When we started Fireside Talk Radio, almost immediately we knew we wanted to talk about the stuff nobody talks about in church. Really Hot Topics. Too hot to touch.
Or maybe we talk about the counterculture stuff. The kind of stuff we say about entrepreneurship or the environment resonates for some reason. Yep, these are the hot topics we all discuss with close friends. When we say what we REALLY think. But maybe not in public.
Hot Topics
So far, we’ve covered Abortion, Anorexia, Breast Cancer, Depression and Grief, Domestic Violence, Drug Pandemic, Entrepreneurship (and the Environment), Erectile Dysfunction, Porn, Miscarriage, Sexual Assault, Special Needs Kiddos, Racism and Social Justice, and Sexual Assault and more!
Got more hot topics you want on FTR? Please let us know!
You name it, we talk about it.
Most Recent
Most Popular Hot Topics
So, which topics turned out to be the most popular?
For once, I’m kinda sad to report which episodes are popular when it comes to Hot Topics.
Downloaded most was Mothers of Victims of Sexual Abuse: Carried by Grace with Deb Butterfield, Her Story, with 220,295 downloads so far.
Right behind it was Domestic Violence: Anchoring Sisters with Paula Silva Her Wisdom, 218,625 downloads so far.
Those two particularly break my heart. Each download represents families crushed by crisis.
Fortunately, in both cases, we were able to bring in an outstanding, compassionate expert to talk about such difficult subjects. Champion, warrior women; Deb Butterfield and Paula Silva. You can find more from both ladies since they each did two episodes with us.
As you scroll through the Hot Topics, please pray about how these FREE resources could bless your church or someone you love.
ABORTION
- Symptoms of Post-Abortion and Sexual Trauma Syndrome: Her Story with CARE Executive Director B.J. Garrett
- How Abortion Affects the Church and Community: Her Wisdom with CARE Executive Director B.J. Garrett
- Compassion, Please! Healing After Abortion with Dr. Grace English, Her Wisdom
- Compassion Please, One Beloved Doctor’s Story of Abortion with Dr. Grace English
- Abortion: Legal or Illegal? Political or Personal?
- Common Ground: Identifying the REAL Political Spectrum
- Want to offer friends help after abortion?
ANOREXIA
- Anorexia: Blessed and Beautiful with Beauty Beyond Bones’s Caralyn, Her Story
- Anorexia and Freedom: No Exceptions with Beauty Beyond Bones’s Caralyn, Her Wisdom
BREAST CANCER
- Care Giving: After Breast Cancer, What I Wish My Family Understood with Susan Ellsworth
- Care Giving: Oncology Nurse Beats Breast Cancer with Susan Ellsworth
- What Happens When Mom has Breast Cancer? with Sasha Vukelja, Her Wisdom
- Her Story: Seeds of Generational Care Giving with Sasha Vukelja
- Her Wisdom: Dense Breast Tissue and Henda’s Law with Henda Salmeron
- When Stressful Life Calls for Grit with Henda Salmeron, Dense Breast Tissue
DEPRESSION AND GRIEF
- Help us in our faith? My Friend’s Short Videos Helped Me Today with Lindsey Bell
- New Beginnings and Joy: Spring into Hope with Andy Clapp
- Anxiety and Depression: I Surrender All (Sort Of) with Michelle Lazurek
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
- Domestic Violence In the Church: Her Story with Paula Silva
- Domestic Violence: Anchoring Sisters with Paula Silva Her Wisdom
DRUG PANDEMIC
- The Drug Pandemic. Not in Vain: Real Addiction. Real Pain. With Bobbie Ziemer, Her Story
- Drug Addiction and Your Child: You are NOT Alone with Bobbie Ziemer, Her Wisdom
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
- Entrepreneurship. His Story: Digging into the Environmental Dirt with James Van Dyke
- Entrepreneurship. His Wisdom: Stewarding Resources and Relationships with James Van Dyke
- Entrepreneurship and How to Launch a Book or a Business with Mike Sahno
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTIONE
- E.D.: No Gimmicks, Just Straight Answers from Dr. James McAndrew, Plus His Story
- E.D. Treatments: Wives CAN Help with Dr. James McAndrew, His Wisdom
HOMELESSNESS
- Civic-Minded Kids: PATH for the Next Generation with Andrea Wilson, Her Story
- Homelessness: A Compassionate PATH to Help with Andrea Wilson, Her Wisdom
- Transitional Housing: Homelessness and PATH’s Ideas that Work
MISCARRIAGE
- Unbeaten by Pain: A Beautiful Life in the Midst of Miscarriage with Lindsey Bell, Her Story
- Nobody escapes pain in this world. We can learn from suffering with Lindsey Bell, Her Wisdom
PORN
- Freedom for Men: Their Story: Living Pure with Dave and Barb Howe
- Freedom for Men. Their Wisdom: Success in the Battle for Purity with Dave Howe
- The Big P, “Porn Addiction”: Fighting for Love and Intimacy with Rosie MaKinney, Her Story
- “Porn-Proofing” Your Kids: Fighting for Love with Rosie MaKinney
RACISM AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
- His Story: Overcoming Racism with Unity, with Meals from Mars author, Ben Sciacca
- Racial Unity. His Wisdom: Meals from Mars, When Two Universes Collide with Ben Sciacca
- Racial Unity. His Story: The Desegregated Life with Stanley Cofer
- Legacy Building through Art and Chess with James Kemp
- Growing Up Apprenticed by an Artist Dad with James Kemp, His Story
- CPS Worker to Judge, Trauma Informed Care with Carole Clark
- All Rise for Justice: Trauma Informed Care with Judge Carole Clark
- Joy and Justice in Education with Sarah Cumming: Can a School Give a City Joy?
