Finding Free Podcast

Who Is Jesus to Us

March 15, 2024 15:53 - 1 hour - 90.2 MB

The way we think about Jesus impacts the way we talk about faith and how we treat those around us. Who is Jesus to you? Where did that frame of reference come from and has it ever changed? We don’t do a lot of sermon discussion focused podcasts on Finding Free Podcast but there was so much dialogue around Amy’s sermon at Cedarbridge on March 3rd that we wanted to dive a little deeper into this conversation. Our discussion is lively and in our typical style, we laugh a lot a...

Holiday Story Time

December 07, 2023 15:22 - 1 hour - 104 MB

Grab your comfiest blankets and a mug of something great and listen to some stories of holidays past. Laugh as Craig talks about the time his grandpa accidentally got sloshed at a family gathering. Giggle as Amy shares her most memorable Christmas present (double AA batteries required). And Jeff has a family "oops" moment that will have you in stitches. And much more! In this episode we share memorable holiday moments from our growing up years. Some are "remember when" stories th...

Finding Your Free and Feeding Your Soul

November 10, 2023 20:13 - 1 hour - 102 MB

When Craig and Amy started Finding Free Podcast in 2020, they thought a lot about the podcast name. They settled on Finding Free Podcast because they wanted to focus on the freedom and liberation that can come from pushing yourself to break out of the metaphorical places where you feel stuck and bogged down. This podcast was designed to give space to talk about hard topics with authenticity and vulnerability and for the Finding Free listening community to gain strength in hearing and shari...

Faith Deconstruction: A Hard Journey that Challenges the Church to Show Up

October 13, 2023 16:56 - 1 hour - 135 MB

"The next hard road for the Church will be walking with and beside those that are deconstructing their faith, taking it apart either in small bits and pieces or altogether, putting it back together in part or sometimes not at all. The question is, how will the Church show up for people in this space?" ~ Amy Andrews The topic of faith deconstruction can be a hot button issue…but does it have to be? As we grow in faith we often grapple with questions that are no longer satisfied with easy...

Purity Culture, Sex and the Church - Part 2

September 27, 2023 14:57 - 43 minutes - 64.3 MB

TW: purity culture, rape culture, sexual abuse Explicit Content: Language, Sexual Content - masturbation, orgasm gap, general make-you-blush adult content. In Part 2 we continue the conversation about purity culture and its impacts. We talk more about how conversations about purity and sex can be done better, focusing on dialogue about consent, body autonomy and integrity rather than shame and silence. If you grew up in an Evangelical church in the 1990’s, chances are you were exposed...

Purity Culture, Sex and the Church - Part 1

September 15, 2023 13:40 - 1 hour - 126 MB

TW: purity culture, rape culture, sexual abuse Explicit Content: Language, Sexual Content - masturbation, orgasm gap, general make-you-blush adult content. If you grew up in an Evangelical church in the 1990’s, chances are you were exposed to the purity culture mindset. Though purity culture began with the intention of encouraging teens to postpone sexual encounters until marriage, the lasting effects have had significantly negative residual consequences. So what was purity culture exa...

Leaving Christian Evangelical _undamentalism - We Got the “F” Out!

August 23, 2023 14:31 - 1 hour - 134 MB

In this episode, our friend Jeff Bell joins us to talk candidly about what it was like to grow up in and be a part of Christian fundamentalist evangelical organizations and churches in the 80's and 90’s. We discuss what it was like to have this as our main faith experience during our formative years and what it was like to come out of that way of thinking. What did we have to unlearn? What evangelical teachings never set well with us? What was our journey to move past evangelical fundame...

Our Response to the SBC Statement on Women in Ministry

August 04, 2023 14:03 - 48 minutes - 70.4 MB

This June, the Southern Baptist Convention approved an amendment to the Baptist Faith and Message to be approved next summer during their Annual Convention. The amendment restricted women in ministry, who were already not supposed to hold lead pastor roles, from having any pastoral position, where the title of “pastor” was deserved. The role of women in ministry has been debated and debocled for years within some Baptist denominations. Yet the Bible provides us with story after story of ...

