Jenna Riemersma is a Harvard-trained speaker, therapist, and best-selling author. She is a Certified IFS Clinical Consultant, and teaching faculty for the International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals, Jenna is dedicated to helping others know that "all parts are welcome."
Jenna Riemersma applies the groundbreaking insights of Internal Family Systems (IFS) for anyone who feels stuck in unwanted feelings and behaviors, with a special focus on personal transformation for readers of faith.
Altogether You delivers practical, life-affirming counsel from a place of deep personal faith. Riemersma understands the unique discouragement that people of faith experience when their actions do not line up with their sincere beliefs. With genuine sensitivity to tradition and biblical teachings, she helps readers understand that God is not waiting in frustration on the other side of our “pile of sins” until we “get our act together.” Rather, the God of grace is with us right here, right now in our core imago Dei—the always-accessible starting point for healing. Riemersma’s book is packed with warm, personal stories and immediately applicable insights. She guides readers through paradigm-altering understandings with helpful definitions and summaries, self-inventories, action steps, and resources.
Gwendolyn aka Melika Miller is a passionate writer, counselor, singer-songwriter, soul music artist, and advocate for spiritual growth and emotional healing. As the founder of Love Abundantly Counseling and Love Abundantly Ministry, she is dedicated to helping individuals deepen their intimacy with God and overcome life's roadblocks. She shares personal experiences and biblical wisdom through her books to inspire others on their faith journey.
Follow Melika on
Website: www.LoveAbundantlyMinistry.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gmelika-miller22/
Patreon
Becky a trauma-informed somatic marriage coach and somatic practitioner, CEO of I Do Breakthrough, and the proud host of the top 5% globally ranked podcast, Your Breakthrough Blueprint.
Becky spent a decade undergoing every mode and mainstream modality for saving her marriage after a long history of abandonment and betrayal only to find herself separated on the brink of divorce.
That's when she found the buzzer-beater, hail-mary play that completely changed the game for her marriage and countless other marriages that she’s coached around the world.
Becky is going to share some steps that will some of us to experience the long-awaited breakthrough we’ve been waiting for.
Follow Rebecca On
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gerald.godinho
Twitter: https://twitter.com/godinhojerry
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jerry_godinho/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/geraldgodinho/
Aubrey Sampson is a church planter and serves as a teaching pastor at Renewal Church, a multiethnic congregation in Chicagoland. Aubrey has a MA, evangelism and leadership and speaks regularly at churches and conferences around the country. She is an award-nominated author, a coach with Propel Women Cohorts, and the cohost of The Nothing Is Wasted Podcast. Aubrey is the author of several books, most recently Big Feelings Days: A Book about Hard Things, Heavy Emotions, and Jesus’ Love (October 2023). She is passionate about helping hurting Christians find God’s presence in their pain. She and her husband, Kevin, and their three sons live, minister, and play in the Chicagoland area. Today we will be talking about her latest book What we find in the dark: Loss, Hope, and God’s Presence in Grief.
Follow Aubrey On
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aubsamp/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aubsamp/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aubsamp
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aubrey-sampson-39110226
Brian is a minister of reconciliation with twenty-five years of exemplary results in organizational development, change management, and leadership development in churches and nonprofits in the United States and abroad. He specializes in developing culturally intelligent strategies for growth and impact.
Christian ministry began for him as a church planter. Along the way, he earned a master’s in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Eastern University. Currently, his is an associate professor and director of intercultural leadership at Berkeley School of Theology.
"I discovered that there is no single formula for the growth and health of a church. Instead, the church’s growth and ministry effectiveness depend on leadership, culture, community engagement, spiritual vitality, discipleship, and contextual relevance—each shaping how the church connects, serves, and impacts its community."
Follow Brian On
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abrianleander
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC57X1pPV9jx5uYKLWhyq0Pg
Twitter: https://x.com/ableander
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abrianleander/
Jackson TerKeurst is an entrepreneur and leader who continues to defy the odds as a first-generation immigrant from West Africa who owns and runs a small business. The adopted son of bestselling author and speaker Lysa TerKeurst, Jackson is passionate about drawing together people from diverse backgrounds to experience authentic community. He lives with his wife and their two children outside Nashville, Tennessee.
In this episode he joins us to discuss his book The Only Way Forward Is Back: A Story of War, Adoption, and Finding Your Purpose in God's Plan.
In a world where mental health issues and loneliness are at an all-time high, it's more important than ever to find ways to cultivate joy, community, and meaning in our lives. Many of us feel trapped within ourselves, struggling to find a way out of our own negative thoughts and emotions. Author and psychologist Richard Beck (Hunting Magic Eels) argues that we are struggling because our shape is currently "curved inward." We are self-focused, self- absorbed, ruminative. We're trapped inside ourselves. And we're definitely not happy or filled with joy. So how do we control our egos and ambition when those drives have been useful to us in the past? How do we engage our imagination and our faith?
In his latest book, The Shape of Joy, Beck offers a powerful argument for how we can break free and rediscover the transcendent and the sacred. Beck argues that to find true joy and fulfillment, we need to understand the importance of "curving outward" and moving beyond the self to encounter true lovingness. Drawing from the principles of positive psychology, Beck explores concepts like gratitude, mindfulness, ego volume, and the small self to provide readers with a road map toward a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life. Whether you're struggling with mental health issues, yearning for a deeper connection with your faith, or simply seeking greater happiness and fulfillment, The Shape of Joy will offer you an inspiring vision for a better future.
Follow Richard on
https://richardbeck.substack.com/about
https://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/
Interview Outline
One of the number one issues facing most churches is the inability to resolve conflict. I have invited an expert who works to help people of faith towards growth in the art of reconciliation.
Richard Parrish is the Director of Richard Parrish
Ministries, an outreach of Music Serving the Word
(MSW). Richard attends to the soul care of pastors,
leaders, and learners. Richard is an ordained
minister and speaks in many cross-denominational
settings. A seasoned, empowering, and
compassionate leader, he devotes his life to
assisting others through writing, speaking,
mentoring, and offering spiritual care to pastors and
ministry leaders. He resides in Arizona with his wife.
Questions:
Can conflict really be a good thing?
What tips can you offer to those who avoid conflict but recognize the need for it
in some circumstances?
What does the Bible say about conflict?
Why are we afraid of conflict?
Is conflict-avoidance a detriment to personal growth and development?
What are some barriers that prevent reconciliation and how do we break them?
How can an individual recognize when they are avoiding conflict?
What are the biggest misconceptions about conflict?
How can we find peace during conflict—in personal relationships and the world
around us?
Can conflict birth hope?
Follow Richard on
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RichardParrishMinistries
Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/discover-
the-lectionary/id1207472495
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0ZDBj6QQFzMlq8DnFzqfgL
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH7YOau1FqQ2DbGkm
WfdUNw
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-parrish/
When you are crushed and brokenhearted, where do you go to find hope? Jesus said that in this life we will have pain, heartbreak, and trials. So how do we deal with our pain? What does it look like to walk with God in our grief? In Hope for My Hurting Heart, bestselling author Linda Dillow offers practical wisdom, real-life stories, biblical teachings, and encouragement to help you navigate pain and loss and find hope and healing through God’s love. This insightful guide includes • eight essential Heart Skills that will help readers move from grief to gratitude • personal stories that reveal Linda’s own struggles with a traumatic brain injury and her daughters’ cancer battles as well as stories from others who have struggled with pain and loss • biblical insights that will help those who are hurting turn to God’s Word and the Holy Spirit for comfort No loss is beyond our heavenly Father’s understanding. Learn what it looks like to experience peace and comfort in God’s presence in the midst of suffering— and to find hope
Linda Dillow is a bestselling author and a respected Bible teacher and conference speaker. Her books include Calm My Anxious Heart, Intimate Issues, and What's It Like to Be Married to Me? Linda is the mother of four children, including one who is now with Jesus, and grandmother of ten. She and her husband, Jody, lived overseas for seventeen years and now make their home in Monument, Colorado.
What if the opportunity to connect with God was as close as your next breath?
Many of us yearn for a deeper connection with God but struggle to find the time or space to cultivate it in the midst of our busy lives. The daily stress of meeting familial, work, and personal responsibilities leaves us longing to connect with God and find rest for our souls. We crave intimacy with our Creator and the peace that only God’s presence can give.
With God in Every Breath invites you on a journey towards a more embodied and present spiritual life. In this practical book, Whitney R. Simpson offers carefully crafted guided prayers and meditations that provide an accessible way for us to quiet our hearts and a way to enter into God’s presence that engages all of our senses. Whether used alone or in a community, each meditation is rooted in Gospel passages from The Message translation and designed to meet you in your everyday life.
