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Guest Bios Show Transcript According to the Houston Chronicle, hundreds have recently left Lakepointe Church—Josh Howerton’s prominent megachurch in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Now a longtime volunteer leader at Lakepointe, who recently left the church with her family, is speaking out. Joining host Julie Roys on this edition of The Roys Report is A…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Nancy French was once a darling of the GOP—and ghostwrote books, speeches, and articles for some of the leading conservative politicians. But then came Donald Trump’s candidacy for president—something as both a Christian and a sex abuse survivor, Nancy says she could not support. Then, she was ghosted. In this edition of …

Guest Bios Show Transcript Research shows more than 95% of women who report being raped are telling the truth. But in some churches, these women are not believed and shamed. According to author Ryan George, it’s all part of a propaganda machine meant to consolidate and maintain power. On this edition of The Roys Report, host Julie Roys continues he…

Guest Bios Show Transcript The church should be a place of healing and comfort. But for far too many, it’s a place of abuse and harm. As a child, Ryan George was profoundly hurt in a fundamentalist church, pastored by his abusive father. But years later, Ryan found a loving and gracious church. And through that church, he experienced transformation…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Can a church that’s had a history of being toxic transform its culture and become truly healthy? Or, are churches like this doomed to repeat their history, despite efforts to change? This edition of The Roys Report features a talk from our recent Restore Conference by Laura Barringer. Laura and her father, theologian Scot…

Guest Bios Show Transcript What does it take to disqualify someone from ministry? An affair? Spiritual abuse? Sexual abuse? Abuse of power? Or, as some have claimed, can just about anyone be restored to ministry because “God is gracious” and “His call is irrevocable”? This edition of The Roys Report takes a deep dive into the Scriptures—particularl…

Guest Bios Show Transcript A bombshell report on the alleged “affair” between popular worship leaders Kevin Prosch and Misty Edwards published by The Roys Report sent shock waves through the charismatic Christian community. How could two people, who ushered so many into the presence of God, sin in such an egregious way? But were they both consensua…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Once you’ve experienced trauma, how do you heal? What should you look for in a counselor? What kind of therapy is right for you? And how do you take care of yourself as you begin your healing journey? In this edition of The Roys Report, discover answers to these questions and more in an in-depth talk from professional psy…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Everything rises or falls on leadership. Ever heard that line? Think about what it means when applied to a pastor’s role in a church. What about the priesthood of all believers? And where is Jesus in that equation? In this edition of The Roys Report, veteran church planter and pastor, Lance Ford, challenges popular views …

Guest Bios Show Transcript As a Christian in Iran, Naghmeh Panahi was arrested numerous times—and once even had a gun pointed at her head. But as awful as that was, Naghmeh says she endured something far worse when she began speaking out about abuse from her husband. It was then that she faced persecution—not from radical Muslims, but from Christia…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Why can’t people get over talking about race? Ever heard that line? Or, how about: We live in a post-racial world. We’ve even had a black president! If racism doesn’t exist, then we don’t have to deal with it. Yet racism, sadly, is alive and well—not just in our culture, but within the church. On this edition of The Roys …

Guest Bios Show Transcript Men need sex. And it’s their wives’ job to give it to them—unconditionally, whenever they want it, or these husbands will come under Satanic attack. Stunningly, that’s the message contained in many Christian marriage books. Yet, research shows that instead of increasing intimacy in marriages, messages like these are promo…

Guest Bios Show Transcript America is experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in its history—greater than the First and the Second Great Awakening and every revival in the U.S. combined. But instead of a massive shift into the church, what we’re seeing is a mass exodus. In this edition of The Roys Report, you’ll hear from Michael Graha…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Why is church after church succumbing to corruption and false doctrine? Yes, it’s the result of greed, immorality, and a lust for power. But we’ve had those vices forever. So, why is there an epidemic of corruption in the church now? Author, pastor, and church planter, Lance Ford, who’s worked inside pastor training netwo…

Guest Bios Show Transcript When faced with a scandal, organizations have a choice. They can engage in impression management strategies, designed to obscure the truth, and save their image. Or, they can take the road less traveled. They can humble themselves. They can listen. And they can admit the truth—to themselves and to others. In this edition …

