Brett & Emily, leaders of the organization, Jesus Said Love, talk openly about their experiences working with those impacted by the commercial sex industry.
S4 E8 | JOSEY JOHNSON'S HAIR AND THE HOLY SPIRIT: LaTonya Jackson
Jun 28, 2022
Brett & Emily visit with illustrator, artist and writer, LaTonya Jackson and discuss all things art, culture and her new book.
S4 E7 | THE MAKING OF A MYSTIC: Kevin Sweeney
Jun 21, 2022
Brett & Emily visit with author and pastor, Kevin Sweeney to discuss his new book, The Making of a Mystic. Kevin joins the podcast all the way from his home in Hawaii.
S4 E6 | SURVIVOR WISDOM: Elise Gill
Mar 08, 2022
Happy International Women’s Day! Today we can think of no better way to celebrate the remarkable resilience and impact women have made on history than by bringing to center the voice of Elise and her survivor wisdom! Elise’s journey speaks to what so many survivors of trafficking face: the recognition of their exploitation and trafficking months, perhaps YEARS after they’ve left. She also speaks to the generous love and forgiveness that she has found not only for herself, but for those who have harmed her.
THIS is miraculous and divine, a work done by the Spirit but in corporation with her very human heart.
After graduating ACCESS, Elise navigated jobs, school and now finds herself in seminary for Biblical Counseling! She also serves as an victim advocate for our partner organization, UnBound.
What a remarkable rise to self actualization.
This is what International Women’s Day is all about!
All the LOVE!
Em
S4 E5 | REDEEMING HEARTACHE: Cathy Loerzel
Mar 01, 2022
Oof. This week has been a doozy around the Mills family home. We lost our beloved Bear, a big mini Aussie, who saw us through so much life and heartache (you have probably even heard him on the podcast barking a time or two, saving us from mailmen). Bear had surgery after an obstruction from eating underwear (yep, anyone else have a dog who does this?) and could not recover. It was excruciating to witness Bear's suffering post op and eventually his death. Mornings have been hard and teary as my sidekick is gone. Our little Bruce (1 year) is left behind and has struggled to eat and find his own way without his big bother to lead.
Everyone of us would say we have survived some sort of heartache, but how many of us are bold enough to name it trauma? I get it. The word “trauma” has become trivialized in some ways. We know more about it today, there’s more education than ever before on the topic of trauma and often when this happens we become desensitized to it. The truth is, there are all sorts of traumas, little “t” traumas (microagressions, moments of fear and panic, stitches in the knee) and big “T” traumas (fires, death, divorce, natural disasters, physcial, sexual, emotional, spiritual abuse). Funny thing is, sometimes our body doesn’t always know the difference if we’ve not acknowledged our heartache. This week, Cathy Loerzel of the Allender Center, guides us through the topic of her new book with Dr. Dan Allender, Redeeming Heartache, how past suffering reveals your true calling.
This book explores the archetypes of Orphan, Stranger and Widow and their transformed roles of Priest, Prophet, and King/Queen.
Brett and I have gone through this book with our small group and it’s been a beautiful journey of sharing stories, insight, and witnessing one another’s pain but also potential.
For me, the journey of grieving my own myriad of unique traumas has provided a more integrated connection to my work at Jesus Said Love and Lovely - it’s also exposed my failures and shortcomings.
Cathy encourages us to look at our stories of heartache with faith, hope and love wrapped up in the kindness of God.
Want to get a FREE copy of the book? Share this post on instagram, tag @jesussaidlove as well as another friend, and you’ll be entered to win! Winners will be announced by Friday ¾ via instagram.
All the LOVE!
Emily and Brett
S4 E4 | FINDING FAMILY: Chris & Julie Bennett
Feb 22, 2022
I think there are stories we hear and wonder, “How would I survive that?” Loosing a child, surviving a natural disaster, loosing everything to a fire, and of course - cancer. Brett & I go way back with Chris and Julie to old college days. You’ll even hear Chris reference a song he remembers me singing at our large group Bible Study. We didn’t know each other, but knew of each other. Our lanes in ministry intersected here and there like kids bumping elbows between classes at school. I kept up with them through Instagram and knew they had left their church position and headed to LA for a new start, then…like a freight train hitting a stalled car on the track, Julie was hit with stage four breast cancer. She has beat it now, twice. And in the midst of loosing their church family in Oklahoma they found themselves wading through the swamp of cancer searching for healing. What they found was a new understanding of family. A miracle in the wasteland.
Chris and Julie now host a podcast and are writing a book called “Finding Family”. I think you’re going to be inspired and also challenged to accept what feels totally unacceptable so that a new way of living emerges.
Cheers to all of us finding family in the most unexpected places.
