Ep. 28: “Don’t Hurt the Witness of the Church” w/ That Loud Deconstructing One (Julia)

Show Notes

Episode Summary

If you’ve ever been told not to speak up so you don’t “hurt the witness of the Church,” or if you’ve been discouraged from calling out toxic behavior because Christians are supposed to “bring light and joy and not negativity,” this episode is for you. After years of devoting herself to serving her church, Julia, aka @ThatLoudDeconstructingOne, finally decided she wouldn’t be silenced anymore. We talk with her about what started her deconstruction, why she's finally proud to be loud, and how she started her platform in order reclaim her voice to advocate for victims of abuse.

Bio

Julia is a powerful woman who is vocal within the deconstruction community. After recognizing that many personal experiences within evangelical Christianity were toxic and abusive, she left the church and started to reclaim her voice after years of feeling silenced and dismissed. She feels it’s important to advocate for victims, call for accountability, address social issues often ignored by the church, and speak out about her own experiences. She is a wife, mother, and friend, with a BA in Criminology and plans to pursue education that enables her to further aid victims of abuse.

Follow Julia on Instagram (@ThatLoudDeconstructingOne), on Twitter (@ThatLoudDecon1), and on TikTok (@ThatLoudDeconstructing1)!

Quotables

• “I started to recognize that the things I loved about my church communities were the people, it wasn’t these leaders who were my ‘moral superiors’ and were telling me to be quiet.” (tweet this)

• “It’s actually a beautiful place to not have to be certain about anything or everything.” (tweet this)

• “If a church leader does something wrong, you’re not actually supposed to question that leader. It has a lot to do with not wanting accountability.” (tweet this)

• “My heart was always to promote these ministries I was a part of, but I would still get in trouble because I was ‘too loud.’” (tweet this)

• “I want to be loud for people who aren’t in a place to be loud yet.” (tweet this)

• “The things that I thought for so long were my problem were actually toxic theology problems or abusive behavior problems.” (tweet this)

• “Once we start moving away from toxic theologies that harm people and moving back toward helping people and standing for people, that’s what gives me hope.” (tweet this)

Timestamps and References

• [02:39]—Julia’s faith background

• [07:20]—What started Julia’s questioning and subsequent deconstruction

• [13:01]—How her deconstruction impacted her emotionally

• [17:04]—Where Julia is in her faith today

• [20:45]—How deconstruction has changed Julia’s reaction to new and/or “radical” ideas

• [23:50]—Why Julia felt so silenced and dismissed while she was in the church

• [27:45]—How Julia got to the point of no longer being willing to be silent and deciding to speak out

• [35:00]—Why she chose the name “That Loud Deconstructing One”

• [41:20]—How her journey is still unraveling and she’s still learning

• [44:35]—What gives Julia hope for the future of faith

• [46:30]—Jo Luehmann

• [47:34]—Fun Rapid Fire questions

• [49:14]—Abraham Piper

Please follow us on social media and help us get the word out! (Also, please don’t hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.)

Support Us on Patreon

And get access to every episode 5 days early! In addition, your financial support gives us the time we need to be able to create and produce amazing content, including Patreon-exclusive content. Please consider joining our team of patrons by clicking the button below. Thank you!

Credits

This episode was produced by The Sophia Society. Music is by Faith in Foxholes, and sound engineering is by Joshua Mudge (currently accepting new clients: josh.mudge09@gmail.com).