#112 | Truth, Trauma, and Transformation, Pt. 1 | Jami Staples

Travis welcomes Jami Staples to the show, the founder and CEO of The Truth Collective. What does transformation look like? How do those in trauma come to know Jesus and be transformed by Him? What do they have to say to us? How do we experience healing as they have?

Jami is one of those once-in-a-lifetime kinds of people you meet who is articulate, frank, fun, and willing to challenge the status quo. She has a heart for women, specifically Muslim women to come to know Jesus and be transformed by Him. She is open, honest, and raw. You will be challenged as she shares her heart, and be surprised at her vulnerability. She has a high justice button that makes you want to step up to help the traumatized and the marginalized. And she knows how the healing power of Jesus can help you heal as well. A must-listen for men and women.

Learn more about The Truth Collective.

For those working with Muslims:

#57 | How To Build Bridges With Muslims | Fouad Masri

#64 | Finding Hope, Shedding Shame, Pt. 1 | Audrey Frank

#65 | Finding Hope, Shedding Shame, Pt. 2 | Audrey Frank

#93 | Misconceptions of Persecution & Pain in Contemporary Christianity, Pt 1 | Nik Ripken

#94 | Misconceptions of Persecution & Pain in Contemporary Christianity, Pt 2 | Nik Ripken

#69 | The Insanity of God, Pt. 1 | Nik Ripken

#70 | The Insanity of God, Pt. 2 | Nik Ripken

#71 | The Insanity of God, Pt. 3 | Nik Ripken

For those who want to understand more about brain science and neurotheology:

#107 Jim Wilder, Pt. 1-God on the Brain (intro to neurotheology)

#108 Jim Wilder, Pt. 2-God on the Brain (intro to neurotheology)

#109 Michel Hendricks, Pt. 1-Relational Reformation

#110 Michel Hendricks, Pt. 2-Relational Reformation

#120 Marcus Warner, Our Walk, Wounds, & Warfare, Pt. 1

#121 Marcus Warner, Our Walk, Wounds, & Warfare, Pt. 2

#140 Jim Wilder, Pt. 1-Enemy Mode

#141 Jim Wilder, Pt. 2-Enemy Mode

#142 Marcus Warner, RARE Leadership, Pt. 1

#143 Marcus Warner, RARE Leadership, Pt. 2

Check out the NLT.

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Takeaways:

  • The conversation delves into the significant impact of witnessing injustices against Muslim women and its effect on personal faith.
  • Jamie Staples illustrates how identity trauma can hinder individuals from fully embracing their faith and sharing their testimonies.
  • The podcast highlights the importance of understanding cultural contexts when engaging with Muslim communities in America.
  • Travis and Jamie emphasize the need for Christian women to confront their identity struggles in order to effectively share the gospel.
  • The episode discusses the creative approach of using art and storytelling to address and heal trauma in women from various backgrounds.
  • Listeners are encouraged to seek deeper connections and community engagement with Muslim individuals in their own neighborhoods.
Transcript
Jami Staples:

A very good friend of mine was doing medical work in the east side of where we lived, and it was predominantly Somalis. And so I would go with her to the clinic. And the Lord knew this about me because let me tell you, it's no secret.

Now, you've asked me all my questions and I've bared my soul about my personality. I have a very high justice button. And when I was witnessing all of the atrocities done to Muslim women in that context, it was a faith shaker.

I mean, I'm there proclaiming God, but it was shaking my faith to the core. Where is my just God?

Travis Michael Fleming:

It's watering time, everybody. It's time for Apollo's Watered, a podcast to saturate your faith with the things.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Of God so that you might saturate your world with the good news of Jesus Christ. My name is Travis Michael Fleming and I, I am your host. And today on our show, we're having another one of our.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Deep conversations.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Last summer we spoke with Audrey Frank about honor shame and how it affects women. It was an inspiring and illuminating conversation that has impacted many people.

In fact, I know of one Middle Eastern woman who came to faith in Jesus Christ because of what was learned on that episode with Audrey. For those who want to go back and listen, they are episodes number 64 and 65.

It really was an amazing conversation about Audrey's ministry to Muslim women in North Africa, but in no way regulated to only Muslim women. And in North Africa. Audrey is a person who smells like Jesus. I don't know how else to describe her.

You can sense that from the very first time you speak with her because the love of Jesus simply courses through her. What you may not know or remember is that Audrey is a fellow with the Truth Collective. As an organization.

