Growing Up Christian

I've got good news and bad news for you. The bad news is that billions of taxpayer dollars are propping up religious universities that actively discriminate against LGBTQ+ students. The good news is there's an elite team of legal professionals, activists, creators, and victims of discrimination that are leading the charge to cut government funding to those schools!

Our guest this week is Paul Southwick, Director of the Religious Exemption Accountability Project. REAP empowers queer, trans and non-binary students at more than 200 taxpayer-funded religious schools that actively discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Through civil rights litigation, documentary film, oral history, research and public policy, we work towards a world where LGBTQ students on all campuses are treated equally, with safety and respect.

REAP has garnered attention with their class action lawsuit against the Department of Education that aims to cut federal funding to schools with discriminatory policies. This is a BIG undertaking, and they need your support! If this cause resonates with you, go to www.thereap.org to pledge your support and make a donation. This is a cause that so many of us were blind to while studying at Christian universities, and it's time we did our part to support our LGBTQ+ friends. Take it to 'em, and enjoy our talk with Paul Southwick!

In my experience, doing anything worthwhile means that sooner or later, you're going to lock antlers with old guard apologists - people so entrenched in tradition or ideology that they just can't seem to understand a different perspective. Sometimes it's hard to believe that you're even reading the same source material as them! 

Benjamin L. Corey is an activist, theologian, blogger, speaker, and author of "Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus" and "Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear Based Faith." Over the years, Ben has challenged the long-held positions of mainstream American Christianity on issues of equality, tolerance, and what it means to emulate the character of Jesus. We had a great time talking about his run-ins with church bureaucracy, and managing depression and other mental health conditions using ketamine and other psychedelics. Enjoy!

Check out this article that Ben wrote about spotting the antichrist: https://www.benjaminlcorey.com/could-american-evangelicals-spot-the-antichrist-heres-the-biblical-predictions/

If you spent a lot of time at youth group, chances are good that a few different Christian organizations gave a presentation about their program. Some of them were focused on the local community, some sent kids overseas for missionary work, and others were more of a Bible training program centered around the individual. They almost always had a great pitch, with pictures of exciting places and stories about incredible experiences, but as I got older, I met more and more people who had strange experiences in these programs. 

Our guest, Bianca, joined Master's Commission fresh out of high school. It's a program affiliated with the Assembly of God church which describes itself as "an intense discipleship training center that challenges you to grow an intimate relationship with God and pursue the dreams God has placed before you." As far as Bianca knew, that meant two years of community service and missions work which resulted in a Biblical studies certificate offered through the church. What it actually meant was surrendering every waking moment of her life to a strict group of fundamentalists with no qualms about working teenagers to the bone, while simultaneously bombarding them with intense, and sometimes dangerous, spiritual programming. Despite the negative aspects of her experience, Bianca is able to look back on her time at Master's Commission with a degree of appreciation for the lessons she learned, and the friends she grew close to. You're going to enjoy her infectious positivity, and her take on what faith means to her, these days!

Alright kids, grab your Kutless tshirt and a copy of CCM Magazine, because we're finally doing a Christian music recap episode! We sat down with old friends Jesse Hoffman and Jeremiah Skinner to talk about the best and worst of 90's and 00's Christian rock, hip hop, and all the bland stuff in between. If your mom ever insisted on reading the lyrics in your Project 86 cd jacket, or you blew out the stock speakers in your Ford Escort cranking "Do Not" by John Rueben, you're going to have fun with this episode!

I put together a couple of Spotify playlists featuring our picks for the best Christian rock and hip hop, and you can check them out here: https://open.spotify.com/user/vu1n758vls4ia9xeivq85zfm5

Join our Discord server, and let us know if we missed any of your favorites!

Today, we ask the age-old question: "Does Jesus own an AR-15, or does he own ALL AR-15s?"

There are an estimated 390,000,000 guns in the US - a country with a population somewhere around 328,000,000. In January alone, Americans bought over 4.1m guns, which is a 60% increase! Within five years, every man, woman, and child in the country will be able to dual wield AK-47s to combat the impending alien invasion invasion, and I just don't know that we can, in good conscience, condemn that strategy. However, easy access to firearms comes at a price. 2020 saw  an increase in gun violence, with 20k deaths attributed to firearms, as well as 24k suicides using guns. Regardless of where you stand on the 2nd Amendment, we should ALL strive to curb those statistics.

Our guest, Shane Claiborne, is an accomplished Christian author, activist, and founder of Philadelphia-based non-profit The Simple Way. His most recent book "Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence" (coauthored by Michael Martin) is an in-depth critique of gun culture in the United States. Shane and Michael examine the history of gun culture in the US, it's strange relationship with American Christians, and the real world implications that gun laws have on people, especially in our most vulnerable communities. 

