The Awakening Podcast
⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of religious trauma, church abuse, child abuse, physical violence, and disturbing content involving children in religious settings. This week on The Awakening, Tamara and I are doing something a little different. No guest this week — just the two of us, taking stock of where we've been and what we've seen. We reflect on the guests who have sat across from us this season, the stories that have stayed with us, and the cumulative weight of bearing witness to so much harm done in the name of God. We get honest about what this work does to us — and why we keep doing it. We also dig into the news, because the church never stops giving us material. Steven Anderson — pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, a man already banned from more than 34 countries for his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and calls for the execution of gay people — is now facing abuse allegations from his own children. Four of his adult kids have gone public, describing closed-fist beatings, whippings with electrical cords, starvation as punishment, and years of psychological harm. Anderson's response from the pulpit? He called his children "evil wicked brats," prayed for God to destroy them, and threatened to quit pastoring if they didn't publicly repent. The institution protected him. His own children had to take it to YouTube to be heard. Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Central, Louisiana — who you may remember from his COVID-era defiance of public health orders — was arrested on June 23rd for second-degree battery after allegedly running across a four-lane highway to attack his 20-year-old neighbor. He bonded out and went straight to the pulpit, where he told his congregation he had "fulfilled the scripture" by "laying hands on the sick." Body camera footage later showed him using homophobic slurs and threatening the neighbor's father. A protective order has since been issued against him. His congregation applauded. And then there's Pastor Dewayne Walker of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, who apparently decided the best way to teach Vacation Bible School is to have men in camouflage carry air rifles into the sanctuary, simulate shooting someone in front of small children, and lead the kids in chanting "Take him out! Blow him up!" — all while calling it "killing the devil." The video went viral. Walker defended it. He called it a 32-year tradition. Multiple people came forward to say this has been happening since the 1990s, including one person who said they were removed from VBS as a child because they were crying too hard to calm down. This is what accountability looks like in the church. Which is to say — it doesn't. In This Episode, We Discuss: • Reflecting on our guests this season and the impact their stories have had on us • Why their stories keep us out of religious spaces for good • The pattern of unchecked power and zero accountability in institutional religion • Steven Anderson — abuse allegations from his own children and his response from the pulpit • Tony Spell — arrested for battery, went straight to church, called it scripture • The Mt. Olivet Baptist VBS gun skit — and what it tells us about how violence gets normalized in church culture Connect with Your Hosts: Heather: https://linktr.ee/Happyheathersmiles Tamara: TikTok @feralatheistjezebel321 | Instagram @tamarajo321 🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAwakeningPodcast-w6s 📩 Be a guest: theawakeningpod@gmail.com If you're listening and wondering why you ever trusted these institutions — that's not cynicism. That's clarity. You were not wrong to question. You were not wrong to leave. And you are not alone in your anger. We see it too. You belong here. If you like what you here, check out other great pods on the BIG Media LLC [https://bigmediallc.com/] Podcast Network! Barrett [https://linktr.ee/barrettgruber] and Zac [https://linktr.ee/aanzac] host The All About Nothing: Podcast [https://theallaboutnothing.com/], discussing everything from news and politics to entertainment and sports! All About Nothing, but All About Something too! Zac [https://linktr.ee/aanzac] and Barrett [https://linktr.ee/barrettgruber] host What The Pod Was That [https://whatthepodwasthat.com/] with Cari Simmons [https://twitter.com/cari_simmons], available everywhere you listen to podcasts. Take a deep dive down the rabbit hole with Amii [https://twitter.com/chicamii] on the pod Welcome to Wonder Land [https://wtwlpod.com/]. Check out Black White and Blue In the South [https://blackwhitebluesouth.captivate.fm/], With Dr. Jumelle Brooks and Bill Kimler! Politically Speaking [https://linktr.ee/politicallyspeakingsc] with Erica Sampson, Kirsten Pruitt, and Emily Mayer is a sharp, engaging podcast breaking down politics with insight, wit, and a fresh perspective. The Preach Jacobs Podcast [https://the-preach-jacobs-podcast.captivate.fm/] is hosted by Columbia South Carolina's very own Ambassador, Hiphop Artist, Columnist and Owner of SoulHAUS Art Gallery, Preach Jacobs! All of these fantastic podcasts can be found on the BIG Media LLC [https://bigmediallc.com/] Podcast Network! FAIR USE COPYRIGHT NOTICE The Copyright Laws of the United States recognize a "fair use" of copyrighted content. 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