Kelley joins the podcast to share her experience as both a former member of the Austin Stone church and staff member of its affiliated nonprofit, For the City. She discusses the church’s culture, internal power dynamics, financial mismanagement, and the challenges of working within a complementarian system. Kelley reflects on her personal story of spiritual and emotional harm, organizational dysfunction, and the long-term impact of abusive structures masked by ministry language. Her story highli...
Jul 09, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 108
Ben joins the Bodies Behind the Bus podcast to share his experience at Austin Stone Church, a large SBC-affiliated church in Austin, Texas. He reflects on his decade-long involvement, including leadership roles and the creation of a ministry for LGBTQIA+ individuals. The conversation explores church culture, leadership dynamics, personal transformation, and the challenges of reconciling faith with identity. Ben also discusses his departure from the church and the emotional and relational costs o...
Jul 01, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 107
In this episode of Bodies Behind the Bus, B shares her deeply personal story about the emotional toll of navigating immigration, identity, and faith. B recounts her years at the Austin Stone Church in Austin, Texas, where she joined a residency program to serve the local Latino community, only to face institutional racism, cultural insensitivity, and burnout. Her story highlights the disconnect between church rhetoric and practice, especially around issues of justice, immigration, and diversity,...
Jun 25, 2025•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 106
In this episode, Johnna & Jay introduce a new four-part series investigating The Austin Stone Church in Austin, Texas. Joined by Board member Emily, they discuss the church’s influential role in evangelical culture, its connections to Acts 29 and the SBC, and a troubling pattern of abuse, cover-ups, and systemic harm within its leadership and programs. The episode highlights the church’s public image versus its internal realities, and previews the survivor stories that will follow in the com...
Jun 24, 2025•47 min•Ep. 105
In this episode, Jay and Johnna debrief the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. They discuss why Johnna chose to attend alone, the deaths of two high-profile survivors—Jennifer Lyell and Duane Rollins—and the emotional and physical toll survivor advocacy has taken. They reflect on the SBC’s failure to follow through on promised reforms, the lack of accountability, and the ongoing harm caused by the institution’s refusal to meaningfully address abuse. The episode also explores the ro...
Jun 21, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 104
This episode examines the legacy of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and draws a clear line from that policy to other moments of systemic injustice in American history—slavery, Japanese internment, discriminatory policing, and modern ICE raids. Through historical analysis and personal reflection, Jay challenges the narrative of American exceptionalism, exposes the role of the white church in reinforcing inequality, and confronts the systems that sustain white supremacy. Support the show...
Jun 14, 2025•10 min•Ep. 103
Mollie Callahan, spiritual director and seminary student, joins to discuss the misuse of church discipline, its harmful impact, and how scripture has often been misapplied in these situations. She examines 1 Corinthians 5, Matthew 18, and stories like the woman caught in adultery, Zacchaeus, and the woman at the well to reframe church discipline through the lens of Jesus’ compassion, agency, and pursuit of the hurting. Support the show...
May 30, 2025•46 min•Ep. 102
In this episode, Joyce shares her story of involvement in a PCA church in Florida and how her experience of marriage, faith, and community unfolded over more than a decade. She describes the early support her family received, her deep investment in church life, and how that shifted when she began raising concerns about her marriage. Joyce outlines the church’s response, her efforts to seek counseling, the process of pursuing divorce, and the consequences that followed, including church disciplin...
May 22, 2025•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 101
In this “At the Bus Stop” episode, Dr. Jared Stacy, a theologian and ethicist, joins Johnna and Jay to unpack the link between conspiracy theories, Christian nationalism, and the culture of abuse within white evangelical spaces. Drawing from his personal experience and academic research, Jared explores how storytelling shapes power, how conspiracy theories thrive in religious communities, and why many churches prioritize maintaining societal structures over faithful witness. The conversation als...
May 14, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 100
Be sure to listen to episode 79 “Alicia’s Story” to hear about her experience with this same pastor. Alicia’s Story: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/alicias-story-columbus-oh/id1601586078?i=1000663185044 Support the show
Apr 17, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 99
In this community conversation, the team from Bodies Behind the Bus responds to recent events involving The New Evangelicals and the release of a NetGrace investigation. They share their perspectives on accountability, integrity, and the responsibility of platforms in survivor spaces. Allegations against Tim Whitaker and The New Evangelicals show how hierarchy transfers to progressive ministries | BAPTIST NEWS GLOBAL Support the show...
Mar 21, 2025•55 min•Ep. 98
Buy the book here! Becoming the Pastor's Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman's Path to Ministry by Beth Allison Barr, Hardcover | Barnes & Noble® In this episode of The Bodies Behind the Bus Podcast, we welcome Beth Allison Barr, historian, professor, and author of The Making of Biblical Womanhood and her latest book, Becoming the Pastor’s Wife. Beth shares her insights on the historical roots of patriarchy in the church, the erasure of women in ministry, and the complex role o...
Mar 18, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 97
This episode of Bodies Behind the Bus features Margaret Bronson and Eric Isaac discussing the rise of Christian nationalism and its intersection with fundamentalist cult beliefs. Margaret shares insights from her experience in a high-control religious group, highlighting issues of female subjugation, the quiverfull movement, lack of education, and financial entrapment. Eric connects these experiences to broader patterns of spiritual abuse, coercion, and religious power structures. The conversati...
