The Hidden Reason Your Church is Divided and How to Fix It

[@DenisePeckham]

Excellent. Especially loved the reminder about identity. I have listened to and read a lot of Keller's work on this and am convinced a lack of common identity grounded in Jesus Christ is the root of so many issues.

[@CareyNieuwhof]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@marlasailors3304]

This is so good and timely. Looking forward to hearing these next podcasts. I need it.

[@CareyNieuwhof]

Thanks for listening - the interviews in this series are pure gold

[@williamfrench2481]

Thank you for your thoughtful podcast. My recent experience dealt with a church (ECUSA) that embraced political positions; this was explicitly communicated from the national office to the local bully pulpit. I left and joined a functioning church that focuses on God and scripture. Much happier

[@CareyNieuwhof]

Thanks for sharing William. I'm glad you've found a place you love.

[@Tugedhel]

Great root cause analysis. We are becoming a bunch of problem people. We are lonely and fearful.

[@CareyNieuwhof]

Thanks for watching, glad it resonated with you

[@carywinn3391]

Excellent

[@CareyNieuwhof]

Thank you so much 😀

[@vialarmsecurityandfire8145]

There is a retired ATF agent that is a go to for some news organiazations, Jim Cavanaugh. He speaks frequently about conflict management. We don''t teach it and we don't prioritize it. BTW, an awful lot of seminaries recommend Pastors stay away from marriage counseling, and counseling in general. They maintain Pastors are not equipped for it. That is exactly backwards. Pastors are an integral part of the front line and they need to be trained to recognize trouble, trained to intercede. Todays Pastors are no more equipped to handlle conflict in their Sanctuary than they are at the local bodega. We need more people trained, not fewer. I don't know exactly who is responsible for that trend, but my guess is an insurance company is involved somewhere. Thank you for caring enough to try Carey.

[@CareyNieuwhof]

Thank you for sharing - conflict management should absolutely be taught in seminary, I agree.

[@mostlynotworking4112]

As Paul vanderklay says, religion is always. Politics is now. Religion is dollars. Politics is cents

[@CareyNieuwhof]

Thanks for sharing

[@christianbaxter_yt]

❤

[@mostlynotworking4112]

“We want to be in your corner”…. This little corner 😂

[@bevcarr5936]

I love your podcast. But you missed the main point. As a Canadian living in the USA…people on both sides are profoundly concerned about what is going to happen to this country. It is at a pivot point that may not have a ‘return’ option. They are engaged about what world their kids are going to live in. So much more than identity.

[@CareyNieuwhof]

What do you find to be the biggest concerns for people?

[@bevcarr5936]

How the stated or unstated policies of either candidate for president will impact the: financial stability of the country and its currency, ability of parent’s to determine their own child’s perception of the world and identity, looming insolvency of the country, cost of living re housing affordability, and hope for the future. There is a sense that the pendulum isn’t just on one more swing…but that it’s about to break.

[@rsusman9516]

It's true about the need for a clearly Christian identity, objectivity about feelings, our need for conflict management. But this discussion fails to address clearly Christian objectives that should be addressed in our poltical behavior. Secularity is not only found in taking sides but will be found in an attempt to find a supposed middle ground or in some spiritualized position of separation from all of division. In an increasingly anti-Christian society which still affords us a voice, clearly Christian positions must be voiced at the risk of being labeled conservative (oh no!). We do need to examine our positions as to whether are based on Scripture alone, the Constitution (good ideas that can have good JudeoChristian presuppositions, or a mix of both, or none of the above (such as Marxism).

[@CareyNieuwhof]

Thanks for sharing. I hope you'll check out the upcoming interviews. So many of them address what you've brought up.