Who’s saying Grace?: Recent Episodes
Sarah & Rachel
Viewer discretion is advised. Most of us are learning how to deal with our childhood trauma but what about religious trauma? Do you have religious trauma? We sure do. We have found that many TV shows and movies have helped us start a conversation about it. So we are going to use pop culture to discuss our religious trauma. These shows also highlight the humor in how we humans try to walk out our beliefs. Lord Jesus have mercy on our pitiful souls. Join our conversation about religion, using pop culture, and balancing it all with grace. We think Grace is the answer.
Dax is an educator, mentor, and intuitive guide. He helps clients become their authentic self. What part of yourself are you afraid to show? Dax’s story of coming out transgender will hopefully inspire you to look at yourself and ask some hard questions. We had a great conversation with Dax about Jesus and the church and being transgender. Follow him on Instagram @daxsegers
If you are thinking about walking away from Christianity, come listen. We have a different interpretation of the Bible. Maybe it will change your mind. We talk a lot about Grace doctrine. What is it? Is it really true? Why haven’t I ever heard about this before?
This is going to make a lot of people mad but God hasn’t been doing miracles for 2000 years. Do you think this statement makes God weak and powerless? Come listen to why we think this makes God equal and just and more loving.
Elizabeth has a masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and years of experience in pastoral ministry. She is pioneering in her mission to bring mental health awareness in Christian culture.We think good mental health is missing in Christianity. Why are Christians so scared to go to therapy? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-serotonin-project-podcast/id1717442434?i=1000635445620 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-serotonin-project-podcast/id1717442434?i=1000635445620)
This question comes up most often for Christians and non-Christians when questioning faith and religion. It has lead many Christians to walk away from God and has caused many people to become atheist. We think we have a little different perspective. We would love to hear your thoughts.
We talk a lot about Grace doctrine. What is Grace doctrine? In this season, we are going to share how our view of the Bible is different. How this view changes how we apply the Bible to our lives. If you are struggling to figure out how to apply certain verses to your life, this might help. It has changed our lives dramatically. I think we could say, we both would have walked away from Christianity if we had not found this understanding. Bible chart lesson. https://youtu.be/XPupS-Ltw4w?si=Bm6-FSMNtev2HnBI
How do you define masculine and feminine? Society has defined these words and labeled males and females. What does the Bible say about male and female? God gave Adam who is male dominion on earth. We have used this dominion thinking to shape our society. But dominion was given through a curse. So how can we change our thinking to deal with this curse?
Having a triune God teaches us about submission and unity. Which God submits to which God? Which godhead is better? Is a husband or wife better? We are better together and unity is the goal. If we can’t unify under two or three masters, then who should lead? Why should someone submit to you?
Our culture and differences influence the way we interpret life. We define words according to our environment. Our environment can be limited and that creates limited outcomes. If we truly want unity then we need to listen to different people. Other cultures have good ideas. Why is it so hard to listen to other people? Why is it so hard to change our minds?
Jenn is a life coach, specializing in stress management and personal development. She is a massage therapist, podcaster, and writer. Her first book is out. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGYYHMJ8?nodl=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_VX7XMF1B7H0V5FPFSN0C_3&dplnkId=3c1a7e43-ca31-43e0-988a-b5290720aa4b Go order now. She has tools and perspectives to help you transform your life. She has so much knowledge that she shares easily with clarity. She challenged our perspective on marriage and gave us so much to think about. She also has a podcast that has so much wisdom. It’s short and easy to listen while you are getting dressed in the morning or driving to work. https://jennbaron.com/life-coaching/ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reset-your-mindset/id1557783216?i=1000628362097
Jesus completed the religious law. It is finished. In the Body of Christ, we are like grown sons of God and we have the god-given ability to make our own choices. But just because we CAN do whatever we want, SHOULD we do whatever we want? How do we live without religious laws? Contrary to popular religious teaching, people are capable of making good decisions. Fear and pride get in the way of making good decisions, but humility and love can overcome.
