Broken to Beloved Podcast

How have harmful religious teachings about gender reinforced sexism and silenced women's voices in Christian communities? Dr. Andrew Bauman discusses his extensive research on the impact of sexism and abuse on women in churches, challenging misinterpretations of biblical texts that have been used to justify inequality.Bauman shares insights from his book Safe Church, exploring different forms of sexism, the weaponization of forgiveness, and how churches often fail abuse victims through "cheap grace." Drawing from interviews with over 2,800 women, he reveals how Christian leaders frequently gaslight and silence those who experience harm rather than holding perpetrators accountable.Moving beyond criticism to offer a path forward, we emphasize the importance of ethical leadership, personal healing work, and creating genuinely safe church environments.Get the full show notes and links here. 📄Guest Spotlight ✨ Founder & Director of the Christian Counseling Center: For Sexual Health & Trauma (CCC), Dr. Andrew J. Bauman is a therapist with a Doctorate from Northeastern University. His dissertation was on studying the impact of sexism and abuse on women in the Protestant Church. Andrew is the author of seven books, including his newest book, SAFE CHURCH: How to Guard Against Sexism & Abuse in Christian Communities.Website  |  Instagram  |  Facebook Safe Church  on Amazon | BookshopLinks & Resources 🔗Christian Counseling CenterJoin us in Richmond, VA, for the 2025 Gathering on October 10-11.Come and discover a safe and compassionate community of fellow survivors and advocates. If you’re looking for practical tools to help process the pain and trauma of spiritual abuse, this is the event for you.Join us in person or via live stream. Support the show————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today. ————— Sign up to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Leave us a rating and review on Apple or on Spotify. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. —————As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

What if the church has been telling women the wrong story about their spiritual gifts for centuries? Historian and author Beth Allison Barr and I dive deep into the forgotten narratives of women's ministry, uncovering a rich and powerful history that challenges everything we've been taught.From the abbesses who wielded more authority than most modern pastors to the prophetic voices systematically silenced throughout church history, this episode explores how women have always been central to spreading the gospel. We'll journey through medieval monasteries, examine biblical texts with fresh eyes, and confront the power structures that have limited women's spiritual leadership.Discover how women supervised crucial church councils, how early Christian communities celebrated diverse spiritual gifts, and why the current restrictions on women's ministry say more about maintaining control than following calling.Get the full show notes and links here. 📄Guest Spotlight ✨ Beth Allison Barr is James Vardaman Endowed Chair of History at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she specializes in medieval history, women’s history, and church history. She is the author of the USA Today bestseller The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. Barr lives in Texas with her husband, a Baptist pastor, and their two children.Website  |  Instagram  |  SubstackBecoming the Pastor's Wife  on Amazon | BookshopLinks & Resources 🔗get your "extraordinary" shirt here 👚Tell Her Story bJoin us in Richmond, VA, for the 2025 Gathering on October 10-11.Come and discover a safe and compassionate community of fellow survivors and advocates. If you’re looking for practical tools to help process the pain and trauma of spiritual abuse, this is the event for you.Join us in person or via live stream. Support the show————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today. ————— Sign up to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Leave us a rating and review on Apple or on Spotify. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. —————As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

What if the key to understanding your present lies buried in the stories of your past?In this episode, I talk with Adam Young about his new book Make Sense of Your Story and the transformative power of story work. We explore how desires and disappointments reveal who we are, why self-contempt must be replaced with kindness, and how the path through trauma leads to connection. Adam provides practical guidance on recognizing when someone is safe to share your story with, how to notice what your body is telling you, and why blessing your deepest desires—even when they led to painful outcomes—is essential for healing. This episode offers hope that engaging your story with curiosity and compassion can lead not just to understanding yourself better but to profound transformation and freedom.Get the full show notes and links here. 📄Guest Spotlight ✨ Adam Young is a therapist who focuses on trauma and abuse, and the host of The Place We Find Ourselves podcast. Adam is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a Master degree in Social Work (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Divinity (Emory University).Adam is the author of Make Sense of Your Story: Why Engaging Your Story with Kindness Changes Everything. He currently serves as a Fellow and Instructor at The Allender Center. Adam lives in Fort Collins, CO, with his wife and two children.Website  |  Instagram  |  The Place We Find Ourselves podcastMake Sense of Your Story  on Amazon | BookshopLinks & Resources 🔗The Allender CenterJoin us in Richmond, VA, for the 2025 Gathering on October 10-11.Come and discover a safe and compassionate community of fellow survivors and advocates. If you’re looking for practical tools to help process the pain and trauma of spiritual abuse, this is the event for you.Join us in person or via live stream. Support the show————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today. ————— Sign up to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Leave us a rating and review on Apple or on Spotify. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. —————As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

