The Boundless Show

When you’re ignored or unwelcome at church, plus dating after trauma, and should you date someone who’s recently divorced?

Featured musical artist: Danen Kane 

Roundtable: When People at Church Ignore You 

Have you ever visited a church only to have no one shake your hand or say hello? Maybe you haven’t been included in conversation, asked a question, or invited to participate. Most of us have faced some version of this. When it happens, what should you do? Walk out the door forever, snub people in return, or try something else? We talk about the awkward and disappointing effects of not feeling welcome at church, and offer suggestions for how to handle it short- and long-term. 

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Culture: Dating After You’ve Experienced Trauma

Whether it’s childhood trauma, circumstantial trauma or trauma related specifically to a past relationship, picking yourself up and moving on is no easy task. How do you know you’re ready to date after such an experience or season? Counselors Angel Perez and Kari Aho have experienced trauma and currently counsel many clients navigating these tricky waters. They’ll define trauma, suggest first steps, identify roadblocks, and outline healthy ways to re-enter the dating scene.

 From Trauma to Transformation: A Path to Healing and Growth 

Inbox: What If He’s Been Divorced? 

She discovered that the guy she’s dating was recently divorced. Where does she go from here, and what does she need to know? Counselor Kari Aho weighs in, sharing how she addressed this when dating her husband.  

Link to Counseling Services

Ways to be a good gift giver, plus a sex Q&A with Dr. Juli Slattery, and is a second date recommended if the first one didn’t go well? 

Featured musical artist:   Ginny Owens   

Roundtable: Creative Gift Giving

Yes, Christmas is coming, but you don’t have to wait until the holidays to learn how to give good gifts. Even if gifts isn’t your love language, you’ll be inspired by this conversation to be more generous and creative in blessing others. Our guests share their gift-giving and -receiving experiences, what gifts have meant a lot to them and why, and how to think out of the box when considering gifts for friends, family and everyone in between.

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Culture: Dr. Juli Slattery Answers Questions About Sex

We asked you to submit your questions about sex and sexuality, and this week Dr. Juli Slattery is here to answer them. Offering clinical expertise, biblical wisdom and practical application, Juli answers questions including: how to talk about sex when you’re engaged to be married, how to navigate a relationship with someone who has a sexual past, sexuality and singleness, loving your LGBT friends while affirming God’s design, and more.

Rethinking Sexuality: God’s Design and Why It Matters

Article: What’s the Purpose of Sexuality if I’m Single

Article: Promise Rings and Purity Talks Aren’t Enough

Article: Is It OK to Masturbate?

Inbox: Should I Try a Second Date?

If a first date didn’t go well, should you give a second one a chance? How do you know if it’s worth it? Counselor Angel Perez weighs in.      

Link to Counseling Services 

Creating a useful wedding registry, plus Peter Mutabazi’s journey from street kid to foster dad, and do most adults know if they want kids?

Featured musical artist:   James Peden

Roundtable: Wedding Registry Advice

One of the most iconic tasks of the engagement season is setting up a wedding registry. But if you hop online and haphazardly add items, or run around a store with a scanner like your life depends on it, you’ll soon second-guess if you’re doing the whole registry thing right. (You’ll also be downright exhausted.) For advice on putting together a thoughtful and practical registry, we asked several of our newlywed friends to share lessons learned, out-of-the-box ideas, and how to avoid offending gift-givers. They also discuss gifts they got that have proven especially meaningful.

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Culture: From Street Kid to Single Dad

As a child in Uganda, Peter Mutabazi experienced life in a violent home. He escaped and ran hundreds of miles away to Kampala, where he lived on the streets. He survived this way for years until a young man showed him kindness; this small encounter changed everything. Now living in the United States, Peter is a foster and adoptive dad in addition to running a business and working in the nonprofit world. His story will inspire you as a reminder that God can redeem even the most broken situations.

Now I Am Known: How a Street Kid Turned Foster Dad Found Acceptance and True Worth 

Inbox: Do You Want Kids or Not?

Do most people know if they eventually want children? How much should having kids be prioritized, especially when so many young adults are delaying marriage? Counselor Geremy Keeton weighs in.

Link to Counseling Services

The advice we need most, plus Steve and Candice Watters tell the Boundless origin story, and how to effectively ask a girl out.

