Podcasts about secular

In this teaching I share a personal update and then explore my "two god problem". If you want to know the latest happenings in my world and what I'm doing or if you left the god of your religion but still hunger for something more please join me for this update. If you appreciate my efforts please consider a donation to: "paypal.me/newdayglobal" or search for me on Substack where I post a lot of material on this. Thank you!

Offended Liturgically - The Secular & Sacramental (Part 7) by St. Mark ATL

What if the worldview functioning as an opiate today is not religion, but its absence? In this field notes episode of Inquiry, Kelly Chase examines atheism not as a private belief or philosophical conclusion, but as a very recent mass cultural formation that now functions as the default worldview of educated Western society. Beginning with Marx's famous claim that religion is the opiate of the masses, she asks whether modern secular materialism may now be serving a similar sedating function by making vast areas of human experience feel intellectually off-limits. From there, the episode turns toward elite metaphysics. The public is often told that materialism is the rational, mature, evidence-based position, yet many of the people and institutions shaping the future take seriously spirituality, consciousness, simulation theory, mysticism, ritual, and esoteric frameworks. The question is not whether any single belief system is true, but whether citizens trained to dismiss the symbolic and metaphysical have been given a map that cannot represent the terrain power is actually navigating. Finally, the episode considers the empirical and philosophical pressure points inside strict materialism: the hard problem of consciousness, near-death experience research, the PEAR Lab at Princeton, Dean Radin's work at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and anomalous findings that are usually met not with rigorous refutation but with studied disregard. These findings are not treated as proof of any particular metaphysics. They are treated as evidence that the question remains open, and that a genuine skeptic should apply suspicion not only to extraordinary claims, but to the dominant worldview that decides in advance which claims are allowed to count. Topics explored: Marx and religion | opiate of the masses | atheism as ideology | secularization | materialism | consciousness | the hard problem | non-material reality | elite belief | WEF and spirituality | Silicon Valley mysticism | simulation theory | René Girard | Peter Thiel | Elon Musk | Bohemian Grove | ritual and power | Skull and Bones | esotericism | operative metaphysics | near-death experiences | PEAR Lab | Dean Radin | anomalous cognition | mind-matter interaction | dogma and skepticism | worldview enforcement | social sanction | epistemic humility | the metaphysics of power Inquiry with Kelly Chase is brought to you by SpectreVision Radio.Produced in partnership with Voltage.fm.  Referenced In This Episode A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right — Karl Marx (1843/44) The Death of Christian Britain: Understanding Secularisation 1800–2000 — Callum G. Brown (2001) Religion's Sudden Decline: What's Causing It, and What Comes Next? — Ronald F. Inglehart (2021) The Role of Faith in Systemic Global Challenges — World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on the Role of Faith (2016) Faith, the Internet and Improving the State of the World — World Economic Forum (2016) Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness — David J. Chalmers (1995) Near-Death Experience in Survivors of Cardiac Arrest: A Prospective Study in the Netherlands — Pim van Lommel et al. (2001) Margins of Reality: The Role of Consciousness in the Physical World — Robert G. Jahn & Brenda J. Dunne (1987) Experiments Testing Models of Mind-Matter Interaction — Dean Radin (2006) The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena — Dean Radin (1997) Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World — René Girard (1978) I See Satan Fall Like Lightning — René Girard (1999) Support The Show Patreon: inquirywithkellychase.com Substack: inquirywithkellychase.substack.com Connect with Kelly Website: kellychase.media X: @kellychasemedia Instagram: @kellychasemedia TIMESTAMPS 00:27 Braving Belief Talk 01:26 Atheism as Opiate 02:22 How New Secularism Is 04:21 Elites Aren't Secular 07:03 Materialism's Blind Spots 08:35 Anomalies and Dogma 10:01 Social Enforcement of Belief11:53 A Better Skepticism 12:37 Waking Up to Metaphysics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In many Black households of yesteryear, portraits of Martin Luther King, Jr. hung alongside pictures of John F. Kennedy and Jesus. Sharron Wilkins Conrad, fellow at Southern Methodist University's Center for Presidential History, joins guest host John McCaa to discuss how Black families viewed martyred leaders who advocated for change and how that respect didn't extent to President Johnson, who was tasked with actually passing Civil Rights legislation. Her book is “The Trinity: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Civil Rights in African American Memory.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Text us your questions!We continue our conversation with pastor and author Matt Erickson of Eastbrook Church in Milwaukee. The job of many pastors feels like that of a CEO, with a focus on leadership strategy and the "three Bs": buildings, budgets, and butts in seats. This conversation offers a slower, deeper, and more hopeful way to think about church health, discipleship, and long-term spiritual formation.We dig into the sequoia metaphor: doing work you may never see mature, trusting God with fruit you can't control, and learning to “know the soil” of a local congregation. That leads into the daily practices that make this possible, from deep roots in a pastor's own life with God to the courage to let certain ministries die and become compost for what comes next. Then we take a hard turn into prayer, including Simone Weil's claim that “unmixed attention is prayer,” and why contemplative attention can be a distinctly Christian practice rather than mere mindfulness.From there, Matt helps us frame pastoral work inside Charles Taylor's “secular age,” where belief is an option and we all live under cross-pressure from competing ideas and value sets within a larger secular frame. We talk about the constant temptation to become a religious salesperson in a spiritual marketplace and why “bearing witness” could be a better model. We also wrestle with orthodoxy, the role of the creeds as family story, and the difference between right belief and lived faithfulness. Finally, we go straight at the question many pastors dread: how to pastor through Trumpism, political idolatry, and public Christian compromises, with the Black church and voices like Howard Thurman and Bonhoeffer shaping the horizon.Catch Part 1 of this conversation here.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal.Other important info:Rate & review us on Apple & SpotifyFollow us on social media at @PPWBPodcastWatch & comment on YouTubeEmail us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.comCheers!

In this episode, we discuss how a global economic outlook for fractured alliances, fiscal strain, and massive-scale AI investment could drive divergent possibilities – and reward diversified, high quality fixed income and credit strategies. The discussion and content provided within this podcast is intended for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate for all investors. Reliance upon information provided in a podcast is at the sole responsibility of the listener. The information included herein is not based on any particularized financial situation, or need, and is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, a forecast, research, investment advice or a recommendation for any specific PIMCO or other security, strategy, product or service. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. All investments contain risk and may lose value. Investors should speak to their financial advisors regarding the investment mix that may be right for them based on their financial situation and investment objective. Podcasts may involve discussions with non-PIMCO personnel and such content contain the current opinions of the speaker but not necessarily those of PIMCO. Other podcasts may consist of audio recording of an existing PIMCO article and such material contains the current opinions of the manager. The opinions expressed in all podcasts are subject to change without notice. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed. PIMCO as a general matter provides services to qualified institutions, financial intermediaries and institutional investors. This is not an offer to any person in any jurisdiction where unlawful or unauthorized. For additional important information go to www.pimco.com/gbl/en/general/legal-pages/podcast-disclosures CMR2026-0521-5513952-T

Most culture wars are fought over the body — but what if we’ve been looking at it all wrong? Spotlight hosts David Smith and Alyssa Sonnenbrg listen as Professor Nancy Pearcy exposes the deep roots of the secular worldview that devalues the body, from transgenderism to abortion and environmentalism. In this eye-opening episode, you’ll discover how the secular ethic views the body as insignificant and how this mindset fuels today’s most urgent debates about gender and identity.… Continue Reading

By Tim Martens - Fifty years from now, what will our neighbors say about us and our example. Numerous times the Bible reinforces that we should “love our neighbors as ourselves.” This message shows what Biblical wisdom we can learn from our secular neighbors.