S4 E3 | ReWILDING MOTHERHOOD: Shannon Evans
Feb 15, 2022
This one was for the MAMA’S!!! I said it on the show and I’ll say it again: I feel like this was a book I both needed and one I could have written. My journey in motherhood was not necessarily untraditional, but it was uncommon. I both worked and stayed home, we danced to a nonconformist rhythm. As my children were born, I was also birthing the ministry of Jesus Said Love, leading worship around the country and the world, and writing/recording music with Brett. Hattie and Lucy (our older girls) were often on the road with us, sleeping in small college dorm rooms for summer camps, getting to know different nannies, and being nursed at truck stops and airports along the way. When Gus came along we didn’t travel as much but our ministry to women in the sex industry grew and our time leading worship locally became routine. Weeknight band rehearsals and home visits to women from the clubs, Friday night club outreaches and Sunday soundchecks for Brett and I at 7am meant all three kids were backstage in pj’s where a hearty breakfast of donuts, juice boxes and peppermints abounded. Along my road I would have several Southern women say, “I love that your calling is to ministry to women in the sex industry, mine is to be a mom.” My mouth would swallow the shame and my gut would regurgitate it as rage: My calling to women did not nullify my calling as a mom. Where did this asinine hogwash come from in the church? Motherhood and ministry are not antithetical, but rather a beautiful paradox that we live within.
I do hope this conversation gives you beautiful freedom and a deep breath as a mom.
Cheers to rewilding motherhood!
S4 E2 | THE HAPPY GIVERS: Carlos Rodriguez
Feb 08, 2022
Brett and Emily visit with Carlos regarding his amazing work in Puerto Rico.
S4 E1 | NEW SEASON...NEW DIRECTION: Brett & Emily
Feb 02, 2022
Season 4 is here and we’re headed in new directions! Join us for this intro episode and hear about the new places we hope to go.
New for this season is the JSL Podcast subscription. Become a subscriber and get special perks and video versions of the podcast episodes! This first episode is available to all listeners…head to JesusSaidLovePodcast.com and subscribe today!
S3 E23 | SOUL OF THE HELPER: Holly Oxhandler, Ph.D
Dec 21, 2021
Dr. Holly Oxhandler is the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and an Associate Professor at Baylor University’sDiana R. Garland School of Social Work. Holly studies religion/spirituality, health and mental health, and is especially interested in whether and how mental and behavioral health therapists discuss their client’s religious/spiritual beliefs in treatment. She developed and validated the Religious/Spiritually Integrated Practice Assessment Scale in addition to other instruments to measure the integration of clients’ religion/spirituality in mental health treatment, has written for numerous academic journals, and her research has been featured in the Washington Post, Consumer Affairs, Religion News Service, Business Standard, Baptist News Global, and more. She also co-hosts the weekly podcast, CXMH: Christianity & Mental Health.
Holly lives in Waco, TX with her husband, Cory, and the couple has two children, Callie and Oliver. She loves to read, paint, meditate, learn about others’ stories over a cup of coffee, and most of all, spend time with her loved ones.
S3 E22 | WORK...A SACRED GIFT with Mimi and Stef
Dec 11, 2021
Today’s episode is very close to our hearts…it’s about jobs. Jobs that matter. Jobs that bring life and purpose. However, if funding doesn’t come in, these jobs are at risk for being cut. Join us for a real candid discussion about the importance of survivor jobs at Jesus Said Love.
S3 E21 | YOUR STORY, YOUR FREEDOM: Karrie Scott Garcia
Nov 16, 2021
As a pastor, life coach, author and CEO, Karrie Garcia inspires change in others by boldly sharing her journey to freedom. With more than 10,000 hours of experience under her belt, Karrie has been speaking formally since the age of 19. Her audiences range from church small groups to crowds of thousands. People are drawn to Karrie by her charisma, humor, and ability to share God’s word in ways that reach everyone from the non-believer to the Bible scholar. However, it’s Karrie’s authentic, raw, and fearless approach to addressing challenging, and sometimes uncomfortable, topics that truly makes those who hear from her feel known, loved, and accepted. She is not afraid to wade through deep waters and wants to bring those who are hurting along, so they too can experience the freedom that leads to flourishing.
S3 E19 | LOVE IS THE RESISTANCE: Ash Abercrombie
Sep 30, 2021
Ashley is a speaker and writer, whose work and life has been featured in various magazines and digital outlets, including Darling, OprahMag.com, Relevant, and Grit and Virtue. She is the author of Rise of the Truth Teller: Own Your Story, Tell it Like it is, and Live with Holy Gumption, and the forthcoming Love is the Resistance: Learn to Disagree, Resolve the Conflicts You’ve Been Avoiding and Create Real Change. Her YouVersion devotional, Finding God in the Hard Places, has been completed by over 250,000 people. Ashley is the co-host, alongside Tiffany Bluhm, of the hilarious and helpful podcast — Why Tho.
Brett & Emily have a candid conversation with Laila Mickelwait, founder of Justice Defense Fund and the global movement #TraffickingHub, which aims to hold Pornhub accountable for enabling and profiting from the sex trafficking and criminal sex exploitation of countless victims.
