Hi guys!
I am the daughter of an IFB missionary/evangelist, sister of an IFB pastor, and granddaughter of an IFB pastor. (also have an uncle who is a pastor, and an aunt who married a pastor!) I have absolutely loved listening to your podcast. I’ve spent the past year or so “deconstructing” some of my upbringing and experiences. For the most part, other podcasts or programming has been negative and destructive without grace or hope. They are filled with anger and vitriol towards the IFB sect, and most of the people involved. But not ya’ll. I hear you struggle sometimes when you come across some really bad preachers, but I also hear your discipline as you turn from that impulse.
A little about me:
I was born in Indiana, and 8 days later I was taken to the annual week-long Baptist family camp that we attended every year until I was about 15.
I would consider my family IFB “adjacent”. In many ways, we observed a lot of the IFB “standards”. The clothing restrictions, the interactions with people of the opposite gender, all the good stuff. The way I heard it we were “independent, fundamental, pre-millennial, KJV 1611 only, nary-a-drop-of-literature (is this a dig at the SBC?), BAPTIST believer. But, we also sang our quartet songs with soundtracks (because we personally knew every musician and could vouch for their testimony). We listened to country music like Ricky Skaggs, the Judds, or Randy Travis. We rented movies but adhered closely to those PG-13 ratings. I didn’t watch the Simpsons because Bart was a Brat and Lisa was a feminist and I might get the wrong ideas. What I learned from all of this was to be a chameleon, ostensibly becoming “all things to all men”. Our mantra before leaving the house (bus) on any church-sanctioned outing was, “remember who you are, remember who you represent.” There was no margin for error, being a kid, or stumbling of any kind. In the sum of things, I didn’t learn who I was as a person, or as a believer.
I would say I always internally questioned the teaching of things that were “the gospel truth”. Did heels make a whore? Were slits for sluts? Was that in the KJV bible? Were those who didn’t practice exactly as we practiced truly condemned to a sinner’s hell? I praise and thank a discerning mom and dad who would pull us aside and correct things we heard in the more outrageous sermons. But, that kind of stuff still does damage.
I graduated from homeschool and went straight off to college…Liberty University as a matter of fact. Something my mom recently told me she regrets. My youth pastor called it “liberal” university. I was warned to stand guard as the KJV was not held as the one and only true word of God. I was exposed to things like apologetics, philosophy, and contemporary Christian music. I was allowed to wear pants outside of class (gasp). It was 1996-2000 so it was much different then. It was my small rebellion. Instead of TTU, BJU, PCC or Crown, I chose the one Christian school that was just not Christian enough. From there, my world blew open.
Now, I am a once divorced, remarried, childless career woman who wears pants and sleeveless tops, prefers organizational development to potty-training discussions and has read/watched the entire Harry Potter series. And, I am also learning that all of this does not make me any less of a child of God. It is showing me that my hurt can and has been useful in God’s ministry to other hurt women. I am an active and participating part of an evangelical presbyterian church where my pastor wears jeans and a sissy-mic.
I don’t know if this is your traditional story submission. I guess I mostly wanted to say thank you. Your podcast is a ministry to those broken and burned by the church. It has helped me fill some of the cracks in my own heart and I will continue to listen, learn, and love those who hate me.
you are in reality a just right webmaster The site loading velocity is incredible It seems that you are doing any unique trick In addition The contents are masterwork you have performed a wonderful task on this topic
I have read some excellent stuff here Definitely value bookmarking for revisiting I wonder how much effort you put to make the sort of excellent informative website
Its like you read my mind You appear to know so much about this like you wrote the book in it or something I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a little bit but other than that this is fantastic blog A great read Ill certainly be back
O que eu não entendo é na verdade como você não é realmente muito mais querido do que é agora Você é muito inteligente Você sabe, portanto, significativamente no caso deste tópico que me produziu individualmente, imagine-o de vários ângulos diferentes É como homens e mulheres não pareça fascinado até que seja algo a ver com Mulher gaga Suas próprias coisas são legais Todo o tempo cuide disso
O que eu não percebo é que você não é mais bem-favorecido do que você é agora Você é muito inteligente Você sabe muito sobre esse assunto me fez acreditar nisso de vários ângulos diferentes É como homens e as mulheres não ficam fascinadas até que seja algo a ver com Lady gaga Suas próprias coisas excelentes O tempo todo cuide disso
you are in reality a just right webmaster The site loading velocity is incredible It seems that you are doing any unique trick In addition The contents are masterwork you have performed a wonderful task on this topic
Estou navegando on-line há mais de três horas hoje, mas nunca encontrei nenhum artigo interessante como o seu. Vale bastante para mim. Na minha opinião, se todos os proprietários de sites e blogueiros criassem um bom conteúdo como você, a Internet seria muito mais útil do que sempre antes
I do believe all the ideas youve presented for your post They are really convincing and will certainly work Nonetheless the posts are too short for novices May just you please lengthen them a little from subsequent time Thanks for the post
Your writing is a true testament to your expertise and dedication to your craft. I’m continually impressed by the depth of your knowledge and the clarity of your explanations. Keep up the phenomenal work!
I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here The sketch is attractive your authored material stylish nonetheless you command get got an impatience over that you wish be delivering the following unwell unquestionably come more formerly again since exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this hike
I have been browsing online more than three hours today yet I never found any interesting article like yours It is pretty worth enough for me In my view if all website owners and bloggers made good content as you did the internet will be a lot more useful than ever before
Thank you for the auspicious writeup It in fact was a amusement account it Look advanced to far added agreeable from you However how can we communicate
I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here The sketch is tasteful your authored subject matter stylish nonetheless you command get got an edginess over that you wish be delivering the following unwell unquestionably come further formerly again as exactly the same nearly very often inside case you shield this hike
I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here The sketch is tasteful your authored subject matter stylish nonetheless you command get got an edginess over that you wish be delivering the following unwell unquestionably come further formerly again as exactly the same nearly very often inside case you shield this hike