Matt is an author, speaker, life coach, former worship pastor of a mega church that we won’t name, singer, song writer, and I could go on. You can find his story and stories in his books, Finding God in the Ruins, Leather and Lace, and more. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwij_onn4IKBAxXnrokEHWM2DVwQFnoECCoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMatt-Bays%2Fe%2FB01AN02I24&usg=AOvVaw3C9M4kX_-cTWa8YJ1192fB&opi=89978449 He has a podcast called Fire Away and his current podcast is How to Find and Keep a Gay Man. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-find-keep-a-gay-man/id1664131859?i=1000593471907 He is a pioneer in the gay community, coaching gay men on how to fully accept themselves, find meaningful love, and live a peaceful life. He is on Instagram and Facebook. His website is https://mattbayswriter.com/ and https://www.mattbayscoaching.com/
The definition of marriage seems simple, but it’s only simple for Webster. In reality it takes place for many different reasons. Even in the Bible, marriage is for different reasons. Why did you get married? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-find-keep-a-gay-man/id1664131859?i=1000621001011.
BT wrote the story of his life, coming out gay as a son of a southern Baptist preacher. He has over a million downloads of this story as a podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blue-babies-pink/id1201971435?i=1000380726163 He has helped so many people especially in the Christian community, understand homosexuality. And for that, we will be forever grateful. https://btharman.com/ https://www.harborhere.com/.
How diverse are your relationships? Do all of your friends, co-workers, and neighbors look like you? It’s hard to have empathy for people we don’t know. When you have a relationship with someone and you deeply care about them and love them, then normally you want them to succeed. You will go to bat for them. If they are different than us and have different interests, we will champion their differences and interests? We need more deep relationships with different people. This helps build empathy and understanding instead of fear.
Adult relationships are very important. We need connection through relationships and we think God wants us to have deep relationships. So what does a Biblical relationship look like. What relationships in Schitt’s Creek are Biblical? Our answer might surprise you. Who’s saying grace?
Pride is our own worst enemy. Pride will make you turn on the people you love. It will manipulate you, shame you, and ultimately be your death. The opposite of pride is humility. Humility is truly wanting the best for everyone. Humility and charity are inseparable. Go read 1 Corinthians 13. Humility is not selfish, is not easily provoked, and thinks no evil. We need more humble leaders. https://youtu.be/hOEKyfPs0vc
Julie is a craniosacral therapist, visceral manipulator, and lymphatic drainage therapist. To some people she is known as the body whisperer. Her expertise is guiding people through connection with their bodies and processing trauma to find healing. It’s interesting how much our religion and belief systems deeply affect our bodies. She could also be called a healer. Maybe this is why she loves The Last Kingdom so much. I think Uhtred could benefit from her healing powers.
At some point in your life, you might look back and question your choices and actions. Our goal should be no regrets. Is it possible to have no regrets? What do we do with our bad decisions and failures because we all have them. Maybe if we continually question “why”, we will see our failures and make changes sooner than later. We can use failure to become better. Don’t wait to question and change your mind. Do it now. Why do you do what you do? No regrets.
People are dying. Prayers aren’t working. God is silent. Why is God allowing good people to die? Is it destiny or God? God is cruel.
Jenn is a chiropractor and holistic doctor. She loves to help people live healthy lives through chiropractic services, yoga, and nutrition. She’s one of those people you can instantly connect with. Join us and listen to her talk about her circus days and spiritual journey. She doesn’t waste time with her patients and gets straight to the point. Why are you here and how can I help you is her mantra.
Who puts men in power? Does God ordain kings and presidents and pastors? Does water baptism magically make you a Christian or a better person? What does water baptism really do for us? How many times have you been baptized? Are men smarter than women? Does God control sickness, only the “good” people live. We have lots of questions. And some different answers that might shock you.
