For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast cover art

For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast

For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast

By: Jen Hatmaker
Listen for free

New York Times bestselling author Jen Hatmaker and her longtime friend, Amy Hardin, have arrived in the middle years — and they couldn’t be happier about it. Each has navigated the ins and outs of life — from careers, to parenting, marriage (and, for Jen, divorce), spiritual evolution, and the joys of being hardcore Gen Xers. With each weekly episode, Jen and Amy serve as our “everywoman” guides to all the seasons — past, present, and future — as they walk excitedly and tenaciously into the second half of life. While Jen and Amy have plenty of wisdom to share — and some pretty hilarious stories, too — they don’t claim to know it all. That's why they invite some of the most interesting and accomplished guests to the podcast, bringing insight, expertise, and understanding to the most relevant topics of our time. From Jen and Amy’s compelling conversations with guests to their witty banter (and the occasional eye-rolls at the absurdities of life), they’re here reassure you that you’re not alone in this game of life. It’s “For the Love” of all that is good, justified, exasperating, exhilarating, real, fun — and so much more.Jen Hatmaker Relationships Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Title Testify to Love at 30: Avalon's Untold Story | For the Love

    Title Testify to Love at 30: Avalon's Untold Story | For the Love
    Jun 10 2026
    Description:If you grew up on Christian music in the '90s, there's a good chance Testify to Love wasn't just a hit song—it was the soundtrack to a season of your life. Three decades after Avalon first released the iconic anthem, Jen sits down with original Avalon member Michael Passons, longtime Avalon vocalist Melissa Greene, and country music star Ty Herndon to talk about the remarkable re-release of a song that has found new meaning for a new generation. But this isn't simply a conversation about music. It's the untold story behind one of CCM's most beloved songs. Michael shares the painful reality of losing his place in Avalon after coming out as gay. Melissa reflects on the faith journey that transformed her understanding of inclusion and belonging. Ty opens up about his own path through addiction, recovery, faith, and finally living fully and truthfully as himself. Together, they revisit the song that connected millions of listeners and explore why its message of love, acceptance, and human dignity feels more relevant now than ever. Filled with laughter, tears, hard-earned wisdom, and more than a few moments that will leave you reaching for the tissues, this conversation is a beautiful testament to friendship, healing, and the courage it takes to live loud. Whether Testify to Love has been on your playlist for thirty years or you're hearing its story for the first time, this episode is a powerful reminder that love's truest testimony is not who it excludes—but who it embraces. Thought-provoking Quotes: “I lost my community, my family, my career, all within a couple of seconds. That’s a lot to process.” - Michael Passons "The people I loved and the fullness of their humanity butted up against my theological positions. I had to ask myself: Do I keep creating fences and becoming more exclusive? Or could it be that my views of God, humanity, and the world need to change?" – Melissa Greene "What I've noticed in the lives of people who have allowed themselves to evolve and change their mind is that that process pulls us toward an expansiveness that is just magical." - Jen Hatmaker “You don't live in the church, the church lives in you. You have an opportunity right now to start your own church and decide who sits at your table. No one can kick you out of your own church.” - Ty Herndon Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Avalon - https://www.avalonthegroup.com/ Carman - https://carman.org/ Stephen Curtis Chapman - https://store.stevencurtischapman.com/ Kirk Franklin - https://kirkfranklin.com/ Michael’s Instagram Reel - https://www.instagram.com/reels/DY6_JF6BDyO/ Dottie Rambo - https://www.dottierambo.net/ Testify to Love - https://music.apple.com/us/song/testify-to-love-feat-melissa-greene/1893435396 Testify to Love video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l7IPvr6b8s Melissa’s Links: Website - https://www.melissagreene.net Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/melissagreene Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/melissagreeneofficial/ Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWQpP8gHH7vew99LcQJs3Og Substack - https://melissagreene.substack.com/p/testify-to-love Michael’s Links: Website - https://michaelpassons.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/michaelpassons/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/michaelpassonsmusic Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@michaelpassonsmusic TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@michaelpassonsmusic Ty’s Links: Website - https://www.tyherndon.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tyherndonofficial/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tyherndonofficial Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialTyHerndon TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@tyherndonofficial Connect with Jen!Jen’s Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ Jen’s Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmakerJen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/ Jen’s Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmakerJen’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 16 mins
  • May 2026: James McBride’s Deacon King Kong

