Roadies! We are back! We have missed you on our long hiatus and we explain our absence before taking a deep dive into the religious harm done when religious systems are so insecure that they feel threatened by the idea of deconstruction.

We would love to hear from you: your hopes and dreams for future episode topics, questions, Sacred Intersections in your life, and anything else you'd like to share with us.

You can interact with us in lots of ways:

Our website: https://www.sacredintersectionspodcast.com/

Email: [email protected]

Social Media: @sacredintersectionspodcast on Facebook and Instagram and @sacredpod on Twitter

Annnnd...we have merch!  http://tee.pub/lic/sacredintersections

Contact Info for Paula's Center for Healing Religious Harm:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/center-for-healing-religious-harm-hickory-nc/913948

Jill and Paula discuss the ways in which the word and concept of "sin" has been theologically twisted and used to harm and marginalize people in the church. Just us for a twisty road where look at what Scripture does and does not say about sin, the mental health effects of sin being used to make people feel less than, the hypocrisy of those who use it to control others, and the mislabeling of identities as sin. Get ready for several nerd alerts and some disagreements between your hosts as you travel this Sacred Intersection with us!

SNL Church Lady Clip

Harry Potter Clip

Visual Image of Sin Chasm (Jill describes on religion road segment)

We would love to hear from you: your hopes and dreams for future episode topics, questions, Sacred Intersections in your life, and anything else you'd like to share with us. You can interact with us in lots of ways:

Our website: www.sacredintersectionspodcast.com

Contact Info for Paula's Center for Healing Religious Harm

An episode particularly close to our hearts, this month, Paula and Jill discuss women in ministry from a variety of perspectives, which certainly include Jill's own as a Presbyterian pastor.  We discuss the Scriptures that raise the question of women serving in ministry leadership positions, both as vocational leaders and in lay leadership, the religious harm done both when women are seeking a vocation in ministry and for those who serve, the road rage of being told we don't take the Bible seriously, and some hopeful u-turns for those who are wrestling with their own journeys around this issue.  With thanksgiving for the many people of faith who helped to pave the way for women in ministry leadership positions and shoulders that Jill and other women in ministry stand on, we enthusiastically share our conversation about women in ministry.   We are grateful for our Roadies and the opportunity to be on this journey together!  

About 46 minutes into this episode, Jill mentions a clip from her favorite tv show, The West Wing with a particularly great example of biblical interpretation and hierarchy.  Check that clip out here. 

We would love to hear from you: your hopes and dreams for future episode topics, questions, Sacred Intersections in your life, and anything else you'd like to share with us. You can interact with us in lots of ways: 

Our website: www.sacredintersectionspodcast.com

On the anniversary of the insurrection at the Capitol Building, we are re-releasing this episode on the dangers of Christian Nationalism and how that played into the insurrection. One of our missions is to address it when we believe the name of Jesus is used in a harmful manner, so we believe it is appropriate to revisit this topic on this day. 

New episodes are coming soon! 

We are grateful for our Roadies and the opportunity to be on this journey together!  We would love to hear from you: your hopes and dreams for future episode topics, questions, Sacred Intersections in your life, and anything else you'd like to share with us. You can interact with us in lots of ways:

Our website: www.sacredintersectionspodcast.com

Email: [email protected]

Social Media: @sacredintersectionspodcast on Facebook and Instagram and @sacredpod on Twitter 

Annnnd...we have merch!  http://tee.pub/lic/sacredintersections

Contact Info for Paula's Center for Healing Religious Harm

Join us on a journey back through Sacred Intersection's Top 5 Moments of 2021 including Josh Duggar's conviction, gratitude for our guests and guest hosts, and of course, stories about our ROADIES! Then continue listening and journey even further back in time for a rerun of last year's episode about how people may experience religious harm around the holidays. 

Prayer from Black Liturgies on Instagram (follow her!!)

