About this episode

Michael Shamblin Black discusses his experiences growing up in the Remnant Fellowship and his efforts to expose the church's practices.

Michael Shamblin Black joins ALBC to talk about growing up inside his mother Gwen Shamblin’s world, featured in the HBO Max docuseries The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin . He reflects on life in Remnant, his current efforts to expose the church, and how therapy with Dr. Laura Anderson (past S6 ALBC guest) has helped him gain clarity while he works through long-held trust issues. He shares a deeper look at Gwen’s early worldview, including how her anti-authority instincts, fixation on submission, and resentment toward male leadership shaped the messaging that later became Remnant Fellowship. That message shifted from weight loss and “personal revelation” into a church culture that emphasized control, appearance, loyalty, and separation from outside influence. Michael talks about how the church’s collapse accelerated once its public legitimacy cracked, how the plane crash and the docuseries further damaged the brand, and why he now sees Remnant as an appearance-driven system built on shame and power. He also describes his own path into music, the opportunities that vanished when the backlash began, and the painful realization that his family story, his career…

More episodes of A Little Bit Culty

• Dr. Gillie Jenkinson on Thought Reform, Trauma, and Walking Free (Part 1) · July 20, 2026 · 44 min
• The Workout Witch: Liz Tenuto on Trauma, Somatics, and When the Body Speaks (Part 2) · July 16, 2026 · 1h 2m
• The Workout Witch: Liz Tenuto on Trauma, Somatics, and When the Body Speaks (Part 1) · July 13, 2026 · 38 min
• Religious Trauma and Cults: Sam Sellers & Elise Heerde on Healing After High Control Churches (Part 2) · July 9, 2026 · 43 min
• Religious Trauma and Cults: Sam Sellers & Elise Heerde on Healing After High Control Churches (Part 1) · July 6, 2026 · 42 min
• Michael Shamblin Black on The Way Down and Escaping Remnant (Part 2) · July 2, 2026 · 1h 11m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the A Little Bit Culty podcast page.