"An audience is in some sense timeless...an artist must trust his audience, and know that his audience trusts him and he cannot cheat that invisible one or two or multitude of people. Between him...and that audience, there is an unspoken bond, an unspoken promise not to betray..." - James Baldwin Support the show Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin: Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years Jam...

My thoughts on the word cult. Support the show Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin: Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years Jammin' on the One The Fatherhood Project YALD. The Podcast So...Tell Me About Your Podcast To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

Today we speak with Dr. Patrick Knapp, PhD who, along with is wife, Heidi Knapp, CLC, runs an organization called Becoming Free where they "assist people to better understand and recover from their unique harmful religious or spiritual experiences and the painful relational dynamics of family estrangement." Their goal is "to support people to process their abusive experiences for improved insight, emotional growth, relational healing and spiritual development." They believe ...

Today we speak with Alan Allard. Alan was a psychotherapist in private practice for 12 years in the Chicago suburbs. Since 2005 he has been a coach and is an expert in helping abuse and trauma victims take ownership of their life and begin to thrive. He works with clients who have experienced sexual abuse, abusive relationships, adverse childhood experiences, and especially spiritual and religious abuse. More specifically, Alan has spent many years as a therapist or coach to members of ...

In February 2003, the Henry Kriete Letter was released. He titled it "Honest to God." The letter's impact was immediate. Aldo has always wondered why the letter had such an impact. "Honest to God" was not the first time that criticisms of the church were penned, published, and distributed. However, those writings did not have the same impact that the letter did. Why? Aldo concludes that the reason for the immediate impact of the letter was due to "our...

Long before the Henry Kriete Letter was delivered to the hands of ICOC members around the globe, the brothers and sisters of the London Church of Christ set the table. The regular disciples of that church began to speak up about the injustices that they’ve experienced. It seems that they did so because they wanted to preserve and protect the church that they loved from continuing their harmful practices. They held open forums and created the working groups. Today, we...

Shortly before the release of Henry Kriete's letter in early 2003, the London Church of Christ experienced an upheaval. The members of the London Church of Christ spoke up and against the systemic failures of their congregation. As a result, members of the London Church of Christ formed a "Working Group." The "Working Group" was comprised of paid staff members and unpaid members of their church. They were tasked with addressing the issues of the church and to cre...

The "Discipling Dilemma" by Dr. Flavil Yeakley Jr, is at the crux of season 3. Christina, Chris T, Jenn, and Matthew met with Aldo to discuss their views on the book. The five of them all joined the church in different years. In addition they also represent different parts of the church; London 1988, North Carolina 1990, New York City 1995 and 2000, Los Angeles 2001. Some of the topics raised in the book and discussed on this episode: - The ICOC resembling a multi le...

Dr. Jerry Jones joined the Boston Movement in 1984. Prior to joining the Boston Movement, Dr. Jones was a member of the traditional Church of Christ. As a member of the Boston Movement, he was a bible talk leader, evangelist and was finally appointed as an elder with the Boston Church of Christ. The leadership of the Boston Movement were more than happy to have Dr. Jones as a member of the organization as he "would bring tremendous credibility to the Movement" because "up t...

Today, Elena and Christina take the wheel and speak with Tina. Tina joined the London Church of Christ in 1985. The three of them discuss the church's annual event called "Women's Day." The trio discuss the differences and similarities between the "Women's Day" events in New York City and in London. Tina also discusses her conversion as the creation of a family and a series of sermons cassette tapes is what helped to convert her. Tina also discusses joining...

It's been a long week. This is what I think... **Disclaimer: the pending lawsuit is NOT a class action lawsuit and all accusations are alleged.** Support the show Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin: Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years Jammin' on the One The Fatherhood Project YALD. The Podcast So...Tell Me About Your Podcast To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or...

Michele Roland and Senator Joseph Dunn sit down with us today to discuss pending litigation that has been filed against the International Church of Christ, the International Christian Church, HOPE World Wide, MERCY World Wide, and the City of Angels International Christian Church. Both Ms. Roland and Senator Dunn are a part of the case and speak to us about how this came about and why. They talk to us about their involvement with the case and discuss what to expect in the coming d...

**Some of the content of this episode deals with suicidal ideations and self injury. If you or anyone you now is need of support in that area, please contact the suicide and crisis lifeline** Today we meet Nicole. Nicole is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and currently works as a psychotherapist. For a little over a decade, Nicole has had experience in counseling a wide variety of people including members of the LGTBQ+ community. Nicole has also provide...

Hugh became a member of the Church of Christ in 1982. He then made a cross country drive, from California to Massachusetts to join the Boston Movement in 1985. Hugh has spent time as a teen worker and eventually joined the full time ministry and became a leader with the movement. Hugh speaks with us about establishing a marriage, raising a family, while being a leader with the church. Like many people that have already appeared on the podcast, Hugh defines himsel...

Today we speak with Chris Lee. Chris is the curator of REVEAL.org. Since the 1990's, REVEAL has been a source of information and solace for the community of former members. I use the term "curator" to describe Chris because REVEAL is source where one can find a variety of articles, testimonies, and other documents that pertain to the ICOC experience. The ICOC has referred to REVEAL and it's contents as "spiritual pornography." However, thousands of former members...

Before there was a Reclamation Podcast there was the YouTube channel called “Losing My Religion.” The creator and host of the program joins us today. Her name is Helen and she too is a former member of the ICOC. She speaks to us about the idea and inspiration behind the creation of her YouTube channel. Helen also talks to us about her experience in the church. She tells us how she joined. She explains to us why she left. She gives the reasons as to wh...

Today we speak with Chris T. Chris joined the church as a college student in the early 1990s. He remained a member for the better part of that decade. He talks about his upbringing and how it played a factor in his joining the church. Chris talks to us about his personality and how it did not necessarily fit into the culture of the section of the church that he was a part of. While Chris’ story is unique, there are elements of his experience that are parallel to ...

People leave the ICOC for a variety of reasons. Some leave because their personal believes no longer mesh with the practices of the organization. Not everyone who has left leaves with a furry of negativity. Sometimes, people leave because they simply have outgrown the organization. Today we speak with Alejandra. She was a member of the organization for 20 years. She joined as a member of the campus ministry. She was a part of the singles ministry. &nb...

In our second and final segment of our conversation with Melissa, she tells us more about being a student in the ICCM. She talks to us about the financial sacrifice that was expected of her and the type of effect that it had on her. She talks about feeling trapped by the ICC and their methods and how this feeling of being trapped made her feel that she had to escape from the organization. Support the show Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for ...

The ICOC is birthed from the COC and the Crossroads Movement. The ICC is birthed from the ICOC. Today we meet Melissa who joined the ICC in 2019 and left recently. Melissa tells the story of a young person who was in search of belonging and community and found it in the ICC. Her story is not different from the various stores that we have heard already. She also talks about her experience as a student with the ICCM. Support the show Stay updated on Aldo's c...