Prayer from Cole Arthur Riley on Facebook

Jan Richardson's Blessing for the Longest Night

Contact Info for Paula's Center for Healing Religious Harm

We are grateful for our Roadies and the opportunity to be on this journey together!  We would love to hear from you: your hopes and dreams for future episode topics, questions, Sacred Intersections in your life, and anything else you'd like to share with us.  You can interact with us in lots of ways:

Our website: www.sacredintersectionspodcast.com

After years of people erroneously assuming that Paula's research on religious abuse is focused on cults, we finally actually talk about cults! Jill and Paula break down the common characteristics of cults and what distinguishes cults from other religious organizations. 

Plus, Paula has a big announcement! She has opened the Center for Healing Religious Harm to provide counseling (to residents of North Carolina), consultation, and supervision services. The official website is still under construction, but you can get her contact information and check out one of her therapist profiles here.

Links to other resources mentioned in this episode:

cultresearch.org

International Cultic Studies Association

Link to last year's Holiday Stress episode we discuss in this episode is here.

We are grateful for our Roadies and the opportunity to be on this journey together!  We would love to hear from you: your hopes and dreams for future episode topics, questions, Sacred Intersections in your life, and anything else you'd like to share with us.  You can interact with us in lots of ways:

Our website: www.sacredintersectionspodcast.com

Paula and Jill discuss the complicated theology, religious harm, and mental health issues around suicide.  If you are having any thoughts of suicide, please know that, even though it may not feel this way right now, things can get better. Please stick around and give yourself a chance. We love you and believe that you are valuable. 

Please reach out for help at one of the resources below or someone else you trust.  

24 hour Suicide Hotline Information we discussed in the show: 1-800-273-8255 

Suicide Hotline Information Texting Hotline (Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor) 

UNC Chapel Hill Prioritizes Mental Health: CBS News Article  

We are grateful for our Roadies and the opportunity to be on this journey together!  We would love to hear from you: your hopes and dreams for future episode topics, questions, Sacred Intersections in your life, and anything else you'd like to share with us.  You can interact with us in lots of ways: 

Our website: www.sacredintersectionspodcast.com

It is an honor to welcome Dr. Craig Cashwell on the road with us this week to discuss the counseling and research he has done on the topic of Spiritual Bypass. Spiritual Bypass involves a focus on the spiritual elements of a situation to the point of excluding the psychological, cognitive, emotional, or other impacts from a situation. Craig, who is Paula's mentor and an expert on the topic of counseling and spirituality, guides a discussion about how Spiritual Bypass can be both a coping mechanism and an avoidance of importance work in the spiritual and mental health realms, as well as helpful strategies for counselors to address Spiritual Bypass in the therapeutic process. 

We are grateful for our Roadies and the opportunity to be on this journey together!  We would love to hear from you: your hopes and dreams for future episode topics, questions, Sacred Intersections in your life, and anything else you'd like to share with us.  You can interact with us in lots of ways:

Our website: www.sacredintersectionspodcast.com

Email: [email protected]

Social Media: @sacredintersectionspodcast on Facebook and Instagram and @sacredpod on Twitter

Annnnd...we have merch!  http://tee.pub/lic/sacredintersections

"It's OK to not be OK" is a phrase that seems to be everywhere these days thanks in part to the attention public figures like Simone Biles and Michael Phelps have brought to mental health concerns. In this episode, Jill and Paula discuss the nuance behind the idea of "not being OK," as well as the continued stigma of mental health treatment in some Christian circles. 

The Depression Project on Instagram

We are grateful for our Roadies and the opportunity to be on this journey together!  We would love to hear from you: your hopes and dreams for future episode topics, questions, Sacred intersections in your life, and anything else you'd like to share with us.  You can interact with us in lots of ways:

Our website: www.sacredintersectionspodcast.com

Email: [email protected]

Social Media: @sacredintersectionspodcast on Facebook and Instagram and @sacredpod on Twitter

Annnnd...we have merch!  http://tee.pub/lic/sacredintersections