TRIGGER WARNING: This episode covers the world of Pornhub in candid conversation.
S3 E16 | IN MEMORY OF: Angela
Jun 30, 2021
On June 29, 2021, our dear friend Angela finished her time here on Earth. She was both an ACCESS graduate and fierce supporter of the work of JSL.
One of her final wishes was to share her story in hopes that it might help others battling addiction and exploitation. We aired this interview back in season 1, but wanted to replay it in it's entirety. The first half is Angela on the way to rehab. The second half is her heading home from rehab.
S3 E15 | IMMIGRATION COALTION: Rondell Trevino
Jun 15, 2021
Brett & Emily visit with Rondell Trevino, founder of The Immigration Coalition. They discuss current issues surrounding immigration and the border crisis as well as TIC work in bringing clean water to people along the border.
S3 E14 | DIGITAL WELLNESS: Dawn Wible
May 11, 2021
Dawn Wible, founder of Talk More Tech Less, joins the podcast to talk about the issues around digital wellness.
S3 E13 | SPOTTING SEXUAL ABUSE: Soo Battle, M.D.
May 04, 2021
Dr. Soo Battle is a board-certified, licensed pediatrician who works part-time in a pediatric practice in Waco, Texas. Raised in Austin, Texas, she graduated from Westlake High School and then The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s degree in the Plan II Liberal Arts Honors Program. She earned her Medical Doctorate from The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 2000. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the Texas Pediatric Society and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. Dr. Battle is Board Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.
A recognized and well-respected child advocate in Central Texas, Dr. Battle has made it her mission to educate children and parents about the issue of child sexual abuse. Her to-the-point, humorous, and age-appropriate way of engaging children of all ages has made her a sought-after speaker in Central Texas. Because of her popular classes, she is affectionately known around town as “Dr. Soo” or “the private parts doctor” to local attendees of her sessions. As a mother of two and as a medical professional, she has the unique benefit of knowing how to interact with both children and parents in a nonthreatening, warm, and caring manner while offering her medical and professional expertise at the same time.
S3 E8 | WOMEN'S HISTORY---THEOLOGY OF THE WOMB: Christy Bauman, Ph.D
Mar 24, 2021
Christy is an author, teacher and psychotherapist. A mother of 4, fierce dreamer and passionate about advocating for women.
Christy received her Bachelors degree in Communication at Texas A&M in 2002 and then her Masters in Counseling at Reformed Theological Seminary in 2007. She published the book Unearth in 2008, and A Brave Lament in 2018. She is certified in Medical Family Therapy and Trauma and Abuse. She earned her doctorate at Seattle Pacific University and is researching Shame and Sexuality in Women.
S3 E7 | WOMEN'S HISTORY---LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX: Kat Harris
Mar 16, 2021
I’m an East Indian born, PNW dwelling, author, speaker, podcaster, and adoptive parent who is passionate about truth, justice, and the restoration of marginalized people groups.
After college, I served three years in the U.K. with at-risk youth. Upon returning home, I served as an Outreach Pastor at an urban mega church where I engaged parishioners with marginalized individuals such as those experiencing homelessness, those who were incarcerated, the AIDS community, and women. In that time, I created Esteem, an outreach program to women in the sex industry and assisted in the development of, and spoke at, John School alongside the FBI Innocence Lost Task Force, local police, and Crime Stoppers which addressed men who bought women. After seven years of church ministry, I left to pursue writing full-time and started Sip and Savor, a women’s ministry in the Seattle area centered around fine food and wine. Sip serves over 500 women a year. My husband Derek and I, along with our two sons, Jericho and Kingston, live in Tacoma, WA.
Radio Interviews:The Jenny McCarthy Show, Bott Radio Network KSIV 1320,KOPN 89.5, Blog Talk Radio, Moody Radio, WTKF Coastal Daybreak, KSBJ Sunday Night Live Radio, The Hub, CRU’s Making Your Life Count, Igniting A Nation, WMPC Off the Bookshelf, Bible News Radio, KOPN Penguin Tracks, WKTO The Noon Show, and WDJC Rox and Friends
Dr. Kerry Burkley became the 8th pastor of the Greater Ebenezer Baptist Church of Waco in 2005. He has served as associate pastor at South Union Missionary Baptist of Marlin, Seventh and James (Waco), and as Youth Pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist (Waco). Pastor Burkley is the director of the Ministers In Training and Academy for Lay Ministry Certificate Programs of Greater Ebenezer. These programs teach curriculum to equip, train and educate men and women who are called to the preaching ministry and lay ministry. The purpose is to provide holistic ministry training, personal development in the African-American church through dialogue and vigorous study that couples academic excellence with a high degree of social consciousness that reaches outside the walls of the church and into the often neglected community.
