Christa McKirland Talking about Power and Authority

A podcast interview engaging some of my current research

Makerspace Podcast: Power and Authority

A month or so ago I had a chance to chat with Sam Burrows on Makerspace about my current research on power and authority and he just released it. This was an off-the-cuff conversation (I knew we were going to talk about power and authority in the church and go from there) and I really enjoyed his questions and the conversation that ensued. I stumble over a few things that I would say differently if I recorded it again (i.e. Junia not Phoebe was prominent among the apostles)—but as I said in my first post—I want this to be a place where I reflect conversationally, and even provisionally, about what I am processing.

At the same time, I don’t want any misspeaking to cause harm. So I do want to note that when I talk about fallen leaders possibly returning to church (around 45 minutes in), I would say more if these are abusive or predatory leaders. The heartbeat of my forthcoming book is seeking to address the larger culture of the church, and how our understanding of authority is often subtle and contributes to why more egregious harms—such as abuse—occur. In the podcast, I turn more quickly to the culture than the culprit even though both would need to be addressed.

I know it’s about an hour long, but in case power, authority, the church, sin, women in the church, Scriptural translation, discipleship in Christ-likeness, leadership, and a smattering of politicizing are up your alley, check it out.