With the heart of a pastor and a therapist’s expertise, Chuck DeGroat shares how to find healing for the deep wounds within your soul.

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The church should be a place of healing and comfort. But for far too many, it’s a place of abuse and harm.

As a child, Ryan George was profoundly hurt in a fundamentalist church, pastored by his abusive father. But years later, Ryan found a loving and gracious church. And through that church, he experienced transformation and healing.

In this edition of The Roys Report, Ryan George, author of Hurt and Healed by the Church, exposes both the worst and the best that the church can be.

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What’s the truth about John MacArthur, his ministries, and the Master’s University and Seminary?

On this episode of The Roys Report, a former vice president at John MacArthur’s seminary reveals stunning details about the culture of fear, nepotism, and celebrity surrounding the famous pastor.

From 1991—2015, Dennis Swanson worked at The Master’s University and Seminary (TMUS)—first as the director innovation and then as the vice president of operations, the library, and accreditation. 

Swanson worked with MacArthur’s son-in-law, Kory Welch, who’s been paid millions in contracts by MacArthur’s ministries.

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Do women need to maintain a certain weight and aspire to look like Melania Trump to keep their husbands happy? And is “weight control” the solution to women’s marital problems?

A pastor at a General Baptist Church in Missouri actually preached that on a recent Sunday morning—a sign that misogyny is alive and well in the church.

On this episode of The Roys Report, Julie discusses misogyny in the church with author and speaker, Aimee Byrd.

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Love & Respect is a huge best-selling book. But instead of producing happy marriages, popular author and marriage blogger, Sheila Wray Gregoire, says it can lead to abuse.

On this episode of The Roys Report, Sheila joins Julie to explain why she’s been warning couples about this book for years—and how a comprehensive study she commissioned gives hard evidence that Love & Respect is harmful.

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Today, she’s a retired police officer with 34 years of distinguished service. But in 1974, she was a scared, pregnant teenager. And she says Ravi Zacharias pressured her to get an abortion.

On this edition of The Roys Report, Julie speaks with Shirley Steward, who says when she was 17, she became pregnant with the child of Ravi Zacharias’ younger brother, Ramesh Zacharias.

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Let’s face it. Christians—and especially, evangelical Christians—have a huge PR problem. Though at one time, society considered us the good guys, we’ve become the bad guys. So how do we live faithfully for Jesus in a culture that hates us?

On this episode of The Roys Report, Julie tackles this difficult issue with pastor, blogger and author, Stephen McAlpine. 

As Stephen concedes, we’ve brought some of this hardship on ourselves by behaving badly. 

“It’s very easy to have a persecution complex when we’re misbehaving,” he says.

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The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has been rocked by a sex abuse scandal, a federal lawsuit, and claims of self-dealing and lucrative, backroom deals. The church also is experiencing historic lows when it comes to evangelism and church planting.

But one man says he’ll reform the SBC. And if he wins his bid to be SBC president, he’ll have the power to do it.

On this episode of The Roys Report, Julie speaks with Randy Adams, one of four candidates vying to be president of the SBC—the largest, Protestant denomination in the country.

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With churches in 28 countries, attracting hundreds of thousands of regular attenders, Hillsong Global has become one of the most influential evangelical movements in the world. But lately, the church has been rocked by scandal. And in this episode of The Roys Report, you’ll begin to understand why.

Joining Julie is Janis Lagata—a writer, spoken word artist, and podcaster. But what’s most relevant to our conversation is that Janis was part of the team that launched Hillsong New York City.

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Sadly, 2020 was a year in which scandal after scandal after scandal rocked the church. And on this best of 2020 podcast—or perhaps, worst of 2020 podcast—Julie explores several of the biggest scandals with insiders who had a front-row seat.

You’ll hear highlights from The Roys Report‘s five, most listened-to 2020 podcasts. These include a podcast with an attorney who represented victims of Bill Hybels; radio host Mancow Muller telling of the depravity he witnessed as a close friend of James MacDonald; and Steve Baughman, an atheist attorney, revealing how he discovered deception and abuse by Ravi Zacharias.

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Ten months ago, Acts 29 fired its CEO Steve Timmis for bullying and misuse of power. But has the organization changed? And has Acts 29 taken any responsibility for ignoring whistleblowers for years?

In this episode of The Roys Report, Julie interviews two whistleblowers who brought Timmis’ alleged abuse to light.

One is Casey Smith—a former Acts 29 employee, who reported Timmis’ alleged abuse to Acts 29 President Matt Chandler in 2015, and then was fired.

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Is Christmas an elaborate hoax—or the pivotal point in human history? And can an intelligent person really embrace that God became a man? Or that a virgin conceived a child?

