Hey, family 👋🏾 — it’s Kiara and Jordan, and this week we’re diving into a conversation that’s been weighing heavy on both our hearts ❤️🔥: church hurt, questioning God, and what it really looks like to wrestle with faith and still hold onto it. 🙏🏽
Jordan shares what it was like growing up in church leadership, watching his parents give everything to ministry — and the cost that came with it 💔. Kiara opens up about her own growing tensions with the modern-day church and why she’s craving deeper, more honest conversations in the spaces that shaped her faith 🧠💭.
This episode is for the person who’s been burned by church 🕊️,the one who loves God but feels distant from His people 🫂,and the one who wants to believe, but also wants to ask why 🤔.
We asked the questions we used to be afraid to say out loud:
- Why does God allow so much suffering? 💔
- Why are churches still silent on sexuality, race, and real-world issues? 🌎
- Can you love Jesus and still struggle with how Scripture has been interpreted? 📖
- What if the church isn’t a safe space — but God still is? 🛐
If you’ve ever felt like you were too much, too different, or too far gone for church — we see you 🤍.
This conversation isn’t neat. It’s not tied up in a bow 🎀.
But maybe that’s the whole point — to learn how to live in the tension and find God there 💬🕊️.
📖 Related Resource We Mentioned:
Check out Dr. Howard-John Wesley’s “PUSH Bible Study: Human Sexuality and the Church”
▶️ Watch here on YouTube
In this powerful and compassionate teaching 🗣️, Dr. Wesley addresses how the church has historically approached human sexuality 🌈 and calls us to move past silence, shame, and division. He reminds us that it’s more important to talk about an issue and not settle it than to settle an issue without ever talking about it 💬💡.
📜 Scriptures We Mentioned:
- Isaiah 55:8 – “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 🧠
- John 13:35 – “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” ❤️
Time Stamps
00:00 – Let’s Set the Stage: Faith, Flaws & All
02:16 – Church Hurt Hits Different for Our Generation
03:02 – Our Stories: Faith, Family, and Sunday Mornings
04:45 – When Church Feels More Like Business Than Bible
07:40 – Balancing Church Commitments and Real-Life Struggles
09:12 – What Happens When Church Breaks Your Heart?
10:40 – Why We Still Need Community (Even When It’s Messy)
11:39 – Can We Talk About the Stuff the Church Won’t Touch?
16:26 – Living in the Tension: Belief Isn’t Always Black & White
26:34 – Why Would God Allow All This Pain?
30:36 – Free Will, the Fall, and God’s Original Design
31:21 – Faith, Doubt, and Finding Your People
34:06 – Still Wrestling... and Still Showing Up
🎧 Catch the episode on:
📺 YouTube | 🎙️ Spotify | 🍎 Apple Podcasts | 🎧 Amazon Music — just search Dear God, Unscripted
✊🏾 Let’s talk about it:If this episode spoke to you — or challenged you — share it with someone who’s in the thick of it too. Comment 💬. Let us know how God is meeting you in the tension 🤍.
📲 Follow us on IG, TikTok & Facebook: @DearGodUnscripted
🎵 Vibes (Intro/Outro/Transition Music): Laidback Lo Fi Hip Hop (License Code: ASLC-3D727B89-82AD9A1065)
Thanks for watching! 🙏🏽
#DearGodUnscripted #ChurchHurt #christianpodcast