I come from a ministry in Lindale TX, too. High control group - LDM related organization with similar shenanigans. I’m the same age and era as the hosts. I was embroiled in the Pentecostal evangelical legalism of those days. It all sounds so familiar. I was highly influenced by Keith - still am. He’s a main reason I am focused on global health outreach today. So, a lot of this is hard to hear about Keith et al. These communes (I was on one - and provided lots of free labor) were very much prone to this stuff they’re talking about. And now we’re seeing so much of this with larger churches across the globe. It’s interesting reflection. I still trust Him in spite of what I went through… Not something you can passively listen to in the car with grandkids as the F and S bombs do flow at times.

The Grace and Levity with which Sharon and Tracey, bring to these powerfully painful subjects is a healing salve! Try it!! Hilarious, profound, respectful, crass, vulnerable, and gut wrenchingly honest. Oh, and did say: funny? It’ll make you want to barf one minute and burst out laughing the next.

Having been a “sudo Jesus people” and Keith being a big part of that as well that I remember where I was the day of the crash…. And hearing you story yes every idle gas feet of cla. I’m also very glad to hear you all love Jesus Christ super star is the greatest movie ever and I watch it at least once a year yet…. I hope to meet you all sometime especially when I’m in Florida Keep doing what you are doing

As the daughter of a small-time high-control cult leader, operating in the fifties and sixties, this podcast is pure nostalgia! Sharon and Tracey bring welcome levity to an otherwise often difficult and painful history that they and so many others of us formerly fundamentalist, evangelical Christians swam in. Many laughs, and many thanks for a deep dive, and a light hand through murky subject matter. I feel like we're friends and co-sufferers and survivors of a life no one should have had to live through. We have patriarchy to thank for it and matriarchs like the Cult Sisters to to suss out the truth of it. Many thanks!!!

Considering the enormous impact of Keith Green’s music and ministry in the late 70s and early 80s, this show is a much needed addition to the collective rebuke of religious coercion.

Loved the latest episode. I remember Open and Brokeness week and how intense the pressure was to confess something. So manipulative. Keep up the great job ladies ✌️😎🏳️‍🌈

There are no other words — this podcast is amazing and inspiring and #allthethings and feels!!

Just listened to the latest broadcast, third and last with Anthony Venn-Brown, and am still coming to terms with the whole fundy Christian anti-gay sentiment. It as if they never read the words of Jesus. And this makes me so sad and further solidifies my decision to walk away from all things Christian after spending the bulk of my 71 years in this religious zeitgeist. Thanks Sharon, Tracey and Tony. Thanks for your authenticity!

Awesome steaming vat of rebellious witchery!

Awesome steaming vat of rebellious witchery! Many thanks for your time and Jezebel humor! -Fellow Former Teen Fundy

I am the same age as Tracey and Sharon, and while I have not deconstructed out of Christianity altogether, I absolutely love these podcasts.

If deconstructing from a high demand religion, this is essential in the journey of healing from religious trauma.

Tracy and Sharon get real with their experiences with self reflection, accountability and lots of laughter. The show is well paced, thoughtful and research/data driven. These ladies give me hope in removing the chains of the culty chaos!

Never thought a podcast reflecting on life and cults post-religion would be so enjoyable… Sharon and Tracey have discussed a lot of topics that are timely for the American experiment, and also speak to me personally. I am grateful for their courage to speak truth to power, to own their mistakes (even if they did make them in ignorance from within a high control group), and to set the record of 70’s-to-today American Christianity straight from their unique vantage point. This is one of only a handful of podcasts wherein I have listened to every episode. Their sincerity just stands out to me. With gratitude, B

It’s good to hear about the inner circle and things about Keith’s personality. But when they vilify Melody because she doesn’t subscribe to trans pronouns—-well it just proves that they have just jumped from conservative religion to liberal religion. Would be nice to find women with logical minds that didn’t fall for the latest greatest extreme religion of the day.

Having come from a Christian background/upbringing, so many things have resonated with me and I’ve experienced but not on the same level. So much value and so much truth being spoken through their stories.