In this episode of The Roys Report, Julie interviews atheist-turned Christian apologist, Lee Strobel, about The Case for Christmas. And she explores some of these challenging questions skeptics ask.

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Can a church that’s had a history of being toxic transform its culture and become truly healthy? Or, are churches like this doomed to repeat their history, despite efforts to change?

This edition of The Roys Report features a talk from our recent Restore Conference by Laura Barringer. Laura and her father, theologian Scot McKnight, co-authored two best-selling books on identifying toxic church cultures and reforming them.

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What really caused Harvest Bible Chapel to fire James MacDonald? And what happened in all the backroom meetings, private conversations, and phone calls leading up to that fateful event?

In this episode of The Roys Report, former Harvest elder, Dan George, joins Julie to tell the real story of MacDonald’s firing.

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Chicago radio personality, Mancow Muller, has just announced he’s leaving WLS. And in this episode of The Roys Report, he talks with me about his new mission in life: to stop James MacDonald.  

Mancow says he wants to ensure that MacDonald and his son, who’s planting a new church in Chicago, don’t hurt anyone else like they’ve hurt him and his family.

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Billions of dollars that American Christians give churches, ministries and nonprofits are stolen every year. In fact, one study estimated that in 2015 alone, $50 billion was squandered in fraud! How do we stop this shocking theft of God’s money? And how do we ensure that the money we give is spent the way we intended?

In this episode of The Roys Report, Julie talks with Warren Cole Smith, president of MinistryWatch, who shares riveting stories about some of the biggest conmen and Ponzi schemes the church has ever known.

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Every week, there seem to be new allegations of abuse in the Christian community. From Ravi Zacharias to Bill Hybels and James MacDonald—why are the powerful preying on the vulnerable? And what can we do to stop it?

In this episode of The Roys Report—Dr. Diane Langberg joins Julie to discuss her newly released book: Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church.

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Toxic churches that wound and devour the sheep have become far too common. But how can churches resist toxic culture and truly become “TOV” or “good”?

In this episode of The Roys Report, Julie interviews well-known New Testament scholar, Scot McKnight, and his daughter, Laura Barringer—co-authors of the new, best-selling book, A Church Called TOV.

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The new revelations concerning Ravi Zacharias have shocked much of the evangelical world, but they’re no surprise to Steve Baughman. Two years ago, Steve published an exposé on Ravi, revealing a pattern of sexual misconduct and deception by the famous apologist and those around him. Yet few paid any attention.

On this episode of The Roys Report, Julie interviews Steve, an avowed atheist and lawyer, and explores why the red flags concerning Ravi were ignored for so long.

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Have you ever had the feeling that something’s not right? The explanations don’t quite make sense. You feel guilty, but you don’t know why. You’re afraid to speak, while at the same time, uneasy about staying quiet.

This is often how people caught in spiritually abusive systems feel. And on this episode of The Roys Report, abuse advocate and researcher, Wade Mullen, joins Julie  to discuss his new book on abuse: Something’s Not Right: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abuse and Freeing Yourself from its Power.

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Jim Spiegel was fired from Taylor University for refusing to remove a song called “Little Hitler” from YouTube. The song is provocative, for sure. But did it warrant Spiegel’s removal? And what does Taylor’s action say about academic freedom and the state of Christian education?

In this edition of The Roys Report, Dr. Jim Spiegel joins Julie to tell his side of this story.

Televangelist Benny Hinn says he’s a minister of the gospel. But according to his nephew, Hinn’s ministry is like a money-making mafia. And when you leave, you may be hit with death threats!

In Part Two of her interview with Costi Hinn, Costi tells Julie his inspiring story of coming real faith in Jesus Christ—and what he went through when he finally left Hinn’s ministry. Costi says he got death threats, not just against him, but against other members of his immediate family!

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As the nephew of the world-famous televangelist Benny Hinn, Costi Hinn had a front-row seat to the inner-workings of the prosperity gospel.

In this episode of The Roys Report, Costi talks about the hypocrisy and devastation he witnessed first-hand. He says money given to further the gospel instead went to $25,000/night hotel rooms, private jets, and Ferraris. And though at one time, Costi participated in Benny Hinn’s empire, Costi explains how God began to show him how anti-biblical it was.

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What does it take to disqualify someone from ministry? An affair? Spiritual abuse? Sexual abuse? Abuse of power? Or, as some have claimed, can just about anyone be restored to ministry because “God is gracious” and “His call is irrevocable”?

This edition of The Roys Report takes a deep dive into the Scriptures—particularly, those specific verses used to justify restoring pastors to ministry who have fallen in egregious ways.

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In most crises, there’s a hero, a victim, and a villain. But these roles are often purposefully confused by the leader caught in the crisis, as is stunningly apparent in a videotaped interview by prominent pastor and author, Bryan Loritts.

