196. Check Your Power At The Door

In this episode, we explore abuse of power in church leadership, accountability structures across denominations, and the ways grace and forgiveness can be distorted to protect harmful behavior instead of vulnerable people. We each reflect on personal experiences with church hypocrisy, charismatic celebrity culture, and the tension between repentance, justice, and institutional self-protection. The conversation moves through stories of denominational failures, queer exclusion, public scandals, and the social contracts churches break when trust is betrayed. We arrive at the idea that meaningful accountability requires transparency, transformation, and small everyday acts of compassion rather than power, image, or platform. Host RecommendationsEmily: Follow the Wesleyan “three simple rules”Stephen: Rediscover and lean into your favorite color as an adultJosh: Replace furniture you no longer love or use wellHost DE-RecommendationsEmily: Do not excuse harmful behavior or abuse under the guise of grace, forgiveness, or religious authorityStephen: Do not make judgment calls about other people’s spiritual or philosophical practices when you do not understand their story or needsJosh: Do not hold onto furniture you dislike simply because you already own itJoin us:Join our free Discord community by emailing us at [email protected] for an invite link!Take a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!Credits:Theme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and BandcampArtwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedrawsProduced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily RettinghouseEditing/Audio Engineering by Stephen HenningCertified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★