Dr. Burkley is the Program Director of the Children's Advocacy Center of the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children. For the past 14 years, he has been involved with a collaboration of Law Enforcement, District Attorneys, Children's Protection Services, and the Medical community concerning the investigation of serious child sexual and physical abuse in four counties. He is a trained Forensic Interviewer and member of the Children's Advocacy Center's of Texas Professional Society of Forensic Interviewers where he is on the front end of child abuse investigations. Dr. Burkley holds the Doctor of Ministry and the Master of Divinity degrees from Truett Seminary.
Dr. Burkley enjoys cooking, specifically grilling, and spending time with his wife Doyce who is a student at Truett Seminary and his three children.
S3 E1 | FREE ZEPHI: Rebecca Bender
Jan 26, 2021
Rebecca Bender is the CEO of the Rebecca Bender Initiative and founder of Elevate Academy, the largest online school for survivors of human trafficking in the world. She is an award-winning thought leader, advocate, and consultant who equips individuals and organizations to identify and fight human trafficking in their own back yards. Rebecca has been recognized by the FBI and received multiple awards for her leadership and advocacy in the field. She testified in front of the legislature to change Oregon SB673, and regularly testifies as an expert witness in court proceedings around the nation. Rebecca has trained well over 100,000 professionals, including FBI, Homeland Security, local law enforcement, vice units and medical personnel. In 2017, Rebecca was selected as one of twenty-one representative members on the National Advisory Committee on Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United States. The Committee advises the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General on practical and general policies concerning improvements to the nation’s response to the sex trafficking of children and youth in the United States. She also served on the Department of Justice task force, the core committee to the Equality Model, the board of Exodus Cry and consults for many of our nation’s leading nonprofits.
For nearly six years, Rebecca was trapped in the dark, violent world of sex trafficking. When she escaped her trafficker, she knew she wanted to fight to change culture and offer hope to survivors, so she launched Elevate Academy. In 368 locations and 10 countries, Elevate Academy provides nearly 800 survivors with professional development, mentoring, specialized curriculum, and the tools they need to thrive. A college graduate with a Master’s degree in religious studies, Rebecca works on the front lines as a sought-after speaker, social influencer, consultant, and podcaster. Her memoir, “In Pursuit of Love” was published by Zondervan in January 2020. She currently lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband and four daughters, plus some chickens, dogs and bees.
S2E31 | Rituals in the New Year: Heather Stringer
Dec 29, 2020
She believes that when we are intentional about engaging our bodies, memories, and communities (both spiritual and earthly), a softening and opening for healing and change are possible. We are meant to be witnessed, both in our memories and our bodies in order to reshape how we love ourselves and those around us. Heather’s work in any arena — art, therapy, or ritual making — involves intuitive listening, prayer, and curating mutual creativity.
She is married to Jay Stringer, a fellow therapist and writer, and they have two wonderful babes, Amos Muir and Iona Kennedy. You can find her professional work at https://lifeinritual.com
S2E30 | ADVENT love: The Union Revival
Dec 22, 2020
S2E29 | ADVENT joy: Ashely Dunn
Dec 15, 2020
S2E28 | ADVENT peace: Scott Erickson
Dec 08, 2020
On week two of Advent, Brett & Emily visit with Scott The Painter to discuss his new book, Honest Advent.
Scott Erickson is a touring painter, performance speaker, and creative curate who mixes autobiography, mythology, and aesthetics to create art and moments that speak to our deepest experiences.
Using his passion and commitment to craft, Scott has been a working artist for over a decade, and has had his work appear on CNN, National Geographic, and various magazines, newspaper outlets, and book covers.
As a speaker, Scott brings his training as an educator and his experience as a visual communicator to all of his presentations. His goal is to bring something for his “A.D.D. brothers and sisters out there”… making sure every speech is thoughtful, entertaining, wondrous, and filled with visual elements and live creating.
He is the writer and performer of two one man shows. Wrestling with his own professional burnout and clinical depression, “We Are Not Troubled Guests” is a performance story-telling piece in which he navigates the surprising gift of an existential crisis. His current show, “SAY YES: A Liturgy of Not Giving Up On Yourself”, juxtaposes story-teaching, participation, humor, and image curation as Scott walks us through the very personal and universal conversation about the death of a dream and the overwhelming voice of Giving Up in our lives.
He is the co-author of Prayer: Forty Days of PracticeandMay It Be So, the author of Honest Advent, a Spiritual Director to brave women and men, and a professional dishwasher for his food blogging wife.
Scott lives in Austin, TX and is most loved by his wife Holly and his children Anders, Elsa, and Jones.
Find Scott on Instagram @scottthepainer
S2E27 | ADVENT hope: Josh Carney
Dec 02, 2020
Brett & Emily begin a new series called ADVENT. Today, they sit down with Waco pastor, Josh Carney, and talk about the first week of Advent, Hope. Josh and his family pastor University Baptist Church in Waco and has a unique way in helping us understand the Advent season.
