What actually helps people grow, heal, and mature in church?

In this episode of the Steadfast Podcast, Jessie Evans sits down with Michel Hendricks, co-author of The Other Half of Church, to talk about why so many churches are strong on teaching but weak on relational transformation. Together, they explore the connection between discipleship, emotional safety, attachment, trauma healing, and spiritual maturity.

This conversation gets into what it means to become people who love like Jesus, why information alone is not enough to change us, and how healthy churches can become places of real connection, healing, and growth. Jessie and Michel also discuss modern challenges facing the church, including disconnection, emotional immaturity, neurodiversity, and the need for both men and women to model maturity in Christian community.

If you have ever felt like church gave you truth but not always the safety or support needed for transformation, this episode will resonate deeply.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why Michel Hendricks wrote The Other Half of Church out of frustration and questions

• The role of emotional safety in spiritual growth

• Why healing and discomfort are both necessary in discipleship

• How trauma healing fits into Christian formation

• Why churches often focus on information but miss relational maturity

• The importance of attachment, attunement, and real community

• How churches can better care for neurodivergent individuals and emotionally sensitive people

• Why trying, risking, and even failing may be part of building healthier churches

Michel Hendricks is Director of Life Model Consulting at Life Model Works and co-author of The Other Half of Church, a book that connects brain science, relational formation, and Christian discipleship. He has served as a pastor, missionary, and trainer for more than 25 years.

Learn more about Michel and his work through Life Model Works, where The Other Half of Church is described as an invitation to rethink spiritual growth through both biblical truth and how the brain was designed to change in community.

Connect with Steadfast Christian Counseling:
Website: www.steadfastchristiancounseling.com
Book a free consultation: https://sccandcic.janeapp.com

What if “belonging” doesn’t mean fitting in… but finally getting to be fully yourself?

In this episode of The Steadfast Podcast, Jessie Evans sits down with Charleston therapist and author Jen Jackson to talk about her book Softly Wired: Reflections of an Autistic Therapist and the journey of self-acceptance—especially for women who discover their autism later in life.

Together, Jessie and Jen explore:

• Why therapy isn’t about “fixing yourself,” but recognizing and accepting yourself

• How masking and camouflaging can lead to burnout (and what it feels like to unmask safely)

• Why safe relationships help your nervous system recover faster

• Bottom-up healing: why your body often knows the truth before your mind can explain it

• A compassionate, trauma-informed approach to faith and church environments (especially for sensitive nervous systems)

• How curiosity becomes the gateway to compassion—with yourself and others

If you’ve ever felt like you had to shrink, brace yourself, or perform to be accepted, this conversation is a deep breath.

Charleston friends: If you’re ready to explore therapy in a warm, faith-respecting, trauma-informed space, we’d love to support you.
🌿 Learn more: www.steadfastchristiancounseling.com
📅 Book a free consultation: https://sccandcic.janeapp.com

Softly Wired: Reflections of an Autistic Therapist — Hardcover & Paperback on Amazon:
👉 https://www.amazon.com/Softly-Wired-Reflections-Autistic-Therapist/dp/B0G1RVRJKS

eBook Version (Kindle):
👉 https://www.amazon.com/Softly-Wired-Reflections-Autistic-Therapist-ebook/dp/B0G3HYZYL6

What if self-care isn’t a bubble bath… but a front porch?

In this warm, laughter-filled episode, Jessie sits down with Southern storyteller and internet favorite Landon Bryant to talk about:

• Southern culture vs. country identity

• Emotional safety in families

• Hospitality as self-care

• Humor as connection

• Authenticity and integrity

• Letting chaos become comfort

• And a HUGE live career announcement 👀

Mid-conversation, Landon casually shares that he’s been invited to make his debut at the Grand Ole Opry!!— and we get to celebrate that moment in real time.

This episode is about secure attachment, rooted identity, and the kind of connection that allows you to be the same person everywhere you go.