What if pushing harder isn't the answer? Author and trauma therapist Aundi Kolber shares how the surprising path to healing often means doing the opposite of what we've been taught.In our conversation, she shares her own journey of complex trauma and her work with clients, she reveals why disconnecting from our bodies might have once saved us, but now could be keeping us stuck.Learn why the smallest acts of compassion toward ourselves might be more powerful than all our striving, and discover what happens when we dare to believe our pain might actually be telling us something important. This conversation offers hope for anyone who's tired of white-knuckling their way through life and yearns to find a gentler way forward.Get the full show notes and links here. 📄Guest Spotlight ✨Aundi is a licensed professional counselor and the best selling author of the critically acclaimed Try Softer™ and Strong like Water.She has received additional training in her specialization of trauma- and body-centered therapies and is passionate about the integration of faith and psychology.As a survivor of trauma, Aundi brings hard-won knowledge about the work of change, the power of redemption, and the beauty of experiencing God with us in our pain.Website  |  InstagramTake What You Need  on Amazon | BookshopStrong Like Water  on Amazon | BookshopTry Softer  on Amazon | BookshopLinks & Resources 🔗Join us in Richmond, VA, for the 2025 Gathering on October 10-11.Come and discover a safe and compassionate community of fellow survivors and advocates. If you’re looking for practical tools to help process the pain and trauma of spiritual abuse, this is the event for you.Join us in person or via live stream. Support the show————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today. ————— Sign up to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Leave us a rating and review on Apple or on Spotify. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. —————As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

In this episode, we dig into how most men never got a proper "sex talk"— just rules about staying pure and anatomical basics, without any guidance on how to handle feelings, desires, and attraction in a healthy way. Jolman shares how men can learn to appreciate beauty (whether it's a sunset or steak) without spiraling into shame or lust, and explains the important difference between arousal and desire.Jolman pushes back against the fear-based messages many people got from purity culture. Instead of seeing all sexual feelings as dangerous, he suggests we can be "lovers" in a broader sense—people who know how to enjoy life's pleasures, from good food to meaningful relationships. We talk about what this means for single folks, people healing from sexual trauma, and anyone trying to move past shame toward a healthier view of sexuality. It's a refreshingly honest conversation that acknowledges both the physical side of sex (the "mechanics") and the deeper emotional and spiritual aspects (the "poetics").Get the full show notes and links here. 📄Episode Resources and LinksEpisode 18 with Dr. Camden MorganteGet a 2025 All Access PassThe Sex Talk You Never Got by Sam Jolman   Amazon | BookshopBioSam Jolman (MA LPC) is a trauma therapist with over twenty years of experience specializing in men’s issues and sexual trauma recovery. Being a therapist has given him a front row seat to hear hundreds of men and women share their stories. His writing flows out of this unique opportunity to help people know and heal their stories, and find greater sexual wholeness and aliveness. He received his master’s in counseling from Reformed Theological Seminary and was furthJoin us in Richmond, VA, for the 2025 Gathering on October 10-11.Come and discover a safe and compassionate community of fellow survivors and advocates. If you’re looking for practical tools to help process the pain and trauma of spiritual abuse, this is the event for you.Join us in person or via live stream. Support the show————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today. ————— Sign up to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Leave us a rating and review on Apple or on Spotify. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. —————As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Ever wondered what happens when a birth doula becomes a biblical scholar? In this episode, I chat with Liz Charlotte Grant, whose fascinating path includes helping deliver babies before diving deep into writing about Genesis. She shares how working with birthing families taught her about letting go of control and making space for people to find their own way—something that completely transformed how she reads and writes about the Bible.Liz talks about seeing the Bible with fresh eyes, especially when it comes to characters like Hagar who often get pushed to the sidelines. She digs into why silence matters (God's first creative act!), and why it's okay to question things we've always been told about scripture. Drawing from science, Jewish tradition, art, and her own experience, she's created what she calls an "illumination" of Genesis - a way of looking at these ancient stories that makes room for questions and mystery. For anyone who's ever felt hurt by religion or unsure about the Bible, Liz offers a gentle reminder that it's okay to find your own path to faith.Get the full show notes and links here. 📄Episode Resources and LinksWebsite | Instagram | Threads | SubstackKnock at the Sky by Liz Charlotte Grant   Amazon | BookshopBioLiz Charlotte Grant is an award-winning writer whose work has been published in The Revealer, Sojourners, Christianity Today, Religion News Service, the Huffington Post, and elsewhere. She also writes The Empathy List, a popular newsletter that has been recognized by the Webby AwardsJoin us in Richmond, VA, for the 2025 Gathering on October 10-11.Come and discover a safe and compassionate community of fellow survivors and advocates. If you’re looking for practical tools to help process the pain and trauma of spiritual abuse, this is the event for you.Join us in person or via live stream. Support the show————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today. ————— Sign up to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Leave us a rating and review on Apple or on Spotify. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. —————As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