Guest Bios Show Transcript How did loving your enemies—a command of Jesus—suddenly become a sign that you’re “woke”? And why is “owning the libs” now the answer to “What would Jesus do?” On this edition of The Roys Report, bestselling author and journalist Tim Alberta joins host Julie Roys to explore a disturbing phenomenon in American evangelicali…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Exposing abuse and corruption can be a thankless job. Powerful figures doing wrong often deny and attack those exposing them. And their supporters often join suit—attacking the messenger, rather than holding their leader accountable. This edition of The Roys Report features a very personal talk from Restore Conference fou…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Clergy sexual abuse is one of the most devastating forms of abuse, impacting almost every area of life. After surviving abuse like that, how do you recover? And after being preyed upon by a powerful church figure, how do you recover your agency, your voice, your life? This edition of The Roys Report features an unforgetta…

When a church is rocked by scandal, how can you tell if an investigation is truly independent—or another attempt to cover up? Experts discuss.بقلم The Roys Report

Carson Weitnauer shares his journey from disillusionment to hope, after discovering his hero, Ravi Zacharias, was a fraud.بقلم The Roys Report

The authors of ‘A Church Called Tov’ go deeper in ‘Pivot,’ explaining how to transform toxic church cultures into tov ones.بقلم The Roys Report

Guest Bios Show Transcript What are the telltale signs of spiritual abuse? And once you’ve been subjected to it, how do you heal? On this edition of The Roys Report, we’re rolling out the first of 11 talks from this year’s Restore Conference. This was an amazing gathering of survivors of church hurt and abuse—as well as pastors and Christian leader…

A woman who blew the whistle on her popular pastor and an anti-bullying author share how to stand up to bullies in the workplace.بقلم The Roys Report

What do you do when you’re being bullied by your Christian employer? The whistleblower who exposed author Dane Ortlund speaks out.بقلم The Roys Report

Evangelicalism suffers from a crisis of imagination. Author Karen Swallow Prior exposes how we got here and the way forward.بقلم The Roys Report

A victim of adult clergy sexual abuse says her first wound—the abuse—was awful. But the second wound—how her church responded—was even worse.بقلم The Roys Report

Moriah Smothers says she was a victim of adult clergy sexual abuse. But her former pastor is calling it an “affair” & returning to ministry.بقلم The Roys Report

After Christy Boulware found freedom from fear and anxiety, she faced another battle with her pastor and spiritual abuse.بقلم The Roys Report

Christy Boulware tells her story of overcoming anxiety and a severe panic disorder, and how her breakdown became a breakthrough.بقلم The Roys Report

Guest Bios Show Transcript Hillsong Church has been embroiled in a steady stream of scandals, exposing sexual and financial misconduct—and a toxic and exploitative leadership culture. So, should we still be singing their worship songs? Or should we re-think our song selection and worship sets? In this podcast, Julie continues her dialogue with two …

Guest Bios Show Transcript What comes to mind when you hear Hillsong? Elevation? Passion? Bethel? You may think megachurch. You may think controversy or scandal. But you also may think of music. And chances are, if you were in church last Sunday, you sang a song produced by, or associated in some way with, one of these four worship powerhouses. In …

Guest Bios Show Transcript Is it true that men are visual in a way that women will never understand? Or that boys can’t help but lust if a girl is dressed like she’s inciting it? In this edition of The Roys Report, we continue a two-part discussion with Sheila Wray Gregoire on toxic teachings on sex and womanhood within the evangelical church. You …

Guest Bios Show Transcript Is the church conditioning women to think less of themselves? And do the most common teachings girls hear in youth group make them more likely to marry an abuser? Less likely to understand consent? And more likely to blame themselves if they’re assaulted? In this edition of The Roys Report, we’ll explore these topics with…

Guest Bios Show Transcript American evangelicals love megachurches. Today, there are about 1,750 megachurches in the U.S. and 65% of them are evangelical in their theology. But are these megachurches truly helping the evangelical movement—or are they destroying it? In this edition of The Roys Report, Julies continues a discussion of Jesus vs. Evang…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Evangelicalism was once known for its theological convictions, like the centrality of Scripture and the need for personal conversion. Now, it’s known for Trumpian politics, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, megachurch scandals, and grift. Clearly, it’s a movement in crisis. And according to New Testament scholar Constantine Campbell, …