Featured musical artist:  Ellie Holcomb 

Roundtable: Where Do You Need Advice? 

As we celebrate 25 years since the launch of Boundless.org, our guests tell how they first heard about Boundless. They’ll also share the ways they’ve benefited personally from Boundless content, areas in which they need advice, and how to prioritize growth as a young adult. Finally, they list some of their favorite show moments through the years.

The Dating Manifesto: A Drama-Free Plan for Pursuing Marriage With Purpose 

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Culture: Steve & Candice Watters Tell the Boundless Story

Have you ever wondered how Boundless got started? Or where the name Boundless came from? Boundless founders Steve and Candice Watters join us for a special conversation to answer these questions and more. They’ll also share their thoughts on how the world has changed for young adults since Boundless launched in 1998.

The Dating Manifesto: A Drama-Free Plan for Pursuing Marriage With Purpose 

Inbox: Ways to Ask a Girl Out

When pursuing a girl, what are ways to be upfront about asking her out — without being creepy? Counselor Glenn Lutjens weighs in.

Stories of porn addiction recovery, plus finding belonging as a Christian, and how to know if your boyfriend is spiritually mature.

Featured musical artist:   Liz Vice 

Roundtable: Overcoming Porn Addiction (Part 2) 

Pornography addiction is increasingly common today, even among Christians. It’s a struggle many don’t want to admit, and freedom often feels out of reach. But our guests have broken the pornography cycle, and they join us this week to share more from the stories they began last week, including what worked (and what didn’t) and why through God’s grace, freedom from sexual sin is possible.    

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Link to Counseling Services 

Culture: Fitting Into the Family of God

Katy McCown and her family moved six times in 10 years thanks to her husband’s NFL career. Uprooting yet again, her feelings of loneliness were acute. As an antidote, she had to aggressively pursue community at church and in smaller circles. She’ll share some of her best tips for making it work, with Scriptural applications for plugging in, welcoming others, and carrying friendships into a new season.

She Belongs: Finding Your Place in the Body of Christ 

Inbox: Is My Boyfriend Spiritually Mature? 

Her boyfriend is 20 years old and she’s wondering if his maturity is “on par” for his age. She’s nervous about predicting the health of their relational future with little data. How much spiritual maturity should she expect from him right now? Counselor Jerry Jones weighs in.

Stories of porn addiction recovery, plus how God saved a marriage from pornography, and when to talk about past traumas in a dating relationship.

Featured musical artist: About a Mile

Roundtable: Overcoming Porn Addiction (Part 1) 

Pornography addiction is increasingly common today, even among Christians. It’s a struggle many don’t want to admit, and freedom often feels out of reach. But our guests have broken the pornography cycle, and they join us this week to share their stories: what worked (and what didn’t) and why through God’s grace, freedom from sexual sin is possible.

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Link to Counseling Services 

Culture: When Porn Shows Up on Your Honeymoon

Mark and Rosie Makinney were on their honeymoon when a terrible secret was discovered — Mark was addicted to pornography. Rosie confronted him and together they began a journey to see if Mark was serious about his sin and if their marriage could be saved. You’ll hear their incredible testimony of God’s redemption, plus Mark’s no-holds-barred account of what he had to give up to finally crush porn’s hold on him.

Fight for Love: How to Take Your Marriage Back from Porn

Hope Restored

Inbox: When To Reveal Trauma to Your Date 

Everything from past sexual experiences to self-harm, abuse and other traumas can be hard to discuss when dating. If you’ve made decisions you deeply regret, when is the right time to bring them up in a relationship? Counselor Glenn Lutjens weighs in.      

Link to Counseling Services 

When you need a dating “time out,” plus Q&A with Tovares and Safa Grey, and how to respond when your gay friends ask you to affirm their choices.

Featured musical artist:  Jonathan Cain

Roundtable: How to Pause Your Dating Life 

Dating can be exciting, but for certain reasons you may need to occasionally take a break. How do you know when a pause is necessary? And how long should it be? Our guests share the benefits they’ve seen in seasons of flying solo, and how to make a break work best for you. Oh, we also talk about how to not over-spiritualize non-dating or use it as an excuse for passive behavior or bitterness.