The Truth Collective calls women to know, believe and share what is true about who God is and how he sees women so that Muslim women may encounter the healing power of Emmanuel. It's a very interesting and important ministry. And today I'll be talking with Jamie Staples, who is the founder and CEO of the Truth Collective.

I have no doubt that many of our female listeners will connect to Jamie's story, her sense of humor as well as her mission. And my hope is that our male listeners will not feel overlooked or that they can't benefit somehow from this conversation.

On the contrary, Jamie's insights and vulnerability are refreshing and helpful. And we had a lot of fun too, because it was a fun and far ranging conversation.

She pulls the curtain back, enabling us to see many of the pains and hurts that are so present in the hearts and minds of many of the women we love. It's vulnerable, challenging, and hope giving all at the same time. I'm excited for you to hear this episode. Happy listening.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Jamie Staples, welcome to Apollos Watered.

Jami Staples:

That is the happiest anyone has ever said my name. I feel so affirmed, Travis.

Travis Michael Fleming:

You should. You should feel so good and so happy.

Jami Staples:

It's like what my dog would say if she could talk. She would be just like that every time I walk in the door. That's what she would say. Jamie Staples.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Well, dogs, you know, dogs make you always feel good. No matter how.

Jami Staples:

What you've done all the time. Every time.

Travis Michael Fleming:

It's like you're the best human ever.

Jami Staples:

I know. Ever. And you're right. At least my dog is right.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Okay, here we go. The fast five.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Are you ready?

Jami Staples:

Well, I hope so. I don't know that thinking on my feet is one of my strongest points, but go ahead. We'll try.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Let's try it. Here we go. Question number one. South Dakota or South Carolina?

Jami Staples:

South Dakota.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Why?

Jami Staples:

Well, I mean, I'm not game to the weather. I'll be honest. My blood has warmed. I can't handle it. So I love the south, but the culture in South Dakota, it's just what I grew up with.

It's what I'm familiar with. And so when I try to superimpose my South Dakota culture into South Carolina, I get some looks.

And so I'll just say South Dakota is just more comfortable. That's all.

Travis Michael Fleming:

So I have to know, what is the South Dakota culture you're trying to impose on South Carolina?

Jami Staples:

So I didn't even know I was doing this, but, like, people would say, you know, I really love how direct you are. And I'm like, what? How am I being direct? Like, I don't even see it. I don't even understand that. But it's. I hear it all the time.

Like, you just say what you mean, and I'm like, I guess.

Travis Michael Fleming:

What kind of guy are you trying to tell me?

Jami Staples:

You don't say what you mean. Like now all of a sudden I'm insecure, right? Like, you're lying to me. Is that what. But that's the number one thing that people.

You're like, you're very direct. I just love how, like, you know, you take the initiative. I'm like, I don't even know I'm doing it.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Here we go. Second question. Is this funniest cross cultural experience?

Jami Staples:

Funniest cross cultural experience? Like, me personally or one that I've heard of.

Travis Michael Fleming:

No, you personally.

Jami Staples:

Funniest. Like, I told you, I would have to think about it for a minute.

I think, you know, this isn't really, like, funny in the way that you probably mean it, but when we lived in Kenya, I was trying to learn Kiswahili, and so I had this guy that I would go to all the time to get my vegetables, right? And I would tell him, don't speak to me in English, because I just. The only way I'm gonna learn Kiswahili is by immersion, right?

Like, you just have to talk to me. Will you do that for me? Yeah, okay. No problem. I'm like, okay, so I want to buy five of these. And he goes, okay, how much you pay?

I'm like, no, no, no. Say it in Kiswahili. He's like, okay, okay. And he'd say it again in English. He'd say, like, one word. He'd say, like, one word in Kiswahili.

Like, he'd hold up the vegetable. He'd say, boga. That's the word for all vegetables, by the way. Like, boga. I'm like, what's this one? Boga.

I'm like, you're not helping me with my language skills. And do you know that I think that I learned an entire three words from that guy in Kiswahili? Like, you just couldn't. This would not.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Did you actually ever wonder if he actually knew Kiswahili?

Jami Staples:

That is a good question. I probably made a huge assumption. Good point.

Travis Michael Fleming:

That would have been like, that's only three words that he knew.

Jami Staples:

And they probably were sitting around, like, at night, talking about me like, she drinks my hokey and Swahili. I can teach her Arabic, and she'd never know the difference. True story.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Okay, okay, here we go. You're a mom of sons, but what's the weirdest habit that your sons say you have?

