Berean Holiness

06/15/2026

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Deanna Jo Norton. Through her videos on the Responsible Faith channel, contributions to SpiritualAbuse.Org, and private Facebook groups, she pointed countless people leaving hyper fundamentalism, especially Oneness Pentecostalism, to the simplicity of the biblical gospel.

Deanna Jo was incredibly kind and encouraging towards our team. This was especially true when personal insults/accusations were publicized about Natalie, Nathan, and Cole during the early years of Berean Holiness. We’ll never forget her timely kindness in that season.

Deanna Jo’s warmth and humility set her apart; she will be remembered for her love for others and her love for her Savior. May the God of all comfort be close to her family and all who grieve (2 Cor 1:3–7).

06/10/2026

She was reached with a gospel at seven years old,
A gospel of fear and of shame.
She went above and beyond the rules she was told,
Always scared God would blot out her name.

Misreached.

He was raised on a church pew and always loved God,
But it seems he could never get saved.
Salvation expectations were confusing and odd,
He gave up, then to sin was enslaved.

Misreached.

She prided herself in being most holy—
her skirt, sleeves, and hair were all long.
But her lust and her pride were rotting her slowly,
Pious outwardly; inwardly wrong.

Misreached.

But God, rich in mercy, wasn’t done with these three,
He sent believers to tell them His truth—

That Jesus Christ died,
Bore the cross for our sins,
Rose again from the tomb where He laid,
All our hope is in Him,
Not our works,
Not our wins,
We rest in the price He has paid.
By grace through faith we believe upon Christ,
We confess Him as Lord, turn from sin,
Our only hope found in His great sacrifice,
We live to please Him,
And not men.

Our friends’ lives were changed by this beautiful truth,
The gospel at last was made clear.
They’re disentangling faith, with every thread less confused,
Walking with God and knowing He’s near.

Finally reached.

06/08/2026

Long, flowy skirts aren’t the safest option for hiking, swimming, climbing trees, and riding bikes. Back when I insisted “I can do it in a skirt!” (without leggings, since I was told they’re men’s apparel), I personally experienced the consequences.

But of all the hazards I experienced—from my skirt tangling in a bike chain, to tripping me on flights of stairs, to weighing me down in deep water—the worst consequences weren’t tangible or physical.

They were spiritual.

The spiritual hazard came when I began:

• Relying on a skirt—an earthly, physical item—to separate me from the world

• Depending on a skirt to be a source of holiness

• Trusting in a skirt to be my spiritual security, a way to know I was right with God

• Thinking that a skirt proves I’m spiritually mature, and gives me a superior spiritual status above other believers

•••

I know what it’s like to put on a long skirt and sleeves past my elbows and immediately *feel* very spiritual and righteous, even though God’s Word teaches no such thing.

I know what it’s like to walk into public wearing normal (but modest) clothing and struggle with feeling “just like the world,” even though Jesus, the disciples, and the Early Church never distinguished themselves from nonChristians with clothing—yet they were remarkably different (Matt 5:43–48).

It should be Christ in me, shining through me, affecting the way I walk, and talk, and act, and love, that sets me apart (Matt 5:14–16; Jn 13:35). But there’s a temptation to run back to a dress code like a crutch, so I can feel different without having to focus on showing Christ through my conduct—as if the effect would be the same.

•••

Is there anything wrong with women wearing exclusively long skirts and dresses? Not at all. If you prefer it, then by all means wear them and do so for the glory of God—other godly women will wear women’s pants for the same reason (Rom 14:2–6).

But please be aware of those subtle, spiritual hazards, and remember that at the end of the day, earthly, physical things—especially things God never requested or required in His Word—can never be a source of righteousness, can never set us apart from the world, can never grant us spiritual security, and can never produce in us spiritual maturity.

Let’s take care that we never attribute to a mere piece of cloth what only our Lord and Savior can do.

06/06/2026

Have you ever heard something preached against, not because it’s inherently evil, but because it’s associated with what’s deemed to be evil? For example, the idea that:

• Beards are wrong because of association with the hippie movement
• Wedding rings are wrong due to association with Egypt/paganism
• Women’s pants are wrong because of association with feminism
• Makeup and the color red are wrong because of association with promiscuity
• Drums are wrong due to association with certain music genres

Due to how often “guilt by association” is used to justify extra-biblical standards, it seems appropriate to address it directly. That’s exactly what Nathan does in his article, “Examining the ‘Guilt by Association’ Rule,” you can find it here: https://bereanholiness.com/examining-the-guilt-by-association-rule/

06/02/2026

“The revelation that the work at the Cross was enough, Jesus’ sacrifice was enough, His grace is truly enough had me in tears during one Bible study. This was a completely different narrative than I had heard all my life. I am truly thankful for their ministry…”

—Berean Holiness Community Group Member

Coming to understand the biblical gospel is life-changing for those who are leaving cultish groups. And incredibly, 498 people have said that God used Berean Holiness to help them understand the gospel! (And that’s only counting answers from our 2023–2025 surveys.)

The vision of Berean Holiness is to support thousands more people leaving hyper fundamentalism, but the only way to do so is to grow this ministry—starting by sustainably increasing our part-time team’s hours. Creating new free, faith-based resources requires huge time investments; hosting just one community group can require over 100 hours of work.

Because all Berean Holiness’ support and resources are provided for free to those in need, new resources are only possible when we’re joined by believers covering the costs.

If you share our vision to reach people in and leaving cultish groups with the biblical gospel, will you consider becoming a monthly supporter?

Right now, your first gift of monthly support—whether it’s $15 or $150—will be TRIPLED by matching donors.