Guest Bios Show Transcript Why are Christians drawn to abusive celebrity pastors? And why do appeals to love and serve often gain less traction than condemnation and harshness? In this edition of The Roys Report, Julie explores explore these questions with Dr. Raymond Chiu, a business professor at Redeemer University in Ontario, Canada. Along with …

Guest Bios Show Transcript Jesus Revolution—a new film recounting the Jesus Movement of the 1970s—has become a box office sensation with Christian moviegoers. But is the movie accurate? And does its focus on megachurch pastor Greg Laurie do justice to this 1970s movement that changed the world? On this edition of The Roys Report, Christian filmmake…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Many times, those who have experienced spiritual abuse are retraumatized when they try to speak about what’s happened. They’re often labeled bitter, disgruntled, and gossips—and once again, wounded by Christians and the church. In part two of Julie’s podcast with Justin Humphreys, they discuss how to help survivors of chu…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Spiritual abuse has become an increasingly hot topic, as more and more stories of bully pastors and hyper-controlling churches have grabbed headlines. But how does spiritual abuse differ from mere emotional and psychological abuse? And what are its key features and stages? In this podcast, Justin Humphreys, CEO of Thirtyo…

Guest Bios Show Transcript After years spent in an abusive church, how do you heal? How do spot a safe pastor—and can you avoid repeating the same mistake? In this edition of The Roys Report, Pastor Ken Garrett, author of In the House of Friends, returns to describe the process of healing after escaping from an abusive church.…

Guest Bios Show Transcript How do people get sucked into abusive churches? What are the tell-tale signs of an abusive church? And, after leaving one, how can you heal? In this edition of The Roys Report, Pastor Ken Garrett, author of In the House of Friends, shares key insights on understanding and healing from spiritual abuse in Christian churches…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Celebrity culture has invaded the church. Pastors, who should be shepherds serving the flock, have become idols attracting adoring fans and commanding six- and even seven-figure salaries. What has happened to the church? How did we get here? And what can be done to counter this truly anti-gospel culture? In this podcast, …

Guest Bios Show Transcript How do you hold on to your faith after experiencing abuse in a church? And how can you find Christian community when so many aspects of church trigger painful memories? In this week’s podcast, Doug and Wendy Duncan join me to discuss their journey into—out of—what they say was an abusive and cultic Christian community. Af…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Is Mark Driscoll a victim of vindictive leaders? Or is he an unrepentant narcissist and liar, who refuses to take responsibility? In part two of this podcast with former Mars Hill Executive Elder Sutton Turner, we discuss the narrative Mark Driscoll has been crafting for eight years. This is one in which Driscoll claims h…

Guest Bios Show Transcript Since his abrupt resignation from Mars Hill Church in 2014, Mark Driscoll has claimed he was the victim of a vindictive plot. But last week, Driscoll dropped a bombshell. He claimed that Mars Hill leaders were planning to accuse him of adultery if he didn’t resign. In this week’s podcast, Sutton Turner—one of only three f…

Guest Bios Show Transcript What is it like to be a person of color in a predominantly white evangelical church? Does fitting in require someone to change their behavior, appearance, and speech? And if so, what does that say about the church? In this latest podcast, Julie explores these issues with Jenai Auman. Jenai is a survivor of spiritual abuse…

Guest Bios Show Transcript What do you do when you realize you’ve been abused by your church? Do you appeal to the denomination? Do you speak up publicly to seek justice, even if you suspect the majority won’t listen? In this second of a two-part podcast, Lori Harding tells what she did in this situation. She recounts returning to her former church…

Guest Bios Show Transcript What do you do when you’re wrongly fired by a megachurch—and denied any severance unless you sign an NDA? Then, years later, you realize what you experienced at that church was spiritual abuse? That’s what Lori Harding says happened to her at the the famous Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And …

Guest Bios Show Transcript Is all sin equal? Can you call out wickedness in someone else—or is that judging? And what does it really mean to “err on the side of grace”? If you’ve heard some of these lines, and perhaps been silenced by them, this latest episode of The Roys Report is for you. Joining me is Rebecca Davis, author of the Untwisting the …