Good Faith – Details, episodes & analysis

Why is truth-telling so hard to do within the church? Host Curtis Chang and renowned therapist and author Dan Allender explore the complex crossroads of theology and psychology, tracing the evolving, sometimes fraught relationship between the Christian church and therapy. With warmth and candor, Dr. Allender shares both his love for and ambivalence toward psychotherapy, reflecting on how it can challenge our understanding of the role trauma plays in the search for God’s truth. Together, they invite listeners to consider how an imaginative rethinking of the "war within you" can open new pathways to authentic worship.

Drawing upon material from a past conversation, this episode will inspire a continued reimagining of therapy’s place in faith communities.

Join the Redeeming Babel Team: Marketing Manager Job Opening

Join us for the following The After Party/Good Faith virtual events:

October 28th pre-election podcast recording

November 4th all-comers election eve noontime prayer

November 6th post-election podcast recording

Listen to Songs For the After Party, get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church.

Bring The After Party course to your church or small group! 

Enter to win the Good Faith Book Giveaway: The After Party Edition! 

Referenced in this Episode

• Read Calvin’s Institutes online

• Learn more about Christian Smith and Melissa Lundquist Denton’s Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

• Find out about Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy

• Read about Rollo Mae and existential therapy

• Read C.S. Lewis’s "Weight of Glory" sermon online

More From Dan Allender:

• Learn more about Dan’s work at The Allender Center

• Check out Dan Allender’s books

"What if much of what you’ve been told about Heaven was incorrect?" Host Curtis Chang is joined by Skye Jethani, author and co-host of the Holy Post podcast, for a conversation about the widespread misconceptions of Heaven. Together, they unpack why many of us have been asking the wrong questions about Heaven. For instance, rather than asking “Is Heaven real?" or “Who is going to Heaven?” Christians are called by Jesus to make Heaven more real in the here and now, including in our vocation, family, and even how we care for the Earth. Join them in this shift from a Heaven-focused faith to a Christ-centered practice that brings Heaven and Earth closer together than you might have imagined.

Join the Redeeming Babel Team: Marketing Manager Job Opening

Join us for the following The After Party/Good Faith virtual events:

October 28th pre-election podcast recording

November 4th all-comers election eve noontime prayer

November 6th post-election podcast recording

Listen to Songs For the After Party, get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church.

Bring The After Party course to your church or small group! 

Enter to win the Good Faith Book Giveaway: The After Party Edition! 

Referenced in this Episode

• Read what N.T. Wright believes the New Testament says about Heaven

• Watch The Bible Project video about the overlapping of Heaven and Earth

• Read about the Heresy of Eusebius

• Read Richard Mouw’s essay Heaven: The Logic of Eternal Joy

• Read an excerpt from Andy Crouch’s Culture Making about  "culture as the furniture of Heaven"

More From Skye Jethani:

• Check out Skye’s work at The Holy Post 

• Subscribe to Skye’s daily devotional With God Daily 

• Explore Skye’s books including What If Jesus Was Serious About Heaven?

Curtis Chang and worship leader Isaac Wardell are joined by renowned musicians Matt Maher, Sandra McCracken, and Jon Guerra, alongside poet Kate Bluett and Grammy-winning songwriter Dee Wilson. These talented artists are pivotal contributors to The Porter's Gate's worship album for the Redeeming Babel project, The After Party. They share their unique perspectives on how worship music can help navigate the current political challenges faced by American churches of all denominations. The group also offers an inside look at the creative process behind powerful tracks like "The Kingdom of Jesus," "The Lord Will Have His Way," and more.

Listen to Songs For the After Party, get sheet music, lyrics, and prayers for your church

Bring The After Party course to your church or small group! 

Referenced in this episode by Curtis and his guests:

• Read more about Scottish patriot Andrew Fletcher

• Listen to “My Deliverer” by Rich Mullins’ Ragamuffin Band

• Listen to Howard University’s gospel choir perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing”

• Transcript of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s March 17, 1966 speech 

• Lost audio from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s February 26, 1965 sermon

• Listen to Matt Maher’s song “Sons and Daughters”

• Watch the trailer and clips from Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life HERE

• Listen to the score from Terrance Malick’s film A Hidden Life HERE

• Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 (the ministry of reconciliation) HERE

Learn more about our guests:

• Isaac Wardell & The Porter’s Gate

• The Music of Matt Maher

• The Liturgical Poetry of Kate Bluett 

• The Devotional Songwriting of Jon Guerra

• The Work of Sandra McCracken 

• The Common Hymnal of Dee Wilson 

Anxiety is everywhere. It feels as though it is at crisis levels individually, and is also spilling over into our culture at large, particularly in the political arena. This week David and Curtis are joined by a live studio audience in Washington, DC to talk about our personal and cultural anxiety. Fortunately, they also offer some good news. Drawing upon Curtis’ upcoming book “The Anxiety Opportunity”, we learn how Christians can actually view anxiety as an opportunity to grow closer to a Savior who was constantly approached by anxious people, and who experienced very real human anxiety himself. 