S2E26 | ABUSE [spiritual] part 2: REFIT Angela, Catherine & Emily
Nov 24, 2020
RefitRev.com
S2E25 | ABUSE [spiritual] part 1: REFIT Angela, Catherine & Emily
Nov 24, 2020
RefitRev.com
S2E24 | ABUSE [power]: Jay Stringer
Nov 04, 2020
Jay Stringer guides men and women to freedom from sexual brokenness so they can pursue the life they desire.
Jay is a licensed mental health counselor, ordained minister, and internationally requested speaker on the subject of unwanted sexual behavior (i.e., extra-marital affairs, the use of pornography, buying sex, and others).
Based in New York City, Jay spent the last decade on the frontlines of demand for sexual exploitation and pornography. His clinical work guides men and women to understand the origins of their sexual brokenness, what sustains it, and what the journey to wholeness will require.
Jay’s award-winning first book, Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing is based on a multiyear research project into the stories of 3,800 men and women. Unwanted explores the key drivers drivers of unwanted sexual behavior, why people stay in self-destructive patterns, and how to disempower shame. His research is one of the most comprehensive studies on the subject and Unwanted is being used by counselors, churches, and small groups throughout the world.
Jay Stringer also collaborated with the Heart of Man film team to design a 5-month online journey for individuals, accountability partners, and small groups who desire freedom from unwanted sexual behavior. To learn more and check-out a free episode visit: The Journey Course.
To book Jay for a conference, podcast or for an individual coaching intensive please email Jay and his executive assistant Ashley at jay@heartofmanjourney.com and ashley@heartofmanjourney.com
Jay holds an MDiv and master in counseling psychology from the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology and received post-graduate training under Dr. Dan Allender while serving as a Senior Fellow at the Allender Center.
S2E23 | ABUSE [emotional]: Bonnie Martin
Oct 28, 2020
S2E22 | ABUSE [substance]: Jessica Macias
Oct 22, 2020
S2E21 | ABUSE [sexual + marriage]: Dan & Becky Allender (Part 2)
Oct 14, 2020
S2E20 | ABUSE [sexual]: Dan & Becky Allender (Part 1)
Oct 06, 2020
Dr. Dan Allender is a pioneer of a unique and innovative approach to trauma and abuse therapy. For over 30 years, the Allender Theory has brought healing and transformation to hundreds of thousands of lives by bridging the story of the gospel and the stories of trauma and abuse that mark so many.
After receiving his Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary, Dan earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Michigan State University. Dan previously served on faculty at the Biblical Counseling Department of Grace Theological Seminary (1983-1989) and Colorado Christian University (1989-1997). In 1997, Dan and a cadre of others founded The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, in order to train therapists, pastors, artists, and leaders to more effectively serve in the context of the 21st century. Dan served as President of The Seattle School from 2002-2009.
In 2011, The Allender Center was founded by Dr. Dan Allender and Rebecca Allender, MA, alongside Cathy Loerzel, MA, with the support of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology to cultivate healing and train leaders and mental health professionals to courageously engage others’ stories of harm.
Dan continues to serve as Professor of Counseling Psychology at The Seattle School. He travels and speaks extensively—recent engagements include ICAP Global, Serge, Jubilee, and the Higher Ground Men’s Conference—to present his unique perspective on sexual abuse recovery, love and forgiveness, intimacy and marriage, and other related topics. Dan is the author of The Wounded Heart, The Healing Path, To Be Told, and God Loves Sex, and he has co-authored several books with Dr. Tremper Longman, including Intimate Allies, The Cry of the Soul, Bold Love, and Bold Purpose. Dan also co-hosts The Allender Center’s weekly podcast with Rachael Clinton Chen, which has had more than 2 million downloads.
Dan and his wife Becky live on Bainbridge Island, where they enjoy time with their grandchildren and their three adult children, Annie, Amanda, and Andrew.
EP31 | Elise Gill: Survivor to Advocate
Nov 18, 2019
EP30 | Laurie Proctor: The Glory That Is In You: Trauma, The Body and The Enneagram
Nov 07, 2019
Laurie is passionate about transformation. She is a certified coach, leadership consultant, team facilitator and Enneagram instructor who partners with individuals and organizations to discover and harness their passions & greatest potential. Laurie believes in the brilliance of each of her clients and helps them to reach previously unimaginable levels of success. She holds certificates from The Allender Center of the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. She has facilitated workshops on issues such as human slavery and sex trafficking with front line leaders from all over the world. She is passionate about seeing these issues eradicated in her lifetime.
When someone asks where I’m from and who I am, this is how I like to introduce myself: I come from the meadows, vineyards and forests of Altus, Arkansas. The country is a cherished memory of what I call first home. My childhood companions were animals, birds, insects, trees, plants, wild flowers and angels. I come from a family that was not without flaws. By today’s standards we may even qualify as a bit dysfunctional yet in spite of our defects I have always felt a unique and beautiful bond with my family.
My second home is with my Benedictine community of sisters, St. Scholastica Monastery in Fort Smith, Arkansas. We follow the rule of St. Benedict with the gospel as our guide.
