The Roys Report

Guest Bios Show Transcript Many churches and Christian groups have been accused of being cult-like. But what qualifies as a cult? And what are the red flags people should look for? In this edition of The Roys Report, well-known cult expert Dr. Steven Hassan joins Julie to discuss how to identify a cult and its tactics—including mind-control and authoritarian leadership.  

Guest Bios Show Transcript What do you do when Christianity hasn’t lived up to your expectations? And the church, which is supposed to be a place of healing, instead has left deep and permanent wounds? In this edition of The Roys Report, Lina Abujamra, Bible teacher and author of Fractured Faith, shares a very personal account of how her faith was nearly deconstructed.  

Guest Bios Show Transcript For years, Naghmeh Panahi heroically advocated for the release of her husband—Iranian-American pastor, Saeed Abedini—from an Iranian prison. Yet months before his release, Naghmeh revealed a dark secret: for years, Saeed had been physically, emotionally, and sexually abusing her. Yet rather than rallying to support this battered wife, Naghmeh says the Christian community attacked her. And she says some—including Franklin Graham and Jay Sekulow—relentlessly pressured her to reconcile with her abusive husband, or to even lie about what happened.  

Guest Bios Show Transcript From the fall of 2012 through 2015, imprisoned Iranian-American Pastor Saeed Abedini and his wife, Naghmeh, were the public face of persecuted Christians. As part of a global #SaveSaeed campaign, millions of dollars were raised, and Saeed was freed from prison in January 2016. Yet when Naghmeh revealed that she’d been abused by her husband, she went from being the darling of the Christian community to an outcast.  

Guest Bios Show Transcript When Jason Meyer, John Piper’s successor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, recently resigned, he claimed that a “neo-fundamentalism” had crept into the church. Others throughout evangelicalism have cited similar opposing factions in the church—white nationalists, “woke” Christians, and ex-evangelicals, for example. But what are these factions? And why is the evangelical movement—once united by firm theological convictions—now splitting apart? On this edition of The Roys Report, we explore the answers with Michael Graham and Skyler Flowers, two pastors who have authored a groundbreaking article entitled, “The Six-Way Fracturing of Evangelicalism.” Julie also presents new evidence, including leaked emails, revealing the deep divisions over racial and cultural issues at Bethlehem Baptist, which have led to major upheaval at the church.  

Guest Bios Show Transcript Natalie Hoffman spent more than 10 years at Bethlehem Baptist Church—the church where John Piper pastored for over 30 years. During that time, she says she was stuck in an abusive marriage. Yet rather than helping her, she says Bethlehem blamed and shamed her, and left her suicidal. On this edition of The Roys Report, Natalie Hoffman joins Julie to tell her story—an account that’s extremely relevant, given current events at Bethlehem.  

Guest Bios Show Transcript Have Scriptures been twisted to keep women in bondage—and to promote a patriarchy movement that’s grossly misogynist? On this edition of The Roys Report, author Rebecca Davis joins Julie to examine this movement and the Scriptures used to support it. Diving into Rebecca’s book series on Untwisting Scriptures That Were Used to Tie You Up, Gag You, and Tangle Your Mind, their talk centers on book two in the series entitled: Patriarchy and Authority.  

Guest Bios Show Transcript Twelve women have filed a civil lawsuit, claiming that Liberty University is “enabling on-campus rapes.” On this episode of The Roys Report, one of the 12 Jane Does filing that lawsuit—as well as two of her allies—tell their story spanning 16 years. Their story starts in 2005, when “Jane Doe #2” in the lawsuit was gang raped on Liberty’s campus.  

Guest Bios Show Transcript From his shuttered church in Seattle to his “cult” in Arizona, author and celebrity pastor Mark Driscoll has taken pastoral entitlement, bullying, and control to new lows. Even after Part 1 of Inside the Driscoll “Cult,” two former members of Driscoll’s security detail have much more to share.  On this edition of The Roys Report, Chad Freese, the former head of security at The Trinity Church, and his former colleague, Ben Eneas, reveal more details about the cult of personality and family business that Driscoll has cultivated.  

Guest Bios Show Transcript The cultic activities of Mark Driscoll and The Trinity Church have escalated to a whole new level. As Julie’s guests describe on this edition of The Roys Report, Driscoll is now sending cease and desist letters, threatening to sue whistleblowers. And the threat is not in vain. Driscoll reportedly has amassed a $10 million dollar litigation fund to sue whistleblowers into oblivion.