In Part 2 of our conversation with Joanna Whaley, we continue unpacking Joanna’s journey from evangelical pastor to political candidate — diving into the intersections of faith, politics, and identity in a time when Christian values and nationalism collide.

Join us as we dive into Joanna’s campaign for the Michigan House of Representatives, how she confronts Christian nationalism in American politics, and the ways the MAGA movement leverages fear and deception to gain power. We also reflect on our grief for family and friends who have been lost to MAGA ideology… and what it looks like to maintain love and hope for our reconciliation.

Follow and support Joanna’s work:

• SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/joannawhaley
• SOCIALS:
  • https://www.tiktok.com/@joannawhaleyofficial
  • https://www.instagram.com/joannawhaleyofficial/
  • https://www.facebook.com/joannawhaleyofficial
  • https://bsky.app/profile/joannawhaley.bsky.social

Recommended to View on Netflix:

• Boy Erased, Edgerton, J. (Director). (2018). Boy Erased [Film]. Focus Features.
• Pray Away, Stolakis, K. (Director). (2021). Pray Away [Film]. Multitude Films; Netflix.

References:

Robb, A. (2025, October 30). The truth about IFS, the therapy that can break you. The Cut. https://www.thecut.com/article/truth-about-ifs-therapy-internal-family-systems-trauma-treatment.html

Connect with Us:
📸 Instagram: @praisebetopod
🎵 TikTok: @praisebetopod
▶️ YouTube: @praisebetopod
💻 Web: www.praisebetopod.com
💸 Patreon: patreon.com/praisebetopod

In Part 1 of our conversation with Joanna Whaley, candidate for Michigan House of Representatives, Ashley and Bailee sit down with Joanna to unpack her story as a former evangelical pastor navigating identity, faith, and institutional power.

After being outed as a transgender woman by a congregant, Joanna was dismissed from one of Michigan’s largest megachurches—an event that upended every aspect of her life. She candidly shares her experiences surviving conversion therapy, confronting transphobia within the church, and reclaiming her faith and understanding of God in the aftermath.

Join us next week for Part 2!

Follow and support Joanna’s work:

• SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/joannawhaley
• SOCIALS:
  • https://www.tiktok.com/@joannawhaleyofficial
  • https://www.instagram.com/joannawhaleyofficial/
  • https://www.facebook.com/joannawhaleyofficial
  • https://bsky.app/profile/joannawhaley.bsky.social

Recommended to View on Netflix:

• Boy Erased, Edgerton, J. (Director). (2018). Boy Erased [Film]. Focus Features.
• Pray Away, Stolakis, K. (Director). (2021). Pray Away [Film]. Multitude Films; Netflix.

References:

Robb, A. (2025, October 30). The truth about IFS, the therapy that can break you. The Cut. https://www.thecut.com/article/truth-about-ifs-therapy-internal-family-systems-trauma-treatment.html

Connect with Us:
📸 Instagram: @praisebetopod
🎵 TikTok: @praisebetopod
▶️ YouTube: @praisebetopod
💻 Web: www.praisebetopod.com
💸 Patreon: patreon.com/praisebetopod

This week, Ashley and Bailee engage in a discussion and cultural analysis of evangelical millennials — exploring why we are the way that we are. From the militarization of youth at Acquire the Fire to the push to dedicate your life to global missions with YWAM, the evangelical church bombarded us with messages that we were the generation called to “change the world.”

Now that we’re older, we reflect on coming of age during that period of American history — the empty promises we were given, the fading pipe dream of financial prosperity, and the sometimes contentious relationship between millennials and the generations that raised us. We also explore how those formative messages from the evangelical church primed many of us to seek meaning and purpose in social justice movements, channeling the same moral urgency we were taught as kids into new forms of activism and advocacy.

Connect with Us:
📸 Instagram: @praisebetopod
🎵 TikTok: @praisebetopod
▶️ YouTube: @praisebetopod
💻 Web: www.praisebetopod.com
💸 Patreon: patreon.com/praisebetopod

Ashley and Bailee explore the roles and expectations placed on women in evangelical culture, unpacking the theology behind complementarianism, headship, and the idea of women as “helpers.” They discuss how evangelical systems often frame these roles as divine design, placing obedience on a pedestal, establishing marriage and proximity to men as the ultimate metric of a woman’s value, and demonizing dissent as a “Jezebel Spirit.”

