Sunburnt Souls: A Christian Mental Health Podcast
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© 2026 Sunburnt Souls: A Christian Mental Health Podcast
Description
Searching for real conversations about Christian mental health — faith, anxiety, depression, and emotional resilience — shared with raw honesty and biblical hope? You’ve found it.
Sunburnt Souls is a Christian mental health podcast where faith and mental health meet real life. Each episode offers faith-based coping strategies, spiritual encouragement, and raw stories of hope.
I’m Pastor Dave Quak — an Aussie pastor living with bipolar disorder — and I know what it’s like to follow Jesus through the highs, lows, and everything in between.
You’ll hear powerful stories, biblical encouragement, and practical tools for navigating anxiety, depression, burnout, and mental wellness as a follower of Christ.
Whether you’re battling darkness, searching for joy, or just trying to make sense of it all, you’re not alone. Sunburnt Souls is a safe, unfiltered space for faith-filled conversations and honest connection.
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. 🌐 Learn more at sunburntsouls.com
95 Episodes
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What if your strongest flaws are the very channels God uses to shape your calling? We sit down to explore the life of Simon Peter, a disciple who rushes first, speaks loudest, and still becomes a steady pillar for the early church. From campfire denial to Spirit-charged preaching, Peter’s story gives us a front-row seat to how grace matures personality into purpose. We start with the messy human side: impulse that opens doors, words that arrive before wisdom, and courage that flickers when pr...
A runaway prophet, a repenting city, and a God who refuses to be less merciful than He is—Jonah’s story hits closer to home than we like to admit. We open the book not to argue about a fish, but to wrestle with why a man who knows God’s heart would sprint in the opposite direction. The answer uncovers a tangle of anger, fear, and the ache for justice that feels righteous until grace walks in. We explore the prophetic context that made Jonah’s assignment to Nineveh so provocative, why the stor...
A quiet living room in Bethany, a sealed tomb, and a Savior who stops to weep before he calls a name—this is where faith and mental wellbeing meet. We invited listeners into the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus to explore how Jesus honors different personalities, different griefs, and the same deep hope. One sister serves, one sits, and both reveal something vital about how love moves and how souls rest. We start with the tension that many of us feel: is spiritual health found in doing or b...
What if your greatest risk isn’t suffering, but success? We dive into David’s uneven path from overlooked shepherd to celebrated king to show how formation in hidden places can hold you together when the spotlight doesn’t. This is a story about mental well-being, deep emotion, spiritual resilience, and the slow drift that happens when comfort dulls conviction. We start with David’s early years—ignored by family yet seen by God—and how solitude forged skill, courage, and a prayer life that cou...
The story of Hannah opens inside a storm of rivalry, shame, and unmet longing—and yet it becomes a roadmap for hope. We unpack how a woman dismissed by culture and misread by a priest found language for her pain, courage for her vow, and a song that reframed value beyond fertility, status, or success. Along the way, we wrestle with the messier threads: a husband who minimizes real depression, a priest who projects his anxieties, and a community that confuses outcomes with worth. What surpris...
Fire falls on the altar, a nation gasps, and the prophet stands vindicated—then one threat sends him running into the wilderness. We follow Elijah through that whiplash from public triumph to private collapse and uncover a deeper story of how God meets burnout with gentleness, not guilt. If you’ve ever felt the Monday crash after a spiritual high, this conversation will feel like a mirror and a map. We walk through the showdown on Mount Carmel, the fear that flares when Jezebel vows revenge,...
After 89 episodes, Dave and Jess Quak open up about taking a short, intentional break from producing the Sunburnt Souls podcast. This conversation dives deep into the rhythms of rest, spiritual renewal, and what it means to step back without stepping away. They share honestly about attending to their inner life, protecting their marriage, finding God in the quiet, and letting go of performance and pressure. This is a heartfelt conversation about being human, listening to God, and trusting tha...
After a BMX crash left him paralysed, Nathan faced years of depression and doubt. Discover how faith, resilience, and community led to real hope. What happens when your body breaks, but your spirit refuses to? This powerful Christian mental health story follows one man’s journey from a life-changing BMX accident and paralysis to discovering faith, purpose, and healing in the middle of depression. What We Cover The Crash and the Aftermath – A broken neck, a wheelchair, and life in ICU.Fa...
When silence and solitude fail, Scripture still speaks. In this heartfelt conversation, Dave Quak and Jess Quak explore how the Bible connects us to God when our minds and emotions feel heavy. From poetic laments to prophetic promises, discover how every part of God’s Word can bring peace, perspective, and presence. What We Cover 1. Why Genres Matter When You’re Struggling Understanding the Bible’s genres helps you read with clarity, find the right voice for your situation, and avoid mi...
