loader from loading.io

E165 - David Tensen | Decenter Everything: A New Approach to Eldering

Face to Face Podcast

Release Date: 05/27/2025

E192 | The Power of Slow Healing: Aundi Kolber on Trauma and Transformation show art E192 | The Power of Slow Healing: Aundi Kolber on Trauma and Transformation

Face to Face Podcast

E192 | The Power of Slow Healing: Aundi Kolber on Trauma and Transformation In this Face to Face podcast episode, Melinda and Cathy share updates from the Immanuel Institute, including 21 people in Level I and an upcoming Level II cohort starting November 30, emphasizing experiential training, coaching triads, community, and trauma-informed education.  They welcome licensed professional counselor and bestselling author Aundi Kolber (Try Softer, Strong Like Water, Take What You Need), who explains how a traumatic childhood and later life transitions led her into therapy and trauma work....

info_outline
E191 | Paul Young | Return to the Shack, Death Row Friendships, and Living in the Grace of the Moment show art E191 | Paul Young | Return to the Shack, Death Row Friendships, and Living in the Grace of the Moment

Face to Face Podcast

E191 | Stories That Heal: An Intimate Talk with William Paul Young Paul Young on Return to the Shack, Death Row Friendships, and Living in the Grace of the Moment Melinda and Cathy welcome back author Paul Young to discuss his new book, Return to the Shack (releasing October 6), describing it as a continuation rather than a sequel and noting it expands the cast into a “choir,” with larger roles for Nan and the community around Mack. Young shares how the story began through a decade-long relationship with men on death row in Nashville, inspiring questions about what happens in Mack’s life...

info_outline
E190 | Lysa TerKeurst | Navigating Control and Trust show art E190 | Lysa TerKeurst | Navigating Control and Trust

Face to Face Podcast

E190 | Lysa TerKeurst | Navigating Control and Trust   Lysa TerKeurst on Control, Anxiety, and Trusting God with the Outcome | Melinda Wilson and Cathy Little celebrate reaching episode 190, noting the long wait and technical issues that shortened their interview with Lysa TerKeurst. TerKeurst, Proverbs 31 Ministries president and bestselling author, shares how her husband’s double life led to an unwanted divorce and shaped her recent books on rejection, forgiveness, boundaries, trust, and her new release, Making Peace With What I Can’t Control. She explains how anxiety and fear often...

info_outline
E189 | Dr. Alison Cook | The Secure Soul: Healing Through Presence, Parts Work, and God’s With-ness show art E189 | Dr. Alison Cook | The Secure Soul: Healing Through Presence, Parts Work, and God’s With-ness

Face to Face Podcast

The Secure Soul: Healing Through Presence, Parts Work, and God’s With-ness Therapist and psychologist of religion Dr. Alison Cook explains her work at the intersection of attachment wounds, emotional life, and how people experience God, including her training in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and her books Boundaries for Your Soul and The Secure Soul. She and discusses with us “with-ness” and presence as central to healing, contrasting quick-fix problem solving and religious bypassing with learning to be with uncomfortable parts without shame.  Cook outlines her “recognize and...

info_outline
E188 | Susan Carson | Safe Enough to Heal: Why the Church Gets Trauma Wrong and What to Do Instead show art E188 | Susan Carson | Safe Enough to Heal: Why the Church Gets Trauma Wrong and What to Do Instead

Face to Face Podcast

 E188 | Susan Carson | Safe Enough to Heal: Why the Church Gets Trauma Wrong and What to Do Instead Welcome to the Face to Face podcast and episode 188 with spiritual director and author Susan Carson. Susan tells her story of meeting Jesus at 18, later experiencing spiritual trauma, and moving into a contemplative path of prayer and inner healing. We talk about how neuroscience, Christian mystics (especially Julian of Norwich), and the biblical idea of kenosis (Philippians 2) come together in her “safe space” approach—noise-free, shame-free, and formula-free—focused on embodied,...

info_outline
E187 | Dr. Jason Swan Clark | Trauma Healing, Mental Health and Ignatian Spiritual Exercises show art E187 | Dr. Jason Swan Clark | Trauma Healing, Mental Health and Ignatian Spiritual Exercises

Face to Face Podcast

In episode 187,  we welcome Dr. Jason Swan Clark, a professor, spiritual director, former pastor, and theologian, who recounts his traumatic childhood, coming to faith at 17, decades of church planting and pastoral leadership, a nervous breakdown at 30, and ongoing work integrating mental health and faith. Jason describes how suffering shaped his leadership, distinguishes healing from transformation, and explains Ignatian spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises, including consolation/desolation and a practical discernment process. He closes with a personal story of meeting Jesus in...