How do we actually raise our children in the faith? In this episode, host Elizabeth Pittman sits down with Rev. Dr. W. Mart Thompson, author of Family Discipleship with Christ. Dr. Thompson maps out a partnership between the home and the congregation that is both theologically grounded and practically usable. He draws on Luther's Small Catechism, extensive field research, and his own experience of daily prayer with his family to help parents and pastors understand what faithful, grace-filled family discipleship looks like in today's changing cultural landscape.Episode Timestamps1:51 — Introduction — Welcome & book overview2:30 — The quest begins — a seminary student's question that launched a lifetime of research5:00 — Map and compass — the Lewis & Clark framework for navigating family discipleship8:00 — The compass of new creational wisdom — God's design, sin, and grace working together11:30 — Defining family discipleship — the partnership of home and congregation14:00 — Starting with common ground — the bold claim that all parents want the best for their children17:30 — Secular liturgies — how culture forms children's hearts away from Christ21:30 — Parents as the primary faith-formers — why God has creationally positioned them for this work24:30 — The Flathead Lake aha moment — Luther's catechism as a daily family prayer book29:00 — The congregational paradigm shift — from church-centered to a home-and-congregation partnership33:30 — Seven things for the congregation, seven for the home — the map in practice37:30 — Tools in the book — the family audit, family mission statement, and bibliography41:30 — All kinds of families — how this approach serves non-traditional and single-parent households44:00 — Closing encouragement — there is always more grace in ChristAbout the GuestRev. Dr. W. Mart Thompson is associate professor of practical theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He presents at workshops and conferences on the vocation of raising children in the faith and is the project manager for the Family Discipleship Initiative at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in partnership with the Concordia Center for the Family. Prior to being called to the seminary, he served as a campus pastor, sole pastor, and senior pastor. Mart, and his wife, Cheryl, are blessed with three children who are married and have children of their own, in whose homes the legacy of family discipleship continues. Resources MentionedFamily Discipleship with Christ by Rev. Dr. W. Mart Thompson — cph.orgDr. Thompson's blog post on family discipleship (a dialogue between a professor and a seminary student, forthcoming) — concordiatheology.orgConcordia Publishing House: Bringing you God's enduring Word in a changing world.

This bonus show is a wild ride. Seth tells the story of a magical backyard visitor, plus we talk about Pride month, immigration, AI, and the wacky Christian claim that God honors women.YouTube video of this streamPastor Burleson's defense of womenBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

******Support the channel******Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenterPayPal: paypal.me/thedissenterPayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: https://tinyurl.com/yb3acuuyPayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9lPayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpzPayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9mPayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y95uvkao ******Follow me on******Website: https://www.thedissenter.net/The Dissenter Goodreads list: https://shorturl.at/7BMoBFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedissenteryt/Twitter: https://x.com/TheDissenterYT This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: http://enlites.com/ Dr. Carl-Johan Palmqvist is a Researcher in the Department of Philosophy at Lund University. He is a theoretical philosopher with a special interest in the borderland between belief and disbelief, and the many non-doxastic attitudes, like hope, fear, and faith, by which we navigate any context of uncertainty. He is the author of Semi-Secular Worldviews and the Belief in Something Beyond. In this episode, we focus on Semi-Secular Worldviews and the Belief in Something Beyond. We talk about the premise of the book, and the framework of worldview theory. We also talk about the Nones. We discuss semi-secular worldviews. We talk about Somethingism and its different types; whether it is rational to believe in Somethingism; and non-doxasticism. Finally, we discuss whether Somethingism has the necessary resources to cope with existential problems.--A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, BERNARDO SEIXAS, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, PHIL KAVANAGH, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, FERGAL CUSSEN, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, ROMAIN ROCH, YANICK PUNTER, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, NELLEKE BAK, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, HEDIN BRØNNER, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, SUNNY SMITH, JON WISMAN, WILLIAM BUCKNER, LUKE GLOWACKI, GEORGIOS THEOPHANOUS, CHRIS WILLIAMSON, PETER WOLOSZYN, DAVID WILLIAMS, DIOGO COSTA, ALEX CHAU, CORALIE CHEVALLIER, BANGALORE ATHEISTS, LARRY D. LEE JR., OLD HERRINGBONE, DAN SPERBER, ROBERT GRESSIS, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, VALENTIN STEINMANN, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, BR, JONAS HERTNER, URSULA GOODENOUGH, DAVID PINSOF, SEAN NELSON, MIKE LAVIGNE, JOS KNECHT, LUCY, MANVIR SINGH, PETRA WEIMANN, CAROLA FEEST, MAURO JÚNIOR, TONY BARRETT, NIKOLAI VISHNEVSKY, STEVEN GANGESTAD, TED FARRIS, HUGO B., JORDAN MANSFIELD, CHARLOTTE ALLEN, PETER STOYKO, DAVID TONNER, LEE BECK, PATRICK DALTON-HOLMES, NICK KRASNEY, RACHEL ZAK, DENNIS XAVIER, CHINMAYA BHAT, RHYS, ALEX MACLEOD, HAIDAR, JULIEN PORCHER, AND ROBERT SUNDSTRÖM!A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, TOM VANEGDOM, BERNARD HUGUENEY, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, JONCARLO MONTENEGRO, NICK GOLDEN, CHRISTINE GLASS, IGOR NIKIFOROVSKI, PER KRAULIS, ADAM HUNT, AND ANTHONY DI LORENZO!AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MATTHEW LAVENDER,SERGIU CODREANU, AND GREGORY HASTINGS!

Sociologist and secular studies professor Dr. Phil Zuckerman recently spoke about secular morality at Calgary's We Can Reason conference, and his data would surprise many Christians.SPEECH VIDEOBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

In today's episode of the Atheist Experience, Secular Rarity and The CrossExaminer tackle the rising tide of Christian nationalism and the subjective nature of "personal" truth! They explore why mandatory Ten Commandment displays fail both the Constitution and basic math, while challenging callers to ground their supernatural claims in evidence. From Near-Death Experiences to the logical boundaries of creation, the hosts examine whether faith is a reliable path to reality.Kelly in MN cites a Near-Death Experience involving Jesus as proof of divinity. Hosts challenge brain reliability during trauma and the circularity of using a personal moral yardstick to pick scripture. Can hope exist without objective evidence?Luke in FL argues God is impossible because words cannot create matter. Hosts critique shifting the burden of proof and suggest compassionate inquiry over mockery. Is calling a belief "stupid" an effective way to change minds?Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

Tesis 3 - El cristiano no tiene una vida sagrada y otra secular by #radiocristiana #versiculodeldia #deultimominuto #emisoracristiana©️ Radio Ebenezer RDConviértete en un supporter de este podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/radio-ebenezer-rd--3279340/support.ESCUCHAR RADIO 

Tesis 3 - El cristiano no tiene una vida sagrada y otra secular by #radiocristiana #versiculodeldia #deultimominuto #emisoracristiana©️ Radio Ebenezer RDConviértete en un supporter de este podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/musica-cristiana--4958188/support.

