Videos and Podcasts

Real People, Impacted by Hyper Fundamentalism

How did hyper fundamentalism impact your view of God? After leaving and rebuilding faith, how do you view God now? In this video, five believers share their personal experiences and answers to these questions. We’re so grateful for their transparency and hope you will be encouraged by the change in their stories!

In this conversation, Whitney shares how the hyper fundamentalism of Church of the First Born impacted her, distorting her view of God, the gospel, herself, other Christians, and more. Her story of breaking away and pursuing Christ is inspiring. Leaving a cultish group came at a great cost, but the restoration and healing Whitney has experienced while rebuilding faith has made it all worth it.

Event Speaking

“Distort the gospel? How could Holiness standards do that?” As Natalie explains in this talk at the Step Out of the Boat Conference, hyper fundamentalism goes far beyond freely choosing to wear skirts or give up wedding rings. It’s a fear-driven distortion of Christianity that entails extra-biblical requirements, authoritarianism, tribalism, and elitism. 

Megan grew up in mainstream Christianity, but believing that stricter living could earn her favor with God, joined Oneness Pentecostalism as a young adult. More and more red flags began to surface as time went by. In her talk at the Step Out of the Boat Conference, Megan shares her testimony of how, by God’s grace, her eyes were opened to the errors of her new belief system and she came to understand the biblical gospel.

The Not Ashamed Podcast

What does the Bible teach us about holiness? What is it? How do we obtain it? In this first episode of Berean Holiness’ podcast, Natalie speaks with special guest Josh Ratliff, as well as panelists Bethany and Andrew.

What does excellent Christian unity look like practically? Can we collaborate across denominational lines without compromising our convictions? In this episode, Nathan and Natalie chat with special guest Luke Beets, a Holiness Pentecostal minister and college campus evangelist.

In this episode with special guest Tracy Bowen, we look deeper into how the gospel is skewed by those who are zealous to enforce strict standards.

Have you ever started to share your story or your beliefs only to be cut-off with the accusation of “You’re just bitter?” Have you ever wondered if maybe you are bitter, but you’re not sure how to know, much less how to heal from it? Join us for a discussion with special guest Amber Jones, founder and president of GraceStory Ministries.

“Where do we draw the lines?” is a question that deserves to be grappled with, and that’s exactly what we do in this episode. Our guest is Nathan Mayo, cofounder of Berean Holiness and Network Director of True Charity. Also on the panel are Bethany, Andrew, and Natalie.

Have you found yourself struggling with church attendance, whether it’s super frequent or rarely at all? Do you feel apart from God in seasons without a home church? Does attending a service trigger anxiety and/or panic? In this episode, we dive into the role of faith community and its overlap with church attendance.

Our guest is Naomi Wright, founder and executive director of beEmboldened. Also on the panel are Andrew and Natalie.

Have you ever found yourself conforming to a group rather than following the leading of the Spirit? Have you ever struggled with prioritizing pleasing people over pleasing God? How does one practice spiritual disciplines in a healthy way? In this month’s episode, we’ll be discussing all these questions and more, as we dive into our discussion regarding what it looks like to have a personal relationship with Christ.

Our special guests for this month’s panel discussion are Jennifer Brallier and Liz Johnson, joined by Bethany and Natalie.

Our special guest for this month’s panel discussion is Jennifer Brewer, joined by Andrew, Bethany, and Natalie. Together, they discuss their highlights and takeaways from Called to Freedom, read survey responses, and discuss the “‘Freedom’ is a New Name for Bondage” post that circulated during the event and was unfortunately weaponized (by some who shared it) against CTF attendees.

We discuss the red flags of an unhealthy church with our special guest Dulce Johnson (@honestmessylife). Dulce, along with her husband and children, left a G12 church that taught a prosperity gospel, Word of Faith, the “little gods” doctrine, and more. Joining her in this discussion are Andrew, Natalie, and Cole.

Have you heard claims of Oneness Pentecostalism’s rapid growth and other denominations shifting towards it? This month, we dissect a UPCI General Conference 2023 sermon making such claims. We verify the sources, revealing they discuss Trinitarian, not Oneness, growth. Join us as we compare Pentecostal statistics, delve into UPCI’s numbers, explore theological differences, and listen to Josh’s insights on their origin and division. Ready for a deep dive into Pentecostalism? Tune in!

