Faith Deconstruction: A Hard Journey that Challenges the Church to Show Up
Release Date: 10/13/2023
Christian Universalism with Chaplain Aaron Saufley
Finding Free Podcast
What if God saves everyone? Christian Universalism (the idea that God will save everyone and the earth somehow in the end) is one theory of atonement that theologians have discussed for centuries. Though the idea of universal reconciliation was the most prominent atonement theory among early Christ followers, after around the 4th century multiple atonement theories began to surface. Penal substitutionary atonement theory (the idea that humans are objects of God’s wrath and destined to eternal torment in hell unless making a personal decision to believe that Jesus’ death on the...
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Who Is Jesus to Us
Finding Free Podcast
The way we think about Jesus impacts the way we talk about faith and how we treat those around us. Who is Jesus to you? Where did that frame of reference come from and has it ever changed? We don’t do a lot of sermon discussion focused podcasts on Finding Free Podcast but there was so much dialogue around Amy’s sermon at Cedarbridge on March 3rd that we wanted to dive a little deeper into this conversation. Our discussion is lively and in our typical style, we laugh a lot as we each discuss, ‘Who is Jesus to Us’! We give each other a safe...
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Holiday Story Time
Finding Free Podcast
Grab your comfiest blankets and a mug of something great and listen to some stories of holidays past. Laugh as Craig talks about the time his grandpa accidentally got sloshed at a family gathering. Giggle as Amy shares her most memorable Christmas present (double AA batteries required). And Jeff has a family "oops" moment that will have you in stitches. And much more! In this episode we share memorable holiday moments from our growing up years. Some are "remember when" stories that have been talked about at family gatherings time and time again....
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Finding Your Free and Feeding Your Soul
Finding Free Podcast
When Craig and Amy started Finding Free Podcast in 2020, they thought a lot about the podcast name. They settled on Finding Free Podcast because they wanted to focus on the freedom and liberation that can come from pushing yourself to break out of the metaphorical places where you feel stuck and bogged down. This podcast was designed to give space to talk about hard topics with authenticity and vulnerability and for the Finding Free listening community to gain strength in hearing and sharing stories of growth. In this episode, Craig, Amy, and Jeff talk about the...
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Faith Deconstruction: A Hard Journey that Challenges the Church to Show Up
Finding Free Podcast
"The next hard road for the Church will be walking with and beside those that are deconstructing their faith, taking it apart either in small bits and pieces or altogether, putting it back together in part or sometimes not at all. The question is, how will the Church show up for people in this space?" ~ Amy Andrews The topic of faith deconstruction can be a hot button issue…but does it have to be? As we grow in faith we often grapple with questions that are no longer satisfied with easy answers. We need more. Sometimes we begin the process of letting go of what no...
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Purity Culture, Sex and the Church - Part 2
Finding Free Podcast
TW: purity culture, rape culture, sexual abuse Explicit Content: Language, Sexual Content - masturbation, orgasm gap, general make-you-blush adult content. In Part 2 we continue the conversation about purity culture and its impacts. We talk more about how conversations about purity and sex can be done better, focusing on dialogue about consent, body autonomy and integrity rather than shame and silence. If you grew up in an Evangelical church in the 1990’s, chances are you were exposed to the purity culture mindset. Though purity culture began with the intention of encouraging teens to...
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Purity Culture, Sex and the Church - Part 1
Finding Free Podcast
TW: purity culture, rape culture, sexual abuse Explicit Content: Language, Sexual Content - masturbation, orgasm gap, general make-you-blush adult content. If you grew up in an Evangelical church in the 1990’s, chances are you were exposed to the purity culture mindset. Though purity culture began with the intention of encouraging teens to postpone sexual encounters until marriage, the lasting effects have had significantly negative residual consequences. So what was purity culture exactly, what was its impact and where do we go from here? We bring back our friend Jeff...
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Leaving Christian Evangelical _undamentalism - We Got the “F” Out!
Finding Free Podcast
In this episode, our friend Jeff Bell joins us to talk candidly about what it was like to grow up in and be a part of Christian fundamentalist evangelical organizations and churches in the 80's and 90’s. We discuss what it was like to have this as our main faith experience during our formative years and what it was like to come out of that way of thinking. What did we have to unlearn? What evangelical teachings never set well with us? What was our journey to move past evangelical fundamentalist thinking? Christian fundamentalism had big impacts on our lives that...
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Our Response to the SBC Statement on Women in Ministry
Finding Free Podcast
This June, the Southern Baptist Convention approved an amendment to the Baptist Faith and Message to be approved next summer during their Annual Convention. The amendment restricted women in ministry, who were already not supposed to hold lead pastor roles, from having any pastoral position, where the title of “pastor” was deserved. The role of women in ministry has been debated and debocled for years within some Baptist denominations. Yet the Bible provides us with story after story of women: following and learning as disciples, serving in and funding the ministry of Jesus,...
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LGBTQ Conversations in Local Churches - Part 2: A Conversation with Stan Mitchell
Finding Free Podcast
Many organizations operate in shadowed ambiguity, rather than clarity when it comes to who can do what in the organization, and churches are no exception. Unwritten rules are often enforced leaving individuals confused and hurt when they realize the “All are Welcome” slogan really doesn’t apply to them. Can a woman preach? Will the pastor officiate a same-sex wedding? Will the church hire gay clergy? Can I be baptized and take communion? Churches have the opportunity to be upfront and clear about their policies, theology and practices - and having...
info_outline"The next hard road for the Church will be walking with and beside those that are deconstructing their faith, taking it apart either in small bits and pieces or altogether, putting it back together in part or sometimes not at all. The question is, how will the Church show up for people in this space?" ~ Amy Andrews
The topic of faith deconstruction can be a hot button issue…but does it have to be? As we grow in faith we often grapple with questions that are no longer satisfied with easy answers. We need more. Sometimes we begin the process of letting go of what no longer fits. Like old clothes that just don’t wear well, sometimes we find out our old ideas don’t comfort us like our favorite sweatshirt, and we need something to change. Sometimes just a few things need adjusting in the way we understand how God works in the world. Sometimes it is much more comprehensive and involves taking apart every last bit of what we have held dear for so long and deciding what needs to stay and what needs to go.
In this episode, we discuss how lonely the deconstruction process can be, what it's like when spouses have different faith beliefs and how the church can respond. This is an important conversation about holding space for “what is” for each us. The process of asking questions and waiting for answers doesn’t have to provoke fear, though it often is riddled with anxiety and worry from those in the process themselves or those watching others walk that path. How can the Church hold space, create stopping points of peace and allow room for the process of deconstruction?
Music by: Tucker Fry
Web Design & Graphics by: Shannon Cox
Produced & Edited by: Craig Andrews
References
https://cac.org/daily-meditations/how-did-jesus-approach-scripture-2023-02-09/