Hey everyone!  I got another episode here for the "We Were In a Cult?" Series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" podcast. Today, we again dive deep into a compelling and often heartbreaking topic with our segment titled "We Were In a Cult?" In this episode I was joined by former member Drew, who shares his powerful story of leaving the International Churches of Christ (ICOC) and the emotional turmoil that came with it. We’ll discuss the painful realization that the church’s promise that 'anyone...

Hey everyone!  I got another episode here for the "We Were In a Cult?" Series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" podcast. Today, we dive deep into a compelling and often heartbreaking topic with our episode titled "We Were In a Cult?" In this episode, we explore a story that spans five decades with our guest, Kathi, who began her journey in the 14th Street Church—later known as the Crossroads Church of Christ, the genesis of the ICOC. Kathi was baptized at an early age, but as she got older, she...

What is up everyone?  I have got a new episode here for you all.  In this episode, we're joined once again by Nadine, who previously shared her experiences both in and out of the ICOC. After our last conversation, Nadine received an overwhelming number of questions from listeners eager to learn more about her journey. Today, she’s back to answer those questions and to provide deeper insight into a significant part of her story. Also, Nadine was named in the infamous Henry Kriete letter, a...

Hey everyone!  I got another episode here for the "We Were In a Cult?" Series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" podcast. Today, we dive deep into a compelling and often heartbreaking topic with our episode titled "We Were In a Cult?" Our guest today is Joabis, who stands out as the first member of the International Churches of Christ (ICOC) to join us while still being an active member of the church. Joabis's journey is truly international—born in Africa, he moved to India where he was...

Hey everyone!  I got another episode here for the "We Were In a Cult?" Series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" podcast. Today, we dive deep into a compelling and often heartbreaking topic with our episode titled "We Were In a Cult?" Our guest this week is a brave former member of the International Churches of Christ (ICOC) Rachel who also grew up in the church. Rachel opens up about her life both inside and outside the church, shedding light on the struggles she faced, including the 'toxic diet...

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses body shaming, anorexia, and mentions sexual abuse allegations. Hey everyone!  I got another episode here for the "We Were In a Cult?" Series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" podcast. Today, we dive deep into a compelling and often heartbreaking topic with our episode titled "We Were In a Cult?" Our guest this week is a brave former member of the International Churches of Christ (ICOC) Justine who grew up under our church's stringent control. In this...

What is up everyone?! I got a new episode here in the "We Were In a Cult?" series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" Podcast.  I was able to speak to former member of the ICOC Anabel about her life in the church and out of the church.  Anabel was a "kingdom kid" who grew up in the church.  We discussed what it was like growing up in the church and how it influenced her view of god and knowing from a very young age that she had a debt that needed to be paid back.  Some of the big topics were that...

What is up everyone?! I got a new episode here in the "We Were In a Cult?" series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" Podcast.  I was able to speak to former member of the ICOC Nadine about her life in the church and out of the church.  Nadine's story spans nearly 40 years and multiple countries and continents and she has only been out of the church for about 6 months.   Nadine was met in London and after joined the church quickly became a leader.  She and her husband led churches in India,...

What is up everyone?! I got a new episode here in the "We Were In a Cult?" series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" Podcast.  I was able to speak with former member and kingdom kid Marissa to discuss her life growing up in the church, all the good bad and ugly as well as what led her to needing to exit the church in college.  I do need to give a trigger warning for this episode as she discuss instances of self harm.   We talked about growing up in this system, the pressure put on people, and the...

What is up everyone!  Got a new episode here in the "We Were In a Cult?" series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" Podcast.  I was able to sit with former guest on the show Alex who was also a member of the ICOC.  Our conversation centered mostly on what it was like as a "kingdom kid" in the church and how much our view of reality and life was through the lens of the church and it's teaching.  Some of the big topics were the feeling of guilt after baptism and continually trying to earn it, and...

What is up everyone!  I got a new episode for the "We Were In a Cult?" series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" podcast.  I was able to chat with former member of the ICOC Amy about what got her in the church, her life in the church, and the how's and why's of why she left.  We touched on many topics in this 2 and 1/2 hour conversation.  We talked about her family life, the love for a god that she had and why she felt the need to join not just the ICOC but a church in general.  She discussed the...

What is up everyone!  Got a new DADTALK episode here for all of you.  I had the pleasure of speaking with an old friend Todd about all things fatherhood.  Todd is a rad dad of a little boy and what was especially great about this conversation for me is that Todd is a stay at home dad and I have been a stay at home dad for almost a year now.  It was great to hear about how it is for him and for us to share all we go through in this space.  If you are a dad and would like to share your story...

What is up everyone!  Episode 100 here!  Can you believe it?  In this episode I talk about how I always seem to forget the day my dad died and its due to the fact that the gorilla Harambe died that day as well.  Yes, you read that right.  This has shown me though something important about how we process grief and has helped me move on and live my life a little bit lighter.   As always, thank you for your continued support and thank you for 100 episodes!  I could not do it without all of you. ...