On our final podcast episode of Not Ashamed Season #1, we dive into the topic of untangling group identity and learning to place our identity in Christ first and foremost. Our guest is Jonah McElhaney; also on the panel this month are Bethany, Andrew, and Natalie. Thank you for joining us as we rebuild theology in light of God’s grace, love, and the true meaning of holiness!

Guest Appearances

Natalie returns to Hillbilly Broadcast for a fun and unscripted conversation on topics such as “What do you think of tongues?” to “Why haven’t you blocked {a certain CHM Facebook commentator}?”

Natalie joins Jeremiah Roberts and Andrew Soncrant of the Cultish Podcast, along with Jennifer Brewer of Amateur Faith Night, to discuss the topic of disentangling one’s faith from fundamentalism.

Natalie joins Naomi Wright of BeEmboldened to discuss the danger of adding teachings to the Bible and the resulting consequences.

On The Crumpled Papers Podcast, Natalie and Austin Noll discuss the damaging effects of growing up within a mixture of purity culture and a toxic church culture defined by its members’ stringent adherence to its extra-biblical standards and practices.

Natalie joins Matt Bellefeuille of Truth Snack and chats about the process of leaving hyper fundamentalism without losing one’s faith.

Natalie joins the GraceStory Podcast to share her background and the story of Berean Holiness.

Natalie discusses the topic of spiritual abuse with Ari Noiboonsook on the Jay N Ari podcast. Ari has a background in the UPC church.

Natalie shares her story of leaving Holiness Pentecostalism with Deanna Jo on the Responsible Faith channel. Deanna Jo has a background in the UPC church, especially in Canada.

Natalie talks Holiness history and theology with the Jones brothers (Let’s Find The Root) who have a background in Apostolic/Holiness Pentecostal circles in the United Kingdom.

Natalie swaps stories with the folks of the Hillbilly Broadcast, comparing the differences/similarities between the Conservative Holiness and Pentecostal Holiness movements.

Natalie discusses holiness vs legalism with Pastor Aaron, Pastor Ken, and Rev. Doug of the Deliberating Pastor Podcast.

Natalie livestreams with Will and Brian of The Church Split and chats about publicly responding to Holiness pastors. (This is an archived clip from the original episode, which no longer exists on the host’s channel.)

Replacing Rules with Discipleship

Nathan and Natalie discuss how adding rules to scripture stands in steep contrast to the biblical pattern of discipleship.

Nathan and Natalie look deeper into 6 goals of discipleship and the process it takes to reach them.

Is wearing jewelry a sin? Some Christians think so. Nathan and Natalie closely examine the case against jewelry as laid out by the “Holiness Handbook.”

Interviews with a Former Oneness Apostolic (UPCI)

Josh and Natalie discuss: how and why he came to leave the Holiness Pentecostalism, initial red flags, uncertainty, findings, finding a healthy church, and more.

Josh and Natalie discuss: What causes a person to walk away from doctrines they’ve been taught their entire life?

Josh and Natalie discuss: What are safe ways to research and validate our beliefs?

Understanding Holiness

What is “holiness” biblically and theologically? What does it mean to have holiness or be set apart?

Why do we pursue holiness? Is it so we’ll be good enough for God to accept us?

How should we preach and teach holiness? What does holiness look like?

How do we determine to pursue authentic holiness with all of our hearts?

History of the Holiness Movement

“Letting down the standard “was a concern for Christians who followed the original Holiness standards too!

Explore the origin, early teachings, and doctrinal development of the Holiness and Pentecostal movements.

What was the original Holiness movement about and how did it begin?

We take a step back into the 1800s at the Breckenridge Circuit Campmeeting, as documented by Peter Cartwright.

An exploration into the origins of Pentecostal ‘shouting’ from Cartwright’s autobiography.

Cartwright tells how uncontrollable “jerking” would seize both sinners and saints in his congregations.

In this 1707 story, multiple sources report that little children in France spoke and prophesied in tongues.

Q&A with Nathan & Natalie

Q: “How do you respond to critics? What role does love and grace play in your answers online and also in person to person “real world” interaction?”

Nathan and Natalie answer the questions, “Are you KJV only? Why or why not?”

This video focuses on the question, “How do we obey the Old Testament?” And specifically addresses, “Do the rules about keeping the Sabbath holy apply to Sunday?”

Nathan and Natalie discuss why so many small, rule-focused groups can conflict with each other so much, yet all be so alike.