Video summary
In this episode of Girls Gone Bible, Angela and her co-host address the intense scrutiny faced when individuals transition into religious ministry with a significant past. They argue that attempting to weaponize someone's history against them is fundamentally incompatible with Christian testimony, citing the transformation of Saul into Paul as the ultimate example. The hosts emphasize that without knowing about Saul's violent opposition to Jesus, which included killing Christians and persecuting believers, there would be no New Testament or understanding of how God can bring life out of death. Consequently, they view their own pasts not as liabilities but as essential components of a testimony that demonstrates the power of Christ to turn lives upside down from the inside out. The conversation shifts to navigating internet fame and maintaining spiritual grounding while producing face-based content for millions of viewers. Angela describes this rapid rise as both a profound blessing and something "weighty," noting that unlike traditional pastors who build foundations before entering ministry, they were catapulted into success overnight without prior preparation. This sudden exposure has forced them to constantly relearn how to live faithfully, admitting feelings of inadequacy where she sometimes feels like a young girl again trying to unlearn years of conditioning while teaching others. Despite the pressure and lack of traditional legitimacy in their eyes, they refuse to view this path as a burden, instead framing it as a costly but rewarding calling that requires total dependence on God rather than personal strength or reputation. A central theme regarding ministry ethics is the necessity of prioritizing time with Jesus before engaging with people or speaking publicly. The hosts share an inspiring story from Brazil about missionaries who strictly forbid going out to serve impoverished communities, gang members, or evangelize if they have not first spent quality time alone with God that day. This rule underscores their belief that one cannot offer anything valuable in ministry without a fresh connection to the source; serving others must flow from an overflow of personal spiritual life rather than human effort. Angela reinforces this by stating she would never go on stage or speak into a microphone if she felt disconnected from Jesus, as her message and presence depend entirely on His power rather than any inherent worthiness. To support their listeners in maintaining the physical health necessary for such demanding ministry work, the episode includes a sponsored segment with Function Health. The hosts explain that feeling sharp and energized is crucial for serving others effectively, making regular blood work analysis vital. They highlight how Function monitors over 100 red biomarkers through biannual lab tests conducted by expert physicians, providing actionable insights into heart health, hormone levels, thyroid function, and nutrient deficiencies. Notably, the service screens for 50 types of cancer at stage one, offering five times more data than a standard annual physical while costing significantly less due to their partnership model. Ultimately, the discussion concludes with an invitation to embrace authenticity over perfectionism in ministry. The hosts encourage listeners that what is done in the dark will eventually come to light anyway, so there is no need to hide one's flaws or past mistakes. By being honest about struggles and failures, they aim to show others that transformation is possible for everyone, regardless of their history. Whether facing online criticism, navigating sudden fame, or dealing with physical fatigue, the core message remains that true ministry comes from a place of brokenness filled by God, ensuring that the focus stays on bringing people to Jesus rather than maintaining an image of flawlessness.
Read the full video transcript
It definitely seems like anyone who
takes the religious pivot gets a lot of
scrutiny online and you guys have got
lives from before and you've got lives
now and the lives now is significantly
more public and presumably a lot more
scrutinized. How do you handle moments
when your past gets resurfaced against
you, right?
