Untangled Faith Podcast

12/16/2024

Some of the most powerful and gutting words I've read about how our own comfort keeps us from truly caring about abuse issues.

"A person might value vulnerable people in the abstract — or might even declare a strong commitment to justice — but very few people will sacrifice anything they truly value to correct an injustice that doesn’t involve them immediately and directly."

That. Oof. I wish it wasn't true.

This is a gift link so you can bypass the paywall.

Yes, people want justice — as long as justice costs them nothing or very little.

12/12/2024

I'm taking a break from recapping some of the popular books from the last several decades to share this conversation I had with Lore Wilbert.

In 2022 she published the book A Curious Faith. I picked it up and read it again recently. I was struck with how this is a message that has stayed with me. I decided to re-share this episode I initially published two years ago.

We talk about the idol of certainty, the power of questions, and how she dropped a West Wing nod into her manuscript.

If you need a conversation to keep you company while you're folding clothes, doing the dishes, running errands, or going for a walk, this episode is a perfect companion. You can find this episode on your favorite podcast listening app or by going to UntangledFaithPodcast.com

12/11/2024

I loved this conversation with Lore Wilbert about the power of questions and the idol of certainty. (Link below)

12/04/2024

One of the things I'm so thankful for and proud of about my mom was that she knew, from her work with women in abusive marriages, that some Christian marriage books were harmful.

And she wasn't afraid to say that out loud.

Before anyone with a platform in the Christian world was saying "This is dangerous," she knew and she told our local pastor and struggling women.

Not everyone had the benefit of that foundation.

I'm so saddened about the shame and burden Christian marriage books have placed on desperate people (mostly women) who were willing to do anything to save their marriages while their spouse had no such inclination to do the work to be a healthy and loving partner.

Melissa Hogan and I had a great conversation about the 1986 marriage book His Needs, Her Needs.

11/01/2024

https://untangledfaith.substack.com/p/beyond-the-christian-voter-guide

You probably have political fatigue by now.

10/29/2024

In 2016, so many of my conservative friends told me to ignore the guy at the top of the ticket and pay attention to the party and policies. For 8 years, that's what I've been doing.
Which policies actually reflect the way of Jesus?
https://untangledfaith.substack.com/p/how-donald-trump-changed-how-i-think

10/22/2024

Did y'all know I'm rebooting the Untangled Faith podcast? I am! And I'm jumping back into the podcast game by sharing some conversation about faith and politics. I would love for you to listen to my conversation with Chris Staron about how Evangelicals and Republicans became so tightly tied together. Go listen on your favorite podcast player by searching for Untangled Faith and checking out the most recent two episodes. (I'll leave a link in the comments to the most recent episode)

07/24/2024

"Who you are when you talk about politics is who you are."

We don't get a pass for being jerks or for sharing untrue things just because that's how it is when it comes to politics.

It's easy to compartmentalize our discussions about our strongly held political opinions as if it's one area in which we get a pass for demeaning and dehumanizing others.

It's easy to share articles and posts and images that make claims about the politicians we don't like without doing any due diligence to make sure what we're sharing is actually true.

It's easy to talk about people who vote differently or have different conclusions about how to accomplish something as if they are ignorant and beneath us.

04/15/2024

4 years ago I clicked "publish" on an article where I shared publicly why Nathan left Ramsey Solutions.

I don't regret sharing it even though we've paid a cost monetarily, emotionally, and relationally.

Sometimes a place that claims to be a light on a hill is full of darkness and you don't realize it until someone actually turns the lights on.

https://open.substack.com/pub/untangledfaith/p/four-years-ago-i-went-public-about?r=3w462&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

04/06/2024

Three years ago, I did something brave.
I launched a podcast that talked about some of the messy and difficult things that happen inside our Christian communities. I'm so proud of what we accomplished together.

I recently announced that I'm shutting down the podcast, but I've decided to re-release some of my favorite episodes, including some from the very beginning.

I cringe a bit as I listen to my early attempts at audio editing, but so much of it stands the test of time. As a part of the first two episodes I published, I had a conversation with Mary E. DeMuth. The words she shared hold up three years later.

