044: Building A Marriage Based on Mutuality with Sheila Wray Gregoire

04/01/25 • 56 min

CW: marriage and sex (not explicit)

If you grew up in the evangelical Christianity of the 80s and 90s like me, we likely hear or read much of the same marriage advice. What if it was bad advice?

Most of the popular marriage books are written by those with no relevant education or professional credentials and include no research, data, or peer-reviewed evidence for their claims.

Sheila Gregoire and her team are committed to work that is healthy, evidence-based, and biblical, and her latest book, co-written with her husband, Keith, is proof of that. Packed with data, research, graphs, and stories, this book debunks much of what we were taught with clear and correct information.

If you're looking for ways to improve your marriage without a side of guilt or shame, this may be the episode for you.

Guest Spotlight ✨

Sheila is an author, podcaster, and researcher into evangelicalism and sex. The founder of BareMarriage.com, together with her team she has surveyed over 32,000 people for her books The Great Sex Rescue, She Deserves Better and her latest book, The Marriage You Want. Her goal is to change the evangelical conversation about sex to be healthy, evidence-based, and rooted in Christ. A graduate of Queen's University, she's married to her husband Keith, a pediatrician, who writes and speaks with her.

Links & Resources 🔗

Website | Instagram

The Marriage You Want on Amazon | Bookshop

—————
Subscribe using your favorite podcast app:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube
—————
Spread the Word. Leave a Rating and Review. It would mean the world if you would leave us a rating and review on Apple or on Spotify. They’ll help us share these conversations and resources with more people, and let us know how we can better serve you.
—————
Broken to Beloved is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that works to provide those wounded by spiritual abuse and religious trauma with practical resources moving toward healing and wholeness, and to provide pastors and church leaders with resources to grow in trauma awareness and implement safeguarding practices. Get more information or give a tax-free donation here.
—————
As an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

CW: marriage and sex (not explicit)

If you grew up in the evangelical Christianity of the 80s and 90s like me, we likely hear or read much of the same marriage advice. What if it was bad advice?

Most of the popular marriage books are written by those with no relevant education or professional credentials and include no research, data, or peer-reviewed evidence for their claims.

If you're looking for ways to improve your marriage without a side of guilt or shame, this may be the episode for you.

Guest Spotlight ✨

Links & Resources 🔗

Website | Instagram

The Marriage You Want on Amazon | Bookshop

Previous Episode

043: Finding Hope and Healing in our Scars with Diane Langberg

How can the Church transform from a place of harm to a sanctuary of healing and truth? How do we learn to recognize the wolves among the sheep when it's hard to tell the difference? How can anyone hold on to faith and find hope after witnessing so much trauma?

From recognizing a real-life parable of an observing how a body that does not follow its head is very sick, to systems that preserve themselves instead of obeying Christ, Dr. Langberg addresses these questions and much more. We also get into the complexities of forgiveness and repentance, the transformative power of facing our own brokenness, and the courage required to speak truth to power.

What can I say? It's Diane Langberg—we should just all take some time to listen and learn from her years of expertise and wisdom. Join me?

Get the full show notes and links here. 📄

Guest Spotlight ✨

Dr. Diane Langberg is a globally recognized psychologist with 53 years of clinical experience working with trauma patients. She has trained caregivers from six continents in responding to trauma and to the abuse of power. For 29 years she directed her own practice in Jenkintown PA .

She is the author of several books, including, When the Church Harms God's People: Becoming Faith Communities that Resist Abuse, Pursue Truth, and Care for the Wounded and Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church.

Dr. Langberg is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumna Achievements from Taylor University, the American Association of Christian Counselors Caregiver Award, The Distinguished President’s award, and the Philadelphia Council of Clergy’s Christian Service Award.

Links & Resources 🔗

Website | Instagram | YouTube | X/Twitter

When the Church Harms God's People on Amazon | Bookshop
Redeeming Power on Amazon | Bookshop

Next Episode

045: Finding Christ in the Faces of Others with Aimee Byrd

When your true face has been hidden for so long, what is it like to finally reveal it?

In this episode, we dive into connection, community, relationships, and what happens when it all falls apart. How do you save face in the presence of such incredible loss?

We explore memory and story work, and how it helps us to unveil present realities by examining our history.

Join us for a more introspective trip into Aimee's path as a writer, mother, daughter, wife, and a woman caught in the crosshairs of church leadership.

Get the full show notes and links here. 📄

Guest Spotlight ✨

Aimee is an author, speaker, blogger, podcaster and former coffee shop owner. Aimee is the author of several books, including Saving Face, The Hope in Our Scars, Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and Sexual Reformation. Her articles have appeared in First Things, Table Talk, Modern Reformation, By Faith, New Horizons, Ordained Servant, Harvest USA, and Credo Magazine and she has been interviewed and quoted in Christianity Today and The Atlantic.

Website | Instagram | Substack