Broken to Beloved Podcast

In this short series, you’ll get to meet each of our board members. Listen to their stories and backgrounds, and why they chose to serve on the board and support the work at Broken to Beloved.This week, I talk with therapist Kat Wilkins.Get the full show notes here. 📝Episode Resources and LinksBroken to Beloved Book ClubThe Understory on Bookshop | on AmazonEpisode 13 with Laura BarringerWhen Narcissism Comes to Church on Bookshop | on AmazonRedeeming Power on Bookshop | on AmazonThis Too Shall Last on Bookshop | on AmazonConference info and registrationGathering info and registrationUse promo code PODCAST10 to get 10% off registration!Guest SpotlightWebsite | InstagramKat's Story as told in:Bully Pulpit on Bookshop | on AmazonUntangled Faith podcast with Amy FritzNarcissistic Systems blog series part 1Narcissistic Systems blog series part 2Support 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 short series, you’ll get to meet each of our board members.Listen to their stories and backgrounds, and why they chose to serve on the board and support the work at Broken to Beloved.This week, I talk with teacher and author Laura Barringer about her “real” work with Kindergartners, her path to becoming a reluctant author, and how that writing has changed her life today.Get the full show notes here. 📝Episode Resources and LinksEpisode 7: Forced Forgiveness: Misinterpreting Matthew 18  with Dr. Scot McKnightBroken to Beloved Conference info and registrationBroken to Beloved Gathering info and registrationUse promo code PODCAST10 to get 10% off your in person or live stream ticket today! Offer expires Friday, 9/13.Guest SpotlightLaura is a full-time teacher, a part-time writer and speaker, and she is coauthor of A Church Called Tov as well as Pivot: The Priorities, Practices and Powers That Can Transform Your Church Into a Tov Culture. She previously co-authored the children's version of The Jesus Creed and wrote a teacher's guide to accompany the book. A graduate of Wheaton College, she resides in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband Mark and their three beagles.Website | InstagramA Church Called Tov on Bookshop.org | on AmazonPivot on Bookshop.org | on AmazonSupport 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.

If you’ve experienced any amount of spiritual abuse or religious trauma, you know just how confusing, painful and isolating it can be. It can be hard to put into words just how devastating the impact spiritual abuse can have on an individual and family.If you’ve had to leave your faith group for any reason, you know what it feels like to lose your community, friendships, and sometimes employment, insurance, spiritual mentors and maybe even a piece of your own identity.If this sounds like your story or the story of someone you know and care for, I’m inviting you to join us for the first ever Broken to Beloved Gathering. It’s designed for those wounded by the church and their advocates who want to find a safe and welcoming place to discover community and find care and guidance toward embracing your belovedness.You’ll meet others who have experienced spiritual abuse and religious trauma and discover that you are truly not alone.I’m thrilled and honored to have therapist and bestselling author Aundi Kolber as our featured speaker. She’ll be sharing from her wisdom and experience around the effects of trauma on our bodies, and what we can do to find a way forward. You can hear a preview of her session in episode 10 of the podcast.Don't miss this opportunity to attend the first Broken to Beloved Gathering on Friday, September 27.Go to brokentobeloved.org/gathering and use promo code PODCAST10 to get 10% off your in person or live stream tickets today. Offer expires Friday, 9/13.Join us as we move toward healing and wholeness. Together. I hope to see you soon.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.

Being a pastor or leader in ministry can feel like an impossible job at times. The job includes not just spiritual direction and discipleship, but management, finances, counseling, and lots more. As if that wasn’t enough, the people in your care often feel an individual entitlement to your time and attention, and rarely understand the scope of the work in front of you. Add to that the explosion of awareness around spiritual abuse and the many stories and scandals in recent years, and it’s no wonder that those in church leadership are skittish around the terms abuse and trauma. Not to mention that most of us weren’t trained to deal with this in seminary or school. .How can we best care for those in our congregations who have experienced religious trauma and spiritual abuse? How can we safeguard our own churches and ministries so that we are not (unknowingly) perpetuating harm or abuse?If you're a pastor or church leader, you're invited to the Broken to Beloved Conference on Thursday, September 26.You'll hear from pastor and author Steve Carter as he tell us how to build safe and trustworthy spaces. You’ll also hear from attachment experts Geoff and Cyd Holsclaw. You can hear a preview of both their sessions on episodes 8 and 9 of the podcast.Go to brokentobeloved.org/conference and use promo code PODCAST10 to get 10% off your in person or live stream tickets today. Offer expires Friday, 9/13.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.

