Shows
Sacred CounselSeason 2 Episode 10: Star Spangled Jesus with April AjoyOn this episode of the pod, Brian and Meg speak with April Ajoy, author of the upcoming book, “Star Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding True Faith.” They discuss April’s wild journey out of Christian Nationalism, relationships with family who are still stuck, how April got the nickname ‘condom girl,’ and what faith looks like for her now.
Check our April’s book!
2024-11-2052 minSacred CounselSeason 2 Episode 9: The Mystic Jesus with Marianne WilliamsonBrian interviews the one and only Marianne Williamson about her new book, The Mystic Jesus. Marianne is a best selling author, speaker, political activist and former presidential candidate. Marianne's background is not in Christianity, but in the Course in Miracles, which is not a religion exactly- Marianne describes it as "spiritual psychotherapy," and it informs her universal, mystical approach to Christ. In this wide ranging conversation, Brian and Marianne discuss how our spirituality should inform our political engagement, how to walk in love and forgiveness towards our enemies in a divisive political climate, what Jesus can still mean for tho...
2024-11-1351 minSacred CounselSeason 2 Episode 8: There's Nothing Like FamilyBrian and Meg answer two listener letters, each discussing family dynamics. How do we care less about whether or not we are accepted by our parents? How do we help family members understand that they are making us feel rejected? Meg shares some very poignant advice born from her own experience. We also discuss the presidential debate and Brian gets excited about ranked choice voting.
2024-07-1038 minSacred CounselSeason 2 Episode 7: PURE with Stephanie StalveyBrian and Meg dive into purity culture with Stephanie Stalvey, a graphic novelist who mines her own story and describes the intricacies of navigating purity culture, as well as showing a path towards reclaiming sexual autonomy on the other side. Her book shines a light on experiences many of us resonate with, and she is just as insightful in this brilliant conversation!
2024-06-2639 minSacred CounselSeason 2 Episode 6: A Conversation With Sally OsborneBrian and Meg are joined by Sally Osborne, a former Mormon who left the church and came out as a lesbian. She now works to help people come out into their truest selves. We discuss her journey out of high control religion, and how we can support people in all kinds of coming out journeys.
2024-06-1953 minSacred CounselSeason 2 Episode 5: Why Pride MattersIn this episode, Brian and Meg acknowledge and celebrate Meg’s first Pride since coming out, and reflect on what Pride means, and how we have each evolved in our relationship with Pride celebrations. We also discuss Trump’s indictment, the wasteland of the US political environment, and the dehumanization that allows a continuing genocide in Gaza.
2024-06-1233 minSacred CounselSeason 2 Episode 4: Why Queer Churches Can't Be Mega Churches With Rev. Brandan RobertsonBrian and Meg are joined by Brandan Robertson, a queer pastor, to discuss his upcoming book on 'queering' the Bible! Brandan tells us his favorite queer Bible stories, and answers questions like; should queer people care about the Bible at all?
2024-06-0543 minSacred CounselSeason 2 Episode 3: Trans Rights & Psychics/Mediums Brian and Meg dive into a listener letter about psychics and mediums, and have some fun discussion and disagreement about skepticism and spirituality. They also discuss trans rights, and why it's so important to let parents and doctors make decisions for children, rather than religious organizations enforcing their agendas.
2024-05-2938 minSacred CounselSeason 2 Episode 2: What Christians Can Learn From Atheism & A Listener Letter About A Gay WeddingEpisode 2 of season 2 is a continuation of the first episode where Meg and Brian catch up and discuss what Meg believes Christians can learn from atheism. Brian and Meg also respond to a listener letter about a woman who's in a gay relationship and getting married (love!) who's struggling with family members not wanting to attend the wedding.
2024-05-0854 minSacred CounselSeason 2 Episode 1: Catching Up & How Hell Is Ruining ChristianityBrian and Meg return to the podcast after a 3-month hiatus to catch up and talk about their opinions on hell and how Meg has been getting so much ate on IG now that she's posting deconstruction videos.
2024-05-0841 minSacred CounselEpisode 12: What Makes You Bloom? With Kevin GarciaBrian and Meg interview Kevin Garcia, a mystic theologian, queer spiritual coach, and all-around amazing human being, and discuss picking your battles when going home for the holidays, and learning how to celebrate your whole self. We also answer a listener letter from a “validation addict” who wants to stop having to justify his sexuality to his family and himself. We also discuss Kevin’s amazing new book, “What makes you bloom,” coming out this January! This episode is filled with amazing nuggets of spiritual wisdom. Enjoy!