Tesis 3 - El cristiano no tiene una vida sagrada y otra secular by #radiocristiana #versiculodeldia #deultimominuto #emisoracristiana©️ Radio Ebenezer RDConviértete en un supporter de este podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/meditacion-del-dia--4064350/support.ESCUCHAR RADIO 

Tesis 3 - El cristiano no tiene una vida sagrada y otra secular by #radiocristiana #versiculodeldia #deultimominuto #emisoracristiana©️ Radio Ebenezer RDConviértete en un supporter de este podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tu-historia-preferida--4231678/support.ESCUCHAR RADIO 

Liturgical Practice - The Secular & Sacramental (Part 5) by St. Mark ATL

Seth has a broken finger and a sob story. Plus...he answers audience chat questions in this bonus broadcast.VIDEOBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

Text us your questions!Randy and Kyle sit down with Milwaukee pastor and author Matt Erickson to explore a different vision of pastoral ministry: not the pastor as CEO, brand manager, or religious expert, but the pastor as gardener. Matt's book, The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry, grows out of real ministry pressure, including moral failures, church decline, the pandemic, and the strain of navigating racial justice and polarization in a multiracial congregation.We dig into why agrarian imagery in Scripture still has bite for modern life, even in an urban church context. The gardener metaphor reframes leadership around cultivation instead of control: planting and watering while admitting we can't manufacture growth. That shift changes what we celebrate, what we fear, and what we measure, especially when the visible “fruit” of ministry looks strong but the hidden “roots” of prayer, integrity, and interior life are neglected.From there, we talk about what shepherding can still mean today, why care for the sick and grieving often gets delegated away, and why pastors need space to evolve without being treated like they've failed. Along the way we touch Gregory of Nyssa, Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, and the pressure for pastors to project certainty in a world where nobody can be an expert at everything.Look for Part 2 of this conversation in a couple weeks.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal.Other important info:Rate & review us on Apple & SpotifyFollow us on social media at @PPWBPodcastWatch & comment on YouTubeEmail us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.comCheers!

Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today we're joined by Rebecca Maxwell, a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Jacksonville Counseling Services. With 15 years of prior church ministry experience and now leading a growing counseling practice, Rebecca brings a unique perspective that bridges biblical truth and clinical insight. Are you feeling unprepared when people come to you with deep emotional or mental health struggles? Wondering how to respond wisely without overstepping your role? In this conversation, Rebecca helps church leaders better respond to crises and care for people in more informed and effective ways. Why pastors often feel unprepared. // Rebecca reflects on her years in ministry and recognizes that many church leaders simply lack the training needed to identify and respond to mental health challenges. While pastors are often the first call when someone is in crisis, most have received minimal formal education in this area. As a result, well-intentioned leaders can miss important warning signs or unintentionally cause harm. Rebecca emphasizes that pastors don't need to become therapists—but they do need a basic framework for recognizing distress and knowing how to respond appropriately. Slow down before you try to solve. // One of the most common mistakes leaders make in crisis situations is moving too quickly to solutions. Offering Scripture or advice immediately—while well-meaning—can sometimes shut people down if they don't first feel heard. Rebecca encourages leaders to practice the “ministry of presence”: allowing individuals to tell their story, expressing empathy, and bearing witness to their pain. This approach helps regulate emotions and creates space for truth to be received later, when the person is more grounded and able to process it. You don't need all the answers—but you need a plan. // A critical takeaway for church leaders is the importance of knowing where to turn for help. Rebecca stresses that leaders don't need to be experts, but they must have a resource network in place. This includes vetted counselors, crisis resources, and trusted professionals they can contact when situations escalate. Without this preparation, leaders may feel stuck or overwhelmed in high-pressure moments. Addressing misconceptions about mental health. // Rebecca also addresses a harmful but common belief in some church contexts—that mental health struggles are simply a sin issue. While sin can play a role, this perspective oversimplifies the complexity of the human mind. She explains that just as the body can become ill, so can the mind. Ignoring this reality can lead to shame, misdiagnosis, and ineffective care. Instead, churches need a more integrated understanding of people as whole beings. Why the church must engage this conversation. // If churches remain silent on mental health, people will seek answers elsewhere—from social media, AI tools, or secular sources that may lack biblical grounding. Rebecca urges leaders to step into this space with confidence and compassion, offering both truth and practical support. The church has an opportunity to be a trusted starting point for healing—but only if it is equipped to respond. A practical next step for every church. // Rebecca strongly recommends that anyone working with people receive basic crisis training, such as QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer). This short training equips leaders to recognize warning signs, respond appropriately, and guide individuals toward help. It's a simple but powerful step that can literally save lives. To learn more about Rebecca Maxwell and her book, Jesus and Your Mental Health: Linking God’s Word and Modern Science to Find Peace about Mental Health, visit JesusAndYourMentalHealth.com and download a sample here. Explore additional resources at jacksonvillecounseling.net. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. So glad that you have decided to tune in today. You’re gonna be rewarded for that. I know that the conversation we’re having today, that this week, probably four or five times, you’ve thought about issues adjacent to this, and it’s gonna be super helpful. We are leveraging an expert. We’re gonna take advantage of this person to really help you this week and to help you solve some real problems. Rich Birch — Excited to have Rebecca Maxwell with us. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She started Jacksonville Counseling Services in 2015 to serve her Florida community with counseling services that integrate best practices with a biblical foundation.Rich Birch — The cool thing about Rebecca, well, there’s lots of cool things about her, but one of the cool things about her is prior to her voyage into marriage and family therapy, she spent 15, not 50 years in…Rebecca Maxwell — I look amazing.Rich Birch — Yeah, exactly. …in church ministry with children, adolescents, and family. So it’s just a great background, dual background for us to kind of tap into today. Rebecca, welcome to the show. So glad you’re here.Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, glad to be here, Rich.Rich Birch — Apologize for the 50 year. That’s…Rebecca Maxwell — Hey, I mean, I look good for doing this for 50 years.Rich Birch — Yeah exactly. Why don’t you kind of give us a bit of a background? Tell us, fill out that, you know, bio a little bit. Tell us a little bit about yourself.Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, so I’m married to a pastor, but I want to just be clear that I was in ministry first.Rich Birch — Yes. Good. Good.Rebecca Maxwell — I fell I fell into ministry ah after getting a degree in management from Georgia Tech… Rich Birch — Okay. Rebecca Maxwell — …and the Lord just kind of opened some doors, and I had to figure out what that was going to look like. Started in ministry to teenagers, youth. And did that faithfully for many years and also did a little bit of adult discipleship and kids ministry along the way, kind of got my training as I went along. Rebecca Maxwell — And there was a there was a point where God was just really beginning to lay the foundation for a different direction, a new call. And I spent a couple semesters in seminary trying to figure that out and ah didn’t think that was where the Lord was taking me to finish that training. And a friend, honestly, this was the best question I’ve ever been asked. She asked me, Rebecca, what do you love about youth ministry? What’s the favorite what’s your favorite part of your job?Rebecca Maxwell — And I said, you know, I love talking to teenagers and their parents about life stuff. And she said, well, I think you’d make a great counselor. And so that was the that was the the great question that got me in the direction of seeking more training in counseling. And I did marriage and family therapy because I was working with family so much… Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — …and really believing that the health of the family was so important to the health of the kids. And the kids were really like my driving force in what I was doing. Rich Birch — So cool. Rebecca Maxwell — So that it took me in that direction and along the way got to do some cool things in ministry and now working alongside churches in Christian, biblically based, also clinically informed counseling.Rebecca Maxwell — And so I have a practice in Jacksonville of there there’s about 18 of us now. And along the way, God gave me an experience that allowed me to to really know that I needed to be distinctively Christian and biblically based in my practice, that that was going to be important for my community. And so that’s that’s what we do. We try to bridge the best of psychological science with what the Bible says…Rich Birch — Yeah, so good. Rebecca Maxwell — …and serve our community.Rich Birch — Well, friends, you can see why I’m excited to have Rebecca on the on the call today, because I think, well, there’s a lot there, but there’s you know this idea of of being clinically informed and biblically based. I think you have a lot to help us think through these issues you know as pastors, as leaders. You know We’re wrestling with these kinds of questions all the time.Rebecca Maxwell — Of course. Rich Birch — We’re thinking about all of these things, referring people, and all this this comes up all the time. So you spent 15 years in church ministry before going down this road of being a licensed therapist. What did you see during those years as you reflect back on that time that made you realize, hey, maybe maybe church leaders need more help in this space? I’m declaring that I think we do. So, you know, I’m putting those words in your mouth. So, you know, don’t you know don’t be offended, listeners. That’s me saying that. But what do you what do you think?Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, I think that I didn’t know what I was seeing when I was in ministry with some students and their families. I just knew that there was distress… Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — …and I didn’t know why in some cases. And not everything was a mental health issue, but I certainly missed a lot of those. I didn’t know how to meet kids and families who were in like mental crisis moments.Rebecca Maxwell — So, you know, my husband has been all the way through seminary. And so I know that he took one class in pastoral counseling that I helped him with.Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — And so this is a big issue in our community. And I don’t think that church leaders are generally well-equipped, like broadly. Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — I know there are there are more and more church leaders who are doing a deeper dive into understanding mental health and mental illness. But I would say by and large, the training isn’t there. And the problem with that is that people, parishioners, are going to go to their church leaders first when they’re struggling because they’re trusted. They’re a trusted source of on life. And so if our folks aren’t trained well, they can unintentionally cause harm. And I want to emphasize unintentionally… Rich Birch — Right, right. Rebecca Maxwell — …because nobody wants to miss something or cause harm. And, you know, they may accidentally just miss things. And, you know, suicide continues to be on the rise. And we don’t want to miss the pleas, the cries of a desperate person. And we also don’t want to minimize those. Rebecca Maxwell — We don’t want to give, you know, Christian euphemisms that don’t really address and see what’s going on deeper. Because not people don’t always show you what’s going on deeper right in the beginning. So a little bit of training goes a long way. And I know having been there and even now today, like we just don’t have enough, enough knowledge.Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — And church leaders are never going to be master’s level therapists. That’s not I’m asking for.Rich Birch — No. Right. Rebecca Maxwell — But I think we can have a better partnership to help each other.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s, that’s good. Well, let’s, let’s start. I want to come back to the the suicide question in a minute. Rebecca Maxwell — Okay.Rich Birch — So I want to put a a bookmark in that and come back to that. Cause there’s specifically, I want, I got a couple of questions around that, that I’d love to get your thoughts on. But let’s go back to that idea of pastors getting the first call. Many of us have been in on that, right? We get the, you know, a family’s in crisis mode. Something’s falling apart. I can’t, I can’t deal with this situation.Rich Birch — In fact, actually, I’ve used this yeah as like an example when training campus pastors where I’m like, there’s, you know, when someone calls you with a crisis call like that, what you say in the first 30 seconds matters. Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah. Rich Birch — Like actually that, you know, even on the phone, you know, hey, you know, so what, what happens, talk to us from your perspective, what, what usually happens in that conversation or what, where, where could that go sideways? How do we, how do we end up maybe intentionally we’re trying, unintentionally we’re trying to help, but we, things just don’t go right because we do something dumb, you know, in the, in the first little bit.Rebecca Maxwell — Well, think all of us are problem solvers. And so we want to give someone a solution to the thing that they’re experiencing. Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — And so that’s where we can like well-intentioned, we can kind of drop people. Because if we too quickly try to just point them to a scripture or give them a truth, which is true, we can tell them some true things about who God is and, and where he’s working and those sorts of things. And again, it’s true. But sometimes in that moment, it’s not helpful. Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — Sometimes a person needs to get out a little bit more of what they’re experiencing and just have someone to bear witness to their pain, right? And we see this in the scripture. Jesus did this over and over where he he he spent that time with someone to kind of bear witness to their pain before he sent them in a different direction.Rebecca Maxwell — And obviously we need both of those. I don’t want people just swimming around in the pain forever either. That’s not helpful. But I do think we move too quickly sometimes when we get that first call. You know, we just want to solve that thing. Rich Birch — Yep.Rebecca Maxwell — And sometimes we just need to kind of slow down and the and give the ministry of presence.Rich Birch — What’s a good way, maybe maybe put a bit more kind of practical bones on that. I love that idea of the ministry of presence. Hey, we’re just going to, my job right now is just to be here with you. Talk us through what that looks like.Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, I think it’s allowing someone to get their story out. And sometimes that’s not convenient because sometimes it’s long, you know.Rich Birch — Yep.Rebecca Maxwell — So to get their story out to and to be listening for the strengths and the positives that the person might be saying but isn’t quite aware of.Rebecca Maxwell — And actually…Rebecca Maxwell — you know, this, this happened yesterday to us. Rich Birch — Okay.Rebecca Maxwell — And so maybe like a story will help.Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah, that’s great.Rebecca Maxwell — Someone called in to our main office line and got one of actually my personal assistant, didn’t get the clinical admin, but got my personal assistant. And asked the question, if I kill myself, will I go to hell? Rich Birch — Wow.Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah. And my personal assistant knew enough to reach out to our team right away. And so I was able to help kind of walk her through what to do. And some of the things that I told her were just keep this person talking, right? Ask about their life, all aspects of what’s going on. Let them get their story out. Because what happens when we put words to our experience and someone bears witness to that is the emotions don’t have such a grip on us. They kind of relax a little bit.Rebecca Maxwell — And my assistant told me that as she was able to kind of just continue to keep this this woman talking, that she could just, over the phone line, experience kind of that release, that she got a little bit of relief, not ultimate relief…Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — …but a little bit of relief just in telling her story. And my personal assistant, I was able to walk her through listening for the strengths, listening for the positive things, that then you can come back around to. Not minimizing or negating the struggle, but bringing more balance to the truth. Because because then when they when they calm down and they’re more in their logical brain then you’re able to deliver truth in a way that they can grab onto. Rich Birch — That’s good. Right. Rebecca Maxwell — But when they’re heightened and they’re in such distress trying to kind of speak truth in that moment just kind of bounces off of them. Does that make sense?Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah, there’s that moment of like it’s like that fight or flight thing that’s going on in our brain, right? Rebecca Maxwell — Yes. Rich Birch — Where we’re just like, I just want out of this situation… Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah. Rich Birch — …whatever’s happening to me… Rebecca Maxwell — Yes. Rich Birch — …and and none of us make, you know, wise decisions in those moments.Rebecca Maxwell — No.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s, that’s, that’s amazing. How did your, well, first of all, like, I think all of our churches have got a call like that, maybe not exactly that one, but you get that call that’s like, whoa, this is, this is heavy. And particularly, yeah, so so how how did your, how did your assistant know what to do in that moment? How did you, like, that doesn’t, is that under other duties as assigned? How does, how did you, how are they prepared for that?Rebecca Maxwell — Well, I think one, she doesn’t have the clinical experience, but she is a believer and she’s walking with the Lord and she has the ultimate power source within her. So she knew to immediately start kind of praying in her spirit as she was talking.Rich Birch — Right. Right. Right.Rebecca Maxwell — And then she knew where to go. She knew who to call on.Rebecca Maxwell — And I think that that’s another important concept for church leaders is: Who are you going to call on in a crisis?Rich Birch — Yep.Rebecca Maxwell — When you are sitting with someone who is actively considering ending their life, or they’re just in a really, maybe they’re not at that point, but there’s they’re dealing with something else.Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — Who are you going to call on? You don’t, I tell church leaders, you don’t have to have all the answers. You don’t have to know exactly what to do and where to where to point people, but you have to know where to go to resource yourself. Rich Birch — Yep.Rebecca Maxwell — And that’s what my personal assistant knew. Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — She knew how to resource herself, how to get some help. And so I was able to, you know, she’s on the phone and I'm texting her questions and things like that… Rich Birch — Right. Okay. Rebecca Maxwell — …so she knew where to go. Yeah.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s cool. You know, a best practice i’ve we’ve seen in many churches, ah but I’m surprised, I still am surprised that when I bumped into churches and they don’t have this, is like a resource list of like, here are some trusted counselors, some trusted people to talk about. Talk to us about that from your side. You’ve seen both sides of that equation. How do we develop a list like that? How do we how do we make that available? How do we how do we do that in a way that is most helpful for for our team, for maybe our staff, or for people who are just at our church.Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, it takes a little bit of time, but there are resources in your community. You just have to find them, usually.Rich Birch — Right. Yep.Rebecca Maxwell — And there are some purely online resources as well. I think the first step is probably gaining some understanding of the different types of clinicians who are out there… Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — …and and what they’re best suited for, what issues they’re best suited for.Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — You may have someone in your congregation who is a counselor. And so that might be a good first step is to get them on board to help you create a vetted list to what should I be asking when I want to partner with someone?Rebecca Maxwell — Because it’s one thing to say, I’m a Christian and a counselor. It’s another thing to say, I am counseling from a biblical framework. I’m counseling from a biblical worldview. And so you know, understanding how to make that distinction, you know, someone in, in your congregation may, may have the ability to do that.Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — But just how to ask the right questions so that you can begin to build a resource list of, like I said, we are biblical worldview clinically, like informed. And so you, you want to have some people like that… Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — …because we are operating under the license of our state. We have a code of ethics that we’re following. We have oversight. And I think that’s really important. You also have biblical and pastoral counselors that are some are very, very well trained. But you need to understand like what that lane is… Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — …and what is a more clinically informed lane. And so, and a lot of people don’t have that understanding and rightfully so. Right? There’s so many different practitioners and we don’t, we don’t really know who has kind of what skills and what’s appropriate in their lane.Rich Birch — Yeah, absolutely. you got to do a little bit of research around even the language that’s used, you know, the difference between like a life coach and a counselor… Rebecca Maxwell — Right. Rich Birch — …and a therapist. Rebecca Maxwell — Right. Rich Birch — And, you know, like, and, you know, be a little bit suspicious of people if they’re like, hey, I want to get on that list. And are there any from your—give us the inside scoop—are there any red flags that you would have? Let’s say I’m reaching out, I’m talking to a number of therapists in my community and, if somebody says something or is there something that, you know, I want to be wary of, of, ohh I’m not sure we necessarily want to point people in their direction?Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, I think this is a more subtle one. Rich Birch — Yep. Rebecca Maxwell — But I think when someone says I’m a Christian, but you know, I really don’t bring that into my practice at all. Rich Birch — You want to ask some follow-ups?Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, let’s ask some follow’s ah some follow ups. Rich Birch — Yes. Yeah. Rebecca Maxwell — Because in general, and I’ll kind of expound on this particular one… Rich Birch — Yep. Rebecca Maxwell — …regardless of what the clinician’s faith background is, we are trained to um to bring up a person’s spiritual part of self as part of holistic practice.Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — Unfortunately, a lot of clinicians are just leaving that part out completely. Rich Birch — Okay. Yep. Rebecca Maxwell — Because of politics and taboos and, you know, and we don’t want to get in trouble sometimes with our our licensing boards, right? Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — But we are all trained to see a person holistically. And we would, in in my field, we would say bio, psycho, social, spiritual—biological, psychological, social/relationships, and spiritual. But we’ve we’ve kind of left out the spiritual. And so, we should all, no matter whether you’re a Christian or not, we should all be asking and inquiring about a patient’s spiritual life. Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — And that’s a really easy open door. So if someone says, you know, I’m such and such, but I don’t…you know, I really don’t bring that up and in counseling at all. I understand that they’re afraid to, and there’s, I understand.Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell —But you really want a clinician who’s not afraid to inquire more generally about a person’s spiritual life.Rich Birch — Right. Right.Rebecca Maxwell — And I think that’s a big one.Rich Birch — Yeah. And the combo of doing that in a licensed environment, you know, so you’re getting kind of the best of both worlds there really makes a lot of sense. Like, Hey, were, you know, I understand why, you know, that makes, that makes sense. That’s a good, that’s a good line there. Rich Birch — So kind of a different, it’s related, but different train of thought. I know there are churches out there that have like a, a negative view on on like mental health… Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah. Rich Birch — …on mental illness, on counseling in general. They they it gets really black and white. And they’re it’s like, like I have a family, yeah, I have a family member who their pastor told them, you know, it’s just totally a sin issue and like andRebecca Maxwell — Yes.Rich Birch — They had been struggling with issues for a long time. And, you know, that was a huge weight on their on their life… Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah. Rich Birch — …that they carried, you know, for a well into their kind of 80s, late into life. And talk to us, unpack that for us. Like I think that’s just a dangerous approach, but help us and understand that mindset. Why is that dangerous? What’s behind that instinct?Rebecca Maxwell — I think that I think the instinct is probably good that the Bible gives us everything we need for life and godliness.Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — And I think sometimes it’s just potentially a misinterpretation of just a holistic understanding heart, soul, mind, and strength of a person. That the mind…because in Deuteronomy, it, it, it doesn’t say heart, soul, mind, and strength that comes in Jesus words in, Mark. And I think also Luke, But in Deuteronomy, it’s heart, soul, strength. And so mind is not broken out in that original text.Rebecca Maxwell — And then I believe that it is broken out and listed in the New Testament because I really think Jesus wanted to highlight that. And we see, I mean, the mind is talked about about 180 times in the New Testament. And so it’s a really important aspect of us.Rebecca Maxwell — And so think that unintentionally the mind is not considered distinctly and is maybe not seen as an object of brokenness and illness in the same way, right? Like we see, obviously we see if the pancreas doesn’t work properly, we have diabetes, right?Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — Or we get cancer and obviously that’s not our fault. But the mind is the thing we have the most control over. And so think people think that that’s just a sin issue. You just need to stop or do something differently. And we don’t have the full understanding, especially because science is still understanding the interplay between the mind and the physical brain… Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — …and how they interact with each other. And so I just don’t think a lot of people have kind of caught up with understanding that, you know, that is a distinct part of self that can be broken, just like the body can be broken.Rich Birch — Right. Just like having a broken leg or whatever. Rebecca Maxwell — Right.Rich Birch — Yeah, and that I think that’s a great that is a great transition to, you’ve actually written a book on this that I’d love to unpack a little bit. You use this you know whole self integration—heart, soul, mind, and strength. It’s kind of at the core of what you’re talking about. Why don’t you walk us through that framework a little bit more? The book we’re talking about is “Jesus and Your Mental Health: Linking God’s Word and Modern Science to Find Peace about Mental Health”.Rich Birch — I would love people to pick up copies of this. We’ll get to that in a bit, but kind of unpack how that those four inform the framework of the conversation in this book.Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, so it’s really like setting our thinking on holistic health and putting mental health right inside the framework of whole self. So we do things to, we do things to help our physical health and our spiritual health and our relational health. And so we probably ought to be thinking about the health of our mind. You know, again, it’s mentioned 180 times plus in the New Testament.Rich Birch — Wow.Rebecca Maxwell — So it must be pretty important, this renewing of our mind and how we go about that. And this idea that we’re integrated. So our mind impacts our body, impacts our soul, and our soul impacts our body, impacts our mind, impacts our relationships. Like it’s all integrated. Rich Birch — Right.Rebecca Maxwell — And we can utilize some of the healthy habits of the other three parts to help our mind. And we can utilize this thing we have control over our mind to impact the other parts of self. And we know this just anecdotally in our own lives, right? Like very simple things like when my dad taught me to throw a softball, he had me point at the target and direct my body… Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — …and my mind and my eyes in that direction. And then the ball went there. Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — Well, we can use that concept, you know, in all of mental health, you know, where we direct our mind, the rest of us follows.Rebecca Maxwell — And so really just understanding that integration and how we can use it for the common good and not, not separating this mental health and continuing to stigmatize it as, you know, sin just a sin problem. I think that’s where we go wrong, is that if you have and a malady of the mind, it’s really a sin problem. Sometimes it is. Rich Birch — Right, right. Rebecca Maxwell — But it’s a little more complicated than that as well.Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, it it seems like there’s a false dichotomy in a lot of leaders’ minds around, um well, it’s exactly were talking about, Bible and psychology, Bible and therapy. Like there’s there’s like those two things can’t interact with each other. Which which side of that equation do you experience more? Like, is it more from like church leaders that are skeptical or is it more from maybe leaders who are from outside the church who you’ve mentioned this already, who don’t pursue kind of the spiritual conversation? Which of those do you see? Cause I can see it from both sides where I’m like, oh, I could see on both sides of that conversation.Rebecca Maxwell — Absolutely.Rich Birch — People are like, and then we’re not meeting in the middle. And that’s why it’s great that you exist and why your organization exists. So, uh, talk to us about where do you see the pressure more from?Rebecca Maxwell — I really see it on both sides, honestly… Rich Birch — Right, right. Rebecca Maxwell — …just kind of like you’re describing, you know. Secular psychology really wants to leave out, you know, spirituality and um any, any, really any firm truth, you know, absolute truth.Rich Birch — Right, right.Rebecca Maxwell — And then the church, because of that, a lot of times just in general, we’ll be like, well, we got to throw all of that away because it’s not useful at all.Rich Birch — Right, overreact.Rebecca Maxwell — And I just, I don’t, I don’t think that’s helpful. We, we utilize science, scientific concepts in our everyday life. And so we, you know, we need to find the the good and the truth in what, you know, research based psychological science is showing us because there is some common good there, just like there is in, you know, other discover scientific discoveries.Rich Birch — Well, I I think this is a great resource. I’m so glad you’ve put this book together. And I’d love to talk about how you could see it being used. I know for me, and we’ll link in the show notes actually to a sample of the book. So you can, you don’t even have to buy anything. Just look at the sample to start before you buy it. I so I thought this could be a great resource for us as like a staff team to read through as kind of like a, hey, here’s like a primer on some of these issues for us to be thinking about, even just to kind of frame the conversation to be thinking about these things.Rich Birch — Who are you picturing as you put this together? What’s what’s your kind of vision for how you hope this resource will be used by churches?Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah. When I wrote the book, I was picturing someone kind of like me and my friends who are, you know, love the Lord, love their families, are trying to help their families live in health in all aspects of their life. And as I was writing it, what I realized with also some prompting of my pastor was that this could be a really great resource for equipping churches.Rebecca Maxwell — The very people that I wrote it for, the mamas, you know, in that are serving in the church and very involved, but also church staff and volunteer leaders, because what I’m trying to give people is really a grounding for how to think about mental health and mental illness from a suffering, you know putting it in like a suffering standpoint. And then equipping them with a ton of scripture to back up the understanding of the mind and the brain and how to have a healthy mind, what happens when the mind isn’t healthy and then some common both some common roots of mental illness, including trauma and family of origin issues, and then some, some really common problems in the area of mental health, anxiety, depression, grief, and loss, so that people can be equipped with a resource that they can hand to someone, or they can say, Hey, read chapter seven on anxiety… Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — …you know, and someone is going to get a biblical understanding of where anxiety shows up in the scripture. How Jesus shows up in that? What are some practical ways that psychological science gives us to deal with that? What does the Bible say about how to deal with that? And let’s kind of put all of these things together.Rebecca Maxwell — So they’re really going have both just under an understanding of grounding in mental health and also some practical ways to address those issues. And then really ending with like, hey, how do you know when you need more help than what this book can give you?Rich Birch — That’s good.Rebecca Maxwell — And how do you find the right person to help you?Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s fantastic. Yeah, there’s, you know, just even as I’m flipping through looking at the chapters, like just so much helpful stuff in here, identity and self-esteem. Who does Jesus say I am? Attachment. How did my childhood impact my relationship? Trauma. That’s a word we hear all the time. Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah.Rich Birch — Where is Jesus when that happened? And I think there’s just, this is gonna be so helpful for so many leaders to check out and and to and to use as a resource.Rich Birch — I think this is the kind of book, like you said, I could picture, hey, I got five copies of this and I’m gonna end up in a conversation where it’s maybe not somebody that’s in like an immediate crisis right now, but they maybe their kid is wrestling with these issues. And on top of, yes, I’ll meet with them, I’ll pray with them. And yes, here’s the list of counselors, but like, here’s a book to read as well to help you think through this. I think this could be incredibly helpful for people.Rebecca Maxwell — I hope so. Yeah.Rich Birch — Yeah, where where do where can people get, if they want to get copies of this book, where do we want to send them to pick up copies of this?Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, anywhere books are sold online. So Amazon and Barnes and Noble, Walmart, Target, places like that. And folks can reach out to me about getting like bulk copies. Rich Birch — Oh, great.Rebecca Maxwell — They may already have places they get bulk books, but they can reach out to me to get that. I have some other resources like discussion guides that I am happy to give if people reach out to me – discussion guides and other just resources for folks that maybe, I’ve had a bunch of people reach out because they want to kind of do a book study with their disciple group or things like that.Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell — So, you know, my goal really is to equip the church. I want the church to be the the trusted source where people can come to and begin a healing journey. And so I think this will help equip people in the church, both, you know, paid staff and lay leaders to to really help people.Rich Birch — If people want to reach out to you, where where do we want to, where do we do that? Where do we want them to do that to? To reach out to you?Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, the best is probably my website, JesusAndYourMentalHealth.com.Rich Birch — Love it. That’s great. I want to talk about that trusted source idea that you just referenced there. This conversation is a conversation that’s happening in the broader culture. It’s just happening, right? Rebecca Maxwell — Yes. Rich Birch — Like it’s, you you know, you open up, I read The Economist all the time. Every week in The Economist, there’s some sort of article that is, if not directly talking about this, it’s connected to it. What happens when the church in general just stays silent on the mental health issues? What happens if we if we don’t engage this? Kind of inspire us a little bit.Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, well, there’s a lot of noise. And so people are going to go to TikTok and Instagram and even ChatGPT…Rich Birch — Right. Yes.Rebecca Maxwell — …to get there their information. And they’re not always going to get biblically informed information. Rich Birch — Right. Rebecca Maxwell —And that’s why it’s so important that we’re equipped because people are coming to churches more and more for practical guidance on the stuff that they’re actually going through. Rich Birch — Yep.Rebecca Maxwell — And the Bible is not silent on the practical stuff. And so we want to be well-equipped to go to the scripture with them and to point them in the right direction and to give them some kind of guardrails and guidance for finding help. Otherwise, it’s like you’re kind of floating out in this sea of information. I wouldn’t even say knowledge or wisdom, but information.Rich Birch — Yes.Rebecca Maxwell — And you don’t really know where to anchor.Rich Birch — Bullet points. Checklist. Yes. Yes. Five steps to.Rebecca Maxwell — Right.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s yeah, that’s ah yeah, that’s so good. It’s interesting on the AI thing. There’s but bunch of studies that have shown that’s really the primary use how people are using ChatGPT, particularly. They’re using it as like a counselor.Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah.Rich Birch — And um I I mean, there’s like that’s dangerous. So it’s incredible. Well, this has been a great conversation. Any kind of final words you’d say as we wrap up today’s discussion?Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah. You know, kind of, I think the thing I want to leave people with is a little bit of where we started in the beginning, which is managing crisis. Something that’s really, I think, important for anybody working with people is to get trained in how to prevent suicide. And there is a training called QPR instead of CPR. Rich Birch — Yeah, let tell us about this. Yeah, yeah, tell us about this. Yep.Rebecca Maxwell — It’s QPR question, persuade, respond. And it’s like an hour long, maybe 90 minute online training or anyone that works with people can be trained in how to basically do CPR for people that are having a mental health crisis that could literally save lives. And the skills that are taught in that are transferable to people that aren’t in crisis. Rebecca Maxwell — And so that’s the thing I mostly want to leave. Like there’s a lot of information to be found. And obviously I would love people to get my book, but I really want everyone that works with people to be trained in how to respond to people who are having a mental health crisis, how to know what to say, how to persuade them to get help. I think that, you know, we could, we’re, we could really save lives there.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s, that’s, how do we go about finding QPR training? Like if we, I think this is, again, what a great takeaway. You’ve landed this great takeaway right here at the end, even for our staff teams. Let’s get that on our schedule. Rebecca Maxwell — Totally.Rich Birch — Like I I think about the people that are answering the phone at the church. I’m like, I was thinking about that earlier when you were talking about your assistant. I'm like, man, I want to make sure that they get the kind of training because, you know, I don’t want to fumble that ball. So where, where do we, where would people find training this QPR training?Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah. You can find them online. I think it’s qpr.org, but I’m kind of looking it up as we speak because I’m like, dang it, I should have had that reference.Rich Birch — Right. Yep. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. ahRebecca Maxwell — QPR.Rich Birch — No, no, that’s okay.Rebecca Maxwell — It’s QPR. qprinstitute.com Rich Birch — Perfect. QPR Institute.com. Rebecca Maxwell — qprinstitute.com Rich Birch — Great. Perfect. That’s, that’s fantastic. Well, Rebecca, I really appreciate you being on today and helping us serving us. I want to make sure folks, again, the name of that book is “Jesus and Your Mental Health: Linking God’s Word and Modern Science to Find Peace about Mental Health”. Grab that at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. We’ll put links in the show notes to that. We’ll put links in the show notes to your website, anywhere else we want to send them online so they can track with you or with the book?Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah, our our practice website is jacksonvillecounseling.net. Rich Birch — Perfect.Rebecca Maxwell — So we only really can practice in Florida, Texas, Colorado. That’s where we have.Rich Birch — Yes.Rebecca Maxwell — But we do have a blog, a mental health blog on there. I have a podcast called Jesus and Your Mental Health. So those are some other resources just, you know, to get more information about mental health concepts. You know, we all love a good podcast and bite-sized learning on something. Rich Birch — Yes.Rebecca Maxwell — So those are a couple couple couple extra things for folks.Rich Birch — Well, Rebecca, I appreciate you being here today. Thanks so much for being on the show.Rebecca Maxwell — Yeah. Thanks, Rich.