Truly a fantastic listen for anyone healing from high-control religion

This podcast is very good. I encourage you to listen to episodes of this show and see for yourself if you are interested in christian fundamentalism and cults and patriarchy.

I have found this podcast to be very helpful during my own journey of deconstruction. It's funny, but it's also very serious. Episode 26 in particular was very impactful for me, as Paul shared in a very vulnerable way his own story. Thank you, Sharon and Tracey, for putting in all the thought and work necessary to produce a great show like this!

I too had a very visceral response to the spanking demo during “Shiny Happy People”. As a product of the 60s, I was spanked A LOT, but …..even my parents (or any other parents that I knew)never expected a kid to hug them. Even the most unreflective adult seemed to know a just spanked child would be mad/sad/ embarrassed, and needed space. Hugging one’s abuser feels like a type of SA. Am I alone in this???

If you were ever influenced by Keith Green’s music and/or the ministry he started with his wife Melody, Last Days Ministries, you probably think of Keith as a prophet, a visionary, a life cut too short. His idealism shone through his lyrics and writings and left you with both guilt at falling short of his challenge and admiration for setting such a high bar. In retrospect, it really was all too good to be true. This isn’t a podcast about sexual deviancy, suicide pacts, large weapons caches, etc. But it is a revealing insight into the inner workings of what can only be called a cult. Sleep deprivation, arranged marriages, purity culture, public confessions, etc. High control. Toxicity. Keith became a Christian at 22, released his first Christian album at 23, was at or near the top of the charts for a few years, and then died at 29. An outsized influence for his age and immaturity. The details of daily life inside LDM is eye-opening and revealing. It is cathartic and told with compassion and sincerity. I’m here for all of it.

I love this podcast! It’s difficult to communicate with words how helpful Sharon and Tracey’s stories and perspectives have been to me. My wife and I were in YWAM for almost 20 years and have been out for 3. We have a long journey ahead but this podcast has helped us put words to our experiences. I’m a heterosexual male, but I identify as a cult sister.

I’m a bit younger than Sharon and can completely relate to the stories in this podcast. Arriving late to the “deconstruction party” can feel a little odd, but Sharon and Tracey’s stories and interviews have given me amazing validation. I was raised in a charismatic church, did a YWAM DTS at age 18, got married at 21, divorced and shunned by many at 25. I left the charismatic church after my divorce however this and others deconstructionist podcasts have given me ever increasing insight into the the damaging effects of my upbringing. I’m grateful for the healing I continue to pursue through friends, therapy and healthy spirituality. Keep sharing Cult Sisters - your voices are resonating everywhere!

I was at LDM for a couple of years, attending the 2nd ICT school and working for Tracey in the tract dept. during the school. The rules they share about in that setting are not exaggerated and if anything, understated. I experienced first hand the dreaded conversation Tracey and Sharon refer to a number of times… and like Sharon and Martin, I was sent away, told not to talk to anybody, I was in sin, not a Christian etc… but ironically… it was Martin who was the one delivering the message!! The shock of this rocked me to my core… exiled from my friends, home, church, job and my faith… all in a 5 minute one way conversation!! Before I was literally sent away, I had to stand before the entire staff etc… and confess my sin… which ironically enough, was the very thing both Tracey and Sharon did in there own process around their engagement… I questioned myself! Yup, that’s it. I wasn’t sure I really loved and was attracted to the woman I was preparing to marry. The fundamental difference between my story and theirs, was that I brought my thoughts to my counselor. He took them immediately to Martin and within hours, I was ostracized and banned from the community. As I hear their stories, I realized I likely saved myself from so many of the experiences they lived out for years in their marriages. So in a very painful and sick way… Maybe…I was a lucky one? Thank you Sharon and Tracey for your vulnerability, courage and insights into something we experienced together, and for finding a way, where there wasn’t a path paved before you. In my journey I called it “leaping without a net”. Please keep the stories coming… Hugs to you both…