Trauma-Informed Church Kid

Be Holy, As I Am Holy

Season 2 Episode 21 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
Having chosen the harder path -- the divine Presence in their midst -- the family of Abraham must now navigate that path safely. What does it mean for them to "be holy", and what does it mean for God himself to "be holy"? Is that even possible for humans?
This week, we unpack what holiness means. We will look at the distinction between "holy" and "common" and examine what either (or both) have to do with morality. We will explore what it means for a created thing (object, person, time) to be filled with the life of God, and what effects this consecration has on creation. We will ponder the claims of "ownership" that God places on his creation (objects, persons, times), and what it means to "serve" this "master". We will examine the notion of created things being "not-whole" or "incomplete", and if it is "bad" for them to be in this "common" condition. In the end, we will challenge ourselves to see the sacred and the holy all around us -- in nature, in places, in things, and in people -- even (perhaps especially) when they seem nothing but "common".
I hope you will join me on this journey to find resurrection on the other side of deconstruction! Please like, subscribe, and/or leave a comment! Leave a question on Speakpipe as well: https://www.speakpipe.com/churchkidpod

The Face of God

Season 2 Episode 20 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
The family of Abraham have committed a grave sin. Moses, as the mediator, is up in the divine Presence, activating the heart of Adonai to be merciful and gracious to these people. Then, he asks with boldness for something shocking: show me your glory. Will Adonai grant this request? Is that even possible, or wise?
This week, we unpack what it means to see the face of God. We will look at the distinction between his “face” and his “back,” and examine how this has played out in the history of interpretation of this passage. We will explore the offer that Adonai gives to Moses to take the easier path – without His Presence in their midst – and why Moses refuses this. We will ponder the enigmatic figure of the Angel of the Presence, and how this relates to God the Son revealed in Christ. In the end, we will challenge ourselves to shift our understanding of the hiddenness of God: perhaps, this can be seen as a mercy and not him withholding something good from us.
I hope you will join me on this journey to find resurrection on the other side of deconstruction! Please like, subscribe, and/or leave a comment! Leave a question on Speakpipe as well: https://www.speakpipe.com/churchkidpod

The Heart of God

Season 2 Episode 19 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
The family of Abraham have committed a grave sin. They have been grotesquely unfaithful to their betrothed, Adonai, and chased after other lovers. Moses, as the mediator, is prepared to offer his own life to make atonement. But is this what Adonai wants? Does he need death to deal with sins?
This week, we take a deep dive into the central and paradigmatic self-revelation of Adonai, in Exodus 34. We will look at what it means that Adonai is merciful, and how that relates to his compassion. We will explore his grace, and ask if he needs to “repay” or if he deals in “wages” for sin. We will ponder the connection between his longsuffering character and his wrath. We will unpack what it means that he not just “has” chesed, but that he IS chesed. We will ask ourselves what it means to see Adonai as trustworthy, given all the ways in which we have experienced hurt and harm. We will clarify that he never punishes sons for the sins of the fathers, and instead restrains his wrath with his other qualities. In the end, we will meditate on what it means for Adonai to “forgive” sins: to lift them up, to carry them with us, to bear our burdens in yoked solidarity with sinful humans.
I hope you will join me on this journey to find resurrection on the other side of deconstruction! Please like, subscribe, and/or leave a comment! Leave a question on Speakpipe as well: https://www.speakpipe.com/churchkidpod

These Are Your gods

Season 2 Episode 18 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
Having agreed to the "house rules", the family of Abraham are on the eve of their wedding night to Adonai. Moses, as the mediator, is up on the mountain making things ready. But how long will he be gone? And will the people wait for him -- and Adonai -- or take matters into their own hands?
This week, we encounter the infamous the incident of the Golden Calf. We will look at what a "mediator/intercessor" is, and how this role brings two parties together instead of keeping them apart. We will explore the parallels of this narrative to the narrative of the First Fall, and contemplate what that means about the life that was promised to the family of Abraham. We will ponder the connection between idolatry and sexual immorality, and consider how this connects to the wrath that follows from it. In the end, we will challenge ourselves to reject all forms of idolatry -- even (or especially) the kinds which claim the Name while worshipping someone else.
I hope you will join me on this journey to find resurrection on the other side of deconstruction! Please like, subscribe, and/or leave a comment! Leave a question on Speakpipe as well: https://www.speakpipe.com/churchkidpod

Suffering Well (Body and Brain Healing from Trauma) -- HOW OF HURT

Season 2 Episode 17 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
This is our third "How of Hurt" episode of the season! In this episode, we seek to examine what healing from trauma looks like -- focusing on the body and the brain. We will discuss how to create a "brave space", find out what it means to "suffer well", learn about resourcing vs coping, examine what mindfulness is (and what it is not), and discover several ways to help ourselves heal from trauma.
I hope you will join me on this journey to find resurrection on the other side of deconstruction! Please like, subscribe, and/or leave a comment! Leave a question on Speakpipe as well: https://www.speakpipe.com/churchkidpod