LGBTQ Conversations in Local Churches - Part 2: A Conversation with Stan Mitchell

July 12, 2023 14:10 - 1 hour - 110 MB

Many organizations operate in shadowed ambiguity, rather than clarity when it comes to who can do what in the organization, and churches are no exception. Unwritten rules are often enforced leaving individuals confused and hurt when they realize the “All are Welcome” slogan really doesn’t apply to them. Can a woman preach? Will the pastor officiate a same-sex wedding? Will the church hire gay clergy? Can I be baptized and take communion? Churches have the opportunity to be upfront a...

LGBTQ Conversations in Local Churches - Part 1: Questions, Thoughts and Our Experience

June 26, 2023 16:11 - 1 hour - 90.6 MB

Difficult conversations in churches are…well, difficult. Most of us simply aren’t taught how to disagree or discuss hard things in the context of faith within the church. One of the most difficult conversations a church can journey through is a conversation on LGBTQ inclusivity. Since there are typically a lot of theological perspectives, lived experiences and long held beliefs, this conversation in particular can get heated very quickly. Because many denominations are having conversatio...

Limping Into the Kingdom with Layne Rogerson

June 26, 2023 16:05 - 38 minutes - 57 MB

Every experience we have in life impacts us. Some experiences leave a huge impact, like a canyon in the desert. Others might leave such a tiny ripple that we don't even notice the effects. Religious trauma, hurts from the institutional Church, or any pain we experience at the hands of those who represent the spiritual to us are deep wounds that leave an impact that often takes years to process. This sermon that our dear friend Layne Rogerson gave at Cedarbridge Baptist Church in Greenvi...

Holding Space & Sharing Stories: An Interview with Zachary Pomeroy

June 26, 2023 15:13 - 1 hour - 118 MB

Stories matter. Telling our stories matters. And hearing the stories of others matters. It is in the telling of our own stories that we claim our own beauty, claim our own experiences, claim that we matter. And it is in hearing the stories of others, in holding space for what is real for someone else, that we become more fully and beautifully human ourselves. Craig and I are honored to hold and share Zachary Pomeroy’s rich and powerful story of discovery, heartbreak and healing. ...

Faith Deconstruction: Finding Your Own Answers with Stan Mitchell

July 30, 2021 19:58 - 1 hour - 89.4 MB

“In the most general sense, faith deconstruction begins with people realizing that the answers they possess are answers they have memorized that were achieved or developed by other people or authority figures…they were not their own answers. The demand of deconstruction is not that you find different answers, though often that happens, but that you ask the questions and find out for yourself.” Questions about faith are often unnerving...for those asking them, and for those hearing them. ...

Just for Laughs: Dad Jokes with Craig Andrews and Jeff Bell

June 30, 2021 00:06 - 51 minutes - 74.9 MB

Recently Craig and Jeff Bell did a “dad joke” video for Cedarbridge Baptist Church as a fun way to highlight Father's Day. Some of you have seen this video, but what you didn’t see was the rest of the almost full hour of what they recorded. In this episode, we are releasing the full unedited version, and for laughs, we even included soundbites of Amy trying to get the intro right at the end. Enjoy and we hope you laugh with us! And just a warning, we are talking about Craig and Jeff, so some...

Faith Deconstruction: Craig Shares Experiences From his own Journey

May 28, 2021 18:22 - 43 minutes - 64.3 MB

Deconstruction is a bit of a buzz word these days, but for right reasons. Many people, especially those who grew up in a church atmosphere, find that at some point they need to rethink, unpack and "deconstruct" the theology, ideas and foundations that they were given early in life, sorting out elements that caused harm and eventually finding their way to a more complete and wholistic theology. This process is a necessary part of spiritual growth, but can be scary and alienating. In some chur...

Sexual Abuse in the Church: An Interview with Survivor Keith Morris

April 27, 2021 15:34 - 1 hour - 116 MB

Trigger alert: sexual abuse, rape, sexual trauma, religious sexual abuse There are some experiences none of us want to have inside knowledge about. Yet too often the unbelievable happens, and we find ourselves living through experiences that are so horrifying, our lives are instantly and forever changed. Keith Morris grew up as a preacher's kid with a life that revolved around church in every way. As a young preteen in the 1970's, Keith was was befriended, groomed and sexually abused rep...