Jami Staples:

Say that I have?

Travis Michael Fleming:

Yeah.

Jami Staples:

Oh, well, lately, I bring brain science into every conversation. Like, that's probably the weirdest, the most annoying. I would say that's the most annoying habit that I have.

Or, like, putting Jesus into random conversations that they just feel like are not related. But that makes me sound really holy. And that's not really what it is. It's just like. It's just like, you know, teenage boys are just. Can we just.

Can we just have a real conversation? And I'm like, no, actually, we need to think about how bad we do this.

You know, if you had your right brain involved in this conversation, that's probably it. Probably really, really annoys them. And also that I am direct. You know, they've been raised predominantly in the south, and so when I.

When we have confrontations, like, out in public, they're totally humiliated.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Yeah, that's a parent's job.

Jami Staples:

That's a parent's job. I agree.

Travis Michael Fleming:

All right, question four. If you could travel to one place you've never been before, where would you go and why?

Jami Staples:

Israel. I have not yet been to Israel, I'm sorry to say, and for the obvious reason, I just want to stand where Jesus stood. I just want that experience.

I want to understand the context. I want to understand, just be able. Again, here's me putting brain science into every conversation.

But I want the ability to imagine the sight, the sound, the smell, the weather, the. You know, and to be able to better connect with Scripture, because I've seen it with my own eyes, and now I have the experience of it. Right?

So I want my right brain to get on board.

Travis Michael Fleming:

It's. It's funny because I went. But it's. I mean, it's been a long time. But when we were there, I remember going, you know, this is where Jesus walked.

Enter. This is what Jesus did. And our host was always saying, we.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Think it was here, but we're not.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Quite sure, though it is a bus station now you're like, this is totally taking away. You're like, in Bethlehem, and there's all these burnout cars and then buildings with bullet holes and wholesale diamonds.

I'm like, this just doesn't seem like where Jesus would be. This isn't where the hymns. This isn't the little town of Bethlehem.

Jami Staples:

Where's the manger?

Travis Michael Fleming:

Yeah, that's right. Where is all the softness? Where's the little snow falling through the desert culture? Travis. I don't care. So it was. It was quite an adjustment.

It was quite adjustment. All right, question five. If you were a Netflix series, what.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Would be the name of it and why?

Jami Staples:

I almost said something along the lines of Desperate Housewives, but I've never actually seen that show. I've never actually seen that show as, like, I don't know, Desperate. I don't know. I don't know.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Desperate Disciples.

Jami Staples:

Desperate Disciples. Look at you, trying to paint me. Just really?

Travis Michael Fleming:

Or you could go with Desperately Seeking Muslims. Like, Desperately Seeking Susan. You know, that was, like, in the 80s.

Jami Staples:

That's a different show.

Travis Michael Fleming:

That's true. I mean, I'm like, make up your own term. You don't have to pick a title.

Jami Staples:

Okay, okay. My Own series would be. Yeah. Real Lives of Loud Women. Yeah. Real Lives of Loud Women. Yeah.

And it would be all about how we get ourselves in trouble because we're lacking that gentle and quiet spirit that the Lord has been, you know, trying to refine in me for. What am I, 45 now? For 45 years. Gentle and quiet spirit, Jamie. I'm like, okay, okay. I'm working on it. This series is Real Lives of Wild Women.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Real Lives of Wild Women.

Jami Staples:

Yeah.

Travis Michael Fleming:

That is really, really good.

Jami Staples:

I think that's a good one. As a matter of fact, suddenly I've got some episode names running through my. No, I don't.

Travis Michael Fleming:

That's what your podcast will be.

Jami Staples:

Yep. By the way, you had my colleague Audrey Frank on. Did you ask her that question? Because hers would be like, completely the opposite.

Hers would be like Real Lives of the Sweet and delicate. And I'm like, delicate. Not as infragile. But she's like, she knows how to navigate every situation and do it with honor and respect. And I just.

I'm like, more like a meh. I'll tell you.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Maybe that's the South Dakota versus the South Dakota.

Jami Staples:

Maybe it's also the sin nature. I'm not gonna lie.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Oh, well, moving in that direction, Recover from that. Okay, what is the Jamie Staples stories? We know that you grew up in South Dakota. You were the executive director of the Truth Collective.