What is up everyone!  In this episode of the Clemenz With a "Z" Podcast I was able to interview Jennifer Green.   Jennifer Green is a licensed certified professional midwife and owner of Seven Cities Midwifery Care here in Virginia Beach.  Jennifer is passionate about informed consent, medical freedom, and supporting mothers and families with their birth choices.  On a personal note, she was one of the midwives there at my son's home birth.   We had a wonderful discussion on home births,...

What is up everyone!  Got a part 2 to Tania's story of her life in the church.  I asked her back to discuss deeper what she meant by the idea of the "colonization of faith".  I also wanted her to share further about her experience as a woman in the church and in leadership as well as being a person of color in the church when she moved to the U.S.  I am grateful that she came back to shed more light on these things.  This conversation about our lives in the church keeps growing and...

What is up everyone!  Got a new episode up for the "We Were In a Cult?" series here on the Clemenz with a "Z" podcast.  I was able to chat with former member of the ICOC Tania.  Tania was a member of the Mexico City Church, a missionary that planted one of our churches in Cuba, and a leader in the Boston Church.  In our conversation we discussed topics such as the colonization of faith, how much work was required of members, the toxic nature of missionaries, and how women were viewed in the...

What is up everyone!  I have a new episode up for the DADTALK series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" podcast.  I was able to converse with a dad TJ.  TJ is a dad of 2 young boys.  We had a great conversation about all things fatherhood, pressures of kids in sports, night terrors, and the struggle of wanting to be the perfect dad.  The biggest take away though for me was to remember that you are doing the best you can.  There is no perfect dad out there.  If you focus too much on perfection you...

What is up everyone?  Got a new episode here for the "We Were In a Cult?" series here on the Clemenz With a "Z" podcast.  I was able to have a conversation with former member of the ICOC, Drew to discuss his life before the church, during, and after.  The biggest take away of his story for me was how important it is for some to find a "stable" institution and the joy it brings them.  That institution also has a damaging power once it is that institution drops them or turns it back on them. ...

What's up everyone!  New episode up in the "We Were In a Cult?" Series here on the Clemenz with a "Z" Podcast.  In this episode I had the pleasure of talking to former member of the International Churches of Christ or "ICOC" Ljuba.  We discussed how it was for her coming from Denmark to New York City right after high school to follow her dreams of dancing and being met by a member right away.  We discussed what it was like for after joining, her life in church, the pressures and time...

What is up everyone!  This episode is my message for this week of May 5th.  I look at the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.  I talk about the intentionality of the authors of the bible in their use of metaphors and characters in these parables.  I discuss how all of can get so caught up in our rituals and practices that it disconnects us from the people around us, much like the priest and the Levite in the parable.  I also talk about how for all of us there are "Samaritans" in...

What's up everyone!  In this episode I talk about the fear I have as a parent and a person in situations with my kid and in life that remind me of past hurt and trauma.  I discuss how I have been finding my through it and a mantra that I have adopted this year.  The mantra is "Just because it was doesn't mean it has to be."  I hope this helps all of you as much as it has been helping me heal old crap and becoming a more present father.  Be excellent to each other! Peace!

What is up everyone?!  New episode alert for the series "We Were In a Cult?" here on the "Clemenz With a "Z" Podcast".  I was able to chat with former member of the ICOC Liz about her life in and out of the church.  We were able to talk about growing up as "kingdom kid" and all that came with that, seeking approval from the leaders, seeing the wrongs in the church, trying hard to ignore them, how that ignoring led to internalization, and living with all of that became too much to bear which...

What is up everyone!  For this episode I use the text Luke 19:1-10, the story of Zaccheaus and Jesus.  I discuss a couple of things here:  How when we read the bible we bring into the story our ideas and views on the world and what we seem possible, the power of being seen and heard, and for us to not become the gatekeepers of who is in or out by letting our own prejudices get in the way.   Be excellent to each other! Peace everyone! And remember, I am just a channel.  I aint the source.  

How many of us spend all our time and energy looking for the one answer to fix it all?  I know I get caught up in that so much.  I had this realization after reading Matthew 7:7-8 HCSB that its not about the answer but the search for the answer that changes us, impacts us, where we learn the most.  Its not the answer in the parenting book that makes us a better parent but the caring enough to be the better parent and that quest to implement new ideas that does the most change in our...

What is up everyone!  New episode up for the "We Were In a Cult?" series here on the "Clemenz With a "Z" Podcast".  I was able to speak with former member of the International Churches of Christ Diane about her story of being a member and leaving the church.  Diane's story spans almost 45 years, 5 states/ministries,  marriage/divorce, and she was the first person I was able to talk to about life in the Crossroads Church in the mid 70's.  Her story shed more light on this wild thing we all...