We're no longer releasing new episodes of the Untangled Faith podcast. Instead, we'll be re-sharing some of the old classic episodes. Thanks for supporting the podcast! On the first episode of The Untangled Faith Podcast, Amy has a conversation with author and speaker, Mary DeMuth about the characte...

03/20/2024

After almost 3 years, I've made the difficult decision to wrap up the Untangled Faith podcast.

I talk about it in the audio I shared today. I'd love for you to listen.

Thank you for allowing me to speak in your actual ears for all these hours. Thank you for sharing your stories with me. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

Thank you for caring about and believing me when I shared our family's personal experience with the Ramsey organization.

Putting together a podcast and sharing it with the world takes a lot of time and it costs money to do all the things to make it work. I never did this to get rich. Working at Taco Bell would be much more effective if that had been my goal. However, I'll soon have two kids in college. 👀 I need to figure out a way to bring in an income to help offset this cost. (If you have any job leads you think might be good for someone like me who isn't sure what she is good at, let me know! 😆)

I'll likely do another podcast at some point. I'm thinking through what that might look like. It won't look like this one though. This is a space that takes a toll emotionally, and I need something that isn't so taxing on my mental health.

Thank you, again. I'm so grateful for each one of you.

02/28/2024

Why do you think this is?

"I don't understand the blinders approach. But even more than that, I don't understand the approach of people who don't proactively check to see if their leaders are safe." - Becky Castle Miller

Becky Castle Miller talked about this on this week's Untangled Faith podcast episode.

Pull up a seat and share your thoughts on why you think people don't proactively do the work to see if their leaders are safe. I'd love to hear from you!

02/23/2024

Podcasting is this crazy thing that creators spend a lot of time working on and then aren't really sure who is listening. So, it's fun to see when you make the needle move. Thanks so much for listening and sharing episodes with your friends. It makes a huge difference!

02/14/2024

In June of 2022, I recorded myself saying the words, "This is not my dream."

If you're reading these words or listening to my voice as I read them, you know what it's like to find yourself in a place you never wanted to be. That's where I was when I shared those words on the Untangled Faith podcast.

I don't know the exact path that led you to run into me here, but my hunch is that it involved the death of a dream. Maybe more than one.

We had a dream that died on April 26, 2019 in Brentwood, Tennessee. But if you're going to understand that day in 2019, I need to tell you about some days in 2011 and 2012 and the influence of a book with this name:

Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job & Your Dream Job by Jon Acuff.

🎙️You can catch the rest of this essay on this week's Untangled Faith podcast episode https://pod.link/1561001170/episode/5d1f7a569ba5d9c6d392ab89d80c7000

02/07/2024

On this week's episode of Untangled Faith, we dove into the idea of church membership and why it can be a tricky subject for some of us.

Nathan joined me as we talked together about some things we hadn't previously told each other about wrestling with the idea of becoming members of our church.

And my friends, Melissa Anne and Amanda joined me and shared their perspectives! I'd love for you to listen.

https://pod.link/1561001170/episode/810a967d3cb19d048231f505dce88c98

02/04/2024

I'm working on a writing project and prepping for an upcoming podcast in which I talk about the idea of official church membership. I would love to hear your thoughts. There is no right or wrong answer. Are you currently an official member of a church? Does your church have a membership process(some don't)? If you attend a church that has a process for becoming a member and you have decided not to do that, what brought you to that decision? And, if you know much about denominations or church history, I would love to hear you chime in with any info you might have regarding what, if any, Biblical basis you have heard for churches to have a membership process.

01/18/2024

I'm sitting at my desk working on podcast content plans for 2024 and I was wondering if you would answer one question for me. Maybe two.

When you press "play", what are you hoping to get from the podcast?

Of the episodes you most enjoy, what is it about them that you like?

Thanks a million for answering one or both questions. I'll be giving away Amazon gift cards to two of you(chosen randomly) who respond either in the comments or by DMing me or emailing me.