The Emotions of God (Mako Nagasawa) -- EXPERT-TEAS

Season 2 Episode 16 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
In this Expert-Teas episode, I sit down for "tea" with Mako Nagasawa to discuss a wide variety of topics. We take a look at shame and how it affects our relationship to God; we explore the true nature of justice in the Scriptures (retributive or restorative?); we discuss how empathy has been belittled and derided in our culture, and what this does to the Church. In the end, we dive deep into where our own emotions come from, if we can trust them (or not), and what they tell us about both our own nature and the nature of the Father -- who also has emotions, and who has entered into our own emotions to be able to heal those expressions of his image in us.
I hope you will join me on this journey to find resurrection on the other side of deconstruction! Please like, subscribe, and/or leave a comment! Leave a question on Speakpipe as well: https://www.speakpipe.com/churchkidpod
Mako Nagasawa is the executive director of The Anástasis Center for Christian Education and Ministry, teaching, training, and writing on Early and Eastern Christian restorative justice. He and his wife Ming, along with their children, have lived among friends in a Christian intentional community house in their neighborhood in Dorchester. They worship at Neighborhood Church of Dorchester where Mako serves on the Elder Team. Mako did campus ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship from 2001 – 2014, and earned a Master of Theological Studies from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary in May 2019. He is the author of Abortion Policy and Christian Social Ethics in the U.S. (2021), Christmas with Irenaeus: How Jesus Honors Creation, the Human Body, and the Human Story (2022), and Lent with Irenaeus: Journeying with Jesus Towards Becoming Truly Human (2024).

You Shall Not Do as They Do

Season 2 Episode 15 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast.
The family of Abraham are given the "house rules" of God's family, and are invited to partner with him in showing his heart to all the nations of the world. But has God gone far enough? Did he give them a perfect law, and if he did not -- maybe he should have?
Join us as we finish our last episode on the Sinai covenant and the so-called "Law". In this episode, we will look at the comparisons and contrasts of Adonai's torah to the ANE codes. We will explore how Adonai's torah accommodates the sinfulness and hard-heartedness of the people, using specific examples. We will ponder how we are to follow/keep Adonai's torah today, or if it no longer applies. In the end, we will challenge ourselves to follow in the footsteps of Israel: to "not do as they do" in our modern society.
I hope you will join me on this journey to find resurrection on the other side of deconstruction! Please like, subscribe, and/or leave a comment! Leave a question on Speakpipe as well: https://www.speakpipe.com/churchkidpod

From Slavery to Sonship

Season 2 Episode 14 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
The family of Abraham are being made a part of the family of God, through a marriage ceremony at Sinai. As part of these "house rules", they are given the Torah: the instructions or teaching of Adonai to his sons and daughters. Will they follow this "torah" and become like God? Or will they become just like the nations?
Join us as we unpack more of the Sinai covenant and the Mosaic Law, tracking with Exodus 20 through 23. In this episode, we will look at the Mosaic Law as wisdom -- as "common law", not statutory law. We will explore what this means for the admonition to "be holy, as I am holy", and how this relates to making Israel like God. We will ponder the ways in which this instruction/teaching was given in order to help them deprogram from a slavery mindset and to take on a sonship mindset. In the end, we will challenge ourselves to consider what this means in our own lives: to leave the "Egypt" of trauma behind us, and to step into the divine inheritance as sons and daughters of the Most High.
I hope you will join me on this journey to find resurrection on the other side of deconstruction! Please like, subscribe, and/or leave a comment! Leave a question on Speakpipe as well: https://www.speakpipe.com/churchkidpod

The Blood of the Covenant

Season 2 Episode 13 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
 
The family of Abraham are led by Adonai in the wilderness toward his home: the mountain of God. They are given a choice – do they want to partner with him as “one flesh”? Or do they want to join themselves to the gods of the nations? Which one will the betrothed of Adonai choose for herself, and for all creation?
 
Join us as we follow the Israel-assembly (plus the Mixed Multitude) at the foot of Sinai, tracking with Exodus 19 and 24. In this episode, we will look at the Sinai covenant as a wedding ceremony, patterned after ANE covenant marriages. We will explore the nature of the “law” that is given as “house rules”, and will discuss how they are meant to be freeing (not constricting). We will ponder what it means to seal a covenant with blood, and to bind the two together as “one flesh” in a sacrificial meal. In the end, we will challenge ourselves to consider the beauty of being married to YHWH: the specially chosen and redeemed one(s) who are being transfigured from a slave-mindset to a bride-mindset, in order to undo the First Fall and bring healing to all creation.
 
I hope you will join me on this journey to find resurrection on the other side of deconstruction! Please like, subscribe, and/or leave a comment! Leave a question on Speakpipe as well: https://www.speakpipe.com/churchkidpod

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Season 2 Episode 12 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
The family of Abraham has endured the waters of wrath, and are now in the wilderness -- a place of scarcity, hunger, and thirst. Are they just wandering, or being led? Where are they headed, and why is this the path that was chosen for them?
Join us as we follow the Israel-assembly (plus the Mixed Multitude) on their journey to Sinai, from Exodus 15-17. In this episode, we will look at their grumblings against Adonai and Moses. We will explore what Adonai's response to this is -- grace, or wrath? We will ponder what it means to be in the wilderness in the first place, and what the purpose of being there is. In the end, we will challenge ourselves to remember that even in our wanderings we need not be lost. We can always follow the cloud of the Presence and be followed by the Rock of Christ to find our way home: the place where Adonai dwells in our midst.
I hope you will join me on this journey to find resurrection on the other side of deconstruction! Please like, subscribe, and/or leave a comment! Leave a question on Speakpipe as well: https://www.speakpipe.com/churchkidpod