    May 2026: James McBride’s Deacon King Kong
    Jun 5 2026
    We were supposed to talk about Deacon King Kong. We did not. When Jen sat down with Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist James McBride to discuss the Jen Hatmaker Book Club's May selection, the conversation took a hard left turn into something far richer — a wide-ranging tour through one of the most remarkable lives in American letters. James opens up about a scrappy and troubled adolescence in Brooklyn, getting straightened out in the heat of the Louisville, Kentucky summers, and the music that quite literally saved him. He reminisces about touring Europe as a young musician and playing saxophone alongside Stevie Ray Vaughan at Antone's in Austin, traveling with Michael Jackson on the Victory Tour as a young journalist, surviving the Boston Globe's newsroom in the 1980s, writing songs for Anita Baker and Grover Washington, working with Quincy Jones, and getting dressed down by Harry Belafonte in a writers' room. Along the way, he reflects on race, art, faith, forgiveness, music, storytelling, old cars, and why the best writers are simply the people paying closest attention. He also shares what gives him hope about America right now — and it might surprise you. Of course, we touch on Deacon King Kong—its unforgettable characters, humor, and heart—but this conversation became something even bigger: a portrait of the life experiences that shaped the storyteller behind the book. Come for the book club discussion. Stay for one of the most fascinating conversations Jen has had in a long time. Oh, and Deacon King Kong is a masterpiece. You should absolutely read it. Thought-provoking Quotes: Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Guest’s Links: Website - https://www.jamesmcbride.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jamesmcbrideauthor/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JamesMcBrideAuthor/ Connect with Jen!Jen’s Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ Jen’s Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmakerJen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/ Jen’s Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmakerJen’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy. ★ “I didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer. We were just concerned about eating.” – James McBride★ “Years and years of playing $50, $75, $100 gigs prepares you for a life of good struggle.” – James McBride★ “People are trying to do their best. Just because you don’t agree with them, it doesn’t mean they’re not trying to do their best.” – James McBride★ “We have work to do and I'm proud of those of us who are doing it. And for those of us who are not, maybe their children will come to it or maybe they won't. The struggle is a beautiful thing.” – James McBride➢ Miracle at St. Anna (Spike Lee movie) - https://www.jamesmcbride.com/miracle-at-st-anna/➢ The Good Lord Bird: A Novel by James McBride - https://amzn.to/4eJBPDc➢ The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store: A Novel by James McBride - https://amzn.to/4d74l0a➢ Deacon King Kong: A Novel by James McBride - https://amzn.to/4uLm4QP➢ The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride - https://amzn.to/4tv1nYc ➢ Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63 by Taylor Branch - https://amzn.to/49Nt3Av➢ Jen Hatmaker Book Club - https://shop.jenhatmaker.com/collections/book-club?srsltid=AfmBOopIz2aHN5knpp-Y-iOHWJBAWnpj_HQTJ-kU2uedz33q6e3xyjrb To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
  • Big Baby and New Beginnings: Kevin James Thornton on Sin Clowns, Standups, and Second Acts

    Big Baby and New Beginnings: Kevin James Thornton on Sin Clowns, Standups, and Second Acts
    Jun 3 2026
    Description:He's back — and this time he brought a memoir. Comedian Kevin James Thornton returns to For the Love, and if you thought you knew Kevin from his hilarious auto-tuned TikToks and wired-headphone microphone bits, this conversation will lovingly surprise you. Kevin's debut memoir, Big Baby: On Endings, Beginnings, and an Interdimensional Cat, traces his journey from performing as a literal sin clown on a youth group mission trip in 1990s New York City, to grinding it out on the stand-up circuit in LA, to touring one-man shows across the US, Canada, and eventually the world — Helsinki, Stockholm, Paris — all the way to present-day Cincinnati, where he's navigating a major life upheaval with nothing but his 13-pound black cat Comet and an extraordinary amount of hard-won self-awareness. In this conversation, Kevin opens up about what it actually took to write a book — including the two-week-long Airbnb retreat where he mostly just slept and watched TV because his attention span had been completely obliterated — and what surprised him most about recording the audiobook (hint: he cried, more than once, and they left it in). He talks about the strange, freeing moment he realized he no longer needed to prove himself to anyone, and how that shift was the very thing that made his work finally land. And he reflects on the beautiful, sometimes maddening truth that life doesn't end so much as it just keeps beginning again. Thought-provoking Quotes: "Even when I was living in my car, I was still dreaming about the next creative project...I was like that when I was 20. And I'm like that today." – Kevin James Thornton "I didn't realize that I went out into the world constantly trying to prove myself, that I was someone without Jesus. I didn't know that's what I was doing. I can see it so clearly looking backward now." – Kevin James Thornton "We sort of hand over this personal power to other people. It takes a long time to recognize and unlearn that." – Kevin James Thornton Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Brick - https://getbrick.com Jen’s Substack - https://jenhatmaker.substack.com/ Sarah Bessey’s Substack - https://sarahbessey.substack.com/ Big Baby: On Endings, Beginnings, and an Interdimensional Cat by Kevin James Thornton - https://amzn.to/4mVYPAJ Laughing Toward The Light: Comedian James Thornton Finds Himself at 50 - https://jenhatmaker.com/podcasts/series-55/laughing-toward-the-light-comedian-james-thornton-finds-himself-at-50/ Create with Kevin (watercolor videos) - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DX-UksfK1pG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Enneagram assessment - https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/ The Comedy Store - https://thecomedystore.com/ Big Baby audiobook - https://amzn.to/4eClfVL Guest’s Links: Website - https://www.kevinjamesthornton.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kevinjamesthornton Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kevinjamesthornton1 Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNQbKNgL8bcuH8z4pzh9flw TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinjamesthornton Substack - https://kevinjamesthornton.substack.com/ Connect with Jen!Jen’s Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ Jen’s Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmakerJen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/ Jen’s Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmakerJen’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 5 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet