Her Story Speaks

In this episode I welcome back Emmy Kegler for a bonus conversation about raising kids beyond purity culture in an LGBTQ+ affirming home, we talk about what to do if and when a child comes out to you and how to best support them, setting up boundaries and the importance of teaching kids about body autonomy and consent. Emmy Kegler is a pastor, author, and speaker called to ministry at the margins of the church, especially among LGBTQIA+ Christians. She serves as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Northeast Minneapolis, a small servant-hearted neighborhood congregation focused on feeding the hungry and community outreach.

For this bonus summer 2021 episode I am joined by writer and thinker Marcie Alvis-Walker, the creator of the IG account and blog “Black Coffee With White Friends.” Marcie is also the creator of Mockingbird History lessons for adults where she shares the missing narratives of history and her most recent project, Black Eyed Bible study, where she dives deeper into the Bible from a womanist perspective. Marcie has a passion for seeking truth and sharing real history that challenges folks to dig deeper and think critically. 

In this episode Marcie and I talk all things Critical Race Theory and more. CRT continues to be a hot topic especially at school board meetings where many parents are objecting the possibility it be taught to their children. Why is this theory, that has been around for years, even at the forefront right now? Why is it so hotly debated and opposed by some parents? What is it exactly? Why does it matter and what does the Bible actually have to say about it?

Dr. Paula Stone Williams is an internationally known speaker on gender equity, LGBTQ advocacy and religious tolerance. As a transgender woman, Paula brings a unique perspective to her work on gender equity.  She says, "The differences between living as a man and a woman are massive. There is no way an educated white male can understand how much the culture is tilted in his favor, because it is all he has ever known and all he ever will know." Paula’s recently released memoir, As a Woman: What I Learned about Power, Sex, and the Patriarchy After I Transitioned (Simon & Schuster), chronicles her transition journey and sheds light on the gendered landscape that impacts many in the LGBTQ+ community and women in the workplace and beyond. In addition to her public speaking and corporate consulting, she is also a Pastor and Pastoral Counselor in Boulder County, Colorado. Paula has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, TEDWomen, TEDSummit, TEDxMileHigh, Red Table Talk, National Public Radio, Good Morning America, ABC Primetime News, CNN, People Magazine, and many other media outlets. She has been a keynote speaker for hundreds of conferences, corporations, and universities around the world. Her TED Talks have had over six million views. Paula lives in Boulder County, Colorado, where she also serves as a pastor with Left Hand Church.

Jamie Bruesehoff (she/her) is an award-winning writer, speaker, and advocate. She is an openly queer woman married to a Lutheran pastor and mom to three spirited children, including a 14 year old transgender daughter, Rebekah.  She is passionate about sharing her family’s story, because she believes our stories are bridges to understanding, compassion, and celebration. Jamie works alongside her daughter Rebekah to spread a message of hope for LGBTQ people of all ages and show the world that transgender kids are just like other kids. She advocates for LGBTQ youth and adults creating opportunities for learning and conversation in schools, churches, workplaces, and beyond. She also works for legislative change in her home state of New Jersey and on a federal level. Jamie holds a Masters in Religion from the Lutheran Theological Seminary and previously worked in outdoor and youth ministry. She and her family have been featured by media outlets and advocacy organizations around the world including Human Rights Campaign, Good Morning Britain, Disney, Marvel, Good Morning America, NPR, and USA Today. Whether it’s in front of ten people or more than thirty thousand, Jamie shares her experience in a way that touches hearts, changes minds, and inspires positive change.

Cha Sears-Barefield is a powerful speaker, entrepreneur and talk show host of The Cha Show. The Cha Show is committed to fostering meaningful conversations that bring people together, create a safe space to share our stories and inspire our hearts to be better, love better, and hope more. Cha believes in the power of pushing the needle towards love. She sees the extraordinary in the ordinary and causes us to see the same. The world needs what Cha seeks to amplify, now more than ever. Cha is committed to being an impactful presence in this world. She knows that we can all leave the world better. And, she’s doing everything she can to do her part. In this episode Cha shares her story of fully becoming herself through a life of feeling like she was never enough. Cha lived her early childhood years in the Bahamas but moved to the US for elementary/boarding school. It was in the US when Cha felt ugly, fat, and undesirable for the first time as  her brown skin was surrounded by whiteness. As Cha says, the rest of her life was then spent trying to renegotiate and re-learn the essence of her brilliance and beauty that was broken when she was seven years old.