David Hayward also known as Naked Pastor joins us today in a conversation starting with the word deconstruction. He has very interesting ideas about what church community can look like. We are so excited to dive deeper into that vision. He has so much wisdom to share with us. I can’t possibly summarize it all here. You can find David here: https://youtube.com/@nakedpastorhttps://nakedpastor.com/
We are all searching for a purpose to believe in and strive toward. Is God causing or allowing any of it? What happens when God fails us and we die or lose the battle? Maybe we should ask Finnan. He was not afraid to win or die in battle. Because if he wins then God is with him and if He dies God is with him. So who is God blessing? The winner or the loser? God is not involved in the outcome of the battle. The outcome of the battle does not change God’s purpose. Why do we need to give God credit for the outcome?
Witches or doctors, magic or science, or curses or just life on this earth. Have you thought about how we use different words to describe similar actions and ideas. I challenge you to stop arguing and listen. I bet you are more similar than you think. https://www.drcloud.com/
Don’t be afraid to slow down and have meaningful conversations with people. We are so thankful that Mike and Rachel took the time to connect over a piece of art that Mike created. That talk led to this conversation. Mike shares with us where he finds peace and safety in this chaotic and fearful world. You can find Mike here:https://www.michaelschulbaum.com/
What do you know about Hell? The Danes call it Valhalla. Do you fear Hell, demons, spirits, witches, curses, etc. What you think and how you think, becomes your reality. Your brain is very powerful. It causes your body to act in positive and negative ways. When you let fear control your brain, you act irrational and chaos ensues. You will find what you are looking for, negativity and chaos or positivity and truth. Sometimes we need balance and purpose to work through the fear and chaos with positivity.
Many people take time every year to make New Year’s resolutions. They take time to reflect on the past year before making new goals. How do you decide what to stop doing and what to build on with future goals? Most people’s goals are motivated by money, power, and love. Which one motivates you? Or is there something else that motivates your goals? Should you have similar goals in a marriage? What does it mean to be evenly yoked? Can Christian’s be evenly yoked with heathens?
It was our greatest pleasure to talk with long time friend Jeannie. She shares her history with church and tradition, her church trauma, and what she believes about God. Her two basic principles to live by will blow you away.
Are you allowed to change your mind? Or are you allowed to make a choice that goes against your culture or traditional upbringing that won’t bring severe backlash? How can we give each other permission and safety to change our mind about a choice or position?
Sensitive material We talk about rape in this episode. Can rape happen in dating relationships or Christian marriages? How do we trust that certain people won’t hurt us, even the people we love? Trust is very important in relationships. How do we trust people?
Can a marriage survive on love alone? What about respect? A very popular Christian marriage advice has been, men are to love their wives and women are to respect or reverence their husbands. But will this bring happiness. Should Christian marriages be happy? What is the purpose of marriage?
Will revenge give you peace? Does justice bring peace? When someone wrongs you and hurts you, do you get peace from the revenge or justice? Forgiveness ultimately brings peace but forgiveness is hard when you are only focused on revenge. If you are struggling with peace and forgiveness because someone has hurt you, I invite you to think about what you believe and what drives your actions. There is a way to find peace and it’s not the old saying of just suck it up, take the higher road, be more spiritually mature. There is another option. It might sound similar to what you’ve always been taught but keep listening to see if you hear a difference.
We fake our identities and manipulate circumstances out of fear to prove who we are and seek validation from others. This just ends up hurting ourselves and the people we love, losing our identity in the process. But when we are true to our identity and purpose, no one can take that away. It is who we are. How does the Holy Spirit and prayer help us find our identity? Go check out some of Paul’s prayers: Phil 1:9-11 Col 1:9-12 Eph 3:16-21 Eph 1:17-23
Who is your authority and why? What drives you? How do you make decisions? As we have seen, fear drives most people. When we feel threatened, we make poor decisions. We grasp for power and control. Our pride and ego is hurt so we manipulate people to make ourselves look better. It’s hard to have humility when you feel threatened. We are either an army or a church processional. Where do you see this in your own life and community? Unity and equality is a better choice. Is it possible to have unity?
