Growing Up Christian

This week we’re joined by actor, writer, director, and producer Brent Lydic! His new film Spirit Quest is about two friends who go on a hallucinogenic mushroom trip through the desert to face their fears, doubts, and failures. As a kid, Brent spent a lot of time in church, and went to a Christian school all the way through his freshman year of college. However, after moving to Los Angeles to work in the entertainment business, he started to question many of his core beliefs. Brent wrote Spirit Quest while he was deconstructing his faith, and that transition echoes throughout the movie. It’s a funny and unique story about two young guys questioning their beliefs, behavior, and trajectory, and you’re going to love it! Spirit Quest comes to streaming platforms everywhere on October 12!

Treat yourself to Captain Cecil’s Coffee Roasters by going to www.captaincecilscoffee.com. Enter the promo code “growingupchristian” at checkout for 10% your first order, and free shipping on orders over $50!

Our guest this week is prison reform activist, author, and former inmate, Andre Jacobs! Andre was born dirt poor in the ghettos of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He entered the adult prison system at the age of 15, unable to read and write. During the course of his 23 year incarceration, he got his GED, a college degree, wrote multiple books, mastered the art of filing and winning lawsuits over mistreatment within the prison system, and began successfully representing himself in court! Andre has published several books on the things he learned on the inside, and founded international social power network, Supreme Network Global. You can follow him on TikTok @iamandre97, learn more about Supreme Network at www.supremenetwork.org, and find all of Andre's books, including his latest, "War and Litigation: A Manual for Power, Success, and Victory in Court and Life" on Amazon!

Our guest this week is author, podcaster, and writer for www.thehardtimes.net, Dan Kozuh! Dan grew up outside of Chicago in an emergent Evangelical mega church, but grew further and further removed from it, over time. We discuss his experience with things like AWANA and youth revivals, learning to recognize and manage his anxiety, and what it's been like to write for one of our favorite satirical publications, The Hard Times. Follow Dan @dankozuh on Instagram, listen to his podcast The Extramundane with Max Ward, and find his book "Lingeria: Book One of One" on Amazon!

On this episode of Friday Fellowship, we're joined by history teacher and host of the Pilgrim's Digress podcast Aaron! If you've been listening for a while, you might remember a story about Sam's friend who pumped his couch full of seasonal beerfest vomit... That's our buddy, Aaron. We touch on his youth group crusade against Catholicism, the untouchable status of Taylor Swift, Cold War reptilian rulers, and how birds are actually just government surveillance drones. It was a lot of fun, and we hope you enjoy it! If you're interested in New England history, you should definitely check out Pilgrim's Digress wherever you listen to podcasts!

This week we're joined by Scott Rodgers - a guy who, over the course of his career, has done a little bit of everything in the entertainment industry. Although his family wasn't necessarily "religious," Scott got involved in church as a teen. He later joined The Dingees, a ska/punk band signed to Tooth & Nail Records. He went on to become an actor, starring in a variety of shows including "Key & Peel" and "Reno 911!," as well as several independent films. He's directed movies like "The Dramatics" and "Date.," and now works with budding creators looking to write and produce their own projects. 

Scott recently jumped back into music with "Dead Drummer Friends," a garage/funk/soul project that he worked on throughout the pandemic. You can stream his album "Hit Machine" wherever you listen to music! Follow Scott on Instagram (@misterscottrodgers & @deaddrummerfriends) and twitter (@mrscottrodgers), and stream "The Dramatics" on Amazon Prime!

This week we sat down with podcaster podcaster and ex-Mormon, Charisse a.k.a. The Existential Ginger! Charisse didn't just grow up in the Mormon church, she was devout. After a series of painful life events, she could no longer ignore the glaring problems in her "spiritual life." Having left the church, she set out to start a new life for herself far away from the faith, community, and environment that had she had known since childhood. Charisse's story shares a lot of common threads with ours, and it was really interesting to hear how different, and yet, how similar Mormonism is to Evangelicalism for the people who were born into it. It was a ton of fun talking to her, and if you enjoy this episode as much as we did, follow her @theexistentialginger on Instagram, @ExistentialGing on Twitter, and check out The Existential Ginger Podcast on all streaming platforms!

Everybody is talking about Netflix's original documentary "Pray Away," in which ex-leaders and a survivor of the so-called "conversion therapy" movement speak out about its harm to the LGBTQ+ community and its devastating persistence. If you haven't seen it, go ahead and bump it to the top of your queue. Although it's been widely applauded, there are, of course, those who find it offensive, biased, and demeaning to Christianity. I'll bet you can guess a few of the primary critics...

Joining us to talk about one such article is our good friend, and conversion therapy survivor, and LGBTQ+ activist Luke Wilson! He has written extensively about the mental, emotional, and spiritual toll that four years of conversion therapy took on him. He has worked diligently to shine a light on the harmful and dangerous practices employed by institutions like Liberty University, and has made recent appearances on shows like Gangster Capitalism, Straight White American Jesus, Fundie Friday, and many others. Follow Luke on twitter (@wilson_FW) and Instagram (@LukeSlamDunkWilson), and be sure to check out his articles on the subject!

This week we're joined by filmmaker, director, and show runner for C13Originals' Gangster Capitalism, Zak Levitt! Zak is a two-time Emmy, Peabody, Clio, and NAACP Image Award winner, and a fantastic documentarian that spent months investigating Liberty University and the Falwell family for season 3 of Gangster Capitalism. We were blown away by his team's work in the show, and we really enjoyed picking his brain!

For more information about Zak and his work, visit his website at www.zaklevitt.com. You can find Gangster Capitalism, as well as other fascinating C13Originals shows wherever you listen to podcasts.

Our guest this week is Stephanie Drury, curator of Stuff Christian Culture Likes! Stephanie grew up with parents who were in ministry and bounced from church to church, and was engrossed in Christian culture most of her life. However, in her late teens, she started drifting away from the type of evangelicalism she had always known. Stephanie has a fascinating story, and a lot of salient points about the church's handling of mental health issues, their actions towards marginalized groups of people, and the general lack of compassion for real people who are struggling. Her social media pages are fantastic, and you can follow her on Twitter @stuffcclikes, Instagram @stuffchristianculturelikes, and Facebook by searching "Stuff Christian Culture Likes!"

Man, do we have an exciting guest, this week! Nikki Brumen (formerly of “Pagan”) is the supremely talented and newly acquired vocalist for Norwegian “deathpop” band, Blood Command. You might be asking yourself, “What in the world is deathpop?” Well, it’s Blood Command, and it’s fantastic. Nikki was nice enough to join us from her home in Australia to talk about her years as a reluctant student at a Catholic high school, and her journey into a career as a frontwoman in the Australian heavy music scene. We had such a great time hanging out with her, and we think you’re going to, as well!

Check out Blood Command’s new single “A Villain’s Monologue” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNt-m2GqgYY