SEXUAL ASSAULT
- Roofie? At Our Age? Protect Yourself from a Woman’s Worst Nightmare With Mary Ottman By Cathy Krafve
- Taboo Topics. Her Story: Sexual Assault and Courage with Mary Ottman
- Taboo Topics. Her Wisdom: Easy Does It; Passing Along Hard-Won Wisdom with Mary Ottman
- Safe and Secure. Her Story: Escaping a Sexual Predator with Sandy Bristow
- Safe and Secure. Her Wisdom: The Value of Intuition and Healing in Community with Sandy Bristow
- Her Story: Overcoming Stress to Own Our Success with Marina Schroeder
- Mothers of Victims of Sexual Abuse: Carried by Grace with Deb Butterfield, Her Story
- Carried By Grace: When Sexual Abuse Happens in Your Home with Deb Butterfield, Her Wisdom
- Sexual Abuse: Claiming Victory Over Darkness with Sarah Van Hook
- Rebuilding Relationships After Sexual Abuse with Sarah Van Hook (Sarah is Deb Butterfield’s daughter. Such amazing women!)
SPECIAL KIDDOS
- Dark Place or Mommy Care? Oxygen and Comfort for Mom with Kristin Faith Evans
- Dark Clouds Threaten: Keeping the Sunshine of Joy
- Unexpected Parenting: Finding Joy When the Sonogram is a Diagnosis with Katie Butts
- Her Wisdom: How to Encourage Families with Unexpected Differences with Katie Butts
- Unexpected Parenting. Her Story: When an Infant’s Physical Disability is Diagnosed During Pregnancy with Katie Butts
- Devastating Moments, Crisis, and Suffering: When God Lights Up the Sky with Becky Carpenter
SUICIDE
- Family and Suicide. His Story: A Father’s Story of his Son’s Suicide with Doug McSwane
- Family and Suicide. Her Story: How Siblings Suffer and Heal with Marcie McSwane
- Dark Place or Mommy Care? Oxygen and Comfort for Mom with Kristin Faith Evans
- Control and Perfectionism: Surrendering For God To Do the Impossible with Michelle Lazurek
- Fatherhood. His Story: How Talk of Suicide Changed His Perspective on Ministry with Chris Legg
- New Season of Hope: 3 Tips to Refresh Our Soul with Andy Clapp
- New Beginnings and Joy: Spring into Hope
Not So Hot, But Important Anyway
Perhaps even more telling were the episodes with fewer downloads than I expected.
For instance, Homelessness: A Compassionate PATH to Help with Andrea Wilson, Her Wisdom, seemed low to me with only 79,799 downloads so far.
Or, the work we did on overcoming porn addiction with Rosie MaKinney or Dave and Barb Howe. Or, when media guru Mary Ottman courageously shared about being roofied and raped by a trusted colleague.
So I don’t let low numbers discourage me. Instead, I imagine one person looking for info. Maybe they have an adult child who is homeless or a hubby struggling to get free of porn. Perhaps they are one of the women I personally know who awoke to the horror of roofies.
Hot Topics Means We are NOT Alone
Of course, we are not alone! Discovering an episode on a hot topic proves it. What comfort to find the hot topic downloaded by 20,000 other people —or 300,000! Obviously, other people struggle, too, and come up with ideas that may help us all.
Most importantly, that ONE person who is searching matters to me. For that one person, I’m really happy we brought such compassionate experts to share their experience. Plus, we all benefit from the effective strategies they share.
I keep quoting what Sandy Bristow said in her interview, “Isolation is where Satan takes us before he goes in for the kill.” Stay tuned with us. Together, we fight to reboot our culture.
Of course, I also truly believe we are ahead of the curve on hot topics like homelessness and porn, for example. In the days ahead, I expect the wisdom of experts like Andrea Wilson and Rosie MaKinney to stir even more interest
Whether it’s dear sisters, like Deb Butterfield and Paula Silva, or brothers with hard-won wisdom like Doug McSwane and Ben Sciacca, I am so proud to present outstanding experts here.
We Thank God for YOU!
All these folks live with courage and overcome challenges with ongoing super-charged faith. With delight, we share their love for YOU!
As always, thank you for tuning in! Certainly, the world is a better place because you share their wisdom with your friends! And we are grateful.
🙂
cathy
We LOVE to hear from YOU!
Which topics make you nervous at church? When has someone shared a secret and you were relieved to discover you are not alone? Which experts would you love to hear more from?
May we pray together?
Dear Good Father, Sometimes it does feel like we are alone. Isolated. But the reality is different. You are with us always. Fortunately, You never forsake us. We can count on Your unfailing love. Thank you for surrounding us with experts, many of them people who struggle just like us. Open our eyes to ways we can encourage each other. With joy, lift us up with Your beautiful Spirit. Bless us now because it is Your heart’s desire to do so. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
Don’t forget!
By the way, we have two books available to help you have better, more authentic productive conversations. Naturally, we call those tricky, ahem, discussions conversational adventures. For sure, you can definitely change the culture at your house with the right conversations. Why not begin a new adventure today?
Plus, Laney Houser just hosted me and a month’s worth of guests on her Successful Christian Women Summit. What a treat! Find my interview here.
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Cathy Krafve, host of Fireside Talk Radio and author of The Well: The Art of Drawing Out Authentic Conversations and Marriage Conversation: From Coexisting to Cherished. Your stories, ideas, and questions welcomed here!
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