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There are only two people Jesus pointed to in the gospels about whom he said they had "great faith". What did these two people have in common? And more importantly. What does this have to do with us today? In this teaching we unpack the problem of faith and how it has been misunderstood for the last 500 years and how this misunderstanding is the dominant frame today. When we understand what Jesus actually meant by "great faith" we can have a totally different conversation about religion, deconstruction and even atheism.

Liturgical Journey - The Secular & Sacramental (Part 4) by St. Mark ATL

Almost exactly one year after Season 6's Expo 2025 deep dive with Sachiko Yoshimura, the Krewe closes the loop with two people who were actually there. Lea Disimone & Bridget McCarthy served as Youth Ambassadors at the US Pavilion during Expo 2025 Osaka, and they share what the program was really like from the inside, from a day in the life to the lasting impact it left on them. Two New Orleans connections, one world's fair, and a conversation worth the wait. ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, Threads: @kreweofjapanpodcast & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ Past KOJ Episodes ------ Expo 2025: Japan on the World Stage ft. Sachiko Yoshimura [S6E2] Hanging Out In Hyogo ft. Rob Dyer of The Real Japan [S5E14] Checking Out Miyagi ft. Ryotaro Sakurai (Guest Host, William Woods) [S5E5] Explore Matsue ft. Nicholas McCullough [S4E19] Travel Hiroshima ft. Joy Jarman-Walsh [S4E4] Travel Aomori ft. Kay Allen & Megan DeVille [S3E17] Hungry For Travel ft. Shinichi of TabiEats [S3E15] Henro SZN: Shikoku & the 88 Temple Pilgrimage ft. Todd Wassel [S3E12] ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!

Y'all made this happen...Ignore us conflating secular and non-secular! We're talking about religion in witchcraftWhat started as a running joke about toenails unfortunately, hid a horrifying truth: Nail clippings, and other“taglocks,” actually do have a long history in witchcraft. So .... we had to talk about it... Thanks...Then we have a surprisingly thoughtful conversation about secular vs religious witchcraft, egregores, animism, gods, skepticism, ritual, and whether belief itself can create meaning, power, or even divinity.Irish Pagan School, Lora O'Brienloraobrien.ieGet Yer Anahata's Ticketsanahataspurpose.comDelegating upwardwitchhut.questTrailer for Blood in the Snow by TheKetchupPantherhttps://youtu.be/KiqRltWhoXs?si=dOJ0xh4NFFbQlfiowitchbitchamateurhour.comPlay Skyrim With Charlyetwitch.tv/charlye_withawhyWant to help support the Podcast? Consider becoming a Patron!patreon.com/wbahpodcastAdvertise with us!Just shoot an email to wbahpodcast@gmail.comSnag yourself some WBAH Merch!Meet New Witches!Your Average Witch Podcastyouraveragewitchpodcast.comIt's A Whole Thing Podcastwww.wholethingpodcast.comSupport the showGet Ya Witch Shit!Crepuscularconjuration.comCharm by Charlye MichelleAncestor Oil and Fire Scrying Sessionscharmbycharlye.comOur Video EditorEldrich Kitchenm.youtube.com/channel/UC_CwBrVMhqezVz_fog716OwContact Us (Come Eat With Us)Instagram @WitchBitchAmateurHourFacebook @WitchAmateurHourwbahpodcast@gmail.comHandwritten letters are actual magic!601 Kingston RdSte 300 #1011Benton, LA 71006We are not doctors, lawyers, or professionals. We're amateurs. Nothing we say should be taken as advice, instruction, or seriously. Any actions taken based on our content can and will lead to chaos, injury, existential crises, your pets no longer loving you, and possibly death. We make no promises and assume no liability.

Crimes and Cover-ups in American P The history that the textbooks left out.For far too long, American history has been left in the unreliable hands of those that author Donald Jeffries refers to as the court historians. Crimes and Cover-ups in American Politics: 1776-1963 fights back by scrutinizing the accepted history of everything from the American War of Independence to the establishment reputation of Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers, the Civil War, the Lincoln assassination, both World Wars, US government experimentation on prisoners, mental patients, innocent children and whole populated areas, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and much, much more. Secular saints like Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt are examined in a critical way they seldom have been.Jeffries spares no one and nothing in this explosive new book. The atrocities of Union troops during the Civil War, and Allied troops during World War II, are documented in great detail. The Nuremberg Trials are presented as the antithesis of justice. In the follow-up to his previous, bestselling book Hidden History: An Expose of Modern Crimes, Conspiracies, and Cover-Ups in American Politics, Jeffries demonstrates that crimes, corruption, and conspiracies didn't start with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.History should be much more than cardboard villains and impossibly unrealistic heroes. Thanks to the efforts of the court historians, most Americans are historically illiterate. Crimes and Cover-ups in American Politics: 1776-1963 is a bold attempt at setting the record straight. olitics: 1776-1963Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

This week's podcast tackles everything from Canada's MAGA to the Evil Oreo, with plenty of listener calls.Seth's Substack article on "The World's Emptiest Man"Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

Join my Group https://chat.whatsapp.com/DYdfRcOLgCl7ccQI0AbvyN?mode=gi_t The Jewish Truth Bomb 18MAY2026 - PODCAST

On today's episode, Johnnette Williams is joined by Allison Ricciardi to talk about secular therapy and keeping the family united! Allison delves into the practicalities on how to keep your family united and communicate with your adult children.