So says image repair analyst Dr. Julia Dahl in Part 2 of The Roys Report podcast between Dr. Dahl and Julie Roys.

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Denial, bolstering, and transcendence. These are just some of the tactics used by embattled Cedarville President Thomas White in a well-known apology video, according to Dr. Julia Dahl, an image repair analyst. 

In this episode of The Roys Report, Julie interviews Dr. Dahl, who explains in depth how leaders and organizations spin the truth to fit their self-serving narrative. Dr. Dahl also analyzes a videotaped apology by Dr.

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As a lawyer who’s represented some of Bill Hybels’ victims, Mitch Little has seen a side of Willow Creek that few others have. Why did so many look the other way for so long? What eventually broke the culture of secrecy and protection? And what lessons can we learn from Willow Creek’s mistakes?

On this episode of The Roys Report, Julie explores these important questions with Mitch Little, who’s not just an attorney for victims.

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She was a member of the largest church in America and traveled the country as part of its music group. To outsiders, everything in Joy Ryder’s life looked perfect. But Ryder had a horrible secret. Her youth pastor was sexually abusing her.

In this episode of The Roys Report, Julie talks with Joy Ryder—a woman who recently filed a lawsuit against the estate of the late Jack Hyles, his Indiana megachurch, college, and son, David Hyles.

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Proponents of biblical manhood and womanhood say they value and cherish women. Yet, what happens when one woman challenges their view?

That’s what Aimee Byrd has done. And she’s reportedly been blacklisted, cyberbullied, and removed from a podcast she co-hosted for seven years.

On this issue of The Roys Report, Aimee Byrd—author of Recovering From Biblical Manhood & Womanhood—joins Julie to discuss what’s happened to her.

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The church is supposed to be a haven for the weak and the vulnerable. But what happens when it’s not—and the powerful prey on the weak?

On this episode of The Roys Report, Julie discusses the sex abuse crisis in the church with author, speaker, and abuse advocate, Mary DeMuth. Why is sex abuse running rampant in the church? How should churches respond to the problem?

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Are J.D. Greear and The Summit Church protecting someone who participated in a cover-up of sex crimes? And is their investigation of Bryan Loritts legitimate? Or, is it a sham investigation intended to obscure the facts?

In this episode of The Roys Report, Julie continues her interview with two eyewitnesses who say they observed Bryan Loritts cover up the sex crimes of his brother-in-law, Rick Trotter.

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Did Bryan Loritts participate in a cover up of sex crimes at his former church? And given what he allegedly did, should he be hired by Summit Church—the megachurch where J.D. Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, pastors?

In this episode of The Roys Report, Julie interviews two eyewitnesses who had a front-row seat to a sex crimes case, involving Loritts’ brother-in-law and convicted voyeur, Rick Trotter.

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“You told us you would protect us like your own daughter. Where was my protection when your vice president and dean of women attacked me for being the victim?”

So asks a rape victim at Cedarville University of university president, Dr. Thomas White, in this episode of The Roys Report. The student says the school failed to protect her when she filed a Title IX complaint for sexual harassment, so when she was raped, she didn’t feel safe to report it.

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Narcissists are, by definition, self-centered, and leave a path of relational devastation in their wake. So, what happens when a pastor, or church leader, is a narcissist?  

On this episode of The Roys Report, Dr. Langberg joins Julie for a second discussion—this one focused on the issue of narcissists in the church. As Langberg notes, “When you put (narcissistic tendencies) in the Christian world, and add position and verbal skill, and theological knowledge and Bible language, it can be extremely harmful and extremely confusing.”

So, what are the characteristics of a narcissist?

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A bombshell report on the alleged “affair” between popular worship leaders Kevin Prosch and Misty Edwards published by The Roys Report sent shock waves through the charismatic Christian community. How could two people, who ushered so many into the presence of God, sin in such an egregious way?

But were they both consensual partners? Or, was Kevin, an admitted sexual predator, the abuser?

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Should a Christian leader, who sexually abused someone under him, ever be allowed to lead again?

On this episode of the The Roys Report, Dr. Diane Langberg joins Julie to discuss the controversy at Cedarville University involving a professor, who was hired despite a known history of sexual abuse. Last week, Cedarville fired the professor.

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We’ve heard a lot about how to survive the coronavirus pandemic physically. But what about surviving financially?

On this episode of The Roys Report, Chuck Bentley of Crown Financial Ministries joins Julie to discuss this crucial issue. Chuck offers practical steps people should take immediately to weather this storm. He also discusses an Open Letter he wrote, urging churches and Christian ministries to exercise extreme caution when considering taking government money to stay afloat.

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You’ve heard that New York hospitals are like a war zone. And in this episode of The Roys Report, you’ll get a glimpse of that war from an ICU nurse serving in a New York City hospital at the COVID-19 epicenter.