Mar 06, 2025•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 96
Subscribe to Jemar’s Substack Here: Footnotes by Jemar Tisby | Jemar Tisby, PhD | Substack Buy “The Spirit of Justice” https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-spirit-of-justice-stories-of-faith-race-and-resistance-jemar-tisby/20859536?ean=9780310144854 “I Am the Spirit of Justice” for kids ages 4-7 https://bookshop.org/p/books/i-am-the-spirit-of-justice-jemar-tisby/21291875?ean=9780310145561 “Stories of The Spirit of Justice” for kids ages 8-12+ https://bookshop.org/p/books/stories-of-the-spirit-of-jus...
Feb 25, 2025•59 min•Ep. 95
Firefly Report Support the show
Feb 20, 2025•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 94
Walker contact: walkerbbtb@gmail.com Crissie contact: inspiredifferences@gmail.com Link to Transcript from Concerned Congregant meeting (200 in attendance) - October 2021 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MUJ_ri2nuRP2vnAf6oU1iXIGljSVFHu3/view?usp=sharing Congregant Feedback Survey (leadership stated they didn't think there were any concerns following the October meeting, and then refused to start the GRACE survey (which was ready) in December 2021 so congregants did their own survey) https://driv...
Jan 30, 2025•58 min•Ep. 93
Walker contact: walkerbbtb@gmail.com Crissie contact: inspiredifferences@gmail.com NDA document - https://drive.google.com/file/d/11mn6mrHTZ4VVvEQAUHZnqwCgRd5IHlaS/view?usp=sharing Find more information, and future stories here - https://chapelillbiblechurch.org/ Keep up with all things on X @CHBConfidential Support the show...
Jan 22, 2025•2 hr 9 min•Ep. 92
Chapel Hill Bible Church: Pastor Eric McKiddie Is Gone and Pastor Jay Thomas Is Under Fire - thewartburgwatch.com Chapel Hill Bible Church: A Petition Signed by 78 and the Use of NDAs to Keep Things on the Down Low. What’s Going On With the Leaders? - thewartburgwatch.com Prominent North Carolina Church Embroiled in Controversy Following Alleged Abuse & 3 Investigations - julieroys.com Chapel Hill Bible Church leaders face allegations, investigations over abusive behavior - dailytarheel.com ...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 91
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Dec 23, 2024•1 hr 57 min•Season 1Ep. 90
Support the podcast HERE, and thank you for daring to listen. We are 100% funded by donations. We committed early on never to monetize survivor stories, and your financial contribution allows us to continue this work. Please consider becoming a monthly donor and joining us in our mission to amplify the voices of those dedicated to transformation toward greater inclusivity, justice, and compassion. We are a recognized 501(c)(3), and all donations are tax-deductible. Support the show...
Dec 13, 2024•18 min
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Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 90
Watch the video of this episode HERE Support the Podcast HERE In this episode, the Bodies Behind the Bus board gathers to discuss the heavy realities of navigating faith, justice, and advocacy in a fractured America. They explore the impact of systemic religious abuse, the emboldening of harmful rhetoric, and the personal toll of continuing to fight for marginalized communities. The episode is a candid look at grief, exhaustion, and the fire that drives change, while also honoring the voices of ...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 89
FOR OUR DAUGHTERS Official Film Link Support the show
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 88
Eric Isaac Bio Eric’s Thesis Support the show
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 87
Fire In The Whole Book Link Robert Callahan's Linktree Support the show
Sep 24, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 86
Episode Resources: https://www.netgrace.org/resources/to-suffer-in-silence Male Survivor Stories - DAVID PITTMAN https://together-we-heal.org https://www.netgrace.org/independent-investigations Support the show...
Sep 19, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 85
Wartburg Watch: https://thewartburgwatch.com/2024/07/19/an-sbc-and-9-marks-church-edgefield-nashville-appeared-to-allow-a-violent-convicted-pedophile-michael-brake-considerable-freedom-in-the-church-for-years-could-there-be-other-victims/ Simon’s blog: https://cheapgrace.substack.com/ Dave Pittman NetGRACE video: https://youtu.be/26E4bRweK6E?feature=shared Support the show...
Sep 12, 2024•2 hr•Season 1Ep. 84
Ep Resources: Mental Health/Psychology Parenting from the Inside Out by Dan Siegel and Mary Hartzell On Grief and Grieving by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler She Deserves Better by Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach, and Joanna Sawatsky Worthy by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher (this is the book I couldn’t remember in the podcast!) The Body Keeps the Score by Bessell van der Kolk Redeeming Power by Diane Langberg Set Boundaries, Find Peace and Drama Free by Nedra Glo...
Sep 03, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 83
What is Clergy Sexual Abuse? (Video) clergysexualmisconduct.com Contact Stephanie: s.nelsonbbtb@gmail.com Support the show
Aug 16, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 82
Event w/ Emily Maynard Registration Support the show
Aug 15, 2024•3 min
