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Listen "Episode 18: An Encounter Story: From Shame to Promise"
Episode Synopsis
Summary
The podcast episode of Between Heaven and Earth, hosted by Justin and Amy Howard, features an intimate conversation with Tim Kennerson, a longtime friend and church planter, who shares his powerful testimony of faith, struggle, and healing. Raised in a solid Christian home, Tim initially believed he lacked a testimony because his faith journey was not marked by dramatic conversion or deliverance experiences. However, through candid reflections, he reveals a lifelong wrestling with shame, secrecy, and sin—particularly around sexuality and pornography—starting from a young age due to early exposure and lack of open, grace-filled conversations about human sexuality.
Tim describes growing up in a loving, intentional Christian family where faith was part of daily life, but personal confession and community accountability were minimal. He navigated his teenage years feeling distant from Jesus, burdened by shame and unworthiness, and engaged in early sexual activity that conflicted with his faith values. The episode highlights the harmful effects of a shame-based approach to sexuality in many Christian contexts and underscores the need for a more redemptive, theologically rich conversation that celebrates the goodness of human sexuality as designed by God.
A turning point in Tim’s journey came through Encounter Culture Mission Collaborative’s Encounter Weekends, where he experienced “directed confession” in a safe, non-judgmental environment. This practice involved confessing sins aloud to trusted prayer ministers, renouncing shame and lies, and receiving grace and healing from the Holy Spirit. Tim recounts how this experience radically transformed his relationship with God, moving from distance and shame to intimacy and freedom, and how it shaped his marriage with Sam, who extended grace and forgiveness when he confessed past mistakes, including a lie about his sexual history.
The episode also addresses broader themes of church culture, emphasizing the importance of cultivating confessional communities that normalize confession and healing, thereby breaking strongholds of shame and secrecy. Tim and the hosts encourage parents to proactively engage their children in age-appropriate, grace-filled conversations about sexuality to prevent the damage caused by secrecy and pornography exposure. The podcast closes with an invitation for listeners to join Encounter Life cohorts for pastors, which offer spiritual renewal and healing in a supportive small group setting.
Ultimately, the episode offers a hopeful message: freedom from shame and past sins is possible through confession, grace, and community, and embracing this process leads to deeper intimacy with Jesus and transformation in all areas of life.
Highlights
🙌 Tim Kennerson shares a powerful testimony of healing from shame and addiction through directed confession.
💡 The podcast emphasizes the importance of confession to another person, not just to God, for true healing.
❤️ The episode highlights the grace and forgiveness experienced in Tim’s marriage after confessing past sexual sins and lies.
📖 A richer, redemptive theology of human sexuality is needed in Christian communities to combat shame and disordered desires.
🛡️ Early exposure to pornography can cause lifelong struggles; parents must proactively and lovingly address sexuality with their children.
🕊️ Encounter Culture Mission Collaborative offers safe spaces for spiritual renewal, confession, and healing through Encounter Weekends and ministry cohorts.
🤝 Building a confessional community is essential for breaking strongholds and living in freedom and grace.
Key Insights
🔥 The Power of Testimony as a “Sword”: Tim’s story demonstrates how every believer has a testimony, regardless of how dramatic their conversion story is. Testimonies reveal God’s goodness and faithfulness even in ordinary, everyday struggles, and sharing them publicly breaks the power of shame and isolation. This encourages believers to embrace their unique faith journeys and find strength in vulnerability.
🗣️ Confession to Another Person is Crucial for Healing: The episode stresses that confession isn’t only a private dialogue with God but is fundamentally communal. Biblical references (James 5:16, 1 John 1) support the practice of confessing sins to trusted believers, which facilitates healing by removing the darkness where shame thrives. This counters the false notion that confession is merely a ritual or legalistic act, highlighting its sacramental and embodied nature.
💔 Shame Distorts Relationship with God and Others: Tim’s early shame associated with sexuality and secret sin distanced him from Jesus and caused relational fractures. Shame operates as agreement with the enemy’s lies—that God’s grace is insufficient—resulting in isolation and self-condemnation. The healing process involves renouncing shame and embracing God’s unconditional love, which restores intimacy with God and relationships with others.