Most of us are familiar with fight, flight, and freeze. "Fawn" may be a newer one for many of us. I first learned about the fawn response from Aundi’s incredible book, Try Softer. She describes it as “becoming whatever the abuser or potential threat needs to see from you to see that you are not threatening.”I immediately knew it was one of my primary trauma responses, and it shocked me to look back and see just how often I’d done it. And I felt shame for it.Aundi graciously offers a new and kinder way to see it.We talk about what it looks like to be survivor-centered in our work, reframing our fawn response, and moving toward internal integration and wholeness.If you want to know what it looks like to heal after harm, this episode’s for you.Get the full show notes here. 📄Episode Resources and LinksBroken to Beloved Conference info and registrationBroken to Beloved Gathering info and registration Use promo code PODCAST10 to get 10% off your in person or live stream ticket today! Offer expires Friday, 9/13.Guest SpotlightAundi is a licensed professional counselor and the best selling author of the critically acclaimed Try Softer™, Try Softer™ Guided Journey and her newest offerings: Strong like Water and Strong like Water Guided Journey.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 | InstagramTry SofterTry Softer Guided JourneyStrong Like WaterStrong Like Water Guided JourneySupport 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.

Have you heard of Attachment Theory? Have you ever found yourself lost in the language and terminology? Have you wondered if your less-than-perfect childhood and history of abuse or trauma means you're stuck in a specific styleGeoff and Cyd Holsclaw offer simple, easy to understand language around the concept of Attachment using the visual landscapes of the Pasture, Jungle, Desert, and War Zone. By laying a foundation of joy, Geoff and Cyd explain how our capacity for intimacy and independence can help us move us toward more healthy and whole relationships.They also share a preview of their "Repairing Distorted Defaults" session at the upcoming Broken to Beloved Conference on September 26.If you've longed for more secure relationships and a better understanding of your interior landscape, this episode's for you.Get the full show notes here. 📄Episode Resources and LinksBoundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and John Townsend at Bookshop.org | on AmazonEpisode 001: Navigating Toxic System and Maintaining Agency with Dr. Alison CookBroken to Beloved Conference info and registrationBroken to Beloved Gathering info and registrationGuest SpotlightGeoff (PhD) is an author of multiple books, affiliate professor of theology at Northern Seminary.Cyd is an author, spiritual director, and pastor. She is also a trauma-informed, Jesus-centered, integrative coach focused on embodied practices and building a secure attachment to God.Together, they co-host the Attached to God podcast, offering a neuroscience-informed spiritual formation and are the co-author of Does God Really Like Me? Discovering the God Who Wants to Be With You.Website | Cyd’s website | Geoff’s Instagram | Geoff’s FacebookDoes God Really Like Me? on AmazonSupport 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 do you do when you’ve given your life to a cause and calling, to have only to find yourself walking away?Steve Carter was named as one of two successors to Bill Hybels at Willow Creek Community Church. When the allegations against Hybels broke national news, it all changed. Ultimately, Steve sided with the women who told their stories and resigned his position in protest.In this week’s conversation, Steve shares about that decision, and how he made choices to pursue integrity, and to allow his own grief to shape, but not define him. He also shares his personal litmus test for recognizing when he is drifting from living with integrity, and how he recognizes living as his full, whole self with integrity.Plus, we tease his session topic on “Building a Safe and Trustworthy Church” at the upcoming Broken to Beloved Conference on September 26.Get the full show notes here. 📄Episode Resources and LinksAs Long As You Need by JS Park: at Bookshop.org | on AmazonBroken to Beloved Podcast: Episode 1: Navigating Toxic Systems and Maintaining Agency with Dr. Alison CookI Shouldn't Feel This Way by Dr. Alison Cook: at Bookshop.org | on AmazonContinued Conversation with Heather GargisBroken to Beloved Conference info and registrationBroken to Beloved Gathering info and registrationGuest Spotlight Website | Instagram | X/Twitter | SubstackGrieve, Breathe, Receive on Bookshop.org | on AmazonSupport 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.

