David French and Curtis Chang Answer Listener Mail

The one where the listeners take charge.

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For the first time ever, Good Faith podcast co-hosts David and Curtis answer questions from listeners.  In this special “Ask Me Anything” podcast, they respond to questions about how to find a good church; how to interact with family and friends who are lost in the right wing media bubble; how to consume pop culture; and all the ways in which Curtis is an apostate from progressive orthodoxy. It’s a fun, free-flowing conversation where the listeners are in charge.

Show Notes:

A New Chapter in Millennial Church Attendance: “Patterns of attendance among younger generations can be especially important—and perplexing—for pastors to understand, in their own church and at large. Barna Group has studied the intersection of faith and culture for nearly four decades, with an emphasis on generational trends. This article explores recent data to help church leaders ground themselves in the present reality of church attendance across generations—especially Millennials—in 2022.”

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

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  1. Avatar photo
    Bel

    I found the reference Curtis made to evaluating if something is an electric socket very helpful, particularly the example of food and fasting.

    Long story shortly summarized, I developed an eating disorder as a teen when my ballet teacher and mother put me on a diet when I was already underweight. With the help of therapy during college I moved past it, although it lurked in the background and a decade ago when I was in my early 40s the disordered eating returned. In 2019 I stopped dieting which freed me from the cycle of restricting and binging. Unfortunately I replaced it with a new, unhealthy, disordered pattern of indulging to avoid binging.

    Almost two weeks ago I started the Mayo Clinic diet which provides a meal plan to follow. Eating more vegetables and fruits and less fat and sugar I realized that indulging is as much of an electric socket as restriction. It is bad not only for my body, but my soul.

    An eating disorder is approaching food like a 3rd rail, eating mindlessly is an electric socket.

    I have to find some sort of middle way. Fasting and dieting is dicey for someone with an eating disorder, but so is eating with abandon. I appreciate having another way to think of it: am I treating food like a 3rd rail? Is what I’m about to eat going to be an electric socket?

    Thinking about what I eat may seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, but a lot of Americans, especially women, eat in disordered ways and are oblivious to the spiritual impact.

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  2. Will

    I thought the question about Curtis's departures from progressive orthodoxy was interesting. Thinking back on previous pods, my impression is that David is more of the politics/culture guy and Curtis is more of the theology guy. In practice, that means we get a fair bit of David talking about the challenges of living an authentically Christian life in conservative America, with Curtis talking about what the Bible says about that. I don't think we've gotten much of Curtis talking about the challenges of living an authentically Christian life in progressive America, which may be why a listener who only knows Curtis from the pod could have assumed that he just didn't see any conflict between progressivism and Christianity. I'd be interested in seeing you two dip into that well more in the future, assuming the pod continues when David heads to the times.

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  3. Merriesoltis

    I love Jesus. It's church I don't like. I grew up in church Sunday school, youth group, Wednesday night supper. I've almost always been a regular church goer. But I moved 4 years ago and have really struggled since then. I personally don't like mega churches. I respect that a lot of people get something out of them, it's just not for me. I want a church where I can shake the pastor's hand after the sermon. Where someone comes to see me in the hospital. I want to sing in the choir. It's gotten harder in the Trump area. As one of my friends put it "in this area, it's hard not to end up at the First Church of MAGA." How do you know? They don't exactly put that on the literature. On top of that, I'm single. I look around each Sunday and I see married couples, families with children, older women sitting in a group - an me over here by myself. I like my new pastor, but honestly I'd like him a lot better if he could give a sermon in 20 minutes instead of 40. But the people I've met really scare me. I went to one of those ladies dinners and when the subject turned to trans kids, I made a hasty exit. I almost died of Covid. One of them said I should have tried Ivermectin! And another said nobody should be getting the MRNA vaccines! So now I'm afraid to talk to anyone about anything. I just show up, sit alone, and try not to talk to anyone. That's no way to become part of the body of Christ. During the pandemic, I was too afraid to attend in person (especially in a choir full of vaccine deniers.) I'd like to say I missed it, but honestly I didn't. Not at all. And that makes me very sad.

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    1. Brendan Bossard

      Merriesoltis, sometimes it takes a while and many tries to find the right church. I agree with you about some of the things you have observed; but I have also learned that I am never the only one with my concerns. Don't give up!

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  4. Phil.Ammar

    Curtis, I had trouble holding back the tears when hearing about your story of the retreat and group bible study, and applause at being welcomed back.