Landon Bryant is a Southern humorist, storyteller, and cultural commentator known for celebrating Southern life with authenticity and heart. His content blends comedy with deep cultural reflection — reminding people of the beauty of community, hospitality, and belonging.

Follow Landon here:

🌐 Website: https://landontalks.com
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/landontalks
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/landontalks
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@landontalks
🎟️ Tour Dates: https://landontalks.com/tour

(Be sure to check his site for Charleston dates 👀)

At Steadfast Christian Counseling in Charleston, SC, we help individuals, couples, and families build:

• Secure attachment

• Emotional safety

• Stronger marriages

• Healthier parenting

• Authentic connection

If you’re ready to strengthen connection in your home, we’d love to walk with you.

🌿 Learn more:
www.steadfastchristiancounseling.com

📅 Schedule your free consultation:
https://sccandcic.janeapp.com

Couples counseling is not just “learn better communication and move on.” In this episode, Jessie Evans and Steadfast counselor Tiff Holdgate unpack what’s really happening underneath conflict—attachment styles, nervous system reactivity, old hurts that stack over time, and the “cycle” that can start running your marriage.

You’ll hear practical ways to prepare for couples counseling, how to recognize bids for connection, and why individual healing often becomes part of relational repair (because your body can say “I’m in” while your nervous system still feels unsafe). We also talk through what doesn’t belong in couples work—like active abuse or addiction—because safety and stability come first.

Ready to explore couples counseling with a trauma-informed therapist?
✅ Website: www.steadfastchristiancounseling.com
✅ Book a free 20-minute consultation: https://sccandcic.janeapp.com

Helpful resources mentioned:

• “Bids for connection” (Gottman): bids are small attempts to connect and matter more than most couples realize.

• Free attachment style quiz: Attachment Project

When your child snaps, withdraws, rolls their eyes, or says “I don’t care,” it can feel like rejection—but often it’s communication. In this episode of The Steadfast Podcast, Jessie Evans (owner of Steadfast Christian Counseling) sits down with Emily Coomer, LPC to help parents slow down in the moment, understand what’s happening underneath the behavior, and respond in ways that build emotional safety and secure attachment.

We talk about:

• Why “pushing away” can happen most in safe relationships

• The “anger iceberg” and the feelings underneath (fear, shame, overwhelm, sadness)

• How secure attachment is built through consistency + repair, not perfection

• How to validate emotions without validating harmful behavior

• Practical phrases and tools for pausing before you react

If you want support for your child (and practical tools for you as the parent), we’d love to help.

Steadfast Christian Counseling (Charleston, SC)
Website: www.steadfastchristiancounseling.com
Book a free consultation: https://sccandcic.janeapp.com

The “postpartum” season is bigger than we think — it’s the perinatal period, spanning pregnancy and often 1–2 years after birth. In this episode, Jessie Evans sits down with Steadfast counselor Annalise Lind to explore what happens internally when your “control panel” changes during pregnancy and early parenthood.

Through an Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens, we talk about how anxiety, intrusive thoughts, perinatal OCD patterns, and even depression can be understood as protective parts — not proof that you’re broken. You’ll hear a shame-free, faith-sensitive conversation about:

• Why intrusive thoughts are so common (and why they feel so terrifying)

• How OCD cycles work — and what actually helps

• How old attachment wounds can resurface when you become a parent

• Why community support matters (and how to ask for what you need)

• Practical tools for noticing parts and coming back to your grounded “Self”

📚 Books Mentioned in This Episode

1) The IFS Workbook for OCD

• Amazon (Print)

• Amazon (Kindle)

2) Boundaries for Your Soul (Alison Cook & Kimberly Miller)

• Amazon (Print)

• Amazon (Kindle)

• Amazon (Audiobook)

If you’re in Charleston and want support during pregnancy, postpartum, or the perinatal period, our team at Steadfast Christian Counseling is here for you.