TW/CW: references to sexual assaultHave you ever had Matthew 18 used against you?Far too often, the forgiveness passage in Matthew 18:15–17 is weaponized against those who experience hurt and harm. Victims are forced to face their abusers, and there is no real reconciliation. The abuser walks away “forgiven” and restored, and the abused walks away humiliated and put in their place.Yes, forgiveness is important. And, forgiveness cannot be forced. It must be a freely made choice on our part.This conversation isn’t about holding on to our offenses, grudges, or dismissing what happened to us. It’s not about releasing our abusers from accountability or letting go of our desire for justice.It is about the ways forgiveness has been weaponized and abused in the church. It’s about having a truly biblical and scholarly understanding of how those passages are meant to be understood. It’s about protecting ourselves from future manipulation and further abuse.Join me and New Testament scholar Scot McKnight as we dive deep into the original language and nuance of this passage. Discover what it really says about interpersonal conflict and its role in cases of abuse or an imbalance of power. Learn about the role of repentance as implied in the original Greek, even when it doesn’t show up in our English Bibles.Get the full show notes here.—————Episode Resources and LinksThat Sounds Fun podcast Episode 494: Dr. Scot McKnight on When You Feel Like Your Church Is Falling ApartThat Sounds Fun podcast Episode 879: The Gospel of Matthew with Dr. Scot McKnight—————Guest SpotlightWebsite  |  Instagram  |  TwitterThe Second Testament: A New Testament Translation at Bookshop.org | on AmazonPIVOT at Bookshop.org | on 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.

Episode 5: Finding Liberation and Reclaiming Agency Through a New Story with Cait West"By giving voice to the cognitive dissonance required to be a woman under the patriarchy, you robbed it of its power." — BarbieWhat does it take to break free from a life controlled by religious patriarchy? Cait shares her journey of awakening to the abuse and control she experienced growing up, and the long and courageous process of reclaiming her agency and voice.Throughout the conversation, Cait discusses the challenges of writing about trauma, the importance of therapy in her healing journey, and her approach to portraying complex family dynamics with grace. She also reflects on the nature of liberation, both personal and collective, and how she maintains boundaries to avoid falling back into harmful patterns. If you’re looking for insights into the power of storytelling, the ongoing work of healing, and the pursuit of freedom from oppressive systems, this one’s for you.🔗 link to full Show Notes and transcript—————Guest SpotlightCait  is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre and Hawai`i Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and co-hosts the Survivors Discuss podcast.Website | Substack | Instagram | TikTokGet RIFT: Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy at Bookshop.org | on Amazon—————Don’t Miss the Next Episode!Subscribe for free and never miss out on these conversations with old and new friends like Tim Whitaker, Laura Barringer, Scot McKnight, Chuck DeGroat and many others.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.

CW/TW: depression, suicidal ideationAccording to chaplain J.S. Park, people are ready for the conversation around grief and loss. Since you're here, I'm going to assume you're one of them.I feel like I’ve been swimming in the waters of grief, loss, and lament for years now, and this conversation was a breath of fresh air after feeling like I was drowning in denial and dismissal.We talk about what it’s like swimming in those deep waters for extended periods of time, the effect it can have on us and those around us, and how to keep going when things can seem hopeless.🔗 link to full Show Notes and transcript—————Episode Resources and Links:The Noonday Demon by Andrew Solomon—————Guest Spotlight:Website  |  Instagram  |  TwitterGet As Long As You Need: Permission to Grieve at Bookshop.org  |  on Amazon—————Don’t Miss the Next Episode!Subscribe for free and never miss out on these conversations with old and new friends like Cait West, Tim Whitaker, Laura Barringer, Scot McKnight, and many others.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.