Title: Exploring Power, Deception, and Vulnerability in the Church, Part 1

In this episode the SHE-Team delves into themes of power, deception, and vulnerability within the church. We discuss Langberg’s work on power dynamics, Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church and the documentary on the Duggars titled “Shiny Happy People”. The episode unpacks various forms of power, including verbal, emotional, physical, specialized knowledge, economic, spiritual, and cultural power, and emphasizes the responsibility of wielding power justly to avoid abuse. The team explores the definitions of vulnerability and deception, with insights from Langberg’s work, highlighting how responses to vulnerability reveal truths about personal character and the potential for exploitation within power dynamics. Personal reflections and examples are shared throughout the episode to illustrate how power can be both a source of blessing and harm, depending on its use. The SHE team encourages awareness and literacy in recognizing power dynamics and vulnerabilities to foster healthier church environments.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:34 Unpacking Power, Deception, and Vulnerability in the Church
00:54 Exploring the Work of Diane Langberg
01:23 Understanding the Dynamics of Power
02:35 Defining Power and its Types
03:25 Identifying Our Superpowers
05:54 The Power Dynamics in Different Contexts
22:47 The Role of Vulnerability in Power Dynamics
24:47 The Dangers of Deception in Power Dynamics
33:27 Conclusion: The Importance of Awareness and Responsibility


WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR SOURCES?

Adrian Horton, ‘Insidious organization’: a reality TV family and the dangers of fundamentalism | Documentary | The Guardian, The Guardian, June 1, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jun/01/shiny-happy-people-duggar-family-amazon

Kristin Kobes DeMuz, What I Really Think About Shiny Happy People (and a link to the “Aftershow”), DuMez Connections Substack https://kristindumez.substack.com/p/what-i-really-think-about-shiny-happy?sd=pf

Moses Y. Lee, Recognizing Patterns of Subtle Spiritual Abuse Before It’s Too Late – SOLA Network Sola Network, June 6, 2023. https://sola.network/article/recognizing-patterns-of-subtle-spiritual-abuse/?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-thesolanetwork&utm_content=later-35655511&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkin.bio

THEME MUSIC CREDITS:
“Play Like A Girl” by June & Jean Millington is licensed under an Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License that can be found here, Creative Commons Legal Code.
Find out more about the SHE-Team members.