share a story from college t...

There is a specific kind of madness that comes when you go to church and see the people supposed to represent God act like the very people Jesus warned us about. If you have been treated like you are crazy for noticing it, I want you to know: you are not crazy. I am a pastor, and I am taking responsibility for what we got wrong. For years, I have watched the church utilize a primal, biological thi...

You belong here. Even if you’re still figuring out where "here" is. In this trailer, you’ll hear a lot of heart, a little bit of a sneak peek into our first episode, and a lot of me trying to remember how to breathe like a normal human being. You Still Belong is a space for the seekers, the outliers, and everyone in between. Ready to find your seat at the table? Subscribe on Apple Podcas...