But that seems like very opposite things, because South Dakota, you don't see a lot of people coming from different cultures and especially those who come from Muslim backgrounds in the same. In South South Carolina, at least from a. Excuse me, at least from a first glance standpoint. How did you get to. To be where you're at today?

Jami Staples:

Yeah, you know, actually my parents.

I just told this story recently because When I was 10 years old, my folks took me and my siblings on a six week trip to Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia. And that's, by the way, my parental advice for any parent.

Skip your child's college fund and take them on a trip around the world, because you'll do more for them and their education and their personhood and character by exposing them to other worldviews. And I was 10. 10 or 12, somewhere between 10 and 12 at that time.

And I remember standing in a village with little grass skirts and the whole bed is just as far bush as you can think of. And we were visiting with some missionaries there. And I just remember looking at the missionaries and going, what they're doing is so important.

It's so important because they're drawing the Connection between what these people have already experienced of God and they're giving him a name and bringing some clarity to that. And that's a 45 year old's articulation of what a 10 year old was really thinking.

But I tell people that I was called when I was 10 years old because I knew at that point. And there's lots of ungodly journey in the meantime, but all of which contributes to the story of me being where I am. And so I just knew.

In fact, my very first Cabbage Patch doll, I asked my mom, I'm like, I don't want a white Cabbage Patch Doll. I want a Cabbage Patch doll that's either brown or black. Because it was just in my heart. And so I just think that that's true.

I think the Lord just planted that in me when I was really little. I just love culture. I love things that were different. So when I got married, my husband knew. He was in agreement, we wanted to live overseas.

It took us 12 years to make that come to realization. But we went to Africa believing that we were support personnel. My husband's a pilot and I was a writer.

And so I was just going to tell the stories of all the real missionaries, you know what I mean?

And especially because with us both coming from the aviation background, September 11th hit us really hard, personally, emotionally, psychologically, and all of those things spiritually. And so I was just there to support all the frontline workers.

And as soon as we got there, the director from the North Africa regions, which is predominantly the Muslim part of Africa, started connecting. We just started connecting and asking me to ghostwrite for the stories of those who were working in closed countries. I got interested in that way.

But then a very good friend of mine was doing medical work in the east side of where we lived, and it was predominantly Somalis there. And so I would go with her to the clinic.

And the Lord knew this about me because let me tell you, it's no secret now, you've asked me all my questions and I've bared my soul about my personality. I have a very high justice button. And when I was witnessing all of the atrocities done to Muslim women in that context, it was a faith shaker.

I mean, I am there proclaiming God, but it was shaking my faith to the core. Where is my just God is what I wanted to know.

And what was powerful about that season of my life is that I learned very real and experiential ways that a person can endure any kind of trauma context if they believe they're not Alone. And the power of Emmanuel, the God with us, is real. It's real.

So what you have to face in those contexts is like, I'm seeing all these horrible things, and I know that I can't rescue them. I won't. I won't be able to do that. And so how do I give these people hope inside a context? That's devastating, and it's very trite.

Where I come from, it's very trite to say, well, they just need Jesus.

But at the end of the day, that's what the Lord taught me in that space, was when they know that I am with them, that I see them, that I hear them, that I understand them, that I have a plan for them and a plan to protect them when they experience that nearness, they can survive anything. And that's what women from a Muslim background who had come to follow Christ, that's what they taught me. The only thing that you can do for these.

It doesn't mean. It doesn't mean you don't work towards what we would call social justice matters. It doesn't mean that we overlook the plight at all.

But it does mean that you have to understand who you are and what you have the capacity to do. And to take hundreds of thousands of women out of their context is not realistic. So what is realistic? Giving them hope inside it. Right.

So I was facing a lot of trauma, my own personal trauma, and watching other trauma on a regular basis. I would have never used that word. I didn't understand trauma at that point, but that's really what it came down to.

And then being convinced that Jesus could not only heal the trauma that they'd already experienced, but be present with them as they walk forward in even more traumatic situations really became very real to me at that point. And I knew, this is what I want to do with the rest of my life. I want every woman to know that there is an Emmanuel.

And then I've spent the last 10 years listening to them teach me about what that looks like, and actually becoming jealous of what the Lord offers them. The intimacy and the nearness and the freedom that he gives to these women inside these really difficult contexts.

It made me go, well, then how come I'm still struggling with my stuff? I mean, I don't even have a traumatic context like that. What's the deal? How come I can't get victory over my sin?