Julie’s guest, Anne Frers, is a veteran nurse, working in an ICU unit that’s dedicated to COVID-19 patients at Mount Sinai Hospital in Queens.

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What do you do when a global pandemic hits and you’re the president of a college or university?

On this episode of The Roys Report, Judson University President Gene Crume joins Julie to discuss how his university responded to the coronavirus crisis. They also explore the controversial decision at Liberty University to keep its campus open.

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What’s happening on the COVID-19 battlefront? And how should Christians respond to this rapidly changing crisis?

On this episode of The Roys Report, Dr. Lina Abujamra, a pediatric ER doctor and founder of Living with Power Ministries, joins Julie to discuss this crucially important issue. Lina has been working long, ten- to 12-hour days, responding to those with medical issues in the midst of this pandemic.

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They’re wolves in sheep’s clothing—pastors who are narcissists, who claim to be serving God but are really serving themselves, and leaving a path of devastation in their wake.

In this episode of The Roys Report, Chuck DeGroat —a professor, clinical therapist, and author of the book, When Narcissism Comes to Church — joins Julie for an enlightening discussion. 

Spiritual abuse has become a hot topic as more and more pastors and Christian leaders have been exposed as abusive or toxic. But how do you identify spiritual abuse? And how do you recover from it?

On this episode of The Roys Report, I discuss this crucially important topic with Remy Diederich, a pastor and author of Broken Trust: a practical guide to identify and recover from toxic faith, toxic church, and spiritual abuse. 

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Book-buying schemes, inflated fund-raising claims, & cures for coronavirus! It’s stunning the ways some Christian ministries are falsely raising funds and/or misusing them.

On this episode of The Roys Report, I discuss these kinds of financial shenanigans with Warren Cole Smith, president of MinistryWatch.com—a Christian donor watchdog group. We also explore how the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) was formed to protect ministries, not donors—and how the ECFA has failed over the years to hold ministries accountable.

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She’s a popular Christian author, speaker, and professor at Liberty University. But according to some bloggers and critics, she’s also a liberal, a feminist, an animal rights activist, and gay-affirming destroyer of the faith!

This week on The Roys Report, I talk with Karen Swallow Prior about what she really believes (she’s none of those things)—and why it’s important for readers to  discern what the “discernment bloggers” are saying.

The largest Protestant denomination in the country, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), is facing allegations of back-door meetings, heavy-handed power-plays, silencing women, and trying to remove critics of President Donald Trump —all while responding to a massive sex abuse scandal. 

This week on The Roys Report, Southern Baptist Pastor and longtime SBC insider, Wade Burleson, speaks with me about what’s happening behind the scenes within the denomination. Specifically, he talks about the refusal of the SBC Executive Committee to rent space for the upcoming SBC Pastor’s Conference if the conference keeps a female spoken word artist on the program.

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Once you’ve experienced trauma, how do you heal? What should you look for in a counselor? What kind of therapy is right for you? And how do you take care of yourself as you begin your healing journey?

In this edition of The Roys Report, discover answers to these questions and more in an in-depth talk from professional psychologist, Dr.

Last week, the church planting network, Acts 29, fired its CEO, Steve Timmis, for allegations of abuse and bullying. But now, there’s evidence that Acts 29 President, Matt Chandler, knew about Timmis’ abuse five years ago. But instead of dealing with it, he and the board fired the whistleblowers!

In this episode of The Roys Report, Julie Roys talks about what happened at Acts 29 with Stephen McAlpine, an Australian pastor and popular blogger who helped bring Timmis’ alleged abuse to light.

Melissa Ohden is someone pro-choice activists would like to ignore. Ohden miraculously survived a saline abortion in 1977. And in a new, controversial ad, she and other abortion survivors ask, “Can you look me in the eye and tell me I shouldn’t exist?” 

In this latest episode of The Roys Report, Ohden shares her amazing story of survival. She also talks about the battle to change Americans’ hearts and minds about abortion, and the work she does with The Abortion Survivors Network and Faces of Choice. 

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Ann Lindberg went public with her story of abuse by Willow Creek Community Church co-founder, Dr. Gilbert Bilezikian, less than a week ago. And since then, there’s been a firestorm of controversy surrounding her allegations and how the church handled them. This week on the The Roys Report, Ann shares vulnerably with Julie Roys about her harrowing story, which began 35 years ago.

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Why do so many rock-star pastors implode under the spotlight? Why do modern-day churches become so entangled in growing their brand that they lose sight of their true purpose? This week on The Roys Report, I’ll be talking with Author Kyle Strobel about how Christians have succumbed to the temptations of power. Then we’ll learn about Jesus’ seemingly contradictory path to power. To find out what Jesus’ path to power is, join us for The Roys Report.