Story Matters Podcast

In the Story Matters Podcast, Hosts Ryan and Emily Baker discuss the intersection between theology and psychology helping listeners to better grasp how their particular stories have shaped them.

Story Matters Podcast is a religion podcast hosted by Ryan and Emily Baker, with 54 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Ryan and Emily Baker hosts Story Matters Podcast, a religion show with 54 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #2

  "It is what it is" or Do We Have a Choice?

  Sep 8, 202632 minS5

  That flat feeling behind “it is what it is” usually isn’t wisdom or maturity. It’s often a clue that we’ve slowly lost agency and think there is no choice in the matter. Ryan and Emily share a three-step practice that helps us notice choice points earlier, hold paradox with clarity, and make decisions with more honesty before God. We offer a simple, practical framework you can use right away: bind alert (notice the internal bell), choice awareness (admit you have options), and paradox acceptance (hold complexity long enough to choose with wisdom). We also connect this to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and the “choice point,” then move into Romans 7 and 8 to name the tension between flesh and Spirit without pretending it isn’t there. The gospel doesn’t promise a struggle-free life; it promises grace, clarity, and freedom to choose in love, even when the choice is costly. If you’ve been stuck in patterns you can’t explain, start by following the symptoms back to the bind, then practice naming the options out loud. Subscribe, share this with a friend and leave a review so more people can find the path from autopilot to wisdom! Send us Fan Mail

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #1

  53. You are in a Bind!

  Sep 1, 202622 minS5

  Burnout you can’t explain, people pleasing you can’t stop, co-existing with anxiety, resentment that keeps leaking into your closest relationships, or habits that numb you just enough to get through the week. We start Season Five by naming a common root under all of it: the binds that exist in your life that you have not fully named. We talk about how our “non-negotiables” in decision-making moments are actually unexamined survival strategies. Story work becomes very practical as we trace our reasoning to our hatred of uncertainty and the patterns we adopted in order to feel sure. Then we introduce the shift that changes everything: moving from bind to paradox. A bind says you have no good options. A paradox says both sides may hold truth, and wisdom is required. We also anchor this in Scripture, including the famously uncomfortable tension in Proverbs 26 about whether to answer a fool, and we connect it to real moments like conflict, online arguments, and choosing when to speak or stay quiet. Along the way, we frame this as an invitation into agency and humanness - yet not independence as we need the Holy Spirit’s guidance to live wisely inside complexity. If you care about Christian healing, emotional health, and the practical overlap of theology and psychology, this conversation sets the foundation for the whole season. Subscribe for the rest of Season Five, share with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. Send us Fan Mail

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #12

  52.Can We Just Not Tie a Bow On It?

  May 12, 202626 minS4

  Season Four wrap up! When stories are unresolved, our bodies feel the tension so we often divert by looking for a way to tie everything up with a bow. “It’s fine.” “It’ll all work out.” Even faith language can become a bow we use to exit the pain before we’ve actually felt it. We talk about silver linings that bypass grief, the pressure to explain suffering, and J. I. Packer’s train yard illustration for why we can’t stand in God’s control room and demand a full map of every “why.” Rigid explanations, loyalty to families or organizations, and “closed book” testimonies can keep real wounds off limits, leaving shame or resentment to simmer. Writing a single, contained story with sensory details slows you down enough to reveal truth you had not seen. We end with a challenge and a limited offer for a free story engagement - fresh eyes on a story you may have previously tied up with a bow. Does this offer appeal to you? Or, share this with a friend who ties things up too fast, and leave a review so more people can find story work that makes room for both honesty and hope. Send us Fan Mail

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #11

  51. They Will Know We Are Christians By How We Repair

  May 5, 202633 minS4

  “They will know we are Christians by our love” is true, but what if the clearest proof of love is our ability to repair after rupture? Ryan and Emily Baker dig into why repair is strangely missing as a category in many Christian families, churches, and faith-based organizations and why that absence makes communities fragile instead of safe. We talk about “weak systems” and how good intentions don’t stop harm. Like neighborhood watch signs or children’s ministry safety policies, healthy communities don’t rely on policies, they walk on clear paths of accountability and conflict resolution. We connect Jesus’ warning about the yeast of the Pharisees to a modern picture of invisible germs: the most destructive dynamics in church culture are often subtle, minimized, or explained away until they spread. The turning point is the difference between shame-based repair and grace-based repair. Shame-based repair chases relief, reputation, and belonging, so it settles for “Are we good?” Grace-based repair tells the truth about what happened, names sin specifically, and makes room for confession, repentance, and real restoration. If you care about healthy Christian relationships, church leadership integrity, and communities that actually feel safe, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who leads or serves, and leave a review, what’s one place you want to practice repair this week? Send us Fan Mail

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #10

  50. Have You Experienced Betrayal?

  Apr 28, 202632 minS4

  Betrayal is brutal: it takes a relationship, a community, or an institution that was supposed to be safe and turns it into a source of harm. We unpack betrayal trauma through the lens of shalom, the way things are supposed to be, and we talk about the “ripple effect” that spreads into your limbic system, your future relationships, and your view of God. We also name the amplification that happens when there is no repair: denial, cover-up, gaslighting, or the isolating experience of not being believed. Along the way we explore why “getting even” can become a false path to healing, and why pretending it never happened can be just as damaging to the soul. We bring in Romans 12 to hold justice and mercy together, and we share insights from Dan Allender’s “The Healing Path” on how betrayal can expose the ways we look to people for ultimate safety and certainty. Finally, we get practical about coming back into your window of tolerance, paying attention to what your body is carrying, and learning to grieve what really happened so the wound no longer has power over you. If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with someone walking through betrayal, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. Send us Fan Mail

  ListenShow Notes

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.