Website: www.steadfastchristiancounseling.com
Book a FREE consultation: https://sccandcic.janeapp.com

One word is carrying way too much weight right now—and the confusion is hurting people.

In this episode of The Steadfast Podcast, Jessie Evans responds to a recent Gospel Coalition article (“Why Women Are Going to Therapy Instead of Church”) and makes the case for a needed distinction: pastoral care/discipleship and clinical counseling are not the same thing. We’re not comparing apples to apples.

Jessie breaks down why scope of practice matters, why licensure exists (education, board oversight, ethics, continuing education, evidence-based care), and how well-meaning church “counseling” can unintentionally cause harm—especially when someone is facing anxiety, trauma, postpartum intrusive thoughts, OCD, abuse dynamics, or suicidality.

You’ll also hear what “Christian counseling” means at Steadfast Christian Counseling: we are clinically grounded and trauma-informed, and for clients who desire it, we integrate faith ethically and client-led—guided by professional ethics and client autonomy. In other words: evidence-based therapy with a counselor who understands Christian culture and can hold the faith pieces of your story with care—without pressure or agenda.

📍 Visit our Website
Book a free consultation:
✉️ Join the Steadfast Friday Email Club (weekly encouragement + practical tools):
⛪ Trauma-Informed Church Training: [email protected]

Webpage for this episode

Bare Marriage — Episode 310.

Title: Episode 310: Desiring God Thinks Marriage Is Like Peddling Furiously on the Back of a Tandem Bike

Welcome back to The Steadfast Podcast — and welcome to 2026. In this episode, Jessie talks about the “reentry” feeling of the first few weeks of the year: getting back into routines, resetting the home and office, and setting goals with a gentle, grounded kind of intention.

Then she shares a moment with her daughter that stopped her in her tracks — a “glow up,” defined simply as being comfortable in your own skin. What would it feel like to be more fully yourself this year… and what part of you shows up to rein that in? Jessie explores this through an Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens, inviting you to trade shame for curiosity and move from reactivity to agency.

She also clears up common misconceptions about therapy — including the myth that counseling is “just talking” — and explains why January can be a powerful time to take inventory with support.

If you’re considering counseling in Charleston, SC, we’d love to help.

Steadfast Email Club signup: https://link.mytherapyflow.com/widget/form/Zmgwx48V1NL9CkMdudLv
Free consult booking: https://sccandcic.janeapp.com
Website: www.steadfastchristiancounseling.com

Unpack Your Stuff: The Gift of Secure Attachment

Episode Description (use everywhere):
On my 45th birthday week, I’m sharing why the #1 gift we can give our kids (and our marriages) is to keep unpacking our story. We talk IFS parts, attachment safety, repair over perfection, and why healthy couples work is often individual work in the context of relationship. I also highlight Adam Young’s Make Sense of Your Story and why “you can’t find yourself by yourself.”

If you’re ready to begin this work, we’d be honored to walk with you at Steadfast Christian Counseling in Charleston, SC.
Website: www.steadfastchristiancounseling.com
Book a free consult: https://sccandcic.janeapp.com

Note: We do not provide couples therapy in situations of abuse or active addiction; safety and stabilization come first.

We all know gossip doesn’t feel good — but why do we still do it?

In this episode, Jessie unpacks Brené Brown’s concept of common enemy intimacy — that counterfeit sense of closeness we get when we “hotwire connection” by bonding over who or what we both dislike. It feels like connection, but it’s actually built on judgment, not truth.

From cancel culture to middle school mean-girl dynamics to adult friendships built on shared negativity, Jessie explores what gossip does to our relationships, and what it reveals inside us. Using insights from Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and faith, she shares how gossip often comes from protective parts longing to belong — and how we can transform those impulses into real, lasting connection.

If you’ve ever caught yourself joining in on gossip, this episode offers both grace and guidance.

👉 Learn more at www.steadfastchristiancounseling.com
💬 Book a free consultation at https://sccandcic.janeapp.com

Episode Description (for podcast platforms & webpage intro):