In this episode of the Church Disrupted podcast, Jeff Cochran and Author Laura McKnight Barringer discuss spiritual abuse and toxic church cultures. She shares the moment that woke her up to the reality of spiritual abuse. They also explore the concept of 'tov' (goodness) in the church, the features of narcissistic pastors, and the characteristics of toxic Christian workplaces. They address the reasons people stay silent in the face of abuse, the response of churches to accusations against...

What does Narcissism look like when it puts on church clothes?! Narcissism and its effects are common in churches today, but the church is often the last place we would expect to find narcissistic people and behaviors. Unfortunately, many modern church systems actually attract narcissistic leaders. But what does narcissism look like when it's in a church? How can we recognize spiritual narcissists and narcissistic systems? And when you recognize it, what should you do? We are joined in...

Spiritual abuse is always heartbreaking, but what happens when you experience it at home and church? In this episode of the Church Disrupted Podcast, Joyce Hindle joins the conversation to share her story of overcoming spiritual abuse. Joyce was a pastor's wife and experienced both sides of religious trauma. From her story, we can learn a lot about how to recognize spiritual abuse, how to heal from it, and how to overcome it and thrive. If you have experienced religious trauma, we believe...

In this episode of the Church Disrupted Podcast, Jeff Cochran interviews Chris Ayoub and Nathan Apffel, the creators of the documentary 'The Religion Business.' They discuss the purpose of the documentary, which explores the business side of religion, particularly Christianity. The conversation delves into the financial numbers of nonprofits, including the staggering $890 billion that comes into the Christian Church annually. They also highlight the misalignment and growth of nonprofits, as...

We get A LOT of flack from Christians and church leaders for talking about spiritual abuse. People would often rather us talk about good things going on in the church. They want us to stick to the gospel. Why? Because talking about church hurt and spiritual abuse is uncomfortable! But if we don't have these important conversations in the Church, then the abuse, scandals, and cover-ups will continue. If we don't talk about these things, people will continue getting hurt. And if we stay...

It seems we hear of another millenial or Gen Z pastor leaving the mega church or leaving ministry in general every day. But WHY are they walking away? Often, it's because they have become disenfranchised and disillusioned after being in the system and seeing how the sausage gets made. Simply put, a lot of Christians are looking for something more, something better, something different than what the modern mega-church system offers. They know something is wrong, but they aren't sure what right...

Did you know that churches can be narcissistic?! Narcissistic churches are a foreign concept to most people, but sadly, they have become all too common. In this episode of the Church Disrupted Podcast, Jeff Cochran, Abby, and Buck talk about narcissistic churches, the systems that cause narcissism in churches, and how to recognize narcissism in churches. THANK YOU to our podcast partner, The Forgiveness Link!!! Schedule your free consultation with Rob here and let him know we sent you to get...

Deconstruction is a buzzword these days and is a hot topic of conversation with everyone from evangelicals to exvangelicals. Some swear by it, others villainize it. In this episode of the Church Disrupted Podcast, Caleb Nelson joins the conversation to talk about escaping a cult, deconstructing Christianity, the pain of his journey, and how to re-engage with faith. If you have been through church hurt, spiritual abuse, or religious trauma, then this episode will be helpful. If you are a...

The He Gets Us Ad that aired during the 2024 Super Bowl has caused an uproar and has a lot of people angry, especially Christians. But why?! What did the ad get right, and what did it get wrong? Should we be angry about it? If so, what parts should bother us? What should bother Christians even MORE than this commercial by the He Gets Us campaign? In this episode of the Church Disrupted Podcast, Shawn and Corey join Jeff Cochran to break down this controversial super bowl ad and to answer...

In February 2023, a revival broke out at Asbury University and took the world by storm. But just a few weeks later, the revival ended just as abruptly as it began. Why? What happened? Why did the Asbury Revival stop so suddenly? The answer may surprise you. In this episode of the Church Disrupted Podcast, we answer these questions and more as we break down who killed the Asbury Revival and what the Evangelical Church and the church that business built had to do with it. THANK YOU to our...

People throw the term "cult" around a lot these days, but what does that really mean? What is a cult or high-control environment? What are the markers to look out for? What is the difference between churches and cults? And how do you know if a church is starting to act like a cult? In today's episode of the Church Disrupted Podcast, Jeff Cochran is joined by Jacob and Sarai to discuss high-control environments, their dangers, and how to spot the red flags of a cult-like organization. THANK...

Marketing in Churches is a touchy subject. Should churches market themselves? If so, how far is too far? What are the right ways and wrong ways to do it? We answer these questions and more on this episode of the Church Disrupted Podcast as we continue our series on the Church that Business Built. Like most practices that churches have borrowed from the business world, marketing has both positives and negatives to it. But things have gone far too far when people become just another number, or...