The conversation examines the archetype of the “ideal evangelical woman,” the rise in female pastors using their platform to reinforce patriarchal structures, and the ways the church often assumes entitlement to the labor, energy, and resources of women.

Connect with Us:
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🎵 TikTok: @praisebetopod
▶️ YouTube: @praisebetopod
💻 Web: www.praisebetopod.com
💸 Patreon: patreon.com/praisebetopod

Ashley and Bailee critically examine the culture of codependency that runs deep in many Evangelical communities — reinforcing relationship dynamics of enmeshment, overfunctioning, and blurred boundaries. They unpack how the constant pressure from the church to “save people” and “expose their sin” is often used as a tool to maintain control, the ways having a savior complex primes you for self righteousness and resentment, and what unchecked self-sacrifice costs our relationships and sense of self.

The conversation explores how these patterns formed in our own lives and what we’re doing to unlearn them — reclaiming agency, healthier boundaries, and relationships built on mutual respect rather than spiritual obligation.

Connect with Us:
📸 Instagram: @praisebetopod
🎵 TikTok: @praisebetopod
▶️ YouTube: @praisebetopod
💻 Web: www.praisebetopod.com
💸 Patreon: patreon.com/praisebetopod

Ashley and Bailee get candid about their complicated relationship with Lent and spiritual disciplines after deconstruction — calling out how evangelicals often pride themselves on rejecting liturgical traditions passed down through church history, while still emphasizing self-denial and moral performance.

They discuss how practices like fasting were framed through shame and sacrifice, why Lent was often dismissed as “too Catholic,” and whether spiritual disciplines can be reclaimed in a way that feels life-giving rather than guilt-driven.

Connect with Us:
📸 Instagram: @praisebetopod
🎵 TikTok: @praisebetopod
▶️ YouTube: @praisebetopod
💻 Web: www.praisebetopod.com
💸 Patreon: patreon.com/praisebetopod

Ashley and Bailee return for Part 2 of their Amish series — this time stepping into the present.

They explore modern Amish life: gender roles, education, technology limits, rumspringa, and the quiet authority of the Ordnung. What does separation from the world actually look like today…and how does it function as both protection and control?

They also unpack the evangelical mom obsession with Amish movies — from G-rated romance plotlines to the suspiciously wholesome universe of Michael Landon Jr.. Why are bonnets and barns so deeply romanticized in Christian media? And what does that persistent fantasy of a “simpler” life reveal about evangelical longing for order, purity, and escape?

Sources:

Amish. (2026). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amish

Amish Way of Life. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 2, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish_way_of_life

Old Order Amish Mennonite Church. (2026). In Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Old-Order-Amish-Mennonite-Church

Ordnung. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 2, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordnung

The World Data. (2025). Amish population in the U.S. 2025: Statistics & facts [Online article]. Retrieved from https://theworlddata.com/amish-population-in-us/

Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972). Retrieved from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/406/205/

Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. (2025). Amish population, 2025 (Population estimates by state and settlement). Elizabethtown College. Retrieved from https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/population-2025/

Connect with Us:
📸 Instagram: @praisebetopod
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Ashley and Bailee turn their attention to a community often romanticized but rarely understood: the Amish.

In Part 1 of this two-part series, they trace the movement’s origins in the Radical Reformation, unpacking Anabaptism, adult baptism, persecution, and the theological split that gave rise to the Amish. They explore how a desire for faithfulness and separation from the world shaped practices like shunning, communal discipline, and the Ordnung — and how those early convictions still echo today.

Sources:

• Amish Studies, Elizabethtown College. (n.d.). Amish origins. https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/religion/amish-origins/
• Anabaptists.org. (n.d.). Mennonites in Europe: Persecution. https://www.anabaptists.org/writings/excerpts/mennonites-in-europe-persecution.html
• Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Anabaptists. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Anabaptists
• Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Mennonite. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mennonite
• Pennsylvania Center for the Book. (n.d.). Amish history: A timeline. https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/feature-articles/amish-history-timeline

Connect with Us:
📸 Instagram: @praisebetopod
🎵 TikTok: @praisebetopod
▶️ YouTube: @praisebetopod
💻 Web: www.praisebetopod.com
💸 Patreon: patreon.com/praisebetopod