Looking for the Real God

Christy wraps up four years, nine seasons, and 170 episodes by inviting her listeners to watch for a new podcast coming to podcast apps and YouTube in January 2024. Until then you can find Christy on: Substack, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or her website: www.christylynnewood.com

Christy shares her frustrations with yet another public Christian leader being accused of sexual and spiritual abuse. She talks about how as our evangelical world falls apart, people's faith is left in ashes. Christy talks about the new Hope Retreats that she is starting to host, and shares things she was thinking about during her own quiet reflecting during the recent retreat. She rants about the high-control, high-demand atmospheres that are torching people's faith and reminds listeners that Jesus chose His disciples--which was very countercultural--and then called them friends. We don't need to follow a long list of rules, find the right formula, have enough faith, or manifest obvious spiritual gifts. We just need to enjoy our relationship with Jesus by faith as we enter into the closeness that He provided for us through His life, death, and resurrection. Only in that closeness will our hearts be changed to match His. Scripture Referenced: John 15:15-17

In today's episode Christy leads us into a uncomfortable examination of our own hearts. Following up last week's episode on social media versus real life, Christy explores our desire to be right, have an opinion, and judge others as wrong. Sometimes we even judge God as being wrong when he doesn't line up with our opinions. Reading from Ezekiel 33 and Ephesians 4, Christy encourages herself and her listeners to seek for humility, be gracious and patient with others, put up with people in love, and realize that we might be the problem too. Scripture referenced: Ezekiel 33:17, Ephesians 4:1-6, John 13:35

Christy contemplates her own experience stepping back from social media the past few months. She shares how she has been intentionally living her real life and thinking about the things and people in it rather than spending spare moments creating content intended to make people like and comment. She has noticed more peace, less fear and insecurity, and more contentment since stepping back. Christy wonders what would happen if more of us engaged in our real life and the people around us and let social media take a back seat.

Christy digs into the difference between fear and worry or anxiety. She takes a look at the many ways we project fear into our future through worry, or choose to fear things that are different rather than learn more about them and get to know people who are not like us. Christy encourages her listeners to live in the present moment with God, remind themselves of truth, and be bold to explore differences. Fear makes us easily controlled by people in power. But as God's children and members of His Kingdom we don't need to live fearfully in this world. We can hold onto trust, faith, and a peace that doesn't make sense.

Christy pushes back at the moralistic focus that seems to be creeping into segments of evangelical America. She reminds her listeners that rules, laws, and getting people to be "like us" will never be enough to connect people with God. We don't need outward goodness, we need a heart transplant that only Jesus can give us through an encounter with Him.

As Christy continues talking about American evangelical church culture, she shares a short parable from Matthew 21:28-32. Christy talks about the difference between following the rules and following Jesus. She ponders her own once pharisaical heart and wonders if--like the Pharisees--modern church people might be missing Jesus by focusing on the rules. Blog posts referenced: Confessions of a Former Pharisee

Christy continues her series on the mess within our modern church by retelling one of Jesus' parables from Matthew chapter 13. The familiar story of the wheat and the weeds, or the wheat and the tares, becomes fresh and new as Christy explores the type of weeds that Jesus was talking about. What do these weeds have to do with the junk that seems to continually happen in church or the bad leaders who just continue to stay? Listen and find out! Scripture Referenced: Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43

Welcome back! Christy starts Season 9 by talking about what she calls the "megachurch mentality" and relating it to the story of the Tower of Babel. As Christy breaks down the story of Babel she ties it together with what happened to the early church at Pentecost. Both stories involve a group of people gathering together with one mind. Both have a point in time when there are a variety of languages suddenly spoken. And both ultimately end with a type of scattering. Christy compares and contrasts these stories and then asks the difficult question: which story best exemplifies our current church culture across the evangelical board? Scripture Referenced: Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2-8, Joel 2:29 Chiastic Telling of the Tower of Babel: (It is very clear in Hebrew and less clear in English.) A. Whole earth had a common language B. The people settled in one place C. They said to one another D. Come let us mix up bricks E. And build for ourselves F. A city and tower G. The LORD came down to see F. The city and tower E. The people had built D. He said, "Come let us mix up" C. The speech of the people B. They were scattered from there A. And with confused language they went through the whole earth

Christy contemplates the goal of Bill Gothard's IBLP cult as expressed on Shiny Happy People: world domination. She remembers feeling like that was the goal back in the day--to take over the world one person, church, and city at a time--so that everyone could experience God's blessings and personal success. Now she is concerned that perhaps they succeeded more than she ever realized. Fundamental ideology seems to be creeping into mainstream church culture everywhere she looks. But it is really Gothard? Or is it just that people are naturally religious and love turning to formulas and steps to give them feelings of control and comfort? Are people naturally fearful and easily manipulated? On the other side of the coin, Christy is equally saddened by the people who are angrily rejecting anything and anyone that still holds to orthodox theology. How do we walk the narrow middle way of truth and grace?

Christy connects some dots between the teachings of Bill Gothard, founder of IBLP--the Christian cult exposed on Amazon's new documentary Shiny Happy People and Evangelical Christianity. Gothard's teachings on authority (power), obedience (oppression and suppression) and gossip (truth telling) were pretty extreme. But have those teachings trickled into mainstream evangelical Christianity? Or are these things that we broken people naturally struggle with anyway? Christy tackles the concept of gossip. Often abusive leaders will use the threat of being called a gossip, or of people gossiping, to stop truth from being told and exposed. There is an unfortunate number of stories coming out about power-hungry, narcissistic church leaders who are able to stay in power because people are too afraid to tell the truth. Christy would like to change that dynamic. She would like to see the church become a place where Jesus reigns not a person, where people humbly use their gifts (like truth telling) instead of bossing others around, and where people find healing rather than abuse. Books referenced: When Narcissism Comes to Church by Chuck DeGroat The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse by David Johnson and Jeff Van Vonderen Related Blog Posts: Pastors, Abuse, and the Church Healing from Spiritual Abuse

Christy talks about the new documentary series out on Amazon Prime called Shiny Happy People. The series exposes the cult she grew up in (IBLP) along with its leader, Bill Gothard. The series was harder to watch then Christy thought it would be. It brought up feelings and memories that she wasn't expecting. But Christy is also grateful that the truth is being exposed. Gothard's teachings have infiltrated the mainstream church, homeschooling movement, and even politics. Christy has been feeling this for a while, but it was validating to hear the documentary express the same concerns. Then there is Christy's book, "Religious Rebels," that comes out on June 15. The timing is ironic. Christy had no idea that Shiny Happy People would be happening, but God did and Christy is excited to see how the book and documentary will work together to set people free from religious ideology and free to begin a relationship with the real Jesus. Link for Shiny Happy People Link to preorder Religious Rebels

On Pentecost Sunday, Christy explores the Holy Spirit. She wonders why He gets less attention than the other members of the Trinity and is often either ignored or manipulated. Christy reads pieces of her new book, Religious Rebels, coming out June 15th and shares the ways she has encountered the Holy Spirit over the years and just begun to recognize Him. Christy also shares parts of an article that talk about early Celtic Christians who saw the Holy Spirit as a wild goose, unpredictable, wild and free, giving warnings and drawing us back to God. Happy Pentecost! Article Mentioned: https://www.ncregister.com/blog/wild-goose Preorder Christy's Book Religious Rebels: https://christylynnewood.com/religious-rebels-book/

This episode was originally planned for Mother's Day, but in the uploading process, Christy accidentally uploaded the wrong audio. So we are trying again this week. Knowing we have a mothering God isn't just something we need on mother's day. It's something we need every day! Christy acknowledges the pain that many people feel on Mother's Day from loss, heartache, disappointment, and frustration because of our mothers and children, or lack of mothers and children. Then Christy points to the feminine qualities of God as a mother pictured throughout Scripture. God wants to mother us and then in turn develop mothering characteristics within us so that we can mother others. Scripture Referenced: Ruth 2:12; Psalm 57:1; Psalm 91:4 Matthew 23:27 & Luke 13:34 Isaiah 49:15 & Isaiah 66:13 1 Thessalonians 2:7 & Galatians 4:19

As Christy prepares to launch her book, Religious Rebels, she is thinking about the things we might need to rebel against these days. Growing up. rebellion was "as the sin of witchcraft" and highly discouraged and/or condemned. But when you squash rebellion, you also squash questions, exploration, and people seeking for truth. Christy contemplates the ways Christian industries like the music industry and publishing industry have been absorbed into secular corporations or organizations with sketchy theology. Is there a way to rebel against the system while supporting modern prophets, authors, and musicians who are calling us back to the real Jesus? In our world of technology and connection, she hopes so.

Christy comments on a podcast episode she listened to with Russell Moore and David Platt. As much as she appreciates David Platt's heart for people to be genuine Christians and live lives that please God, she's always felt hesitant about his approach. It is so easy for us as humans to get caught up in religion--in doing things for God, or to please God, or to get something from God. We cannot do enough. No one can give us enough "shoulds." We can never be motivated by guilt or shame enough to actually change on a heart level. We need something bigger than ourselves to actually change. Christy reminds her listeners of the true and simple gospel and the power it holds to transform us from the inside out.

Christy explores what can happen when we don't actively reject lies we once believed. During her cult days, Christy taught children's seminars that coincided with Bill Gothard's Basic Seminars for adults. While unboxing some old memory albums, Christy realized that the church she recently attended for the last five years was the same church that hosted Gothard's seminar in 2000. After doing some digging, Christy was unable to find a time when the church actively rejected Gothard's teaching or made a statement that they were wrong to support his ministry. Why is it important to actively reject lies? Because if you don't they will continue to fester below the surface and affect your life on multiple levels.

Since Christy is on vacation, she is posting some of her favorite episodes over the years from the Easter season. Christy takes time to ponder her love for Jesus and her awe of His death and resurrection. With passion and emotion Christy invites her listeners to lay aside their ideas of God and look at the person of Jesus Christ who is God in the flesh. She celebrates the core of historical orthodox Christianity — the fact that God would sacrifice Himself in our place so that we could be redeemed and brought back into a relationship of oneness with our Creator. Happy Easter! Jesus is risen!

Since Christy is on vacation, she is posting some of her favorite episodes over the years from the Easter season. Christy looks at the last Passover Jesus celebrated with His disciples. Jesus did not fit the Jews' idea of the Messiah even though the entire Passover meal pointed to Him. Where as humans seek for money, power, and fame, Jesus sought humility, obscurity, poverty, and servanthood. He was not who we expected God to be. But because of Jesus life, death, and resurrection, a new Way has opened, a new Kingdom is at hand, and Restoration has begun! Scripture Referenced: Matthew 26:17-25 Mark 14:12-16 Luke 22:7-13

Christy explores the reasons we humans seem to be so quick to fall for false teaching, false prophets, and cults. This world is broken and we feel it. False teachers and cults often promise a short cut to fix the brokenness. They offer identity and purpose. They promise a sense of control. But all the offers and promises are based on lies and can't really satisfy. Christy encourages her listeners to learn to slog on the muddy trail with Jesus, let Him help them, provide for them, encourage them, and teach them to see the beauty in the brokenness.