Join at: BereanHoliness.com/give

Thank you so much for becoming a bridge builder!

“And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.” (Philippians 4:15–17)

06/01/2026

Are Christians more set apart from the world in the summertime? Are women more set apart than men? If we’re depending on strict dress codes to set us apart, then this would seem to be the case.

But what does God’s Word teach? See the slides below for a summary of what we see in Scripture. May it only be a springboard for your own study:

05/27/2026

It’s youth camp season. The time of the year when, in many Holiness and Pentecostal circles, teenagers overwhelmed by life decisions attend an extra 6+ church services in just a few days.

The sermons will be enthusiastic and exciting or full of fear—with extra emphasis on the call of God, the will of God, hearing from God, getting an experience…

Teens will fill the altars with tears streaming down their faces. They’ll be begging for God to speak to them, to call them, to reveal their future spouse, to show them His will for their lives.

And the Bible School recruiters will be right there to talk to them afterwards.

Somewhere in the week, you’re likely to hear about the importance of “selling out” and “living holy.” Strict dress standards will be reiterated, as well as a push for “personal convictions.” And in the lengthy altar services that follow, it’s not uncommon for sleep-deprived teens to feel “personally convicted” against Contemporary Christian Music, short sleeves, leggings under their skirts, and the list goes on.

I’m not making fun of these teens.

That was me.

I (Natalie) counted down the days to youth camp. I was one of the first kids in the altars and last out. I wasn’t ashamed to bawl publicly, to run, yell, fall in the floor and roll. I desperately begged God for all the things—to reveal His will, to speak to me, to call me, to show me who to marry…

And I claimed all the above happened.

I even went to Bible School. As a matter of fact, I was later asked, along with my fiancé, to share our testimony of God revealing it was His will for us to marry to the entire youth camp.

•••

Nearly a decade has passed since then.

I appreciate the good intentions of the adults running these camps (there are good aspects)—but may I please share an honest review regarding the approach?

My teen years were filled with highly emotional altar services where all the things we were told to seek allegedly happened—“hearing from God,” “revelations” of His will, I was even prophesied over by leadership.

In my early 20s, it was time to put all of that revelation into practice in the real world. And under the weight of reality, it crumbled to pieces.

Through my tiny church movement (and we could only work with our movement), there was no way to get to—nevermind move to and be supported in—the country I thought I was called to. The fiancé who claimed that God revealed me to be his future wife left me. The 3 years I spent at Bible School were unaccredited and completely unhelpful as I tried to get a job to survive. The more I read Scripture, the more the strict dress standards and extra “convictions” didn’t make sense.

Looking back, I realized the well-meaning adults who pushed me to cry for hours and “hear from God” might as well have told me, “Follow your emotions, kid!”

I was forced to realize that maybe God never revealed anything to me.

I was shattered, but liberated. I was finally released from trying to force “revelations” to happen that I (thought I) had received as a sincere and sobbing teen.

•••

I still wholeheartedly believe God leads and guides His children (Jn 14:26, Rom 8:1–17), but I’ve had to completely relearn what that means. Recognizing my past errors and learning how to walk in the Spirit (in the biblical sense, Gal 5:16–26) kept me from being overwhelmed by discouragement and leaving faith entirely. I can’t say the same for all my peers.

And I can’t help but see the sincere teenagers this year, teens pleading with tears as they try to “hear God’s call,” and wish the cycle didn’t have to repeat. If only it could change.

Discipleship.
Mentorship.
Scripturally-sound teaching.
Gospel-centered preaching.
Allowing questions.
Asking questions.
Listening well.
Good conversations.
Sharing life experience and wisdom…

These would go so far. We can change things for the upcoming generation.

May the youth of today keep their sincerity and zeal, while being discipled to study and apply God’s Word, while being taught to make wise and Christ-honoring choices, while learning to glorify God in all they do.

May the desperation for revelation be replaced with the peace that passes understanding (Phil 4:4–7).

05/21/2026

1 Timothy 2:9 and 1 Peter 3:3 are often cited as proof that Scripture forbids jewelry, but is that what these Scriptures actually say?

As always, it’s so important to look up references, examine the biblical context, consider historical context, and think through interpretations in light of all of Scripture. We hope this post will help you to do just that!

05/20/2026

“The traditional Christian position is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all the one, true God. They are coequal and coeternal, the ultimate, perfect being—perfect in wisdom, power, holiness, and every other attribute, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. However, the Father, Son, and Spirit are still distinct to the degree of being able to meaningfully communicate, love one another, have their own thoughts, and make their own choices. Granted, because they are all the ultimate being, perfect and complete in every way, there is perfect union and never conflict.

It is especially significant when interacting with Oneness theology to note that in traditional theology, Jesus Christ is God the Son. He is not God the Father and neither is He the Holy Spirit. God the Son—and only God the Son—was incarnated, crucified, and resurrected. God the Son is eternal and not limited in anyway to the incarnation of Christ. This doctrine is known as the pre-existence of Christ. It is denied by Oneness Pentecostalism.”

Continue:

Did the Son have a beginning? Is the Father's name 'Jesus'? Who was Jesus praying to? These are questions worth grappling with.

05/19/2026

Vanessa and Jason were raised in Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostalism. They attended faithfully and followed the church’s many rules; but no amount of rule-keeping could bring what they needed most—transforming relationship with Christ. It wasn’t until they were disentangling from Oneness Pentecostalism that they came to understand the biblical gospel and received salvation by faith through Christ alone.

You can find Vanessa and Jason’s Story on the Berean Holiness YouTube channel!

Link in the comments.