2024-01-0358 minSacred CounselEpisode 11: Christmas Grab Bag!In this special episode, Brian and Meg tackle 3 very different listener letters, packing in all sorts of juicy counsel, covering: 1. how to deal with conservative family members at Christmas-time, 2. how divorce impacts kids and some of our best advice on co-parenting, and 3. How to work through harmful religious programing, replacing old thoughts with new thoughts. Don’t forget to send listener letters to sacredcounselpod@gmail.com!
2023-12-2748 minSacred CounselEpisode 10: SOS – My Boyfriend Has a Feminine Side in Bed and I Don’t Know How I Feel About It!Brian and Meg discuss Meg’s horrible Thanksgiving, and answer a listener letter about someone navigating big news about their partner’s sexuality, and trying to figure out how to feel about it or what she should do. We discuss how evangelicals can falsely blame any non-heterosexual sexuality on trauma, and how kink and sexual exploration can be healthy.
2023-12-2032 minSacred CounselEpisode 9: Eve Was FramedTrigger warning- this episode mentions a rape. We interview Eve from @eve_wasframed about her background in Bethel and her journey out of evangelicalism into atheism. We talk about stereotypes of atheists, evangelical shame around virginity and divorce, and other various highly relatable traumas of American evangelicalism. Find Eve on instagram at @eve_wasframed
2023-12-0645 min2023-11-2950 minSacred CounselEpisode 7: I Will Never Betray Myself AgainJo Luehmann takes us to church in this episode!! She preaches about why she refuses to abandon herself, how each of us are called to be liberators, why she ultimately left Christianity, the possibilities for beauty inside of the idea of “church,” her advice to those who remain Chrisitan, and creating safety for people to listen to their intuition. Jo Luehmann is a Colombian born and raised (former) pastor with a masters degree in ministry and theology. Jo speaks and teaches about decolonizing church, theology, spirituality and faith, as well as the importance of dismantling white supremacy, patri...
2023-11-2252 minSacred CounselEpisode 6: Am I Making A Mockery of Marriage?Brian and meg answer a listener letter, and discuss open marriages, jealousy, putting off divorce for the sake of the kids, “God’s eternal plan for marriage,” and navigating the crushing shame that can come from getting divorced.
2023-11-1542 minSacred CounselEpisode 5: Getting Naked With Naked PastorDave Hayward, aka Naked Pastor, speaks with us about vulnerability in sex and spirituality, gives us wisdom on stepping out of sexual shame, and shares his most basic form of connection to the divine.
2023-11-0856 minSacred CounselEpisode 4: Should I Burn It All Down?On this episode, Meg and Brian answer a listener letter from someone wrestling with everything they would lose from stepping into their more authentic self. They discuss the way that we can fixate on what we *might* lose, and miss what we are *already losing* by living in a state of dishonesty and failing to bring our whole selves into our relationships, and give some practical advice for having honest, difficult conversations!
2023-11-0150 minSacred CounselEpisode 3: The Difference Between Acceptance And Affirmation With Mike Maeshiro This week Brian and Meg talk to Mike Maeshiro about his coming-out journey, his mission to affirm those who are not feeling validated for who they are, how deeply he desires to witness God coming out of the closet, and we get his take on the mega-church pastor Andy Stanley’s half-hearted gesture towards LGBT acceptance. We also answer a listener letter from someone dealing with judgmental family members and discuss why Brian loved the Sears catalogue as a kid.
2023-10-2548 minSacred CounselEpisode 2: Trusting Yourself & The Power Of The Word BelovedOn episode two of the pod, Brian & Meg, answer a letter about how to trust ourselves when we're deconstructing and leaving a high control religion. They also share why they love the word "beloved" and offer a few of their current favorite recommendations including Brian's current guilty pleasure.
2023-10-1841 minSacred CounselEpisode 1: Being A Married Virgin, Talking To Kids About Sex, And The Nonexistence Of HellIn episode one of the pod, Brian and Meg get to know each other (they just met online 3 weeks ago!) by sharing about their deconstruction journeys, christian sex, how dumb hell is, explaining boners to kids, and tattoos. We're off to a great start and good news: we had fun so we're doing it again.
2023-10-1242 minSacred CounselSacred Counsel Podcast TrailerMeg Holiday and Brian Recker, two pastor's kids with different paths to their religious deconstruction met a few weeks ago on IG and decided to start a podcast. They feel like they used to have all of the answers and now they just ask all the questions. Here weekly to discuss everything from religion to sex, Meg and Brian and your queer best friend and your favorite pastor. Ask us anything. Email: sacredcounselpod@gmail.com . . . Follow the podcast on Instagram @sacredcounsel, subscribe, and review to support our growth!
2023-10-0102 min