"Burn it all down." It's a common cry heard from many who have experienced spiritual abuse or find themselves disentailing from the disorienting process of deconstruction. And for those who have been asking the hard questions, wrestling with our beliefs, and navigating complicated relationships, it can be a very real, cathartic, and terrifying thought.But what if burning it down isn't destructive? What if it's actually restorative? What if questioning and wrestling with God is part of our spiritual birthright?Join me as I talk with Erin about her first book, I've Got Questions: The Spiritual Practice of Having It Out With God. We'll talk about the role of grief, lament, wrestling, curiosity, science, and so much more as part of our faith journey (drink!) as we look for hope.Get the full show notes and links here. 📄Episode Resources and LinksGet I've Got Questions on Amazon | BookshopGet the 2025 Summit All Access PassApply for the THROUGH CohortJoin the Book ClubGuest Spotlight Erin Hicks Moon is a writer, podcaster, and storyteller who helps people disentangle faith by creating a kind and curious community that welcomes honest doubt and questions. She is the Resident Bible Scholar and host of the Faith Adjacent podcast, and senior creative at Podcast Media Group. A homesick Texan, she lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband and three children, where she bravely tries to live without yellow queso every day.Website  |  Instagram  | Join us in Richmond, VA, for the 2025 Gathering on October 10-11.Come and discover a safe and compassionate community of fellow survivors and advocates. If you’re looking for practical tools to help process the pain and trauma of spiritual abuse, this is the event for you.Join us in person or via live stream. Support the show————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today. ————— Sign up to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Leave us a rating and review on Apple or on Spotify. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. —————As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The 2025 Annual Summit is over!This episode is part 2 of our live Q&A session from Wednesday, January 22 with Amy Fritz and Colby Wilkins, hosted on YouTube Live. We responded to emails sent in with the biggest struggles and questions sent in from over 300 Summit attendees. If you missed the Summit or want to watch any of the sessions, you can still get an All Access Pass. It's still available for $117 through the end of the month. Price goes up to $129 on February 1.Links & ResourcesGet the full show notes and links here 📄Get your All Access Pass hereApply for the THROUGH Cohort (starts Feb 6)Join us in Richmond, VA, for the 2025 Gathering on October 10-11.Come and discover a safe and compassionate community of fellow survivors and advocates. If you’re looking for practical tools to help process the pain and trauma of spiritual abuse, this is the event for you.Join us in person or via live stream. Support the show————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today. ————— Sign up to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Leave us a rating and review on Apple or on Spotify. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. —————As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The 2025 Annual Summit is over!This episode is part of our live Q&A session from Wednesday, January 22 with Amy Fritz and Colby Wilkins, hosted on YouTube Live. We responded to emails sent in with the biggest struggles and questions sent in from over 300 Summit attendees. If you missed the Summit or want to watch any of the sessions, you can still get an All Access Pass. It's still available for $117 through the end of the month. Price goes up to $129 on February 1.Links & ResourcesGet the full show notes and links here 📄Get your All Access Pass hereApply for the THROUGH Cohort (starts Feb 6)Join us in Richmond, VA, for the 2025 Gathering on October 10-11.Come and discover a safe and compassionate community of fellow survivors and advocates. If you’re looking for practical tools to help process the pain and trauma of spiritual abuse, this is the event for you.Join us in person or via live stream. Support the show————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today. ————— Sign up to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Leave us a rating and review on Apple or on Spotify. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. —————As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Our third Annual Summit starts today!Be sure to register for the Summit to get over 15 sessions packed with practical tools to help name, process, and navigate our experiences of spiritual abuse and religious trauma to move toward healing and wholeness.We have an incredible lineup for you this year, including speakers like Kate Boyd, Ben Cremer, Becky Castle Miller, Christopher Stewart, Colleen Ramser, and lots more. You'll get a link to 3-4 sessions each day, plus access to live Bonus Sessions and Community calls throughout the week.If you can't watch it in time or just want to have the recordings, you can get an All Access Pass for lifetime access to the full library of session recordings, along with session transcripts, bonus resources, and more. Plus, you get it a day early!And it's ALL FREE. Click here to find more info and to get your free ticket today!Join us in Richmond, VA, for the 2025 Gathering on October 10-11.Come and discover a safe and compassionate community of fellow survivors and advocates. If you’re looking for practical tools to help process the pain and trauma of spiritual abuse, this is the event for you.Join us in person or via live stream. Support the show————— We need your help. Your gift of just $25 will make a big difference and help us continue this work. Donate today. ————— Sign up to receive our weekly Podcast Newsletter with new episodes, updates, exclusive discounts, and more! Subscribe using your favorite podcast app:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Leave us a rating and review on Apple or on Spotify. This all helps us to grow and continue providing quality content for you and our community of listeners. —————As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.