Show Notes:

• Anxiety as Opportunity for Spiritual Growth (7-session online series for small groups and individuals

Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter

Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

Produced by Kris Carter

Are Christians called to navigate their finances differently from everyone else? Are the oft-repeated directives to save aggressively and avoid all debt either scriptural or wise? Is it possible that spiritual wisdom and practical wisdom are sometimes one and the same? Join David and Curtis in this excellent discussion with James Choi, Professor of Finance at Yale. As a Christian and a behavioral economist, James brings both spiritual and practical wisdom to the area of personal finance and exposes where some of our most popular financial gurus might be giving us poor advice.

Show Notes:

-Derek Thompson (The Atlantic) - All the Personal-Finance Books Are Wrong

-Greg Rosalsky (Planet Money) - An economist studied popular finance tips. Some might be leading you astray

-Why I am a Christian (James Choi)

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Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

Produced by Kris Carter

Raise yourself up by your own bootstraps. This is a refrain we hear all the time, especially as Americans catechized in the dogma of personal responsibility. But what if some people don’t have bootstraps?  What if some don’t even have boots?

This week David and Curtis welcome educational expert and Rice University sociology professor Ruth López Turley. Raised on the U.S./Mexico border, Ruth’s own educational story is fascinating and lends special weight to her observations about educational equity and how the scriptures (including Mary’s Magnificat) might lead us to some surprising and challenging conclusions.

Show Notes:

-$50M Kinder Foundation grant will expand Kinder Institute’s work to solve challenges facing Houston

-Claire Cain Miller, Josh Katz, Francesca Paris and Aatish Bhatia (The New York Times) - Vast New Study Shows a Key to Reducing Poverty: More Friendships Between Rich and Poor

-Cynthia M. Allen - Want economic mobility? Make friends at church

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Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org 

Produced by Kris Carter

Evil is certainly a powerful force in our world. We are witnessing it live in the form of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But is evil ultimately as powerful as it is popularly portrayed? Does evil perhaps contain in itself the seeds of its own destruction? Join David and Curtis in this week’s fascinating discussion about the inherent weakness of evil. 

Show Notes:

• Why the Allies Won by Richard Overy
• Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
• N.T. Wright: “Paul and Caesar: A New Reading of Romans”
• Good Faith Podcast with Tish Harrison Warren: “Praying Through Wars, Real and Imaginary”

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Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

Produced by Kris Carter

In this special re-release, we at the Good Faith podcast want to honor the life of Jonathan Tjarks, who passed away last week. Jonathan was an NBA beat writer and podcaster for The Ringer, but he was so much more! Just 6 months ago we had the pleasure of having Jonathan join us to talk about his cancer diagnosis, the role of his faith community in caring for his family, and even a little NBA talk. Whether you caught this episode or not, we believe his hard-earned wisdom is worth hearing over and over again. Rest in the peace of God Jonathan.

Show Notes:

• Jonathan Tjarks: “Does My Son Know You?”
• Jonathan Tjarks “Blogs About Books (Of The Bible)”
• Melissa Tjarks announcement of Jonathan’s passing

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Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

Produced by Kris Carter

In a previously recorded (but never released) episode, David and Curtis tackle the particularly vexing challenge of justice when crimes are committed. For those who do not engage regularly with the criminal justice system, these questions can feel distant, or even irrelevant. But as we are reminded, God’s repeated calls for justice throughout the scriptures don’t give the Christian such an easy out.

Show Notes:

-Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter

-Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

This week David and Curtis dive into the issue of time and how our understanding of time horizons can profoundly impact our perspective on the world, whether it is getting worse or better, and what actions that should lead us to take. As Christians who believe in eternity, we should be good at “playing the long game,” but we often let ourselves get caught up in the issues of the moment, and let our compressed time horizons lead us to fear or despair, rather than hope.

Show Notes:

-Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling

-“Imagine That” by Picture This

-Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter

-Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org