Burning Butterflies

Tom The Crooked Real Estate Mogul

Chapter 4, Episode 10
The church enters the summer of 2018 as they always have—Retreat and VBS—but the spirit of unity is gone, replaced by veiled arguments and dishonesty. Petty conflicts arise over trivial matters, like classroom posters, while deeper fractures begin to surface.
Pastor Young Gun announces his impending departure for the military. Meanwhile, Tom is consumed with the looming stress of maturing bonds used to finance the church’s building back in 2010. As tensions mount, his actions become increasingly desperate. In a shocking betrayal, he attempts to sell Melissa’s house without her knowledge, crossing a line that leaves lasting scars.
In this episode, Amanda and Melissa recount the season of deception, division, and power plays that left everyone questioning who they could trust—and revealed how far Tom was willing to go to maintain control.
Burning Butterflies is a listener supported podcast. Please check out our Patreon to learn more about how you too can support what we are doing!
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Trouble is a Brewing: We Should Have Been So Happy

Chapter 4, Episode 9
Everything looks perfect on the surface. Froggy is finally home, Melissa has a job she loves, and Amanda is thriving in her dream job and serving in ministries she’s passionate about. The church’s new wing is complete, and leadership is gearing up for a season of unprecedented growth.
But behind the scenes, tensions are rising. A rift is forming within the worship team and the honeymoon period between Tom and Young Gun is over, with their dynamic shifting from mentorship to power struggle. Even the children are showing signs of stress, their behavior reflecting the growing unease within their families.
In this episode, Amanda and Melissa explore how the cracks in the church’s foundation began to spread, signaling the beginning of the end for what once seemed like a perfect community.
Burning Butterflies is a listener supported podcast. Please check out our Patreon to learn more about how you too can support what we are doing!
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The New Wing: The Sale, the Spin, and the Wish List

Chapter 4, Episode 8
What happened to the money from the sale of the Baptist church? Tom crafts a façade of care and collaboration, gathering a wish list from those working in the trenches of ministry. He presents himself as a servant leader, intent on meeting the needs of the congregation. But behind the scenes, his grand plan is already in motion.
By including just enough of everyone’s requests, he manipulates the narrative to appear as though he's pleasing the masses—while hiding ulterior motives that serve his own agenda. In this episode, Amanda and Melissa pull back the curtain on Tom’s strategy, exposing how the appearance of serving others was a carefully constructed illusion to consolidate power and further his own ambitions.
Burning Butterflies is a listener supported podcast. Please check out our Patreon to learn more about how you too can support what we are doing!
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The Christmas Amanda Got All She Ever Wanted

Chapter 4, Episode 7
It’s Christmas, and Amanda is finally living the dream—or so she thinks. She’s been hired as staff at Come As You Are, co-leading the children’s ministry with her best friend, and stepping into a key role alongside Pastor Young Gun to launch an exciting new ministry. Everything she’s worked for is falling into place.
What could possibly go wrong? Spoiler: Everything.
Burning Butterflies is a listener supported podcast. Please check out our Patreon to learn more about how you too can support what we are doing!
 
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The Time a Church Bought a Church

Chapter 4, Episode 6
In this episode of Burning Butterflies, Amanda and Melissa revisit the chaotic fall of 2017. Tom unveils his "innovative" fall campaign, a gospel-sharing technique he blatantly lifted from another ministry, but with his usual twist of claiming divine inspiration. Meanwhile, the church rallies behind its latest ambitious project—purchasing and flipping a struggling church building across town.
 
Amanda and Melissa dig into the mystery of why Come As You Are owns the building, the sudden influx of funds to make the purchase, and Tom’s grand, unspoken plans for the property. They question the motivations, the financial transparency (or lack thereof), and how these schemes fed into the culture of control and manipulation.
 
Burning Butterflies is a listener supported podcast. Please check out our Patreon to learn more about how you too can support what we are doing!
 
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Double Standards: The Foundation of Come As You Are

Chapter 4, Episode 5
In this episode, Amanda and Melissa dive into a season marked by double standards that slowly erode trust and authenticity. While the “Beer Ministry” is in full swing and builds camaraderie, it raises silent questions about what’s truly acceptable in the church. Melissa works tirelessly to convince Froggy that coming home and leaving his destructive lifestyle behind was the right call, even as he struggles with resentment. Meanwhile, Amanda slips into the role of “Tour Guide Barbie,” endlessly rallying moms around events and expectations that seem welcoming on the surface but come with unspoken rules and subtle pressures to conform. Join us as we unpack the cracks in the foundation of “Come As You Are,” revealing the double standards and underlying judgments that made this season one of tension and turmoil.
Burning Butterflies is a listener supported podcast. Please check out our Patreon to learn more about how you too can support what we are doing!
 
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Just Drink The Kool-Aid So We Can Teach Kids About Jesus

Chapter 4, Episode 4
In this episode, we take a look back at the summer of 2017 during Vacation Bible School—a chaotic, high-stakes week meant to be about introducing kids to Jesus. For Amanda, however, it became more about navigating tense dynamics among the volunteers and doing everything in her power to get people to work together. While on the surface it looked like a mission for faith, deep down, Amanda’s real goal was to win the approval of Tom and Charlotte.
Burning Butterflies is a listener supported podcast. Please check out our Patreon to learn more about how you too can support what we are doing! Please help us share our story with others!
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Melissa's Jubilee: It Was Never About Froggy

Chapter 4, Episode 3
The 2017 women’s retreat, called Jubilee, was meant to celebrate “joy in the Lord”—but for Melissa, it became the site of a soul-wrenching revelation. In this first retreat Amanda did not attend in over a decade, Melissa took the stage to praise God for restoring her marriage. She spoke passionately about the joy of rescuing her husband from his life of addiction and crime. But while Melissa shared her testimony, Froggy was nowhere near “rescued.” He was still entangled in a dark web of drugs, deceit, and dangerous relationships.
As Melissa reflects on the retreat and her overwhelming desire to save Froggy, she realizes something surprising about her motives and where her faith had actually taken her. This episode dives into Melissa's emotional journey and the shocking twist that reshaped her understanding of "rescue" and "joy."

Hopeful Beginnings: Amanda's Affirmation

Chapter 4, Episode 2
In this episode of Burning Butterflies, Amanda takes us back to the beginning of 2017, a time when everything seemed to be falling into place.
 
With Pastor Young Gun's affirmation and support, Amanda is thriving as the co-lead of the children's ministry. Together, they work tirelessly to launch a new church initiative aimed at bringing families closer together through shared faith and activities. Amanda is full of hope, believing that this new ministry will be her chance to make a real difference. But will it last?
 
Burning Butterflies is a listener supported podcast. Please check out our Patreon to learn more about how you too can support what we are doing!
 
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Melissa Living in Fear: Froggy Throws the Mask Away

Chapter 4, Episode 1
In this Chapter 4 premiere, the ladies dive into the unraveling of Froggy's life and the impact it had on his marriage to Melissa. In the beginning of 2017, Melissa lost her father, which ultimately reveals the cracks in Froggy's mask. As his drug use becomes more prevalent, Melissa is brought to the breaking point and asks Tom to come and remove Froggy from her home.
 
Don't miss the companion Patreon episode where Melissa opens up about who Froggy truly was behind closed doors, sharing the chilling reality of living with him and the growing fear she faced for her own life.
 
Burning Butterflies is a listener supported podcast. Please check out our Patreon to learn more about how you too can support what we are doing!
 
Please help us share our story with others! Follow us on FB, Insta or TikTok. Subscribe so you won't miss new episodes and don't forget to leave us a rating!