On this episode of Faith Rehab Podcast we get to hear from Truls Neal, a career Probation Officer, manager, and Director. He is an accomplished leader, a husband, a father, and a friend. He is the son of a white Norwegian mother and an African American Military father. He has a twin, a wife, and two daughters. When people hear his name and hear that his mother is Norwegian, they expect him to be a blond-haired, blue-eyed man. Truls is more melanated than that and describes himself as “coffee with a little bit of cream” in his complexion. He also reminds us that “None of us are what people expect people to be.” So true!

We follow how his ethnic and racial makeup have affected him from the restrictions of where he could live as a child, through his poor treatment in churches. Through his journey he will remind us of God’s intent in dealing with those that are different from us: “I don't want to be about race relations. I want to be about grace relations because I think that's what Jesus calls me to.”

In his grace, he teaches all of us what it means to be a child of God.

He also tells us about his life mission, “Build community.”

We think we can all learn something more about that; and wouldn’t we all be better off if we were building community.

Faith Rehab is a podcast about church hurt, healing, and rebuilding faith.

We create a safe space for honest conversations about spiritual disappointment, doubt, and the process of finding hope again—without pretending or having all the answers.

Co-hosts: Steve McNitt, Heidi Brandt & CJ Mateo
Produced by: CJ Mateo

Contact us at Faithrehabpodcast@gmail.com
— we’d love to hear your story.

Before you listen: This episode touches on abuse. If anything you hear today resonates with you, resources are available. Two we recommend — Flying Free Now ( www.flyingfreenow.com ), a resource built specifically for Christian women, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline . For the hotline please call 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788, free and confidential, 24/7.

What happens when the church sends a family to the mission field — and the real danger is inside the home?

In this episode, we sit down with Grace (not her real name) — a Christian woman, a missionary, and domestic abuse survivor — to hear her story of surviving abuse within a Christian marriage, and what healing has actually looked like on the other side.

We talk about the moments nobody warned her about — the isolation, the spiritual manipulation, the way faith was used as a tool for control. We talk about what the church got right, what it got terribly wrong, and what she wishes someone had said to her sooner.

We break down the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation — because they are not the same thing — and why the church’s tendency to conflate the two has kept so many survivors stuck, silent, and unsafe.

If you’ve ever experienced religious abuse, spiritual manipulation, toxic marriage dynamics, or felt like the church chose the abuser over you — please listen and share this episode to anyone in mind.

Grace also drops some unexpectedly solid parenting advice. Be blessed everyone!

Faith Rehab is a podcast about church hurt, healing, and rebuilding faith.

We create a safe space for honest conversations about spiritual disappointment, doubt, and the process of finding hope again—without pretending or having all the answers.

Co-hosts: Steve McNitt, Heidi Brandt & CJ Mateo
Produced by: CJ Mateo

Contact us at Faithrehabpodcast@gmail.com
— we’d love to hear your story.

Emma Lenz is a dynamic communications professional — she knows better than most how organizations craft a message. So when the Christian youth organization she'd spent years believing in started getting called out for the gap between what they said and what they did, Emma couldn't look away.

Emma came to faith with no church background. What followed was years of real questions, a Christian college, working at a church, and eventually a staff role at a well known national youth organization she deeply believed in.

Then the stories started coming out — queer students who'd been welcomed in, until they wanted to lead.

In this episode, Emma shares what it cost her to say I can't put my name on this — and what it looks like to still hold onto faith after the institution lets you down.

Faith Rehab is a podcast about church hurt, healing, and rebuilding faith.

We create a safe space for honest conversations about spiritual disappointment, doubt, and the process of finding hope again—without pretending or having all the answers.

Co-hosts: Steve McNitt, Heidi Brandt & CJ Mateo
Produced by: CJ Mateo

Contact us at Faithrehabpodcast@gmail.com
— we’d love to hear your story.