As we come to the end of the first season of the Netflix series, The Last Kingdom, it seems there is peace in Wessex and beyond. And of course, that peace will not be the case for long. As Brida says paraphrased, “Peace makes people grow fat!” People get restless and want more. Starting the second season we see every character in the show, just like us, has a purpose, a motivation, a reason for why they do what they do. What is driving each of these characters? Alfred claims God is on his side ordaining his actions and power. Do Christians today still believe this way? Do we still believe God is ordaining the path of certain people groups? Are you part of the group God is ordaining? How do you know? Are you fully persuaded? Maybe you need to wash out your mouth.
Show notes: Romans: 4:21 and 14:5 - fully persuaded Baptism references: Exodus 19:14 - Moses sanctified the children of Israel, and they washed their clothes Exodus 30:20,21 - Aaron and his sons washed with water so that they would not die in the tabernacle Exodus 40:31,32 - Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet, when they came near into the altar, they washed as the Lord commanded Leviticus 8:6 - Aaron and his sons were washed with water Matt 3:1-6 - John the Baptist water baptizing the children of Israel to prepare them for the kingdom Matt 3:11- John talking about water baptism, Holy Ghost baptism, and fire baptism Matt 3:16 - Jesus baptized with water and baptized with Holy Spirit, Spirit of God descending like a dove Luke 12:49,50 - Jesus future fire(death) baptism Acts 2:1-4 - Jews at Pentacost were baptized with Holy Ghost Ephesians 1:13 - Body of Christ sealed with holy Spirit of promise Ephesians 4:4-6 - Body of Christ has one baptism not 2, not 3, just one
Warning: Sensitive material. Aleswith and Alfred seem to be the perfect Christians, blessed beyond measure. But their world is crashing around them. Their prayers are not working. What is God doing??? Maybe they need to pray harder or differently. Does God bless people more when they obey him more, go to church more, serve more, give more money, or pray better? Hild, a devoted woman of God suffers a traumatic life event. Where is God? How is God all knowing, all powerful, and all present and yet chooses not to save everyone from every catastrophe? Is God trying to teach us a lesson, or maybe He is cursing us? How do you explain this? How do you reconcile this……..We think we have a different view than mainstream Christianity.
The struggle continues: Uhtred and Mildrith, Law and grace. The honeymoon is over. There is no reconciliation. Uhtred will never be accepted because he can’t turn a blind eye toward conflicting information in the church. Mildrith won’t budge from tradition and her church is shaming everyone and anyone who doesn’t fit their mold. Again, fear keeps people under control. Why do people blindly follow a tradition or culture without knowing the root of why we do what we do. If we truly understood why we do what we do, we wouldn’t need a law. Charity and grace can overcome fear and control.
“There’s no justice here, only the church.” - Uhtred. “It (Justice) comes to those who have faith.” - Mildrith. It can feel like the church of today and yesteryear, uses its power to manipulate situations for control. Why does the church need to have control? To us it seems like fear is driving that need for control. What does the church fear? The Saxons think they can expel their own fear with knowledge, so Alfred manipulates Uhtred and the written word. The Danes use the power of raw fear to manipulate people. We believe fear can be overcome with truth. Truth will lead us to justice. The truth sets us free. How do we find truth? Does the church hold the truth? Can we find truth using logic, science, and God’s Word? Can we have both, Justice and faith?
Grace doctrine allows us to question why we do what we do. And when that happens, the answers and discussions can ruffle a lot of feathers. The fourth episode of Season one of The Last Kingdom brings up some feather ruffling topics. And today, we go there. We are questioning. A scene where Alfred and Uhtred have a provoking conversation while overlooking this majestic scenery. It stirs up some deep seeded traditions and burdens to bear. Uhtred and Mildriths wedding has hidden agendas that lead to questions of God’s control or human manipulation and tithing. And a battle on the horizon won’t stop the Danes from continuing to come after what they want. They wear their feelings on their sleeves. They live life to the fullest. But the Saxons just see heathens coming to take what is given to them by God. Why do the Saxons seem so miserable? The Danes have omens and magic and the Saxons have signs and miracles. It might seem to an outsider that these practices are the same, but just have different vocabulary. Is there a happy medium? Can we find a balance?
