Hole in My Heart Podcast Laurie Krieg

Some Christians write off June’s Pride festivals as Sodom and Gomorrah. They don’t think anyone there could possibly want God.
Are we so sure about that?
At least two ministries in the U.S. are regularly going to Pride festivals in their areas, and they are seeing people come to know Jesus because of their presence, preaching, and practical love of neighbor.
This week, we interview a street evangelist who has been going to Grand Rapids, Michigan’s Pride Festival for the last five years. We ask:
Why does he go?
What heart does he have when he goes?
What pushback does he receive?
What fruit does he see from his going?
What can we learn from his work?
You’re not going to want to miss these episodes.
| Highlights |
“We are either open and affirming or we are openly condemning, but in the middle ground is the gospel.” —Stephen Nylen
“They will not know if I do not go. So I have to go. But if you’re going to preach and your feet aren’t beautiful (Westboro Baptist, legalists, moralists, open and affirming, or openly condemning) then you’re not preaching the right gospel.” —Stephen Nylen
“If you’re a firefighter and you see a fire, then your calling is to go. And so I go.” —Stephen Nylen
| QOTW |
What do you always need instructions for? (Making rice, Mac and cheese, or using a lawnmower?)
 
| Do the Next Thing |
Find everything about Stephen’s work here
Or on his FB here
Or here
His minidoc on the ministry here
And his two-minute gospel presentation here
Join the HIMH FB group here
Follow Laurie on IG here
Email us with thoughts or questions at podcast@lauriekrieg.com
Watch the episode here

When we are going through suffering, we don’t usually think, “Hmm, what treasures might God have for me to discover here?”
It just feels like suffering.
However, author and major stroke survivor, Katherine Wolf, has a message for us: God has gems for us to find in the darkness. “If you have to go through hardship, why not get the treasure? My goodness, don’t waste the pain,” she says.
What else do we talk about?
What exactly are these “treasures” anyway?
How should we respond to our friends’ immediate suffering?
What if we are in a major depressive season? Is there hope for us? 
What if we don’t think our struggles are worth even naming as “suffering”? 
What steps can we take in the midst of a hard season to find hope?
// Highlights:
“Before we can ever accept the circumstances of our life, we have to go through the process of grieving the life we thought we should have had.” --Katherine Wolf
“The gift we can give one another as the body of Christ is to sprint toward one another’s pain and suffering.” --Katherine Wolf
“We need to remember that we are called and assigned to our stories.” --Katherine Wolf
“What saved my life was the logic of it all: If I should have died, I would have died. I did not die, therefore God has purpose in my being in this body and on this planet in this moment.” --Katherine Wolf
“We need less people telling you what to think in the pain and more just being with you in the pain.” --Katherine Wolf
// Question of the Week:
What two random things are in your junk drawer right now? 
 
// Do the Next Thing:
Katherine’s amazing new devotional/reflection book? Find it here
Follow Katherine on IG here
Join the HIMH FB group here
Follow Laurie on IG here
Email us with thoughts or questions at podcast@lauriekrieg.com
Watch it here
 

“Hope in the gospel and discouragement are not mutually exclusive,” Pastor Derwin Gray encouraged us on today’s episode. 
But, how is that possible? The world can feel so defeating:
Politics, racial division, pastor scandals, congregant sin, and the drudgery of faithfully trying to do this thing called advancing the Kingdom of God wherever we are called can overwhelm anyone. How can we both experience grief, discouragement, or mourning, and allow it to propel us further into the heart of God?
Author and pastor of one of the fastest growing churches in America, Derwin Gray, preaches exactly the answer and exactly what weary souls needed to hear today.
 
// Highlights:
 
“When I find my heart becoming cynical I know that I have stepped out of grace and into self righteousness.” —Derwin Gray
“I’m finding encouragement because that tomb in Jerusalem is still empty.” —Derwin Gray
“We need more local pastors not teaching moralism, sin management, left-leaning secular ideologies or Pharisaical rightism. We need them to preach the gospel-centered, beautiful, bloody resurrection power of Jesus.” —Derwin Gray
 
// QOTW:
 
What is your favorite sign of spring?
 
