Jeff and Stacie share some great practical wisdom. As I once heard the good Dr. Mallinson put it, “You are poorer if you ignore the sages of the East.” Unfortunately, the core of Christianity appears to have been deconstructed into oblivion. That’s fine, to a point. We are each on our own journey. But, Dear Listener, don’t confuse this show with Christianity. (Which is easy to do given that the hosts explicitly marketed themselves as Christian.) The solution to spiritual abuse and brokenness is not to flee to a Different spirit. The Way of Jesus is not some amorphous love and good vibes; it is love built on a bloody cross and an empty tomb. Dear Listener, please remember that the Real Jesus entered into history to die and rise for you. The tomb is empty. He is the Way of hope. Dear Jeff and Stacie, thank you for your efforts to confront and heal abuse. But please do not perpetuate spiritual abuse by misleading hurt Christians. Your path is one of spiritual anarchy, not Christianity. I’m glad you’re finally being honest about it. * EDIT Thank you for addressing my comment on the show. I appreciate the honesty. Again, your journey is your own, but wolves look better in wolf clothing. ;) While you’re giving a mouse a cookie… I’m not sure why you’re so hard on CU-Irvine. I’m no friend of the LCMS, but it’s no secret that they have doctrinal standards. I’d assume a guy with a bunch of letters after his name knew what he was getting into. Sure, you can call it a fundamentalist straitjacket and intellectual prison if you want, but you climbed in, turned the key, and were happy enough to cash the checks.

Think what you think you should think. Nuff said.

I appreciate this podcast. It makes me feel brave to love freely and to think honestly. It makes me want to have all sorts of people over and just listen to their stories. It’s helped me find direction as a follower of Jesus and is instrumental in helping me hold onto the ‘baby’ and not drown in the ‘bath water.’ Basically, it reminds me of my most favorite hoodie!

So thankful for this conversation. I find Jeff and Stacie have been able to give gentle rebuke with out causing irreversible offense . Opening doors for healing , hope and repentance in the church. Giving voice to the hurt and awareness to those whom may not understand how that hurt has effected others . And a path of repentance for those who may have caused harm . Like Shazam said to the little girl and her dad at the Carnival as the seven sins pressed in “ Everything is going to be ok.”

As a kid who is a product of American Evangelicalism and a plethora of good and bad theology I appreciate this podcast. There is a lot of hurt out there and we need this podcast to teach critical thinking and discernment.

Jeff and Stacy bring a unique perspective and focus that is invaluable for the church. There aren’t many w/in the church who think like this and talk like this, but those who have been burned by the church know exactly what they’re talking about. These are conversations and issues that we need to talk about and listen to. Even if you don’t always agree, it’s always worth your time and attention.

If only they talked like this in church....

This is great and definitely an arena I’ve wrestled with growing up in so many different religious contexts. Enjoying listening to this on my drive back so far! Glad to have met you guys this weekend at The Farm. I can’t believe we didn’t talk about the Enneagram (I’m obsessed) because I’m a 6 (with a heavy 7 wing) too! Safe travels y’all ❤️ - Alice [@aliceviviann]

Good news for those of us who are hurting, struggling & messing up.

Jeff and Stacy are a real treat together. Loving this new podcast, and looking forward to further development.

I attended Jeff’s sessions this summer at NYG. His parsing of the state of today’s church was on point. All of the episodes of this podcast have truly shed some light on many issues within the church that seem to get swept under the rug. Take a listen. You won’t be disappointed.

This is a conversation that is desperately needed. Mental health is becoming a huge issue and religion should look at its role in the problem and the great opportunity it has to provide healing. It’s a shame that the Christian church has hurt so many when the Gospel message is the most freeing and life giving message when delivered in the proper manner.

When something is difficult to listen to but helps me put my finger on that niggling twinge or ache that’s been bugging me so I can finally start doing the necessary work—it may be hard, but it’s good. Jeff and Stacie pinpoint toxic patterns of The American Christian church, not to therapeutically dissect them—there are other podcasts for that—but to address how we might do better in educating those who grow up in faith so as to not perpetuate cycles of trauma that leave lifelong scars. In a tone that dances back and forth between scholarly and #vanlife hippie lovebirds talking over each other, they manage to balance theology, psychology, riding the Tao, a healthy skepticism of authority, and a love of knowledge, each other, and their God.

The Mallinsons are insightful and caring as they dig into the issues around pain and abuse that sadly sometimes gets inflicted on people within religious communities. They do not turn away from hard or uncomfortable topics, and they speak God’s grace and the peace of Christ into painful topics. I believe this will be a great podcast.