Trauma & Our Bodies: An Interview with Therapist Sarah Lewis

March 06, 2021 01:07 - 54 minutes - 79.1 MB

Any amount of research on stress and your body will tell you that chronic unresolved stress has a negative impact on your overall health. But what happens when life hands us more than stress, and in fact, we have to deal with experiences that are traumatic? Some trauma is easy to recognize because of the severity of the experiences themselves, but other traumatic experiences may be harder to identify, making it more difficult to get the help that is needed. We are delighted to share our mo...

LGBTQ+ Affirmation: An Interview with Trauma Therapist Sarah Lewis

December 11, 2020 16:57 - 1 hour - 96.8 MB

Despite our best efforts, sometimes we hurt those we love with our words and actions, causing trauma and pain that has to be unpacked and worked through for years. This happens in every family; it is a part of life as we know it. Yet often families of LGBTQ+ individuals have a deeper levels of hurt and abandonment. Statistics of self-harm and depression are much higher in LGBTQ+ teens than average. Of course, this is not the case for everyone, and every story is different. Our conversation w...

Finding Full LGBTQ+ Affirmation: A Conversation with Stan Mitchell

November 17, 2020 19:14 - 56 minutes - 82.3 MB

We are excited to share our conversation with Stan Mitchell with you on Finding Free Podcast! This episode is a must-listen for our community. Stan is Co-Founder of Everybody Church, an online community created as a haven for anyone feeling spiritually homeless, but specifically as a place of inclusion and affirmation for those in the LGBTQ+ community who have been harmed and ostracized by the local church. He spends a lot of his time now working with families and churches as they navigate h...

Finding Full LGBTQ+ Affirmation: A Closer Look at Scripture

November 06, 2020 18:04 - 1 hour - 92.2 MB

During any conversation on LGBTQ+ inclusivity and the Church, the topic of scripture takes center-stage. What does the Bible say about same sex orientation? What does Jesus say? Are there any identified bible verses that address same sex relationships? In this episode, we walk through specific scripture verses that have historically been used to exclude the LGBTQ+ community from full participation in the Church. These verses are often referred to as 'Clobber Passages.' We believe there are o...

Finding Full Affirmation: Our Journey to LGBTQ+ Inclusion

October 14, 2020 19:48 - 49 minutes - 71.5 MB

I have heard it said many times before, “The Gospel is either good news for everyone or it is good news for no one.” Yet time and time again, one group or another gets pushed aside, deemed not acceptable, excluded...by the Church. This conversation is a personal journey that Craig and I have been on for years, and we’ve decided that we can’t be authentic to our own faith or integrity without publicly stating that we are fully affirming of our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters. We have witnessed fi...

Originally Sinful or Originally Blessed: What if We Have Thought About it Wrong All Along?

September 29, 2020 15:40 - 33 minutes - 50.3 MB

Often there are ideas and theologies that we are taught that we hold onto for a while in life, but that eventually we realize need reframing and rethinking. The doctrine of “original sin,” the idea that every human being is born completely separated from God by sin inherited from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, is one that many Christ followers have believed and lived into, though its roots can’t actually be traced back the creation stories in Genesis. Instead, what we see in the creatio...

Pandemic Life: We're Struggling Too!

September 22, 2020 15:03 - 32 minutes - 49 MB

It’s no secret that COVID-19 has everything in life as we knew it either on hold or moving forward in a very different way than we have known before. Every decision seems to take so much effort and yield more problems. We find ourselves on a wheel of uncertainty...spinning and spinning. Anyone else feeling tired or anxious from this constant spinning? Our mental bandwidth is maxed out and Every Little Thing is a Really Big Deal. Everyone is feeling the strain these days and we wanted to l...

Mo's (my dad) Last Game Coaching at Apex

September 07, 2020 18:59 - 8 minutes - 15.4 MB

From 1972 to 1980, my dad (aka Mo, short for Morris) was the varsity basketball coach at Apex High School. When Amy and I were starting our Finding Free Podcast I needed to do a sound test for our phone interview equipment. So I called dad and got him to tell me about the last game he coached at Apex. I was 3 years old, and I do not remember any of this, but I know it had to be exciting! It came down to a last second shot with the ball in the hands of Anthony Byrd who would go on to play...