How come I can't get victory over my depression? How come I can't? And you look at these women and you're like, they Know the answer. They know. So you share Jesus. They latch on.

They love him, they learn him, they experience him, and then they teach us.

Travis Michael Fleming:

So you, you see all this in Africa and then you. But you're in Africa for how long?

Jami Staples:

We ended up only being in Africa about three and a half years.

Travis Michael Fleming:

And then you come back to the.

Travis Michael Fleming:

States, but still now you have this desire to really reach these women. And what happened then?

Jami Staples:

Right.

So we came back thinking that we were going to go into the Muslim world and just do like, got to get a job somewhere, because we had the kinds of careers that would allow us to do that. We could just go get a job somewhere. We could be salt and light in that context.

And so we came home and within several months of putting out applications and looking at all the details of what it would take, we were starting to feel like there was a lot of closed doors and a lot of no's. And I remember very well pleading with the Lord, like, here we are. We're willing to go. We're willing to go anywhere.

You can't say that about everybody. Some people aren't even willing to leave their town or their state. We're willing to go anywhere. Send me anywhere.

And the Lord very clearly said to me, will you go to the United States? And I was like, oof, no, I don't want to do that.

So there was a period in the season of releasing what I understood as reaching the nations, releasing that to the Lord. And what his call on my life became at that time was, now you have seen it with your own eyes. Now you have experienced it.

Now you know what I am looking for now take that to the church. Take that to the church. Build her up, open her heart, open her eyes, and send her out into the Muslim world.

And that was super hard to swallow for a long time.

But I joined an organization at that time called the Crescent Project, which I owe so much to, because that's where I learned the beauty of sending people out and living vicariously through their testimonies, of reaching others. And so as we. I was building the women's training program there in that organization.

And one of the things that happened, just to keep the story moving forward, one of the things that happened is we were there trying to equip and educate women to share the gospel with Muslims. And I noticed that Christian women weren't really sharing the gospel with anyone.

And so it wasn't really just, I'm afraid of terrorists, as we thought maybe was the holdup. It was really, I don't have A testimony. That's really what it came down to. I know when I chose Christ, but have I been rescued by him?

Have I been transformed by Emmanuel living and walking beside me every day? No, I still struggle with all this stuff. I still struggle to believe he's even real some of the time.

And when you look at what it costs a Muslim woman to decide to follow Christ, you got to be really careful, you know what I mean?

Like, you have to be responsible with what you're proposing because she's going to put her life on the line, her family, her reputation, everything, in order to even consider him. If you're not convinced, then you need to be really careful of what you're asking someone to do.

And so that's where the Truth Collective really started from, was we need to take one step back and we need to understand why Christian women are so afraid of sharing their testimony. And if they don't have one, let's dig into that. So we call ourselves a first me, then her ministry.

Because really what it comes down to, Travis, at the end of the day, is identity trauma.

We believe things about ourselves that are not true, and it bleeds out into wounds and lies we believe and agreements that we make to protect ourselves from further trauma. And then we end up with these strongholds that won't let go. And we say, jesus isn't freeing me from this. Well, that's not exactly true.

We just don't know how to make that transformation happen.

That's what we're looking for, transformation testimonies that then will invite Muslim women to come alongside and explore a God who is with us and what that looks like.

Travis Michael Fleming:

We're going to take a quick break and hear a word from our sponsors and we'll be right back. The most important Bible translation is the one you read at Apollos Watered.

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Travis Michael Fleming:

What does that look like, though, in South Carolina?

I mean, you don't think of South Carolina as being a place where there are a lot of Muslim immigrants, but that's not true, as we had David Garrison on the show of the Global Gates, and he talked about all these gateway cities, and there's all these unreached people groups that are actually in the United States, that are in the cities that are all around.

And we've also had Fawad Masri on from the Creston Project and talking about that there are Muslims all over the United States, so they're in your community, too. What exactly are you guys doing in connecting with these Muslim women that are coming in?

And are they women that were born here or are they women that have come here? Because at first glance, my reaction would say. I would say that they've just came here, but you'll see some of them have been here for a while.

Jami Staples:

Yeah, yeah. So let me give you an example.

I met a woman about two years ago because we work in the arts, using the creative to help expose trauma and to heal trauma. I was looking for artists, and I got connected to this woman who was born and raised in Saudi Arabia. And she lives like 10 minutes from me.

