Shows
Wounded Hearts Wounded ChurchesEpisode 253 | Torn Asunder - Bernie Tocholke (Part III)Church hurt can make you question everything, including God, your calling, and whether you can ever trust a church again. We sit down with author Bernie Tocholke to talk about what happens when faith gets tested by painful church situations, and how healing is still possible without pretending the damage never happened. Bernie’s book Torn Asunder is honest about the shock, grief, and even the unexpected moments of laughter that can show up in a hard story, and he shares why he wrote it for people carrying wounds they rarely say out loud. We also talk abo...
2026-06-1427 minWounded Hearts Wounded ChurchesEpisode 252 | Torn Asunder - Bernie Tocholke (Part II)Church hurt doesn’t just bruise your feelings. It can reshape how you think, who you trust, and whether you believe God is safe. We sit down with author Bernie Tocholke to unpack the story behind his book Torn Asunder and why telling the truth about religious abuse can be part of the healing. We talk about what keeps people trapped in high-control churches and cult-like systems, especially the “we’re the only true church” message that makes leaving feel like losing salvation. Bernie shares concrete examples of coercive control, including distorted Scripture and pressure that reaches into pers...
2026-06-1030 minWounded Hearts Wounded ChurchesEpisode 251 | Torn Asunder - Bernie Tocholke (Part I)A family can survive a lot, but it is different when the pressure comes from a place that calls itself holy. We’re joined by author Bernie Tocholke, whose memoir Torn Asunder in the Jaws of a Cult traces how church conflict and high-control religion helped rip his home apart and dragged the pain into divorce court, crushing financial demands, and even jail time. It’s an honest conversation about church hurt that doesn’t stay theoretical, because Bernie lived the consequences.We talk about what cult dynamics can look like inside church culture: obedience framed as “faith,”...
2026-06-0618 min