Emmy Kegler is a pastor, author, and speaker called to ministry at the margins of the church, especially among LGBTQ+ Christians. She serves as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Northeast Minneapolis. Emmy has a Master’s in Divinity from Luther Seminary and is an ordained pastor of the ELCA.  She is a co-leader of the Queer Grace Community, a group of LGBTQ+ Christians in the Twin Cities who meet for worship, Bible study, and fellowship. She is also the founder and editor of the Queer Grace Encyclopedia, a curated collection of online resources around LGBTQ life and faith. Emmy was a previous guest on the podcast where she shared her story.  In this episode  we dive into the clobber verses and talk about the Christian response to the LGBTQ community. Emmy answers questions and also shares resources and knowledge to help educate those wrestling with this topic.

In this weekend bonus episode I am joined once again by Marcie Alvis-Walker from Black Coffee with White Friends and special guest, Cha Sears-Barefield from the ever popular The Cha Show.In this conversation, Marcie shares about her newest endeavor, “Black Eyed Bible Study” and what led her to create this unique study that dives into popular bible verses and stories, biblical translations, bible history, biblical language and culture all from a Black woman’s point of view. We also talk about the “Womanist Book Club” starting this month that Marcie and Cha are teaming up to lead. But as you will hear in this conversation, this isn’t your usual book club. Marcie and Cha are choosing books from the past that were part of white female cisgender conversation and diving deeper into them to with a Black Womanist view. The first book to start things off is one we all remember; “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” by Judy Blume. Listen in as we talk about books, censorship, and how you can join in more of the conversation with Marcie and Cha.

Meghan Tschanz is a writer, speaker, podcast host, and former missionary who is passionate about empowering women and reclaiming feminism for the Christian faith. For years she worked as a missionary with sexually exploited and oppressed women. After befriending them and hearing their stories, they taught her what no one else could have: how to take a stand. As she spoke out against the atrocious injustices they endured, ranging from rape to being beaten within an inch of their lives to worse, she started to notice a link. Their oppression, while more life-threatening and extreme, had the same roots as her own.⠀In Meghan’s new book, “Women Rising”  she shares her personal journey of transformation. She not only examines her own upbringing in "the Church" that led to her feeling "less than" but also her own complacency as a white woman upholding an unjust system. Meghan's book serves as a Christian blueprint for anyone wanting to confront injustice against women while pointing to a biblical standard for gender equality. She boldly calls Christian women to amplify their voices for righteousness—and she calls the church to listen.

In this special bonus 'Mother’s Day’ Episode, I sit down for a conversation with my 18 year-old daughter, Grace Kingsley Miller. Grace spent her formative years growing up in the Bible belt and being raised in the conservative, white evangelical church. But at some point in her journey, she questioned all that she had been taught to believe about faith and politics.

In this candid conversation, Grace and I talk about 'what happened' to our family as we opened our hearts up to stories and voices from the margins that completely shifted our faith and politics.  Grace shares her story of growing up in the Bible Belt and the damaging effects purity culture had on her as a teenage girl.  She opens up about the messages she got about what it meant to be a female in the conservative church and how she felt it devalued her worth. But perhaps what is most impactful is Grace talks about the people and stories she encountered along the way that started to change everything for her and our family. Grace’s faith and political beliefs started a profound shift, as she met real people on the margins and she started to question all she had been taught to believe in the church. As Grace began to  question and search for who Jesus really was and what it really means to 'love your neighbor', the shift in her faith paradigm had a profound effect on what her parents had always taught her to be true.

Kellie Haddock is a singer, songwriter, wife and mom. A former widow, Kellie has lived through tragedy and found hope and joy on the other side. Her music draws from real-life stories of beauty, heartache, hope and the celebration of life. The Thank You Project, a short film featuring Kellie’s story of gratitude after tragedy, has attracted more than 150 million views and has been featured on The TODAY Show, The Huffington Post, and Cosmopolitan among other national and international media outlets. Kellie Haddock has performed in Iraq, Israel, China and across the U.S., - in stadiums for up to 10,000 - in people's homes and everything in between - offering music that engages the soul in all of its beauty and vulnerability. Kellie’s music is a reminder that no matter what life brings, love will have the last word.