💡 A Theology of Human Sexuality Rooted in Grace and Beauty: The hosts critique the prevalent church approach that often reduces sexuality to “don’t do this or that,” fostering fear and shame. Instead, they advocate for teaching the biblical goodness of sexuality, inspired by John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, which frames sexuality as a reflection of the Trinitarian relationship and a gift for joy and creation. This theological foundation can reduce temptation by offering a vision of sex as sacred and beautiful.
🛡️ Early Exposure to Pornography Demands Proactive Parenting: Tim’s early exposure to pornography at age 10 illustrates a common, hidden challenge many children face today. The discussion highlights the urgent need for parents to provide age-appropriate, grace-filled sexual education, countering the damaging narratives and lies propagated by the porn industry. This proactive engagement helps children develop a healthy understanding of their bodies and desires.
🤝 Community and Accountability Sustain Ongoing Sanctification: Tim emphasizes that healing is not a one-time event but a lifelong journey involving ongoing confession, accountability, and grace within a supportive community. Encounter Culture fosters this through Encounter Weekends and small groups, helping believers continue to confront sin patterns and grow in Christlikeness. This reflects the biblical process of sanctification as cooperative and relational.
🌿 Redemption Transforms Pain into Purpose: Tim’s testimony of how God transformed his shame, past mistakes, and generational curses into blessings—such as the birth of his daughter—illustrates the redemptive power of God’s grace. This transformation offers hope to listeners that past failures do not define their future but can become the soil for new life, healing, and fruitfulness in God’s kingdom.
Conclusion
This episode of Between Heaven and Earth offers a deeply encouraging and practical conversation about the realities of Christian discipleship amid struggles with shame, sin, and sexuality. Through Tim’s testimony and the hosts’ insights, listeners are invited into a culture of confession, grace, and healing that aligns with biblical teaching and the heart of God. The episode challenges churches and families to move beyond shame-based approaches toward a redemptive, beauty-infused understanding of human sexuality and community life, empowering believers to experience freedom, intimacy with Jesus, and transformation in the ongoing journey of faith.
Resources for parents: God's Design for Sex series
EncounterLife for Pastors
The podcast episode of Between Heaven and Earth, hosted by Justin and Amy Howard, features an intimate conversation with Tim Kennerson, a longtime friend and church planter, who shares his powerful testimony of faith, struggle, and healing. Raised in a solid Christian home, Tim initially believed he lacked a testimony because his faith journey was not marked by dramatic conversion or deliverance experiences. However, through candid reflections, he reveals a lifelong wrestling with shame, secrecy, and sin—particularly around sexuality and pornography—starting from a young age due to early exposure and lack of open, grace-filled conversations about human sexuality.
Tim describes growing up in a loving, intentional Christian family where faith was part of daily life, but personal confession and community accountability were minimal. He navigated his teenage years feeling distant from Jesus, burdened by shame and unworthiness, and engaged in early sexual activity that conflicted with his faith values. The episode highlights the harmful effects of a shame-based approach to sexuality in many Christian contexts and underscores the need for a more redemptive, theologically rich conversation that celebrates the goodness of human sexuality as designed by God.
A turning point in Tim’s journey came through Encounter Culture Mission Collaborative’s Encounter Weekends, where he experienced “directed confession” in a safe, non-judgmental environment. This practice involved confessing sins aloud to trusted prayer ministers, renouncing shame and lies, and receiving grace and healing from the Holy Spirit. Tim recounts how this experience radically transformed his relationship with God, moving from distance and shame to intimacy and freedom, and how it shaped his marriage with Sam, who extended grace and forgiveness when he confessed past mistakes, including a lie about his sexual history.
The episode also addresses broader themes of church culture, emphasizing the importance of cultivating confessional communities that normalize confession and healing, thereby breaking strongholds of shame and secrecy. Tim and the hosts encourage parents to proactively engage their children in age-appropriate, grace-filled conversations about sexuality to prevent the damage caused by secrecy and pornography exposure. The podcast closes with an invitation for listeners to join Encounter Life cohorts for pastors, which offer spiritual renewal and healing in a supportive small group setting.