This helpful guide includes:
For more information visit: www.whitneyrsimpson.com
When Karen Sjoblom relocated to her Midwest birthplace after her daughter left for college, she anticipated exciting possibilities. Instead, she found herself on an unexpected pilgrimage through past trauma, family fractures, and rigid generational expectations. That’s when she discovered she’d have to cross through a wilderness of pain if she wanted to reach her own promised land.
Mirroring the biblical Exodus in which the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt—a place familiar but enslaving—Sjoblom’s reflections on her healing journey illumine the unique losses, lies, and failings we can stumble on, especially at midlife. And yet, they also point to healthier beliefs, relationships, and possibilities to carry us forward.
With humor, hope, and hard-won wisdom, Gone for Goodwill help you:
Sjoblom poignantly captures the exhilaration of new beginnings, the longing for what’s left behind, the grief over our wandering years, and the truths required to leave “Egypt” behind. A good God does indeed allow hard journeys, but there’s redemption on the other side: renewed trust in his character, freedom from the past, and knowledge that it’s never too late to embark on a soul-healing expedition. As Sjoblom demonstrates, when we stay with the lessons until the lessons are learned, God enables us to release our wounds and losses so they’re gone—for good.
For more information about Karen visit https://www.karensjoblom.com
Let the Awkward Conversations Begin!
Adaeze and Chad―two different people, two different backgrounds―both brought a lot of baggage into their relationship. Adaeze, a black Nigerian American woman who has lived with racism and discrimination her entire life. Chad, a white man with a family from the South who mostly grew up in white spaces. Determined to learn to communicate honestly and effectively, they stepped into tough conversations about their differences. Walls came down and Adaeze and Chad discovered the trust and respect they could have in and for each other. White Boy/Black Girl is an open-handed invitation from Adaeze and Chad to learn:
Adaeze and Chad provide a safe space for us to eavesdrop on some of the most vulnerable conversations they’ve had about their differences. Their candid and honest back and forth gives us common, usable language to meet each other where we’re at. The path to empathy and understanding isn’t easy―but they promise you, it’s always worth it.
Let the Awkward Conversations Begin!
Adaeze and Chad―two different people, two different backgrounds―both brought a lot of baggage into their relationship. Adaeze, a black Nigerian American woman who has lived with racism and discrimination her entire life. Chad, a white man with a family from the South who mostly grew up in white spaces. Determined to learn to communicate honestly and effectively, they stepped into tough conversations about their differences. Walls came down and Adaeze and Chad discovered the trust and respect they could have in and for each other. White Boy/Black Girl is an open-handed invitation from Adaeze and Chad to learn:
Adaeze and Chad provide a safe space for us to eavesdrop on some of the most vulnerable conversations they’ve had about their differences. Their candid and honest back and forth gives us common, usable language to meet each other where we’re at. The path to empathy and understanding isn’t easy―but they promise you, it’s always worth it.
If you’re a survivor of sexual harm, recovering your sexuality is possible. You are worthy of good care.
The toxic effects of sexual trauma and abuse can be devastating and lasting. Victims’ ability to experience healthy sexuality, even if they free themselves from the abuse, is often shattered.
If sexual abuse, violence, or coercive control is part of your story, certified sex addiction therapist (CSAT) and trauma specialist Tabitha Westbrook wants you to know: you are not alone, and healing is possible. In Body & Soul, Healed & Whole,Tabitha draws on her specialized expertise, her own personal story of abuse, and a deep knowledge of Scripture to create a safe and compassionate place for you to start recovering – or even finding - the healthy sexuality God intended for you.
With honest wisdom and empathetic understanding, Body & Soul, Healed & Whole will help you discover how to:
Sexuality does not have to be forever broken. Rest assured in a God who understands and loves you in the deepest of deep ways―and begin your journey toward wholeness, restoration and healing.
Tabitha Westbrook, LMFT-S, LCMHC-QS, LPC-S, is a licensed therapist who helps people who have messy, funky pasts (and sometimes messy, funky presents) live amazing, empowered lives today. Tabitha graduated with her BA in Psychology from NC Central University & her MA in Professional Counseling from Liberty University. In addition to being a licensed counselor & supervisor, Tabitha is an EMDRIA Certified Therapist & Approved Consultant, Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT), Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP), & Certified Christian Trauma Care Provider (CCTCP). She’s also certified in Immediate Stabilization Protocol (ISP), an evidence-based disaster response protocol.