And so she was an immigrant. She brought three sons with her, but she gave birth to a daughter here. And so her worldview is very Saudi Islamic.

And so I say that because Islam looks different all over the world. But this particular woman, very conservative Muslim background. Her daughter, of course, is Muslim by birth, if you understand how that works. And so.

But she was born and raised here. And so she goes into the public school system, and she. She looks exactly like what my kids look like, what your kids look like.

And so the reason that people often believe that there are no Muslims around them is because the only way you would know if someone was Muslim is if she was wearing a hijab. Right. There was some external symbol. And a lot of Western Muslims don't do that.

And so we have this enormous Muslim community just north of us in one of the major cities. And then we have these other groups of different nationalities.

There's a huge Egyptian population not too far from me, and they don't wear hijab and they don't walk around saying, I am Muslim. And so you would never know. But yet there they are. And so it's only by one looking, you know, education.

Of course I have a network because everybody knows me for Muslim ministry. And so it's always funny because people will go, jamie, you need to meet somebody.

There's this Muslim woman, and she's in my office, or she's at my kid's school or whatever. You need to come and meet her. And I'm like, how about you go meet her? How about that? I'll help you. But you go meet her, you invite her for tea.

You go get to know her, you know, but they're just so astounded that they can see somebody in their community. So that said, Travis, like, the honest truth is the church has lost the excuse because of digital technology.

So I have two very good Muslim friends that live here close to me, but I have about five or six more that I keep online. These women that I connect with through Facebook, through, you know, whatever. And we just talk pretty regularly.

We do FaceTime, we do stuff like that. And there's no reason not to have access to the Muslim world at this point.

Travis Michael Fleming:

There's so many technologies that are available to do that, which is. Which is really incredible. And it's also incredible.

And I think eye opening that once you do have the eyes to see, if you're aware of it, then it does open that up. I had a pastor I was speaking to in a community that we're in that's growing, and he said, well, there's only a 2% group of diversity.

And I said, well, I'm sorry, but the stats are wrong. I said, just go to the grocery store and you'll see that really fast, right?

Jami Staples:

Because you don't even need eyes to see if your heart is open. The Lord is going to drop somebody in your lap, I guarantee it. This is a true story. We came back from Africa.

It had been months because like you said, if you don't see them around you, you get this idea that they are nowhere close. And I didn't see any Muslim women in my area. And I was feeling so dry and so useless.

And so my husband said to me, jamie, let's just begin to pray that God will bring you one. Just one Muslim friend.

24 hours later, I kid you not, 24 hours later, Pastor of my church calls and said, hey, some random guy in Nebraska told us that he's been ministering to a Muslim student, and that student is moving to this area and they're wondering if you would receive him. And so our family took in. Can you imagine, like I pray for like, duh, why didn't I just pray about it? Why didn't I just let the Lord bring.

You have an open heart and the Lord will bring whomever is right to put in your life.

Travis Michael Fleming:

You know, I was, I was reading in John 15 the other day where Jesus, it's the vine passage, you know, I'm the vine, my father's the gardener. But in it he says, it's my father's will that you bear much fruit.

But directly before that, he's talking about prayer and would ask, whatever you will and my father will give it to you. It's my Father's will. So I don't think oftentimes we connect those things.

And if you want to really bear fruit and you have an open heart like you said, then that will happen. Going back for a second you mentioned you guys do, and I love the term you used. It's identity trauma.

Jami Staples:

Yeah.

So we actually use the definition of trauma that Jim Wilder penned because I haven't found anything that articulates better that trauma is any wound or injury left in our identity that renders us less than what God had in mind when he created us. And just break that down. What did God have in mind when he created us? Look at Adam and Eve. That's what he had in mind.

And revelation is where we're going restored back to that identity. So pretty much anything else that is an I am statement that is not in agreement with God's original design will create trauma.

And the way they describe it is as soon as a wound or injury happens to your identity, that becomes very fertile soil then for truth or lies to enter in at that point. So for example, I had an experience when I was a child where somebody should have stood up for me and they didn't.

And so this very fertile soil received the message that nobody else is going to stand up for you. You need to do it yourself. That's how my justice button was born. So it's a very beautiful.

Like God wants to harness that justice button and use it for his purpose. But it also is a fear based button and it lives and grows actually very much like the vine you were just talking about.

There's this vine of lies that grows and the fruit that it produces is protective. And everything that I use to protect my pain will become sin sooner or later.

