Trauma-Informed Church Kid

Life > Death

Season 2 Episode 26 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
 
The priests are the burden-bearers for the family of Abraham, taking on their shoulders the responsibility to clean up the mess that they have caused (and will cause) in God’s house. But how do they go about cleaning up this mess? And why is it such a bloody process?
This week, we take a look at what “atonement” means, and the role that blood plays (and doesn’t play) in atonement. We will examine the English and Hebrew word(s), and will look at what they can tell us about cleansing, consecration, and reconciliation. We will ponder the “reset button” nature of the Day of Atonement, and will look at the distinct role of the two goats in that ritual – one of whom is also a “burden-bearer.” We will explore the meaning of blood within the ritual, and consider if blood is necessary to make atonement. In the end, we will challenge ourselves to fully absorb the knowledge that life stuff defeats death stuff, and what this tells us about the heart of Adonai.
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 Burden of Forgiveness

Season 2 Episode 25 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
 
Having decided to keep the Presence of Adonai in their midst, the family of Abraham must now deal with all their impurities. How can they do this safely? Who will be the one to bear both the blessing and the burden of this sacred role?
This week, we take a look at what it means for the priests -- and Adonai himself -- to "bear iniquity". We will examine the Hebrew word for "iniquity" and examine its relationship to the "burden" of our brokenness and crookedness. We will ponder what it means to make that burden "lightened", and if that means that one person bears all the weight. We will explore the ways in which Adonai forgives others in the Scriptures, and discover what he requires (and doesn't require) in order to forgive. In the end, we will challenge ourselves to forgive as Adonai has forgiven us -- to bear one another's burdens.
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

Purity Culture: Then and Now

Season 2 Episode 24 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
CONTENT WARNING: discussion of sexuality and purity culture
This is part 2 of an episode on purity and impurity. We know now that purity is (not) a dirty word, and that it is not necessarily about morality or being "good". Why then is there such a misunderstanding about purity and morality? What would a culture focused around purity look like?
This week, we take a look at "purity culture" -- both ancient and modern. We will look at the case studies we find in Leviticus and examine whether this means that female bodies are gross/disgusting or somehow "wrong". We will ponder how the more precious a thing is, the more impurity it causes. We will explore the artifacts and effects of evangelical "purity culture", and repent of both its failures and its faults. In the end, we will challenge ourselves to consider changing our relationship to "purity", toward one that encompasses every area of our lives and not just our exposed skin
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

Purity Is (Not) a Dirty Word

Season 2 Episode 23 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 holy path safely. What does it mean for them to be "pure" or "clean", and is that what God requires of all humans? Is being "pure" about being moral?
This week, we unpack what purity (and impurity) means. We will look at the distinction between "pure" and "impure" and examine what either (or both) have to do with morality. We will explore what it means for created things to be "out of place", and what relation this has to the "forces of death". We will ponder the connection between purity and Eden, and if it is a bad thing to be "impure". We will examine the two kinds or "species" of impurity, and discover what it takes to remove both kinds from the person, the sacred space, and the land. In the end, we will challenge ourselves to repent by "turning away" from the life subject to death and decay, and to "comfort" ourselves with the hope of a life freed from that slavery.
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

How to Not Butcher Leviticus (Phil Bray) -- EXPERT-TEAS

Season 2 Episode 22 of the Trauma-Informed Church Kid podcast
In this Expert-Teas episode, I sit down for "tea" with Phil Bray to discuss a wide variety of topics. We take a look at holiness and "wholeness"; we explore what "contagious holiness" means; we discuss clean and unclean (and pure and impure), and if this is a moral issue or not. We also examine sacrifices, trying to understand the role that death and blood play in the sacrificial system -- are sacrifices acts of appeasement, or something else? In the end, we dive deep into what the meaning of the Tabernacle is, how the Presence of Adonai in the midst of Israel was an image of the Garden of Eden, and how we can both get back to that now and look forward to it for the end of the ages.
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

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