She’s the Founder & CEO of The Journey and The Process, a private practice with offices in North Carolina & Texas, specializing in complex trauma, with a focus on domestic abuse & coercive control. Tabitha is a nationally known expert & speaker on abuse, providing training to churches, therapists, & agencies. She also helps train domestic abuse advocates through Called to Peace Ministries’ faith-based advocacy training, as well as having served as a co-facilitator for the G5 Men’s Batterer Intervention Group. Tabitha is the author of Body & Soul, Healed & Whole: An Invitational Guide to Healthy Sexuality After Trauma, Abuse, and Coercive Control.
Tabitha is the proud mom to an adult son and currently lives in Dallas, TX.
It's time for church leaders and believers to stop offering prettily packaged responses from a safe distance. It's time for us to sit in the ashes with the hurting, our Sunday clothes covered in dirt and grime, our faces lined with tears. Trauma brings people to the ash heap, so that is where the church needs to go.
The church should serve as a refuge for people in pain. And yet, we often end up unintentionally causing more hurt to trauma survivors. Theological platitudes and positive thinking aren't simply dismissive to those who suffer, but they inevitably retraumatize the wounded. Does the Bible have anything practical to offer for church leaders as they engage the pain in their congregations?
Biblical scholar Michelle Keener shows us that the book of Job provides embodied and practical answers for the church today. In this incredible tool for ministry leaders and trauma survivors alike, Keener offers:
Comfort in the Ashes helps leaders navigate their own trauma and gives practical guidance for supporting others whose worlds are falling apart. God meets us in our ashes and our pain. It's time for the church to do the same.
1. You define trauma as a response to an event and not the event itself. Why is it important that events are not defined as trauma?
2. In your book, you reference Judith’s Herman’s Three Stages of Recovery. What is it and why did you use Herman’s concept?
3. On page 49-51 you mention how it is common for people to present with Denial, Avoidance, and Shock as a standard
response. However, this can lead friends and family to confuse their presentation with maturity or faithfulness, can you share more about that?
4. In several places you insightfully point to the inner conflict of Job’s friends. How does trauma challenge our ordinary
assumptions of how the world works? Can you also say more
about The Retribution Principle?
5. Toward the end of the book you mention how God comes to Job in his ashes. Why is this important for those who are desperate for hope?
6. You mention the art of Kintsugi, how can this concept help us understand the trauma healing process?
Migrant God takes readers to the front lines of immigrant justice activism where Christians are putting hope into action.
From Tijuana, Mexico, to Douglas, Arizona, across North Carolina and beyond, Isaac Villegas cuts a new path through worn-out talking points and bears witness to loving solidarity among Christians—both with and without US citizenship. Along the way, he offers a theologically astute and politically rich vision of beloved community.
Centering the stories of people who have been transformed through their dedication to the work of collective wholeness, Villegas begins each chapter “on the ground”—with protests in the streets, hospitality in migrant shelters, and shared meals in home kitchens. He then engages in biblical, theological, and political reflection to explore the significance—for our faith and our world—of these sites of collective work. Migrant God is a stirring read for anyone who wants to shift conversations about immigration toward a more holistic Christian vision of life lived in solidarity with migrants.
1. Why are political discussions about immigrants so polarizing?
Common phrases used to describe the issue are “broken immigration system" and "the crisis at the border”. What are some things to consider when thinking about it this way?
2. In the book you share a story about being arrested after a standoff with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Why was it important for you to participate in the standoff?
3. How do you lead the reader from the horrors of the border’s violence toward a Christ centered way to thinking?
4. How can the realities of immigration shape our understanding of God?
5. Is a Christian to live in solidarity with immigrants? What does this look like?
Isaac Samuel Villegas is an ordained minister in the Mennonite Church USA who is involved in the work of community organizing and activism for immigrant justice. He is also a columnist for The Christian Century and Anabaptist World.
In a world that prizes hustle and constant productivity, breaking the habit of hurry can seem far-fetched, and yet we still try to achieve it with life hacks to get more sleep and increase energy. But self-help strategies are not the solution to our exhaustion problem.