    This resonates with me because we had a season of not being involved with a church we were attending, even though it hit a lot of our doctrinal checklists. Later, after moving cities and joining a church that was not as good a 'fit', but had a need for people to step up and be involved (and my wife and I are natural joiners), we feel as 'home' as we ever have felt, because we are able to share our talents, gifts and passions with the congregation, where we hadn't done anything for the previous 3 years.

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  5. Avatar photo
    Tammydd

    Loved both analogies of viewing entertainment in our life as either a "plug in a socket" or a "third rail." Both are helpful to think about and consider. Will be keeping both in mind. I'm hoping for good things for the future of Good Faith! And I want to thank David French for his honesty and willingness to stand up to the shamers who come at him from every side. Congratulations on the NYT post. Can't wait to read you there!

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  6. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    I particularly liked David’s framing that joy is a good thing and therefore entertainment is perfectly fine and good so long as it’s not taking away from other important priorities in life. It always bothers me when people have the attitude that having a good time is inherently wrong (depending on what “having a good time” means it might be or it might not be but it isn’t ipso facto wrong).

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  7. Avatar photo
    Matt Sherman

    Honestly, David's description of the South doesn't resonate with experience there. I love my Southern friends & did connect with a wonderful church community, but as a later third decade single Midwesterner with east coast living experience I didn't feel welcome. Probably didn't help that my employer was super toxic so I got to see that sniping and backstabbing directed at me within weeks of arriving. But even in the healthier areas of life, like church life, it was a struggle to make consistent community when you don't have a spouse or kids or a significant other, it was very easy to be left out. (Which actually makes me think it would be nice for the guys to have on one or two folks to talk about the church engaging with the unmarried because it can be a rather different experience than what they described at the start of the pod.) Plus I don't know how anyone lives with that level of heat. Thankfully it was only a year and a half, but honestly it was probably one of the hardest years I've wrestled with. I'm biased of course, but I'd way rather take Midwest friendliness any day of the week to Southern hospitality.

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      Curtischang1

      Matt - your comments reminded of the Holderness Family’s rap battle on the Midwest vs the South: https://youtu.be/x4vG3CoGMhE

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      1. Avatar photo
        Matt Sherman

        Ha, yeah there is definitely some truth there. I will give it there is a certain chill friendliness Californians can provide as well, though still too warm for me (admittedly I've not had the chance to visit Nor Cal). Honestly I feel like Midwesterners though are more cousin to Canadians culturally.

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  8. Kelly.Kent.Johnson

    As always, I deeply appreciate you both. I never fail to leave your podcast episodes with a changed heart, reflective of the considerate and open discourse you both model.

    David, your words today defining the South were spot on! Your description of the shame/honor culture define my entire 63 years as a Virginian. Brought up by a family, whose heritage pre-dates Revolutionary War in Virginia, I was raised to honor the history of my forefathers. You touched on the ambivalence I have always felt about my home. I both cherish and loathe the history of my people. Having grown up in the Tidewater area of Virginia, I was surrounded by both "true Virginians" and the eclectic "come-here's" of military folk (Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard bases all nearby). Like you, I live in a rural ALL RED county, but have always worked and recreated with people from all walks of life with varied viewpoints. I was a public school teacher in a diverse (racially, politically, and economically) population for 40+ years, so I have learned to see many perspectives on every issue.

    As a conservative liberal, my neighbors' views often confound me and I know that I sometimes stun them, but in the past that never got in the way of our being friendly and considerate of one another. And my ALL BLUE co-workers and friends fail to understand why I don't disavow my neighbors because of their beliefs. I have always been proud to call myself and my family "Southerners", while also feeling ashamed of the sins of my adored forefathers (my middle name is Lee, which should give you some indication of my roots). More and more, I feel that both sides are requiring people to pass a loyalty test to remain in the group, which has been exacerbated since the 2016 election of Donald Trump. I CAN be a strong Patriot AND love the military (my son is a Captain in the Army), WHILE ALSO believing that racial injustice is systemic and public schools matter.

    I so appreciate the way you both speak to the divisions in our country by modeling Grace for all people, despite their differences. Please never stop!

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    Leslie

    I’m so glad to know there will be a future for Good Faith, wherever it may be.

    Thank you for your thoughtful answers. I appreciated Curtis’s caution to consider how our pop culture diet is forming us—something I have recently been waking up to and watching for, both in myself and in my kids.

    And the idea of taking note of the gods of the place you’re in as a way to reach people is very thought-provoking. What are the particular idols of my rural upstate New York community? I’m a 20-year transplant, and I’m still not sure, but it is worth trying to understand. And I should ask myself what idols of my particular background I am tempted to offer, rather than simply holding out Christ. I have never given thought to this question.

    The quote of the episode, however, is without question, “We are NOT fear-based homesteaders.”

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