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Culture: Q&A With Tovares and Safa Grey

Our friends Tovares and Safa Grey, founders of Godly Dating 101, have returned — this time in person! They address the most common dating questions they get from followers, the biggest mistakes singles make in waiting for a spouse, and lessons they’ve learned since tying the knot. 

Link to Godly Dating 101

Inbox: When a Gay Friend Asks for Affirmation

You have a gay friend who asks for your support of their sexual choices. Amid intense cultural pressure and the desire to love your friend, how do you respond in a God-honoring way? Gender and sexuality analyst Jeff Johnston weighs in.

When friends and family urge you to date, plus Hannah Schermerhorn on lessons she learned in singleness, and being a sympathetic listener.

Featured musical artist:  Love and the Outcome 

Roundtable: Feeling Pressured to Date 

Friends and family are our biggest cheerleaders, but it’s unhelpful when they keep asking, “Have you found someone yet?” If you’ve fielded that question for what seems like the thousandth time, what can you do? We share ideas for responding with grace when others pressure you to date.

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Culture: One Woman’s Singleness Journey

For Hannah Schermerhorn, being single felt like admitting failure. After a broken engagement, she struggled to put the pieces of her heart together. But through that journey, she learned singleness can actually be a wonderful season with unexpected blessings. She joins us to tell her story, including an assurance that being a single adult doesn’t make you a second-class citizen.

A Single Life to Live: Stop Waiting for Your Life to Begin and Thrive Where God Has You Today 

Inbox: How Can I Listen to a Friend’s Problem? 

When anyone approaches our listener with a problem, he finds himself wanting to give advice rather than listening and showing compassion. How can he beef up his listening skills? Counselor Linda Miller weighs in.

Discussing how we spent the summer, plus Covenant Eyes’ Sam Black on the church’s role in porn recovery, and how do you stop a panic attack?

Featured musical artist: Audio Adrenaline

Roundtable: Did You Have a Productive Summer? 

Now that summer is coming to a close, it’s time to take stock: What went well with this season of longer and supposedly carefree days, and what do you wish you’d done differently? Lisa and our guests started out with high hopes and open calendars, and now admit their share of both highlights and disappointments. If you wish your summer had gone differently (or you’re discouraged heading into fall), we’ll give a few ideas for redeeming the remaining days and staying hopeful for the months to come. 

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Culture: Why Porn Addicts Need the Church

Sam Black is director of recovery education at Covenant Eyes, a trusted ministry designed to help people in their journey out of porn addiction. Sam shares his story and provides reasons and ways the church must (and can) be a safe place of recovery for addicts. Join us for this hopeful and practical conversation about the power of vulnerable community done right.

The Healing Church: What Churches Get Wrong About Pornography and How to Fix It  

Find the Victory App

Inbox: How to Stop a Panic Attack 

Whenever our listener faces a stressor – whether it’s money, work or relationships – he finds himself battling a full-blown panic attack. What can he do? Counselor Tim Sanford weighs in.

Recognizing God in daily life, plus cultivating a good relationship with your parents, and what to do when you disagree with your parents’ advice.

Featured musical artist:  David Dunn

Roundtable: Seeing God’s Hand in Everyday Life

We look at big, life-changing events and say, “Only God could’ve done that!” But what about the everyday moments? What about the situations that seem entirely ordinary? Is God in those, too? This week we’re talking about the many ways we’re currently seeing God’s hand in our lives, and we’ll give you a few ideas for recognizing Him in yours as well.

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Culture: Do You Get Along With Your Parents?

One of the hardest parts about becoming an adult is navigating the tricky relational shift with your parents. You want to honor and respect them, but what if they still treat you like a kid? What if you struggle to understand their lifestyle or decisions? What if they’re a bit too clingy or nosy? For Rhonda Stoppe and her son Brandon, the journey has had plenty of ups, downs, and lightbulb moments along the way. In our conversation, they offer hope for a healthy, mature and balanced parent-child relationship. In fact, they’ll even argue that parents and their adult children can (gasp!) become friends.

Moms Raising Sons to Be Men: Guiding Them Toward Their Purpose and Passion 

Rhonda’s Website

Inbox: When You Don’t Like a Parent’s Advice

Your parents may mean well, but what happens when you flat-out disagree with their advice? Is this a time to take it, ignore it, or call them out? Counselor Joannie DeBrito weighs in.