And that sin will then pile on and it will foster and fertilize that lie, that wound. And so what you have to do.

And even as believers, we're not immune to this right People do and say things that are hurtful and painful, and they break. They fracture our identity. And God uses this term in the Bible several times of two terms, actually.

Wholeheartedness is a term that you see in the Old Testament a good bit. And shalom. Shalom literally means wholeness.

And so what healing is, is putting your heart back together and allowing the Lord to put your heart back together and heal those fractured spaces. So how do we use the creative? I'll give you a very good example. We have this project we call a tea and canvas. And if you're familiar at all with.

I'm gonna doubt you're familiar. No offense, but Kintsugi. You don't look like a Japanese artist kind of guy. I'm just saying.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Say the name again.

Jami Staples:

Kintsugi.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Well, we're good friends.

Jami Staples:

Yeah. Okay.

Travis Michael Fleming:

We're Facebook buddies.

Jami Staples:

Yeah.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Yeah.

Jami Staples:

So Kintsugi is actually a Japanese art form.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Oh, yeah. So good.

Jami Staples:

Kintsugi is a Japanese art form.

And what they do is they break a piece, like a bowl or a cup or a plate or a piece of pottery, and they put it back together in this very delicate manner, and they do it with a gold leaf adhesive.

And so when you put it back together, it actually ends up being more beautiful than when before it was broken because it has all these gold strings through it. So we do that. We bring that principle into a creative process, and we talk about the bull being our identity.

And when trauma happens, we take a hammer to it and we crack that bowl, right? And then we write on those pieces. We write the lies that we believe as a result of that identity trauma. And so things like, I am not loved.

I am not safe. I am not clean. I am ashamed. Things like that.

We write, and then we put those things, we glue those things back together, and we write the truths according to the Bible, what does God say you are? And we write those truths. And using the creative and using our hands actually opens the right hemisphere of your brain.

It stimulates the right hemisphere of your brain, and it makes. And your relational center is in that right half as well. And so we spend time in prayer during that project.

And because of the creative and because of stimulating that relational center in your brain, you actually are far more scientifically, far more likely to believe a truth when you're using both the left side and the right side of your brain. When those things are working in tandem, you're far more likely to be transformed by it. That's why we use the creative.

We did this same project in Lebanon with a group of Syrian refugees. Fascinating. Fascinating.

And here's what's fascinating, Travis, is that if you take the Kintsugi bowl of a woman in suburbia America and you put it next to this kintsugi bowl of a Lebanese or a Syrian woman, you're going to see the same lies show up in both bowls. Isn't that fascinating?

Travis Michael Fleming:

That is fascinating.

Jami Staples:

Contexts are completely different, but generally there are about seven lies, identity lies that women believe about themselves. And it doesn't matter what context you come from. The point is, when you get down to the identity level, we all struggle with these same wounds.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Well, as you can tell, this is going to be a two part episode.

And I know that we left the conversation at a bit of a cliffhanger and I promise you that in our next episode we'll resolve it because we're going to talk about these seven lies and so much more. I don't know about you, but I was struck by how transparent Jamie was.

She was refreshingly honest about her own struggles and how she was learning from the Muslim women who had come to Jesus. I couldn't help but think about what John Plake had told us the week before. Scripture engaged.

People who have gone through trauma are in better shape than those who hadn't. Why? Because they have encountered Emmanuel God with us. Maybe that's what you need to do. Maybe God is trying to speak to you.

If he has, I would encourage you to seek him, to put those things into practice, to call on him and know that he is the God who is there. I'm curious to know what stood out to you from this episode. Send us a line through Facebook or Instagram. We want to hear your thoughts.

It would really help us out if you would please subscribe if you haven't and give us a rating and review us on Apple Podcasts or whatever platform you're using because that helps other people find these very important conversations.

Travis Michael Fleming:

Together, we are watering the faith of.

Travis Michael Fleming:

The church around the world. Tune in next week for part two. I want to thank our Apollos Watered team of Kevin, Melissa, Donovan, Eliana, Rebecca and Audrey.

And I want to let you know.

Travis Michael Fleming:

That today's episode is brought to you.

Travis Michael Fleming:

In part by FCC Cabinets of Jacksonville, Florida. Water your faith, Water your world. This is Travis Michael Fleming signing off from Apollo's Watered. Stay watered everybody. Morning.

Jami Staples:

And I'm on the roll.