Even though there is no plumbing in the 9th century, it is still the age of Grace. Because the Netflix series The Last Kingdom is set so long ago, it can be hard to see that the characters are like us. They are doing life, encountering struggles, and making decisions just like us. Grace applies to them in the same way it applies to us today. In this episode, we are peeling back the layers of these characters. King Aethelred is on his death bed at the beginning of this episode causing a scramble. Everyone is reacting from their own needs and desires. All these characters, Alfred, Uhtred, Beocca, Athelwold, Aleswith and many of the Danes each have goals that conflict with each other. And each of them are using religion, politics, traditions, and/or other people to manipulate the outcome their way. Are they seeking their goals for the betterment of humanity? Are they humble enough to want the best? Do they think that their way is the right way? Is God manipulating or is it humanity? The way we manipulate choices and consequences really shows who we are. It sounds so basic, and yet is so true. Do you know who you are and why you do what you do? A lot of times you can find your identity in asking, “What am I selling myself for?”
Today’s church seems to unknowingly struggle with not being able to separate the law from grace. It’s like one big stew pot with all the covenants mixed together. Because of this, we get caught up in law based religious thinking. It causes us to have to prove God. It leads to misunderstanding of sin and temptation. And it confuses God’s will. This episode of The Last Kingdom is full of law. From temptations, to blessings, to sins and even repentance, we see the characters trying to prove God. Can Beocca turn Alfred’s walk of shame into something good for God? Did St Sebastian die or not? Will washing the Danes save them? Is it luck that brings us goodness? Today, the body of Christ does not need a law to keep us close to God or to prove Him. We have grace. Show notes: 1 Corinthians 10:13 2 Corinthians 12:9 2 Corinthians 4:17 Phiipians 4:13 Grace is our escape from temptation. Grace helps us get through the trials in our lives. We can do all things through Christ’s grace. 1 Timothy 2:4 God WILL have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
St Sebastian According to his legend, he was born in Gaul, went to Rome, and joined (c. 283) the army of the emperor Carinus, later becoming a captain under Diocletian. When it was discovered that he was a Christian who had converted many soldiers, Sebastian was ordered to be killed by arrows. The archers left him for dead, but a Christian widow nursed him back to health. He then presented himself before Diocletian, who condemned him to death by beating. His body, thrown into a sewer, was found by another pious woman, who dreamed that Sebastian told her to bury his remains near the catacombs. His relics are believed to be in the Basilica of San Sebastiano on the Appian Way, to which many pilgrims were attracted in the Middle Ages.
Grace allows us to question. Questioning why we do what we do is so imperative to understanding religious practices. We are diving into the Netflix series The Last Kingdom. The Danes and The Saxons seem to have opposing views of how to live life. But are they really both just blindly following what they have been taught without wonderment? Blindly obeying, following, and accepting can lead one down a path to trauma. Which way of life is right? Which way is more successful? Which way brings more fulfillment? Show notes: Mark 10:14, Matt 18:4, 19:14 humility vs blindly obeying/ignorance. St Cuthbert lived 637-687AD. He is considered the Patron Saint of Northumbria. The Last Kingdom on Netflix begins in the year 866AD
Grace is the God given ability to choose our own destiny. But don’t take our word for it. We are just two traumatized recovering Bible belt cousins using pop culture to tell you why we think Grace will bring world peace. Is everything planned out in life by a higher power? Or is it our consequences from our choices that create our path? In this episode, meet your fearless emcees, find out what the heck our podcast is about, and why on earth we think we needed to add one more to the endless list in the world. And you may also find out what is the Best question ever. Show notes: Andy Stanley series is called The Best Question Ever.