CNLP 479: Philip Yancey on Growing Up in White, Racist, Paranoid Fundamentalism, Deconstructing His Faith, Reconstructing it, and a Message to Exvangelicals
Philip Yancey grew up in a church culture he describes as white, racist, paranoid fundamentalism. After deconstructing his faith in his late teens, Philip describes how he came back to faith, or found authentic Christianity, and why he loves talking to evangelicalism.
He also talks about how writing has changed, and how to write about your family pain while your family is still living.
Welcome to Episode 479 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.
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Art of Leadership Academy
So… I’ve been hinting at a big announcement for a while. Well, today’s the day.
Here’s the thing: Whether you’re leading a church, business or starting your own venture, leading a mission forward is not an easy task. And the last few years have made it harder than ever.
So what’s the best way to push through the barriers holding back growth? If the solution was as easy as:
- Another piece of software
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…you would have done that already. Right?
It can take hundreds of hours or thousands of dollars trying to kickstart growth with no guarantee anything will work.
And that’s why I’m launching The Art of Leadership Academy.
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Go to theartofleadershipacademy.com to sign up today. That’s the-art-of-leadership-academy-dot-com today to get instant access. I’d love to meet you inside.
Gloo
Recently I’ve been using an app called Thryve to add texting into my marketing, and it’s been really useful. Now, I’m really excited to teach churches how they can use Thryve to do the same thing.
Thryve makes it incredibly easy to send texts to individuals or groups. But it’s so much more than that. Thryve is made to help churches send devotional series, answer common questions, get more prayer requests, send surveys and even collect stories of life change. And because everything is managed from one shared message inbox, you and your team can access messages from your phone or desktop. That means you can assign prayer requests, respond to messages, track new visitor follow-up, and more. Your whole team can see and respond to every interaction from one place. That means human-to-human service for everyone.
When you use Thryve with other tools you already use, it’s even better. Integrations with leading church management systems are already available, and more are being added all the time. This is why Thryve is the leading church texting solution.
Thryve also offers an extensive template library of done-for-you texts. At the click of a button, you can turn on text series for advent, new guest follow up, your marriage and prayer ministries and so much more. The best part? It’s completely free to get started.
Go to thryve.io today to sign up for a FREE, 14-day trial so you can connect with your church community.
Conversation Links
What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey
The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
Where the Light Fell by Philip Yancey
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
The Gift of Pain by Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
In His Image by Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference? by Philip Yancey
A Stone of Hope by David L. Chappell
A Secular Age by Charles Taylor
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Insights from Philip
1. Division and polarization is not a new problem
In the podcast, Philip Yancey discusses his past growing up in a self-described “white, racist, paranoid [Christian] fundamentalism.” Coming of age in the 1960s and 1970s, Yancey pushes back on the popular notion that “we’ve never been so divided.” The sixties and seventies were times of intense (and often violent) polarization—the Civil Rights Movement was far from a universally embraced endeavor and the country was split over the legitimacy of the Vietnam War.
2. Every deconstruction deserves a reconstruction
Over the past few months, several church leaders have offered their “hot takes” on the so-called “deconstruction movement,” or the postmodern reevaluation of faith by (primarily) younger Christians. According to Yancey, deconstructing Christianity can be an enriching—and sometimes necessary—part of someone’s faith journey. We all engage in deconstruction at some level. However, deconstruction without reconstruction is just destruction, and it can leave some people worse off—and more disconnected from God and Jesus than before.
3. All of our stories can be redeemed
In his memoir, Where the Light Fell, Philip Yancey recounts his difficult childhood, family pain and struggles with Christianity—not what you typically encounter in a memoir written by a bestselling Christian author. However, Yancey says all of his work comes down to one theme—suffering in grace. In spite of the difficulties in his life, Yancey says he has no regrets, but those dark nights of the soul have shaped him into a more loving and gracious person.
Quotes from Episode 479
The worst thing you can do when you're deconstructing is to destruct…we need to reconstruct. @philipyancey Share on X I like to tell people, ‘I dare you to find a single argument against God, by any of the great atheists that isn't already included in the Bible, Psalm, Lamentations, Job, Ecclesiastes.’ @philipyancey Share on X Pain redeemed impresses me more than pain removed. @philipyancey Share on X As I looked at Jesus, I realized he is so different than the person I was taught in Sunday school growing up. @philipyancey Share on XRead or Download the Transcript for Episode 479
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Next Episode: Bob Goff
Former lawyer and New York Times bestselling author, Bob Goff, returns for a conversation about why he keeps notes, accumulating 1.8 million words of observation and insights and the value that serves, enabling justice in a hostile world, overcoming personal insecurity he felt as a child, and why he continues to be ‘unreasonably’ available to the 1 million+ people who have his phone number.
Subscribe for free now so you won’t miss Episode 480.
