FreedHearts
Susan & Rob Cottrell, FreedHearts
Freeing hearts to love and be loved! Love. Inclusion. Affirmation. Susan Cottrell is the Mom of two LGBTQ+ children; the founder of FreedHearts; an international speaker with a viral TEDx talk; a pastor and theologian; an acclaimed author; and a fierce advocate and ally. In her unique tender, relatable style, Susan is a prominent voice of unconditional love and lavish inclusion. Powerful, authentic, and relevant in today’s society, Susan has a lot to say. The Advocate calls her their “Favorite Affirming Matriarch.” OutSmart magazine calls her "The Mother of all MamaBears!" Reverend Ashley Harness from Auburn Seminary says, “Susan has this fierce, loving, don’t mess with me, Mom vibe.” If you have been excluded, or if someone close to you has been excluded because of who they are or who they love - or maybe you have been the one doing the excluding - the FreedHearts podcast is for you. Join Susan, along with her husband Rob, on the journey. You are not alone. Welcome home!
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Top 10 FreedHearts Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best FreedHearts episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to FreedHearts for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite FreedHearts episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
You Can’t Stop Me Lovin' Myself!
FreedHearts
11/16/22 • 33 min
We have talked about one of the biggest lies you will ever hear in church: That you are broken, unworthy. And we talked about self-love being one of our biggest sources of resilience.
But, much of religious teaching tries to tell you that self-love is a false teaching. Wrong!
Self-love is so powerful, so critical to everything in life, and the lack of self-love is so dangerous and deadly.
In this important episode, we go deeper so we can understand this more, and love ourselves more with joy and freedom.
Beloved, we deserve it! Remember, "you can’t stop me lovin’ myself!"
Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-)
God is Not Mad at You and Never Has Been!
FreedHearts
03/08/23 • 25 min
It breaks our hearts when people talk negatively about themselves. Most of the time, this is based on a belief that, at our core, we are probably a disappointment to God, that God is mad at us.
We have talked about how the message of Jesus has been distorted and replaced with these false lies that you are broken, that you need saved.
That is NOT from Jesus or God and we call bullshit!
For us to understand how truly loved, how absolutely beloved we are, can change everything!
Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-)
A Parent's Crushing Regret
FreedHearts
03/15/23 • 15 min
One of our most popular YouTube videos is called: A Pastor Looks Up in Tears. It is about a non-affirming pastor who is shocked at what he discovers about God, others, and himself when he gets to what the Bible calls Heaven.
We have connected with tens of thousands of parents who have been pressured, and sometimes convinced by their church to reject their LGBTQ+ child... to condemn and shame them, to kick them out of the house, disown them.
So, we want to do a version of that video here on the podcast – for parents, instead of a pastor.
What happens when parents who have not fully accepted and affirmed their LGBTQ+ child come face-to-face with God?
Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-)
03/22/23 • 29 min
We hear the hate coming from the nonaffirming church about things like drag queen storytimes, transgender bathroom laws, and more... all disguised in the “we care about the children” lie! Disgusting and indefensible.
Just to be clear – it has NOTHING to do with children. Kids are being used in a transparent attempt to hide hate and bigotry. Period.
So, what are the REAL threats to children? What does real damage to kids?
The pop-Christian gospel.
Today, we give you 8 ways that the pop-Christian gospel damages children.
Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-)
03/10/21 • 28 min
It’s common in today’s non-affirming church teaching to talk about the Bible as “the inerrant, unchanged word of God,” meaning, if you even question what you’ve been taught about the Bible or what it says, you are labeled a heretic!
But, as we have discovered on our own deconstruction journey, there are a lot of problems with that!
In this episode, we talk about what to do with the Bible in the midst of a deconstructing faith.
Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-)
03/03/21 • 33 min
I went to seminary as an evangelical. I had no idea it was going to hold so many surprises. Here are the top 7 shockers that change the entire game of Christianity.
Knowing these will help us continue to unravel the hurtful, destructive teachings that, in truth, really have nothing to do with Jesus, God or the Bible.
It was the beginning of the deconstruction of my faith, and the beginning of a much deeper, more beautiful, more satisfying faith and spirituality.
Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-)
A Love Letter to the Past and Future You!
FreedHearts
02/17/21 • 31 min
If you could write a love letter to your past self - to little Susie Q or little Bobby - what would you say? And if you could write a love letter to your future self - in 10, 20, 30 years - what would you say?
In this episode, we talk about the thread of love running through your life, what may be hindering that, and how we can free our hearts to love and be loved - as we deserve.
The most important love you will give or receive is the love you give to, and receive from yourself.
Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-)
02/03/21 • 37 min
By the time Susan turned 24, both her parents and three brothers had died! She had been relentlessly bullied; and was married and divorced.
This personal, intimate episode is for those of us who have experienced pain and heart-breaking loss, and how to turn that into heart-freeing love.
Susan opens up and shares her heart and her incredible story in this special episode.
Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-)
01/27/21 • 38 min
So much pain has been inflicted in the name of God. We have been deeply hurt, we get triggered and we want nothing to do with Jesus. But what has been used to hurt us has been absolute lies and is not really about God or Jesus!
One of the worst things that ever happened to Jesus was the religion of Christianity, and non-affirming Christianity has largely gotten him wrong. Jesus is still one of the best-kept secrets because his truth has been grossly distorted by people who claim to speak for him.
There is a religion-free Jesus who belongs to all of us. This episode will help set our hearts free.
Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-)
11/02/22 • 34 min
We’ve talked about the teaching of contempt as one of the deadliest teachings in all humanity.
Another deadly teaching, and one of the biggest lies you will ever in church, is that you are broken. That you are not worthy, that you need fixed, that you need saved.
This false, deadly narrative has led to so much harm!
Part of that is the attempt to make self-love a bad thing, even go so far as to claim that the focus on self-love is a cult!
But, in the words of BTS, you can’t stop me lovin’ myself!
Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-)
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FAQ
How many episodes does FreedHearts have?
FreedHearts currently has 180 episodes available.
What topics does FreedHearts cover?
The podcast is about Lgbt, Society & Culture, Transgender, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality, Podcasts, Gay and Queer.
What is the most popular episode on FreedHearts?
The episode title 'Christian Myth Busters: My 7 Biggest Shockers' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on FreedHearts?
The average episode length on FreedHearts is 28 minutes.
How often are episodes of FreedHearts released?
Episodes of FreedHearts are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of FreedHearts?
The first episode of FreedHearts was released on Sep 25, 2020.
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