Power & Position: Religious Leaders Should Use it for Good and Not Harm

August 16, 2020 18:34 - 43 minutes - 64.5 MB

Power dynamics in churches...not something we like to talk about often, especially in today's political and social climate. It's hard but necessary for religious leaders to think about the power they wield in relationships and how it impacts those they communicate with. Especially in a religious context, power is often abused, causing trauma and broken connections. This can lead people to be hurt by the religious leaders that they tend to trust the most. Discussing power in relationship dy...

Amy's 7-12-2020 Oakmont Sermon - Patience: The Link Between Patience and Grace

August 12, 2020 21:41 - 31 minutes - 46.7 MB

Living in a culture that thrives on "more" and "faster," it's no secret that most of us have a hard time waiting for anything. When we begin to associate what we can get quickly with what is successful, we set ourselves up for a spiritual life of discontent. God is incredibly patient with us, and our own patience with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us means not that we wait passively, but that we actively practice viewing others as God views us.

Amy's 6-21-2020 Oakmont Sermon - Intentional Love: The First Fruit of the Spirit

July 09, 2020 01:04 - 29 minutes - 44.2 MB

Ask the general public for a definition of love and you’ll get a variety of answers. We use the word love a lot, especially if you grew up in church and were told to “Love your neighbor” from a very young age. Yet, what does it look like to love others in today’s culture that is brimming with fear? Walter Bruggeman says, “The definitive act of love is justice.” We simply cannot talk about loving others without talking about justice. How do we DO the work of love in a society where inju...

Women in Ministry Part 2: Sharing Her Story - An Interview with Rev. Beth Thompson

June 16, 2020 16:36 - 51 minutes - 74.5 MB

Second in our series on Women in Ministry, we dialogue today with a friend and former co-worker, Rev. Beth Thompson. Beth spent almost 40 years in ministry and was graduating from seminary at the height of the "women in ministry" conflict. She discusses the atmosphere during that time period and describes what helped her stay the course when things were difficult. And if you know Beth, she drops the mic on the regular and hits the truth hard, and this conversation definitely does not disappo...

Women in Ministry Part 1: A Beautiful but Difficult Road

June 05, 2020 17:11 - 42 minutes - 62 MB

When I was in college, I kept having this thought that would not let me go...a sense that, in order to be fully true to myself, I needed to accept that I was being called by God into Christian ministry. I wasn't exactly sure what that was going to look like, but I knew that it was true. Looking back, it is fulfilling to know that I am where I am supposed to be in life, but I'll also admit that being a woman in ministry (as in many other professions) carries more than its share of criticism ...

Has Church Made 'Hearing God' More Difficult Than it Should Be?

May 27, 2020 15:54 - 33 minutes - 49.8 MB

How do we understand and communicate with God? How we grow up and our own personal experiences within church life can greatly impact our view of spirituality and how we understand listening to God. If you grew up in a more traditional church setting there may be automatic rules and stipulations that come to mind on the topic of communicating with God...but does it have to be so difficult? Have we perhaps made "communicating with God" more complex than it needs to be? In this episode Craig a...

Backpacking Part 4: They Really Were Skinny Dipping and Other Funny Stories

May 19, 2020 20:04 - 1 hour - 97.8 MB

In our final episode of the Backpacking Series, we share some of the more humorous experiences we've had on the trail. We simply couldn't end this series without sharing some of these stories. From walking up on people actually skinny dipping to the day we lost two college students, we do a lot of laughing as we relive these tales. We bring in one of our former students, the always delightful Zack Hamby, to share some of his funny experiences and reflections on what the trip has meant to ...

Backpacking Part 3: The Time Where Jeff Bell Swore He'd Never Go Back

May 12, 2020 18:37 - 59 minutes - 86.3 MB

In this episode we interview a very faithful backpacking leader, Jeff Bell. If you had asked him during his first trip if he thought he would go again, he would have said "I'm glad you saw me out here because you will never see me again!" Since his miserable & rainy first year, he has faithfully gone back every year since. As always, Jeff brings his since of humor to the conversation and as an educator talks about how this experience can have a major impact on students' lives. From tent ...

Backpacking Part 2: "My how the trip has changed!"

May 07, 2020 20:05 - 37 minutes - 55.8 MB

In Part 2 of our Backpacking Series, we discuss how the trip has evolved over the last several years. As we learned more about how to manage a group in the wilderness, we were able to focus on helping students grow in leadership skills, team building and wilderness education. Of course you'll hear more about rain, more rain, even more rain and plenty of other funny stories that have happened along the way. Thanks to years of on the trail learning, amazing volunteers and students who are ...