info_outline
E186 | Paul Young | Embracing Uncertainty: Finding Truth in the Unknowing - Part 2 show art E186 | Paul Young | Embracing Uncertainty: Finding Truth in the Unknowing - Part 2

Face to Face Podcast

E186 | Paul Young | Embracing Uncertainty: Finding Truth in the Unknowing - Part 2 Paul Young (Part 2) on Prayer as Relationship, 12-Step Community, Healing vs Curing, and Return to the Shack In episode 186 (Part 2) of the Face to Face Podcast, we continue our conversation with Paul Young, discussing prayer as ongoing conversation within relationship and how spiritual practices can help but often need community to endure. We talk about honesty without fixing, and how close relationships expose areas needing healing. The conversation explores reclaiming inner wisdom, resisting church-driven...

info_outline
E185 | Paul Young | Embracing Uncertainty: Finding Truth in the Unknowing - Part 1 show art E185 | Paul Young | Embracing Uncertainty: Finding Truth in the Unknowing - Part 1

Face to Face Podcast

E185 | Paul Young | Embracing Uncertainty: Finding Truth in the Unknowing - Part 1 We are excited to  welcome back one of our favorites -  Paul Young (author of The Shack) for part one of a two-episode conversation, while also sharing updates on Immanuel Approach for Life Level 1 and 2 cohorts and a Wheaton College research team studying the model’s efficacy.    Paul reflects on the necessity of “unknowing” as humility and openness, contrasting intellectual belief with whole-person trust and relational knowing. The discussion explores trauma and religious performance...

info_outline
E184 | Dr. Bob Schuchts on Healing the Whole Person, Spiritual Formation, and Bridging Catholic–Protestant Divides show art E184 | Dr. Bob Schuchts on Healing the Whole Person, Spiritual Formation, and Bridging Catholic–Protestant Divides

Face to Face Podcast

Episode 184: Dr. Bob Schuchts on Healing the Whole Person, Spiritual Formation, and Bridging Catholic–Protestant Divides On Episode 184 of the Face to Face Podcast, we welcome Dr. Bob Schuchts, founder of the John Paul II Healing Center, to discuss healing ministry from a Catholic perspective and its overlap with the Immanuel Approach. Dr. Schuchts shares his background as a longtime therapist, a pivotal spiritual encounter that led him to study many prayer modalities, and his current work offering healing and training conferences that emphasize safety, surrender to the Holy Spirit, abiding,...

info_outline
E183 | Untangling Love: A Journey with Wayne Jacobsen show art E183 | Untangling Love: A Journey with Wayne Jacobsen

Face to Face Podcast

Wayne Jacobson on Experiencing God’s Love, Presence, and Freedom Beyond Performance | Face to Face Podcast Ep. 183 In this episode of the Face to Face Podcast, we interview author and former pastor Wayne Jacobson about moving from a transactional, performance-based faith to an experiential life rooted in God’s affection, presence, and fullness. Wayne shares his background, ministry disillusionment, repeated experiences of betrayal, and how God’s presence slowly meets people in pain and trauma. He explains how a curative (not punitive) view of the atonement reshaped his view of the...

info_outline
 
More Episodes
In this episode, we discuss important shifts, including the transition from 'Face to Face Ministries' to 'Face to Face Network'. We had an excellent conversation with David Tensen, an Australian philosopher, teacher, chaplain, and poet, known for his profound insights into eldering and inner healing.
David shares his journey through advanced pastoral care, internal healing methods, and his new book, 'Decenter Everything'. The conversation delves into why decentering is essential, especially the critical distinction between centering God versus our construct of God. David also touches on the Life Model's stages of human development, and the urgent need to embrace eldering in a world stuck in adolescent and early adulthood stages.
Tune in for part two to explore deeper into the concept of decentering God.
 
00:32 Exciting Changes and New Beginnings
01:15 Rebranding to Face-to-Face Network
02:05 The Vision and Philosophy Behind the Network
04:16 Challenges with the Term 'Ministries'
06:48 Upcoming Events and Website Changes
07:29 Introducing Our Guest: David Tenson
10:37 David Tenson's Background and Work
22:53 Reflecting on Ministry and Personal Challenges
23:48 Discovering the Life Model
24:35 Experiencing Burnout and Transitioning to Academia
26:55 Writing and Publishing 'The Wrestle'
27:42 Introducing 'Decenter Everything'
28:29 Exploring the Life Model Stages
32:39 The Concept of Eldering
37:57 The Call to Decenter Everything
40:41 Concluding Thoughts and Future Discussions

To learn more about David’s work: https://davidtensen.com/