// Do the Next Thing:
 
Watch the video here!
Find all of Derwin’s work here
Join the HIMH Podcast here
Keep up with Laurie and the HIMH Podcast on IG here

This is a very gentle but powerful episode. 
Since having the conversation, I (Laurie) can’t stop seeing the people-as-trees metaphor everywhere.
How? You’re just going to have to listen to find out. :)  
// Highlights:
“We all have the seasons in life. We can’t expect the same things of ourselves in every single season. When we don’t experience seasons that are fruitful or blooming, it doesn’t mean that something is wrong with us, it can just mean we are in a different season.” —Joy Marie Clarkson
“You can’t have buds and the blooms [on a tree] without ... the old leaves dying.” —Joy Marie Clarkson
“I had cleared the land of my life of all the things that seemed ‘pointless’ … In doing that, I made the field of my life infertile and barren. ” —Joy Marie Clarkson
// Question of the Week:
What do you accidentally buy too much of at the grocery store? (You have grocery-nesia?)
 
// Do the Next Thing:
Find Joy on IG here
On Twitter here
On FB here
On her Substack here
Her podcast here
Join the conversation at the HIMH FB Pod Page here!
Watch the episode here

Christy grew up in a hyper-legalistic system that added rigid rules to the gospel of Jesus. 
(You might have seen glimpses of it if you watched the documentary, ‘Shiny Happy People.’)
Even after leaving, Christy internally battled the legalism that attached itself to her knowledge of the real Jesus. How did she break free—not only physically, but mentally and spiritually?
We also explore:
What is the difference between authority and authoritarianism?
How can you tell if you’re in a legalistic system?
Why would someone be drawn to such a structure?
How can we break free from either a direct cult like Christy experienced, or simple (but unbiblical) legalism?
// Highlights:
“Legalism and behavior-driven stuff (feeling like you have to perform for God) holds on tight. Even after getting out [of the cult] and going to college (I was wearing pants, I had shorter hair, and I looked way more normal than I used to look), I was still very much stuck in this idea that God didn’t like me if I wasn’t performing correctly.” —Christy Lynne Wood
“The most damaging part of this cult was the idea of who God was: He was angry, he wanted certain behaviors and activities, and he was going to judge you and condemn you if you didn’t follow these rules and behaviors.” —Christy Lynne Wood
“God wants us to be reconciled to the real Jesus, not to some fake god who is crushing us under his thumb… And, He wants this more than we do.” —Christy Lynne Wood
// Question of the Week:
Do you have grocery-nesia? Do you go to the store and think you *definitely* need something, but get home only to discover you already have four? We want to hear about it.
 
// Do the Next Thing:
Watch the episode here!
You can read Christy’s blog and more here
You can find Christy’s book, Religious Rebels, here
We talk about understanding the genre, etc. of the Bible. This book may be a help
Christy mentioned A Matter of Basic Principles book found here
You can find the Diane Langberg book we talked about that explored authority, Redeeming Power, here
Join the HIMH Podcast FB group here

Oh, wow. This story. 
How does one woman go from a childhood of following Jesus as much as she knows how, to professional hockey, to same-sex relationships, to transitioning to male for six years, to finding the real Jesus, and then to de-transitioning in the midst of a loving church community?
This episode has her story.
Hear a testimony and take part in a conversation on how to walk well with people who wrestle with gender today on the podcast.
 
// Highlights:
“I was crying out to God on the bedroom floor, and I heard him say, ‘Kyla. Return to me.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean, return to you? Can’t I follow you and be Brycen?’ I heard him very clearly say to me, ‘No.’ I was weeping: ‘I don’t know what this looks like. Can I ever be female again?’ And he said to me, ‘Do you trust me and are you willing?’ And I cried out in that moment, ‘Yes!’” --Kyla Gillespie
“Do we think we are powerful enough in ourselves to change and will somebody to love Jesus? Or do we believe in the power of the Holy Spirit who saves and changes people? That’s what [the people who discipled me] did. They called me to this gospel, but they loved me in the mess.” --Kyla Gillespie
“It’s always different when we have face-to-face relationships. Suddenly all those things we did and said on the internet turn into, ‘Oh, maybe that wasn’t so kind or so nice or so gentle. Maybe I didn’t love you the way I’m commanded to love you.’” --Kyla Gillespie
// Question of the Week:
What was your favorite childhood cereal?
// Do the Next Thing:
Find Kyla’s ministry here
Search her on IG here
Join the HIMH Podcast Group here
Watch the episode here