In addition to writing, part of my ministry is leading retreats. In my retreats I attempt to draw you to the window of your soul. I invite you to look through that window, see the gifts you have been given, recognize your potential to assist in the healing of our world, and become involved in a process I call deep listening.
By nature I am a bit nomadic. I probably belong to the tribe called hunters (as opposed to the gatherers who settle into one place, tend their crops and wait for the harvest). Belonging to the Hunter Tribe fits me quite well spiritually for I am always seeking, reaching beyond what I can see with my visible eye. My hunt is for the great Source of Life we call God. My hunt is for meaning and purposeful living. Jesus, the Christ, is my guide. I feed on eternal questions and deep listening. In spite of being a hunter I long for solitude and have even taken a vow of stability of life which may seem not to fit with a hunter’s heart. Yet even hunters are called into solitude and quiet as they wait for their prey. They learn to keep vigil. There are hunters who, in the midst of the hunt, discover that the prey they thought they were seeking turn out to be far beyond their original expectation. They return home with nothing to brag about except the scenic view of a pierced heart that only they can see and understand.
Perhaps we are all a bit like that. We don’t fully understand our own vigilance and who it is we are waiting for, until suddenly we feel the breath of the Hound of Heaven on our heels. We slow down, then, and turn around to discern who might be hunting us.
EP27 | Home
Oct 08, 2019
EP26 | Kim Damm: Yoga Love
Sep 16, 2019
EP25 | Jeremy Courtney: Love Anyway
Sep 09, 2019
Jeremy Courtney is founder and president of Preemptive Love Coalition, an international relief organization engaging on the frontlines of the world’s most polarizing conflicts in Iraq and Syria.
A decade ago, at the height of the Iraq War, Jeremy and his wife, Jessica Courtney, chose to move to Iraq. Rather than turn away from chaos and conflict, they were going to lean in and love anyway.
There, Jeremy met a little girl who was dying of a heart defect. Soon he discovered thousands more like her, all waiting in line for surgeries their country couldn’t provide. That’s when Preemptive Love Coalition began. Over the next several years, Preemptive Love provided lifesaving medical care for thousands of children and hands-on training for local medical staff — empowering them to be the long-term solution to Iraq’s child health crisis.
Everything changed when ISIS stormed across Iraq in 2014, killing anyone who stood in their way and forcing millions to flee. With militants on their doorstep and other aid organizations pulling out of Iraq, Jeremy, his family, and Preemptive Love chose to stay.
Since then, Jeremy and his team have rushed emergency aid to several hundred thousand people in Iraq and Syria—airlifting food to an entire city surrounded by ISIS, feeding thousands of families streaming out of Aleppo, and being the first to show up inside Fallujah and west Mosul as the battle against ISIS raged a few streets away. Jeremy and his team also help refugees start small businesses to get back on their feet and promote peace across long-standing sectarian divides in the Middle East.
As a sought-after speaker from the camera to the conference stage, Jeremy travels the globe, inviting people from all backgrounds to reach across “enemy” lines and choose love over fear. He has been featured on CNN, FOX, ABC, NBC, PBS, CBS, Al-Jazeera, the BBC, and in the New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today, offering expert, on-the-ground commentary on conflict in the Middle East.
Jeremy’s first book, Preemptive Love, tells the story of the Courtney’s early years waging peace in Iraq. He is currently working on his second book, Love Anyway.
Jeremy and Jessica have two children, Emma and Micah.
EP22 | The Issue of Demand Part 2 — Addiction
Aug 19, 2019
Brett & Emily sit down with Don Arterburn, Ph.D, LMFT, the Coordinator of Addictive Behavior Services at Baylor University. Don is also a certified sex addiction therapist.
Ty Clark has been creating in multiple genres since he was 4 years old. Ty grew up in a family imbued by culture. His uncle was Conway “Jiggs” Pierson, the world renowned Sculptor and Raku artist, who impacted his drive and passion for the arts at an early age. He has been exhibiting nationally for over 15 years and in 2010 was named one of America’s Brightest Young Influencers by Catalyst.
His work is a representation of his memories, thoughts, prayers and dreams that he has compiled on his journeys, through his friends stories and his own writings. Ty is a student of art history, music, literature and film. His passion for the history of cultural movements drives his love to create and share on canvas, written and spoken word, through a lens and on screen. Over the years Ty has mentored a large number of artists and entrepreneurs, volunteered within the arts and local/international community programs, and is committed to sharing his experience, knowledge and gifts with others.
EP14 | Angela Beeler & Catherine Ballas: Behind the Curtain of REFIT
May 28, 2019
We believe that the heart is more than a muscle. That a person is more than a body. That relationships are as important as results. We believe fitness isn’t just for the fit...it’s for the willing.
