Do I believe God is still good even in the midst of profound suffering I don’t understand?”

Our world continues to change in monumental ways. In this episode, Rachael Clinton Chen and Dr. Dan Allender engage the implications and anxieties brought about by Covid-19, but also turn our attention to the goodness, power, and protection of God. 

Resources:

• Read Psalm 91
• Veritas Virtual Forum: Coronavirus and Quarantine

In their final conversation about authority, Rachael Clinton Chen and Dr. Dan Allender return to complex waters to discuss mutual submission, what good authority looks like, and what it means for us to submit to those in authority. 

Oftentimes words like submission are difficult to hear because they have been misused by those in positions of authority. So, how do we reclaim similar words and phrases, especially those found in scripture, that have been so often used to create chaos? 

Resources:

• Listen to the first two episodes in this series on Authority

Remembering the context of Dan and Rachael’s conversation, read Romans 13

What does it mean to be a Christian in a moment like this? How then, shall we live? 

Rachael Clinton Chen and Dr. Dan Allender continue to talk about the impact of Covid-19 and the rapid ways our world continues to change, even in the few days following our first episode. Throughout their conversation you’ll hear words of hope, encouragement, and some practical ways to help us connect with our bodies and engage the realities of trauma. 

“Can we honor that we’re all in trauma, as a nation, as a family, as an individual, and can we begin to bring knowledge about trauma to our friendships and conversations?” Dr. Dan Allender

Resources:

• Read Psalm 91
• Read a blog post about Collective Trauma

Listen to a conversation with Dr. Dan Allender about Trauma and the Body

In light of recent, world-altering events, Dan and Rachael sat down to check in with each other and have an honest conversation about the impact of COVID-19. A global pandemic cannot help but bring issues of trauma to the surface. Though we are not trying to resolve all that is unfolding in your own circumstances, we do want to be present and offer encouragement in the midst of these uncertain times. 

Resources: 

• Love in the Time of Coronavirus by Andy Crouch
• Listen to a podcast episode on Scapegoating

Rachael Clinton Chen and Dr. Dan Allender continue their conversation about authority, this week diving into who we’re meant to trust and submit to in a healthy, biblical way that leads to our flourishing. 

To begin the episode, Dan reads from Romans 13, a passage often referenced in conjunction with the topic of authority. Both Rachael and Dan acknowledge they are in complex waters and that the words “submission” and “obedience” can be triggering for many listeners due to the misuse and violence done by those in positions of authority. 

What authority, then, are we to submit to? The phrase Paul uses implies a “quality superior,” not all authority, Dan notes, but someone who bears a kind of qualitative goodness—a likeness to the goodness of God. Jesus authorizes others for the sake of addressing the brokenness in the world, extending a sense of empowerment, dignity, and call to life. People who are authorized by God typically do not have to tell others they have authority, Rachael says, as it is gained through respect, participation, service, and honor. 

The series will conclude next week as Dan and Rachael will address the questions: What is submission, what does it mean to interact with those in authority? 

Listener Resources:

If you are interested in learning more about the topics mentioned in this podcast:

• Listen to our most recent series about Attachment and Relationships
• Listen to a podcast episode about Suspicion and Loyalty in Spiritual Abuse
• Listen to our podcast series featuring Cathy Loerzel on Complexities in Leadership

Rachael Clinton Chen and Dr. Dan Allender dive into a three-part series that wrestles with complex questions about authority. In a culture that grows increasingly divisive, this is a topic not without its own divisions. Throughout this episode, you’ll hear Rachael and Dan raise poignant questions and grapple with the implications of trust and mistrust of authority. 

The conversation opens by acknowledging we are living in a hyper-polarized world where there are deep levels of trust and mistrust in many realms. We need to be able to recognize the difference between suspicion and discernment and to know when suspicion is appropriate and when it is damaging and dismantling. 

How then do we find balance as we ask questions of authority so that we do not surrender blindly and accept the status quo when there is a need for change, but do not become so hardened that we only mistrust and question those in authority?

Listener resources:

If you are interested in learning more about the topics mentioned in this podcast:

• Listen to our podcast episodes on Spiritual Abuse