Today I’ve invited Eryn Lynum on for a discussion regarding her new book The Nature of Rest: What the Bible and Creation Teach us Sabbath Living.
Eryn Lynum is author of the book 936 Pennies, and has been featured on FamilyLife Today radio and the Simply Wholehearted podcast, as well as at Proverbs 31 Ministries, MOPS International, and For Every Mom. She lives in Northern Colorado with her husband and four children.
In this six-week Bible study, you'll explore the deep roots of rest found in Scripture and the outdoors while unearthing attainable rest for everyday life. Through nature reflections, scriptural word studies, and guided journaling prompts, you will learn how to
Donna Pisani, a pastor and Bible teacher with forty years of ministry experience, has a game-changing message for women leaders: the One who loves you most is cheering you on, has given you a voice, and already has a seat at the table waiting for you.
A practical tool for women who are called to leadership roles in any area of life, Entrusted to Lead offers biblical insight and real-life encouragement for how to navigate their leadership journey.
In Entrusted to Lead, Pastor Donna Pisani draws on over four decades of experience to offer a biblical perspective of women in leadership that considers their role an entrusted assignment rather than just an entitled position. Women who wrestle with God’s call to lead, or who don’t have anyone supporting their call, will discover how to:
Generations of confusion keep women from answering God’s call to lead, depriving God’s kingdom of crucial gifts and abilities. Entrusted to Lead shows women what it looks like to lead with confidence in the workplace and in ministry—and why Jesus always wanted women to have a seat at the table.
Donna Pisani is a pastor and Bible teacher with forty years of ministry experience. The author of The Power of Not Yet, she has aMaster of Arts in Ministerial Leadership from Southeastern University and a DMin from George Fox University focusing on women in leadership.
Donna cofounded Capital City Church alongside herhusband and she is a cofounder of the Circle of Twelve, a mentoringprogram for women leaders. Her family includes four adult children,two son-in-laws, and two adorable grandchildren.
Like many people today, Jeff Mikels is concerned by the evangelical church’s embrace of cultural and political idols. Unlike many people, however, Mikels is a former evangelical pastor who regrets his complicity in this trend.
Evangelical Idolatry: How Pastors Like Me Have Failed the People of God is both a confession and a call to repentance. Reflecting on his twenty-year pastoral ministry with candor and humility, Mikels acknowledges the ways he enabled parishioners to develop destructive loyalties to cultural and political idols. As he works to reform his own worldview and embrace allegiance to Christ alone, he urges evangelical pastors and laypeople to join him in reforming their faith and living out the good news of the true gospel.
Jeff Mikels holds degrees from Wheaton College and Denver Seminary. He has overtwenty years of pastoral experience, leading a church in Chicago for five yearsbefore planting one in Lafayette, Indiana. There, he was involved in the Pastors’Alliance; he also helped establish the Greater Lafayette Gospel Association, which isa network of gospel-focused ministries, and served as its president.
What does Bible study look like after inerrancy? Do you have to give up studying Scripture when you no longer believe in its literal interpretation? Can you still believe this book is sacred even while renegotiating your relationship to the church? In Knock at the Sky: Seeking God in Genesis after Losing Faith in the Bible, Liz Charlotte Grant offers compelling answers to these questions and more in this deeply personal commentary on the book of Genesis.
Braiding together encounters with the natural world, Jewish midrash, and art criticism, Grant makes familiar Sunday school stories strange and offers a fresh vision for reading Scripture after deconstruction. For those who have known the book of Genesis as a weapon in the culture wars, Grant interprets the Bible’s inspired book of beginnings as a work of art. Lyrical, insightful, and highly original, Knock at the Sky offers readers a capacious model for seeking God through Scripture even as one’s faith continues to evolve.
“In this book, you too have permission to question the sacred without fearing . . . unbelief. Knock loudly. . . . Reject answers that do not admit complication. Seek the resonance at the base of the story. The seeking is the point. Because there, in your wandering, God is.”
About the Author
Liz Charlotte Grant is an award-winning essayist whose work has been published in The Revealer, Sojourners, Brevity, Christian Century, Christianity Today, Hippocampus, and elsewhere. She also writes The Empathy List, a popular newsletter that has been nominated for a Webby two years running. She lives in Colorado.