Why are some people so blunt—and why does it sting? In this honest and humorous episode of Sunburnt Souls: A Christian Mental Health Podcast, Dave and Jess Quak explore why blunt people speak the way they do and how relationships can thrive when truth meets grace. From prophetic personalities and neurodivergence to marriage, faith, and communication, they unpack how clarity can coexist with kindness. Using biblical insight—including Jesus’ blunt conversation with the woman at the well—t...
In this solo episode of Sunburnt Souls, a Christian mental health podcast, host Dave Quak opens up about faith, mental illness, and what it means to live a life that’s “unideal” yet deeply loved by God. From a story about Tony with Tourette’s in church to reflections on his own bipolar journey, Dave explores how God meets us in our brokenness—not despite it. This episode tackles the stigma around mental health in the church, the reality of unanswered prayers, and why God’s power is often made...
Sunburnt Souls is a Christian Mental Health Podcast. This week we meet 18 year old Indigo Rogers. She has already published her first book The Indigo Psalms: Volume One—a raw and beautiful collection of personal psalms written since she was 14. In this episode, Dave Quak sits down with Indigo to talk about faith, mental health, worship, and what it means to bring your whole self before God. We explore: How writing psalms became Indigo’s way of processing emotions and worshipping GodWhy lament...
This is Sunburnt Souls, the Christian Mental Health Podcast. Host Dave Quak welcomes back Tomas Heligr-Pyke...Tom gets real about navigating hallucinations at work, recognising what’s real, and how prayer and gratitude ground his mental health and faith. We unpack why films like Shutter Island and A Beautiful Mind resonate, how to handle paranoia and “hypothetical catastrophes,” the rhythm of running a business while carrying a serious mental illness, and the choice to stay open about diagnos...
Sunburnt Souls is a Christian Mental Health Podcast. Today, we find out what’s it really like to navigate Christian singleness in your 20s and 30s—while guarding your mental health and staying true to your faith? In this candid conversation, Dom and Sara join Dave to talk dating with purpose, resisting the pressure to “settle,” building real community, and cultivating what Dom calls “mental stamina” for the waiting seasons. They unpack awkward church moments, red flags on dating apps, the tem...
This is Sunburnt Souls, the Christian Mental Health Podcast. In Part 2, Jess and Dave Quak continue their discussion... They explore living out a ministry calling, navigating gender-based expectations, and the joys of pastoral work, emphasising authentic leadership and empowering the next generation. Key Moments Introduction and Recap (00:00:00 - 00:01:47): Dave recaps Part 1, focusing on women’s callings and mental health, and asks what it’s like to live out one’s calling post-hurdles.Living...
In the first of a two-part series on SUNBURNT SOULS, Jess and Dave Quak are joined by Maddy Mandall to discuss the unique challenges and rewards of women in church leadership. Following last week's episode on women in leadership, Maddy shares her journey as a female pastor, her experiences with burnout, and her role in mentoring emerging leaders. The conversation explores the intersection of faith, mental health, and navigating structural barriers in ministry. Key Moments Introduction (00:00:...
In this episode of Sunburnt Souls, the Christian mental health podcast founded by pastor Dave Quak (who lives with bipolar disorder), Dave sits down with his wife Pastor Jess Quak, to talk candidly about the realities of being a woman in church leadership — and the unique mental health challenges that come with it. From their early ministry years juggling Bible college, youth ministry, and financial strain, to navigating decades of denominational debates over women in ministry, Jess shares he...
In this episode of Sunburnt Souls, the Christian mental health podcast founded by pastor Dave Quak (who lives with bipolar disorder), Dave welcomes Joel A'Bell, former Hillsong Global Director and current Oceania Regional Leader for Convoy of Hope. They dive into the mental and emotional toll of high-capacity Christian leadership and how to maintain integrity and spiritual wellbeing through major life and ministry transitions. What happens when you transition from leading thousands at Hillson...
In this vital episode of Sunburnt Souls, a Christian mental health podcast, founder Dave Quak (pastor living with bipolar disorder) sits down with pastor, church planter, and creative Ralph Mayhew to explore the raw realities of depression, anxiety, and ministry burnout in the Christian world. Ralph shares his deeply personal journey—struggling with mental health while attending Bible college and serving as a lead pastor—and how he found true joy and identity in Jesus through it all. You'll h...
In this second part of Ash Morrison’s story on Sunburnt Souls- A Christian Mental Health Podcast, host Dave Quak explores Ash’s journey of rebuilding her life as a Christian woman after divorce. Ash shares the challenges of navigating divorce, parenting three young children (including one with disabilities), and unexpectedly meeting and marrying Zac, a non-Christian at the time. She discusses wrestling with guilt, biblical interpretations of divorce, and the transformative power of God’...
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