Angela is an Enneagram 8 who loves good food, chunky babies and great fitness...in that order. With over 8 years of professional experience in the fitness industry, Angela is passionate about seeing people live their best lives as the best version of themselves. Angela enjoys long walks in the park, a good glass of prosecco and leaving voice memos at all hours of the day. Her REFIT contributions include strategic vision/planning, instructor training and development, product creation, and marketing. She is also a self-professed hotel snob due to her love of fluffy bathrobes and fancy toiletries.
You may recognize Catherine from Season 5 Episode 15 of HGTV's Fixer Upper, but her real passion is living life as her alter ego, “DJ CAPPS.” Catherine desires to inspire people to live to their fullest potential, and she occasionally attempts this by impersonating Michael Jackson. Catherine holds a degree in Film & Digital Media and also holds an extensive library of 90’s rap lyrics in her head. Her REFIT contributions include strategic vision, cultural development, business partnerships, product development, and all the things. Catherine is an Enneagram 1, loves food, adventure, good conversation, and hilarious people.
EP13 | "Linda" : This is What I See Part 2
May 21, 2019
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EP12 | Facing Failure
May 06, 2019
Join Brett & Emily as they discuss failure including a few recent experiences in their own lives.
EP11 | What Is Sex Exploitation?
Apr 15, 2019
Brett & Emily take a deeper dive into sex exploitation hoping to bring language and understanding around this issue.
EP10 | "Linda": This is What I See
Apr 09, 2019
Join Brett and Emily as they have a honest conversation on addiction. Emily interviews a dear friend who is headed to rehab.
Also listen on:
EP9 | Sex Work & Parenting Part 2
Apr 01, 2019
Brett & Emily talk about parenting while working with those in the sex industry. They cover topics including:
How did you tell your kids about what you do?
What they learned about parenting from those in the industry
Open communication about porn
Show Notes:
Article Emily references on technology and the poor. Click Here.
EP8 | Sex Work & Parenting Part 1
Mar 25, 2019
Brett & Emily talk about parenting while working with those in the sex industry. They cover topics including:
How did you tell your kids about what you do?
What they learned about parenting from those in the industry
Open communication about porn
Show Notes:
Article Emily references on technology and the poor. Click Here.
EP7 | Propaganda: You Go Where Rap Is
Mar 18, 2019
A day after his performance at SXSW in Austin, TX, Prop visits with Brett & Emily about faith, music, and coming to Waco.
Show Notes
About Propaganda
IT ALL STARTED WHEN…
Propaganda’s music is about both divergence and connection. The rapper, raised and bred in Los Angeles, sees the intersection of all things and celebrates it in each song. His music is like the man himself, the result of many elements coming together.
Propaganda grew up in a working class black family in a mostly Latino neighborhood of LA. His dad brought home a new record every week and soul music and hip-hop blared through the house as Latin-inspired tunes blared outside. There was a sense of multiculturalism from the very beginning and Prop saw how one person’s problem could very similar to that of another person, no matter their surface differences. His dad was a Black Panther, which also inspired the rapper’s worldview. “I saw this black brilliance and innovation of people of color as I was growing up,” he notes. “It was so much more intriguing than slanging on the corner. I fell in love with hip-hop really young. For me, that was the origin of wanting to create music.”
He wasn’t sure music could be a career, though, so Prop went to college and graduated with degrees in illustration and intercultural studies. He spent six years teaching high school and had a hand in founding two charter schools in LA, one of which had a focus on the arts. Music lingered, despite any other successes, and Propaganda joined up with hip-hop collective the Tunnel Rats. By 2007, he quit teaching to pursue music full-time and began touring as a solo artist. He joined the Humble Beast family and unveiled a series of four albums that put his music on the map. Propaganda’s 2014 album, Crimson Cord, was released for free, but still managed to top several Billboard Charts. He’s toured with krs-one, Murs, De La Soul and Lecrae, and played Warped Tour, Rock The Bells and Smokeout Festival. And now Propaganda is ready to take his songs to the next level with Crooked, his fifth solo album.
Crooked is the result of two years worth of writing and recording, much of which was done in Portland. Unlike on previous albums, Prop wrote and rewrote and then rewrote again. He focused on each track to ensure that the messages were conveyed in the most effective and compelling way possible, and enlisted the help of the Humble Beast crew, as well as Copeland’s Aaron Marsh, during the recording. “It took a long time,” Propaganda admits. “But this is probably the best record I’ve made because I had so long to do it.”
The album draws its name from the idea that we’re all working towards perfection in an imperfect way. It’s about the idea of a crooked individual who has crooked relationship inside of a crooked system set up by crooked people for crooked gain, where everyone longing for a day when the crooked is made straight. It’s only in his faith and belief in an eventual day of reckoning that the individual finds solace. That theme is explored in the songs, which also grapple with Standing Rock, white supremacy, the patriarchy and self-hate within the black community. It all ties together in the subject of intersectionality, a concept used to describe the ways that oppressive systems are all connected and cannot be dealt with individuality. Prop was inspired by watching his wife, a first generation Mexican woman, face misogyny and sexism. He saw parallels to his own struggles as a black man and wanted to discuss that in his music.
