Well, hey friend, welcome to Job with Julie, hosted by me, Julie Slattery.

Let me remind you that this podcast is a production of authentic intimacy, which is a ministry that's dedicated to helping people navigate

sexual issues and really find the love of God through that. Now as you know the church is one of the

main places that we are supposed to learn the goodness of

God learn what God is like learn about his love it's supposed to be a safe place

for us a place where we can be disciples and where we see God's word stewarded wisely.

But unfortunately, that's not how things always turn out.

In fact, for a lot of us, we have been hurt and traumatized by what we have

experienced within the church and that is definitely the case for my guest

today his name is Ryan George Ryan grew up in a string of churches

that had little accountability, abused power,

manipulated scripture, and by the time Ryan

graduated from college, he was very confused about what it meant to follow

Christ and whether or not he could even trust God.

And then when you couple that with his use of upbringing under the hands of his father

father who is a pastor. Ryan had a lot to

disentangle in terms of understanding God's love and his goodness.

But God didn't leave Ryan alone in that confusion and hurt. As you're going to hear, Ryan, through the

grace of God, managed to discern good from evil and experience God who is present and kind and near. Now I know that Ryan's story is going to

resonate with a lot of you. Perhaps you have some deep hurt and

disappointment, maybe even abuse stemming from people in the church who have grossly misrepresented God.

And as you hear Ryan's story, I pray that God himself will show you the ways that he wants to bring healing into your spiritual journey.

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