Modern Christians get a lot about tithing wrong. We believe what we've been taught about tithing by church leaders, but very few people know what the Bible actually says about it. In this two-part series of the church disrupted podcast, Jeff, Buck, and Vicki tackle tough questions like: should new testament Christians tithe, is it okay to give outside of your church, what is the tithe for, and in what ways do we misunderstand tithing today? Regardless of what you believe about tithing, you...

Modern Christians get a lot about tithing wrong. We believe what we've been taught about tithing by church leaders, but very few people know what the Bible actually says about it. In this two-part series of the church disrupted podcast, Jeff, Buck, and Vicki tackle tough questions like: should new testament Christians tithe, is it okay to give outside of your church, what is the tithe for, and in what ways do we misunderstand tithing today? Regardless of what you believe about tithing, you...

In this final installment of the Church Disrupted Docuseries on NDAs in church, we spill all the tea! We’ll look at how Hillsong Church used NDAs to keep people quiet. We’ll also break down how pastors spin the narrative about NDAs by looking at a recent town hall meeting with embattled pastor Albert Tate. And finally, we’ll actually SHOW you REAL NDAs that churches have used to hide impropriety and silence people. We don’t hold anything back as we shine a bright light on the dark practice of...

Should churches use NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements)? Is there ever a good use for NDAs in a church? Why do churches use NDAs in the first place? We answer these questions and MORE in the second part of our docu-series "The Secrets Churches Keep!" We break down the most common reasons churches use NDAs, as well as share the most popular arguments both FOR and AGAINST their use. We also hear the consensus opinions about NDAs in the Church from leading secular voices, the Christian community,...

NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) have no place in the Church. Yet, they have somehow become mainstays in the evangelical world that are used to cover up sin, abuse, scandals, and the mistreatment of people. For hush money payments ranging from a few weeks salary to hundreds of thousands of dollars, Christians in these flocks are forced into lifelong silence. And since these bad leaders get by with moral and ethical failures, the vicious cycle just continues. In this Docuseries, we shine a...

Are churches really just businesses that want my money? Well, the answer depends on the church! Healthy churches are far from businesses. They are full of love and grace and love people like Jesus. These churches are part of the Church that Jesus built! But in the West, there are also churches that celebrity built, churches that religion built, and perhaps most dangerous of all, there are churches that business built! When a church becomes a business, everything becomes about numbers, like...

Nobody likes a bully. But the worst kind of bullies are the bullies we find inside the walls of the church! These bullies go by the titles of pastor, brother, sister, and friend. The church is supposed to be the safest place on the planet. The church is supposed to be a place where we experience the unconditional love of Jesus, community, and family with brothers and sisters in Christ. But what happens when we experience spiritual bullies instead? The damage it causes can be severe and...

Mega churches, money manipulation, and miracle offerings are just a few of the things we talk about in this episode. It's miracle offering season in the church world, and in this episode of the Church Disrupted Podcast, Jeff Cochran, Shawn Reece, and Buck Flemming discuss our Documentary on Miracle Offerings and share their insights and takeaways from the documentary. It's time to bring back transparency into the church, especially around finances! In this episode, we'll share questions you...

Miracle offering season in the mega-church ramps up every Fall as celebrity pastors and their churches manipulate people into giving millions of dollars in a single weekend. Under the guise of "missions" and "outreach," big churches scam people out of more money to expand their existing ministries, grow their revenue, and get even bigger. All of this is above and beyond the tithes that people are already giving faithfully. Worst of all, there is almost zero transparency and accountability...

Church is supposed to be a place where we come to connect with God and other believers. But sometimes, church can be a scary place, especially if you've been through church hurt or spiritual abuse before. In this episode of the Church Disrupted Podcast, we highlight what healthy pastors and healthy churches look like. We also talk about signs of a safe and healthy church that you can look for when re-engaging with the church after church hurt. If you've experienced religious trauma, know you...

If you've ever struggled to make sense of the bible, understand certain scriptures, or have been confused about how to apply the Bible to modern cultural issues, this episode is for you! In today's episode of the Church Disrupted podcast, we're gonna take a look at a way that you can approach and study the Bible that will always allow you to understand it better, even when you're confused. More importantly, it will always allow you to look, live, and love like Jesus to the world around you....

Have you ever run into what seemed like a contradiction in the Bible? You know where you got one verse that feels like it says one thing and another verse that feels like it says something completely different? Or have you encountered anything in our current culture and had difficulty figuring out what the Bible had to say about it? If you've ever had either of those experiences, then this podcast is for you. On this episode of the Church Disrupted Podcast, we start a two-part conversation...