“This year I’ve been interested in interlocking systems of injustice,” Propaganda says. “That’s where my head has been. I’ve watched my wife run so hard into patriarchal systems and seen the misogyny she’s dealt with. It’s made me realize how overlapping our issues are. In my life I watch all these overlaps and I wanted to step into that space talk about how we’re all connected. And I know I’m indicted in all these structures I’m trying to take down. I talk about patriarchy and misogyny, but I know I still benefit from being a guy. I need to own that. On this album I’m exploring a lot of ideas, including my relationship to my wife and two kids and how to love them better.”
For Propaganda, art is the essence of everything. It represents the mouth of the river from which all of human culture flows, and it’s important to him to address it at its source. Crooked takes on a lot of big ideas and deals with issues that have no easy solution. But it asks questions and seeks a response from its listener, encouraging a dialogue that hopefully will incite tangible change.
“I believe in art for art’s sake,” Prop says. “I think art is what makes us human. I believe art actually shapes and gives commentary to the human experience. That belief has never changed for me. But my music has evolved. I see music as my native tongue, but I continue to ask myself how I should convey my ideas best with art. How do I get to the top of culture and shape it there?”
Propaganda’s ideas stem from where he sits at the intersection. He sees how cultures cross and inspire one another, and he knows that we are all connected. He’s worked with church leaders to discuss race relations in America, spoken out in meetings about global hunger and talked to politicians about police reform. He’s a degree or two of separation away from the who’s who of the LA hip-hop scene and he knows how all those career paths cross and diverge. For Prop, music is way to create conversations about bigger things that impact us on a daily basis and to see how faith can help guide us along the way. Crooked is the spark for a much larger fire.
“It’s hip-hop, but it’s bigger than hip-hop,” the rapper says. “Everything I’ve done and everything I’ve experienced shows up in my music. It’s why my music takes the shape that it takes and why it is relatable to a variety of people.”
EP6 | Wild Torch: A Fundraising Experience
Mar 11, 2019
Join Brett & Emily as they talk all things Wild Torch. The history. They why. And what’s new for this year.
EP5 | Harmony Grillo: Healthy Survivor Leadership
Mar 04, 2019
Victim of exploitation turned UCLA honor student, Harmony’s goal is to help women and girls entrenched in sexual exploitation find freedom.
As a survivor, Harmony is passionate about assisting women in their journeys of healing and transformation. In 2003, she founded Treasures, a faith-based outreach and support group to women in the sex industry and victims of sex trafficking.
Armed with personal experience, a Master’s Degree in Social Work and evidence-based theories, Harmony sheds light on the impact of a pornified culture and the lives of women trapped within it. Her memoir, Scars and Stilettos details her harrowing account of moving from victim to survivor to liberator.
Harmony founded Treasures—a unique, faith-based outreach and support group for women in the sex industry.
EP4 | The Union Revival: Music, Framily and Strip Clubs
Feb 25, 2019
Today, The Union Revival, also known as Aaron and Amanda Konzelman, sit down to talk music and life with Brett & Emily.
EP3 | Summer Shine: Drugs & Sex. Jesus & Juice.
Feb 18, 2019
Summer Shine, owner of Luna Juice Bar and founder of Sunshine Recovery Home in Waco sits down for a candid interview on life, addiction, recovery and restoration.
SHOW NOTES:
Perpetual Help Home is a Christian based restorative justice organization assisting women in breaking the cycle of incarceration and homelessness through making life changes, regardless of race, color, or creed.
Sunshine Recovery House is a long-term housing for women in the early stages of recovery from addiction
Luna Juice Bar was founded by Summer Shine, and it was the first micro-loan that Lovely Enterprises funded. Summer’s business' mission to "Help People. Get Healthy."
Find Summer on Instagram @lunajuicebar and @sunshinerecoveryhouse!
EP2 | Brett & Emily: Who? What? Why?
Feb 12, 2019
Show Notes:
Who are we? What do we do? Why are we Here?
Treasures is a unique, faith-based outreach and support group for women in the sex industry. The mission is to reach, restore, and equip women in the sex industry and victims of sex trafficking to live healthy, flourishing lives, and train others to do the same across the globe.
Access is a holistic training program aimed at gaining access to power, influence and opportunity for individuals exiting the commercial sex industry.
Lovely Enterprises is the social enterprise of Jesus Said Love aimed at reducing recidivism into the sex trade through sustainable products, female empowerment programs, and micro-loans to survivors.
Stop Demand School is an 8 hour intervention and diversion class for those individuals who have been arrested for prostitution. Upon completion of the course, participants receive a certificate of completion to submit to the their attorney or the court.
Hi, we're Brett and Emily. In 2004 we started an organization to reach those impacted by the commercial sex industry called Jesus Said Love. In this episode, we're talking about where it all began.
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