Episode 9 in the serial season called ‘Farewell Evangelicalism’. In this episode, we lay the groundwork for the embodied work ahead when we lose a core element to our being. We name pathways to help process leaving church, including the loss of community and the mountain of grief that follows. A lot of Christianity tends to shy away from the hard things; it’s time to be honest about the road towards healing from religious trauma, grief, and loss.

Episode 9 Show Notes

(00:00) Introduction with Rohadi on grief and loss. (04:24) Grief Coach – Mandy Capehart (32:00) Intro Meghan Crozier (46:00) Losing community after leaving church community. (56:20) Components that help grieve. (59:00) Cautions for folks entering the deconstruction space.

Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com)

Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Visit his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/

Mandy Capehart – Grief Coach and Podcaster Mandy Capehart (she/her/hers) is the founder of the Restorative Grief model. Find more about Mandy and her coaching program at https://www.mandycapehart.com/. Find her latest podcast episodes and her publication on grief.

Meghan Crozier – Community Catalyst and Podcaster Visit Meghan over at The Pursuing Life! Meghan lives in the Pacific Northwest. Meghan curates space to help folks wrestle with questions on deconstruction and what spiritual growth looks like. She writes about topics like faith deconstruction, spirituality, equity, justice, race, mental health, and religion. She also explore the same themes and topics on the Thereafter Podcast with my good friend and co-host, Cortland Coffey.

Bumper music by Daniel Wheat; Intro by Jesse Peters

Find Dr. Hillary McBride’s Holy Hurt podcast.

Featuring: Rohadi Nagassar, Janice Lagata, LetGregLive, Kristian A. Smith

Episode 8. We venture through the land of deconstruction through a Black and brown church experience. Although this serial series is entitled, ‘Farewell Evangelicalism’, it’s unfair to suggest only evangelicals are susceptible to both white supremacist formation, and contributing to the political nonsense we’re currently experience through their tacit support of conservative/Republican candidates.

In this episode we hear from Janice Lagata who shares her story about the eventual implosion of Hillsong New York. Followed by Greg, who provides some insight on the work of deconstruction and decolonization out of a Black church experience. Lastly, Kristian A Smith and Rohadi shoot the breeze outlining what faith looks like beyond white hegemony. All this and more, episode 8.

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Featuring the voices of: Rohadi, Scott Coley, Lamar Hardwick, and Robert G Callahan

Episode 7 on white supremacy, a crucial conversation for churchgoers, particularly white churchgoers, to generate awareness to the ways white supremacist thinking invades thought and beliefs. Indeed, white supremacist theology is in the DNA, a feature not an add-on, of nearly every denomination across the Americas. We’ll try to pinpoint some of the most egregious forms in this episode, with a hope that listeners will become alert to the ways you own formation/beliefs are filtered through racist understandings of the world around us.

We discuss biblical examples used to support white superiority and how common they are; learn how ableism is a precursor to white supremacy; and end with naming the weird in white evangelicalism, with a side of hopeful alternatives to find your way out.

Show Notes:

(00:00) – Welcome (01:00) – Rohadi introduces to white supremacy and why it matters to interrogate our formation, from 2020, CRT, to DEI. (10:40) – Scott Coley describes one mechanism of malformed hermeneutics; how to twist the Bible to fit white supremacist narratives. (19:00) – Intro to Lamar Hardwick and how ableism fuels racist views. (24:00) – Intro to Robert G Callahan (25:40) – Robert Callahan speaks to his experience in Texas. (27:45) – Robert describes all of the ‘weird’ in white evangelical churches. (54:00) – Unpacking righteous anger. (1:00:00) – Outro

Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com)

Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins.

Guests in Episode 7

Scholar/Author – Scott Coley Scott Coley Scott M. Coley holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue University, a Master’s degree in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame, and a B.A. in philosophy and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include philosophy of religion, moral epistemology and political philosophy. His book is entitled, Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

Author/Pastor – Lamar Hardwick Dr. Hardwick is a father, husband, pastor, and author. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Emory University as well as a Doctor of Ministry degree from Liberty University School of Divinity. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Divinity Clergy Scholar Program and a 2017 graduate of Georgia Forward’s Young Gamechangers Program, which included 50 of the state of Georgia’s top thinkers, innovators, and leaders under the age of 40. He is currently a PhD at Union Institute and University in Cincinatti, Ohio. Find him on Instagram

Author/Attorney – Robert Callahan Robert Callahan is a prolific writer and accomplished attorney, dedicated to his practice at Callahan & King in the heart of Waco, Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Gonzaga University and a Juris Doctorate at Baylor University School of Law, where he now serves as adjunct professor of Integrating Faith and Legal Practice. His latest book is called, Fire in the Whole: Embracing Our Righteous Anger with white Christianity and Reclaiming Our Wholeness.

Bumper music by Rubix; Intro by Jesse Peters