{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Ravel","title":"196. Check Your Power At The Door","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3284,"description":"In this episode, we explore abuse of power in church leadership, accountability structures across denominations, and the ways grace and forgiveness can be distorted to protect harmful behavior instead of vulnerable people. We each reflect on personal experiences with church hypocrisy, charismatic celebrity culture, and the tension between repentance, justice, and institutional self-protection. The conversation moves through stories of denominational failures, queer exclusion, public scandals, and the social contracts churches break when trust is betrayed. We arrive at the idea that meaningful accountability requires transparency, transformation, and small everyday acts of compassion rather than power, image, or platform. \nHost Recommendations\nEmily: Follow the Wesleyan “three simple rules”\nStephen: Rediscover and lean into your favorite color as an adult\nJosh: Replace furniture you no longer love or use well\nHost DE-Recommendations\nEmily: Do not excuse harmful behavior or abuse under the guise of grace, forgiveness, or religious authority\nStephen: Do not make judgment calls about other people’s spiritual or philosophical practices when you do not understand their story or needs\nJosh: Do not hold onto furniture you dislike simply because you already own it\nJoin us:\nJoin our free Discord community by emailing us at theravelpod@gmail.com for an invite link!\nTake a minute to drop us a 5-star rating and a 1-2 sentence review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!\nCredits:\nTheme Song: In Full Color by Louie Zong on Spotify and Bandcamp\nArtwork: Yarn and Ravel by Dixie Lee Henning @dixieleedraws\nProduced by Stephen Henning, Josh Lieuallen, and Emily Rettinghouse\nEditing/Audio Engineering by Stephen Henning\nCertified Organic benediction by Reverend Emily Rettinghouse, MDiv","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/H73neF7t6jXdeiq0rVUDkF1xqn9e2EsH8SY3QILnDGU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzEzMDI1LzE2NzI3/MTY0ODItYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}