Ultimately, the episode offers a hopeful message: freedom from shame and past sins is possible through confession, grace, and community, and embracing this process leads to deeper intimacy with Jesus and transformation in all areas of life.
Highlights
🙌 Tim Kennerson shares a powerful testimony of healing from shame and addiction through directed confession.
💡 The podcast emphasizes the importance of confession to another person, not just to God, for true healing.
❤️ The episode highlights the grace and forgiveness experienced in Tim’s marriage after confessing past sexual sins and lies.
📖 A richer, redemptive theology of human sexuality is needed in Christian communities to combat shame and disordered desires.
🛡️ Early exposure to pornography can cause lifelong struggles; parents must proactively and lovingly address sexuality with their children.
🕊️ Encounter Culture Mission Collaborative offers safe spaces for spiritual renewal, confession, and healing through Encounter Weekends and ministry cohorts.
🤝 Building a confessional community is essential for breaking strongholds and living in freedom and grace.
Key Insights
🔥 The Power of Testimony as a “Sword”: Tim’s story demonstrates how every believer has a testimony, regardless of how dramatic their conversion story is. Testimonies reveal God’s goodness and faithfulness even in ordinary, everyday struggles, and sharing them publicly breaks the power of shame and isolation. This encourages believers to embrace their unique faith journeys and find strength in vulnerability.
🗣️ Confession to Another Person is Crucial for Healing: The episode stresses that confession isn’t only a private dialogue with God but is fundamentally communal. Biblical references (James 5:16, 1 John 1) support the practice of confessing sins to trusted believers, which facilitates healing by removing the darkness where shame thrives. This counters the false notion that confession is merely a ritual or legalistic act, highlighting its sacramental and embodied nature.
💔 Shame Distorts Relationship with God and Others: Tim’s early shame associated with sexuality and secret sin distanced him from Jesus and caused relational fractures. Shame operates as agreement with the enemy’s lies—that God’s grace is insufficient—resulting in isolation and self-condemnation. The healing process involves renouncing shame and embracing God’s unconditional love, which restores intimacy with God and relationships with others.
💡 A Theology of Human Sexuality Rooted in Grace and Beauty: The hosts critique the prevalent church approach that often reduces sexuality to “don’t do this or that,” fostering fear and shame. Instead, they advocate for teaching the biblical goodness of sexuality, inspired by John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, which frames sexuality as a reflection of the Trinitarian relationship and a gift for joy and creation. This theological foundation can reduce temptation by offering a vision of sex as sacred and beautiful.
🛡️ Early Exposure to Pornography Demands Proactive Parenting: Tim’s early exposure to pornography at age 10 illustrates a common, hidden challenge many children face today. The discussion highlights the urgent need for parents to provide age-appropriate, grace-filled sexual education, countering the damaging narratives and lies propagated by the porn industry. This proactive engagement helps children develop a healthy understanding of their bodies and desires.
🤝 Community and Accountability Sustain Ongoing Sanctification: Tim emphasizes that healing is not a one-time event but a lifelong journey involving ongoing confession, accountability, and grace within a supportive community. Encounter Culture fosters this through Encounter Weekends and small groups, helping believers continue to confront sin patterns and grow in Christlikeness. This reflects the biblical process of sanctification as cooperative and relational.
🌿 Redemption Transforms Pain into Purpose: Tim’s testimony of how God transformed his shame, past mistakes, and generational curses into blessings—such as the birth of his daughter—illustrates the redemptive power of God’s grace. This transformation offers hope to listeners that past failures do not define their future but can become the soil for new life, healing, and fruitfulness in God’s kingdom.
Conclusion
This episode of Between Heaven and Earth offers a deeply encouraging and practical conversation about the realities of Christian discipleship amid struggles with shame, sin, and sexuality. Through Tim’s testimony and the hosts’ insights, listeners are invited into a culture of confession, grace, and healing that aligns with biblical teaching and the heart of God. The episode challenges churches and families to move beyond shame-based approaches toward a redemptive, beauty-infused understanding of human sexuality and community life, empowering believers to experience freedom, intimacy with Jesus, and transformation in the ongoing journey of faith.
Resources for parents: God's Design for Sex series
EncounterLife for Pastors
In God we trust