This is a difficult subject to tackle. Many of you (like me) are probably gun enthusiasts, and have been staunchly opposed to gun regulations of any sort. Others may have little or no association with guns, and think that this whole issue is insane. Regardless of which side of the fence you're on, we have to learn how to have productive, respectful conversations about the realities that access to firearms creates, and in my opinion there's no better person to do that with than Shane Claiborne!

We've all heard the phrase "living well is the best revenge," but one of the most important and encouraging things I've learned over the past few years is that living well makes the most compelling case for change. If changing hearts and minds is your goal, you've got to show the other side how green the grass is where you're standing!

Brad Harker grew up in a tightknit Mormon community in Australia. After decades of repression, he came out as a gay man, and was determined to serve the community that he felt he had betrayed for so long. Over the years, Brad has become an influential voice in the LGBTQ+ community, and especially among previous Latter Day Saints members. He organized a group called "the Peacock Mormons," which advocates for broader acceptance of minority communities within the LDS church. Brad's optimistic message of love, tolerance, and hope for a better future is a breath of fresh air, and we had a great time talking to him!

Big thanks to our buddy Luke “Slam Dunk” Wilson for joining us for the intro! Check out Ep. 12 - Conversion Therapy Speed Dating to hear his story.

There were tons of decent people "in the ministry," as my church used to say, but there were always a few that made me raise an eyebrow. Once in a while, we would get a missionary, traveling singer, evangelist, etc. that would show up out of nowhere, give a presentation or performance, and pass the plate. Sometimes they were likable and seemed genuine, but sometimes you just knew that something about them didn't add up. At the crossroads of peoples heartstrings and pocketbooks, there's always someone waiting with their thumb out, looking to hitch a ride. Seldom did they leave empty-handed.

Our guest, Jenna, grew up in a devout Christian family that was constantly on the move. Her father spoke often about their vast wealth and home overseas, but for years, they bounced from town to town (and church to church) trying to make ends meet. At an early age, Jenna started to suspect that good ol' dad's stories didn't quite add up...

Not many of you knew 22-year-old me, but trust me when I tell you that that guy was an idiot... albeit a loveable idiot. I'm sure we all look back on former versions of ourselves and wince, a little. Fortunately, not many of us had a platform to promote those beliefs, but imagine if you did. How well would those ideas age? Think you'd regret some of the messages you preached with absolute conviction? I have a feeling that some of these TikTok kids are in for a crippling dose of self-loathing in the near future! 

This week, we're joined by author, former pastor, and one of the most controversial voices in purity culture, Joshua Harris. When Josh was a newly married young man in his early 20's, he managed to collect many of the popular evangelical ideas about relationships, marriage, and sexual purity, and put them to paper in a the now-infamous book, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye." His work acted as a lightning rod in the church/youth group scene of the 90's and 00's, and had a huge influence on the culture that we grew up in. Josh quickly rose to prominence in the Christian church, resulting in speaking tours, other books, and a chance to train as a pastor in a massive church with a very charismatic leader. However, that's where things started to go south, eventually leading to his departure from Christianity. He has since recanted his beliefs about dating and sexual purity, unpublished his book, and spoken openly about his change of heart. You may be familiar with some of Josh's story, but I think you'll be glad that you heard the rest!

Welcome to the inaugural episode of a brand new series called Friday Fellowship! These shows will be a little less focused, and a little more light-hearted, and a chance for you to meet some of our old friends like this week's guest, Jess O'Neil! Jesse is an old friend of Sam's, a former roommate/bandmate of Casey's, and guitarist for melodic hardcore band Servants. We spent an evening talking about prosperity gospel, Acquire the Fire, and feeling like an imposter in church.

Enjoy this extra episode, and may the good Lord grant you health, wealth, and absolute certainty, friend!

Lot of us grew up with Christian rock, but how many people can say they grew up in Christian rock? Well, our guest this week certainly did! Michael Sweet Jr's dad is the lead singer of legendary faith-based hair metal band, Stryper. In the 80's, they were an enigma. They were the first overtly Christian band to gain mainstream acceptance, with one of their albums achieving platinum status, and two others hitting gold. However, hair metal went out with a bang, and it left Michael and his family in dire straights. Michael (Jr) was kind enough to sit down with us to talk about the struggles of growing up in the Christian music industry, the odd and sometimes scary antics of his dad's diehard fans, and how these experiences effected his own faith. He has a one-of-a-kind story, and you can check out his music at www.localage.bandcamp.com and follow him on Instagram at @local_age.