In this episode, I explore the concept of holding two things at once, a practice that has become central to my own experience, especially during a recent personal transition. I discuss how we're often conditioned to assign a single emotional label to any given moment, leading us to suppress or feel guilty about other valid feelings that arise simultaneously. The core teaching is that life, in its most meaningful moments, is rarely simple and often involves a complex interplay of emotions and experiences, such as joy and grief, or love and resentment. Key takeaways include recognizing that our "story" layer often simplifies experience, while the raw experience itself is multifaceted, and that every moment is both a first and a last, making it precious. This practice is relevant to navigating life's complexities, from personal relationships and major life events to our own self-perception, by allowing us to be fully present to complicated moments without needing them to be anything else.Explore more at eightfoldpath.com: full transcripts, guided meditations, courses, and Noah AI, an AI you can chat with about any episode or teaching. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liturgical Antiquity - The Secular & Sacramental (Part 3) by St. Mark ATL

In Episode 40 of The Unholy Podcast, host Doug Owen sits down with Joe Stewart for a grounded, thought-provoking look at demons outside the boundaries of traditional religious doctrine. Rather than approaching the subject strictly through theology, this conversation explores the possibility that demons may be something older, stranger, and more complex—non-human intelligences, elemental forces, parasitic entities, or dark presences that exist beyond the physical world.Doug and Joe discuss demonic encounters, oppression, possession, incubus and succubus reports, and the dangerous mistakes people make when they attempt to confront these forces without experience. The episode also examines how fear, trauma, stress, anger, and negative emotional energy may create openings for darker entities to attach, influence, or feed.This is not Hollywood horror. This is a serious conversation about what may be waiting in the shadows—and what happens when the darkness answers back.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/paranormal-uk-radio-network--4541473/support.

In this episode, I explore the cosmic metaphor of stars, planets, and black holes as three distinct ways humans experience the world. Drawing parallels from the Artemis II moon mission and the film Project Hail Mary, I discuss how these celestial bodies represent generating light (star mode), reflecting light (planet mode), and consuming light (black hole mode). Key insights include understanding that these are temporary states, not fixed identities, and that our interconnectedness, as described by the Buddhist concept of Indra's Net, means we are all part of a larger system. This understanding offers practical applications for navigating our relationships and inner experiences with greater compassion and skill, recognizing that even in difficult "black hole" states, change is inevitable and our awareness of these states is the first step toward skillful engagement.Explore more at eightfoldpath.com: full transcripts, guided meditations, courses, and Noah AI, an AI you can chat with about any episode or teaching. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Sunsetting Trump's Demonstratively Declining Mental and Physical Abilities | Trump's Weak Hand as He Meets With Xi | Molly Crabapple on the Jewish Labor Bund's Struggle For a Secular, Internationalist Society Based on Socialist Ideals of Equality and Dignity backgroundbriefing.org/donate x.com/ianmastersmedia bsky.app/profile/ianmastersmedia.bsky.social facebook.com/ianmastersmedia

Tesis 3 - El cristiano no tiene una vida sagrada y otra secular by #radiocristiana #versiculodeldia #deultimominuto #emisoracristiana©️ Radio Ebenezer RDConviértete en un supporter de este podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/radio-ebenezer-rd--3279340/support.ESCUCHAR RADIO 

If secularism promised liberation, why has it left so many people more disconnected, uncertain, and spiritually hungry than ever?

Why Saints? - The Secular & Sacramental (Part 2) by St. Mark ATL

13/16: Tal Fortgang discusses St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case involving state subsidies for religious schools. Colorado is accused of using secular conditions to exclude religious institutions from preschool programs. The case questions whether states can constitutionally bar religious parents from generally available public benefits.1900 MEXICO

Wintery Knight and Desert Rose welcome Ella, their protégé, to discuss her experiences as a young Christian in secular Europe. They explore how she moved from doubt to confident faith through apologetics. Ella shares her journey navigating university life, the workplace, and cultural pressures while mentoring the next generation. She offers practical encouragement for young believers seeking to live out Christianity with courage and conviction.  Please subscribe, like, comment, and share. Show notes and transcript: https://winteryknight.com/2026/05/09/knight-and-rose-show-76-passing-the-torch-standing-firm-in-a-secular-culture Subscribe to the audio podcast here: https://knightandrose.podbean.com/ Audio RSS feed: https://feed.podbean.com/knightandrose/feed.xml YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@knightandroseshow Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/knightandroseshow Odysee: https://odysee.com/@KnightAndRoseShow Music attribution: "Strength of the Titans" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Lord calls everyone to live a life of surrender, and we have been looking at the various ways God calls people to grow in holiness. Religious life includes the public profession of vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; members of secular institutes dedicate themselves to living in the world and helping to sanctify it. We also learn that those in societies of apostolic life devote themselves to a particular apostolic purpose without religious vows. These calls to holiness are gifts to the Church and the world. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 925-933. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

@PlainEnglishwithDerekThompson  Why the Iran War Is Tearing MAGA Apart | Plain English https://youtu.be/fwrO293IvCY?si=-OZzbx00_bdN81L_   @InterestingTimesNYT    @DarkHorsePod  Is God More Than a Story? Jonathan Pageau with Jordan Hall on DarkHorse https://youtu.be/lDljYM2oJHs?si=avTlfq7ZdSL3iYfp   @justinbrierley  Stephen Meyer vs Phil Halper: The Big Bang & Fine Tuning - Evidence for God? | Uncommon Ground https://youtu.be/EsrfL58iLlE?si=_sib_HqFAg9WDVVt   @VanderKlips  Bret Weinsten and Tucker Calrson are inconsistent on what religion is https://youtu.be/FnmFw62Y6Fg?si=gZ9G-vY5df03cGuC   @TuckerCarlson  Unholy War: A Conversation with Tucker Carlson on DarkHorse https://youtu.be/YRskSFo191Y?si=l-zYIuzb_bzsQEyT  What is the TLC? ("This little corner of the Internet" also know as "the corner" https://youtu.be/Y3vqSjywot8?si=IVS3bnriwje5syPO TLC Search tool. https://tlc.ghost.tel/ The Flotilla List: https://thislittlecorner.net/channels https://www.livingstonescrc.com/give https://www.rigelthurston.com/p/austin-estuary-weekend-paul-vanderklay  https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/finding-god-in-nature-and-culture-tickets-1988447493982 Event in Ireland London Breakwater Event link https://www.tickettailor.com/events/flowinthedarkproductions/2159501 Paul Vander Klay clips channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX0jIcadtoxELSwehCh5QTg https://www.meetup.com/sacramento-estuary/ My Substack https://paulvanderklay.substack.com/ Bridges of meaning https://discord.gg/yXtv7fcH Estuary Hub Link https://www.estuaryhub.com/ There is a video version of this podcast on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/paulvanderklay To listen to this on ITunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/paul-vanderklays-podcast/id1394314333  If you need the RSS feed for your podcast player https://paulvanderklay.podbean.com/feed/  All Amazon links here are part of the Amazon Affiliate Program. Amazon pays me a small commission at no additional cost to you if you buy through one of the product links here. This is is one (free to you) way to support my videos.  https://paypal.me/paulvanderklay Blockchain backup on Lbry https://odysee.com/@paulvanderklay https://www.patreon.com/paulvanderklay Paul's Church Content at Living Stones Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh7bdktIALZ9Nq41oVCvW-A To support Paul's work by supporting his church give here. https://tithe.ly/give?c=2160640 https://www.livingstonescrc.com/give

In this episode, I talk to Devon and Nico Hase about their book, This Messy, Gorgeous Love. We explore how the Buddhist concept of dukkha, or inherent unsatisfactoriness, applies to relationships, reframing difficulty not as a sign of failure but as a natural and even beautiful aspect of partnership. Key takeaways include understanding that relationships are inherently challenging, the importance of "deep listening" to ourselves, our partners, and the space between us, and redefining patience not as passive resignation but as active, courageous engagement with difficulty, or "patience with teeth." This approach offers practical tools for navigating conflict, such as understanding different conflict styles (volcanoes, diplomats, and dodgers) and practicing regular "check-ins" to foster deeper connection and understanding in our messy, gorgeous lives.Explore more at eightfoldpath.com: full transcripts, guided meditations, courses, and Noah AI, an AI you can chat with about any episode or teaching. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.