Well, I look at a man nailed to a cross
and I'm like, yeah, there's just
something so um beautiful about life
with Jesus because you can't have a
testimony of Jesus without the past,
without your past. And I think it's a
really interesting like idea that you
would weaponize somebody's past against
them because you can't weaponize
somebody's past against them as a
Christian because that's literally the
testimony of Jesus. We have Saul to
Paul, one of the most prolific and
important people, impactful people of
the entire Bible. What would Paul be
without Saul? Like who would he be? We
wouldn't have the testimony of Jesus in
his life if we didn't know about the
Saul that was literally killing
Christians, crucifying every he was in
direct opposition to everything that
Jesus taught and was. And so if Paul
like cleaned up his past and didn't want
anyone to know about it, we wouldn't
have 60% of the New Testament. You know
what I mean? So it's a really
interesting thing if someone tries to
weaponize it against you because it's
like, hello, it's literally death to
life. It's literally the most beautiful
thing. The sin is not beautiful. The
dark past is not beautiful. But what
Jesus does, how he truly takes dead
things and brings them to life and he
completely takes somebody's life and
turns it upside down and flips it on its
head and they become new people from the
inside out. You can't have that without
your past. So if someone's weaponizing
your past, it's like great. Actually
tell more people so they know the power
of Jesus. But I think and I think the
other thing we've tried our best to do
on our journey is to always be honest
because what's done in the dark will
always come to light and we do not hide
that we've had a past and even and we've
let people down sometimes but we Angela
and I always try to always be honest and
um so yeah we I think that's a big one
being honest with our past. so
authentic, so honest. You have to be. Is
going viral with face- based content a
blessing or a burden for you guys? Like
I imagine it's hard to navigate internet
fame and keep a spiritual grounding at
the same time. Great question. It's been
the biggest blessing.
It has been the biggest blessing of our
lives being able to grow. Like the
difference between us and a pastor is
that we they've grown with us. They've
seen our transformation and they've
grown with us. On the other hand,
I'll just speak for myself. I don't want
to speak for you, an um
usually people build a foundation before
they come in to ministry. We quote
unquote had success overnight and we
were catapulted very fast. Like I don't
even know. It's it happens so fast.
Sometimes I'm like what? Where are we?
You know. Um, so sometimes I feel like I
have no place to stand on. I don't have
What legitimates me being here? Where is
my ex? I don't have all the answers. I
I'm still trying to figure it out. I'm
still trying to I I still fall I fall
short of God's glory every day. I am so
imperfect. I'm so flawed. I've had to
unlearn so many things that I've been
accustomed to since I was a little girl.
I'm like relearning. I feel like I'm a a
young girl all over again. Like I
literally have to rewire my brain,
unlearn things while still teach young
girls and even older girls. And so
sometimes I'll be standing there and I'm
like, I don't know what I'm doing, you
know? So I think that it's been such a
blessing, but incredibly weighty at the
same time. Is that is that a a word?
Weighty. It's weighty, girl. Weighty.
It's weighty. It is. So um yeah, I think
Yeah. I mean there's it's I would never
describe it as a burden. It's not a
burden. It's a blessing and there's a
cost to it. You know, there's a cost to
being a Christian in general, first and
foremost. And then there's a major cost
to being in ministry. And like um we
have the podcast and then we are on
tour. We do live events. It's ministry
in person and we pray over incredibly
broken, desperate people who need help,
who need Jesus. And so it's there's so
much weight to it, but it is the
greatest blessing of our lives. And I
think one more thing that I'll add to
that is like, you know what missionary
work is, right? Like missions trips,
like you go to different places in the
world or even in America and you
basically just help establish culture
and like a church environment and help
people in different, you know, um,
ethnic groups and different places in
the world. And I heard of the story of
this couple in Brazil who have this base
and they basically bring in like a bunch
of people, a bunch of believers and they
go out into these communities and they
just help them impoverished people, gang
members, like they evangelize, preach
the gospel, all this stuff. And they
have like a rule basically that's like
for all the people in on their base, if
you didn't for some reason get time with
the Lord. If you didn't spend time with
Jesus, don't even go out there. Just go
spend time with Jesus. don't even come
out that day because it is not worth you
coming out in your own strength, in your
own might. If you don't have Jesus to
offer them, you don't have anything to
offer. So for us, like I'll speak for
myself personally, if I don't spend time
with Jesus, I have nothing to offer in a
microphone. I have nothing to say. I
will not go. I don't want to do it. I am
not there. We're not there for a
paycheck. We're not there to be on an
elevated stage with a microphone in our
hands. You know what I mean? And it's
just like if God wanted to take all of
this away tomorrow, it's okay. It's
really okay because it is truly about
people. It's about bringing people to
Jesus. The best analogy I've heard
around that is that you don't serve
people from your cup. You serve them
from the source that overflows around
your cup. Here,
you're a preacher. We're going to see
we're going to see Chris next year. He's
going to be preaching the gospel. A
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