Backpacking Part 1: It's a wonder we all came back alive!

May 01, 2020 16:02 - 18 minutes - 26.8 MB

For the past 20 years, over their spring break, we have taken our high school students on a 4 day, 20 to 30 mile backpacking trip in the NC mountains. If you have ever gone on one of our backpacking trips you may have asked yourself, "How in the world did they dream up this miserable fun?" In Part 1 of this series, we walk through how this trip began as a divinity school project and what the first few years were like. Snow, rain, lightening and hail....we had it all and sometimes we have ...

We're all in the weeds and that's ok!

April 28, 2020 17:00 - 17 minutes - 24.4 MB

Anytime we face a crisis it disrupts everything that is "normal" for us. Often that means a lot of "unaddressed mess" that we can normally ignore --- can no longer be ignored. In this episode, Amy draws hope from the stories of the Jewish exile and offers a way to walk through this ever-changing, vulnerable and liminal space we may find ourselves in right now. Sometimes the seasons of life we cannot predict can be the most transformative if we let them.

Jonah: A story of God's Love for Everyone

April 23, 2020 23:32 - 16 minutes - 23.9 MB

The story of Jonah often captivates us as children. A person, swallowed by a fish? Are you kidding me? Yet even as we outgrow our childish thinking, we can learn a thing or two from this story for sure. In this episode, Amy suggests the book of Jonah has one main point...God's love includes E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E. Those we love and those we don't. Those who think like us and those who don't. When judgement raises its ugly head, we can all learn a thing or two from this kid's story.

Maybe Doubting Thomas should be called Normal Thomas?

April 20, 2020 18:06 - 15 minutes - 22.8 MB

Asking a lot of questions can sometimes get you labeled as a skeptic, trouble maker, or in church lingo, a "Doubting Thomas." But asking questions and searching for answers can be the most holy pursuit we ever take. In this episode, Amy talks about the disciple Thomas and discusses the benefits of asking spiritual questions. Could it be that we should make as much space as possible for questions about faith, those both from others and ourselves? Jesus' compassionate reaction to Thomas shows...

Jesus, Peter, Shame, Fishing & Comparison

April 16, 2020 16:29 - 15 minutes - 21.6 MB

In this episode Amy talks about an interaction between Jesus and Peter to reflect on the difference between guilt and shame. Guilt is a natural emotion we feel when we do something we later realize is a mistake. Shame is when we allow our mistakes define us. In this story after the resurrection, Jesus does not shame Peter for his past mistakes and instead frees him for a future of grace and love.

Easter Sunday: When Jesus was a stranger

April 12, 2020 13:49 - 10 minutes - 15.2 MB

In this episode Amy talks about the first Easter morning and a few of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. They converse with a stranger they do not know is Jesus. In time their eyes are opened to His presence and to the new life he is calling them to live out.

Coronavirus Frontlines: Interview with NYC Resident Ben Peery

April 10, 2020 21:05 - 30 minutes - 42.5 MB

In this episode we talk with Ben Peery, who moved to New York City this past October. Ben gives us insight into how daily life has changed in the city and talks about a moving show of support that happens every evening for those on the frontlines of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Passover & the Last Supper: How are they connected?

April 08, 2020 14:03 - 10 minutes - 15.7 MB

In this episode Amy talks about the connection between the Jewish celebration of Passover and the Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples. Most people who are not Jewish do not celebrate Passover, but we are really missing out when we don't think about Passover and what it means for us today. The Passover meal celebrates the Israelites' freedom from slavery in Egypt. The Jewish people were accustomed to remembering the freedom their people had already experienced in the past. Jesus, in...

Motivations, Fears & Finding Free

April 06, 2020 21:09 - 19 minutes - 27.5 MB

In this episode we discuss some of our motivations and fears in starting this podcast. Amy shares how her fear of disappointing others held her back from stepping out and sharing her voice. Craig talks about the importance of having a safe space to ask hard questions about faith. We share how our 2019 cross country trip led each of us to find our own free and awakened in us the actual courage to begin. As we wrap up, Amy gives some thoughts on Finding your Free.

Finding Free Podcast

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