The Disrupters: Faith Changing Culture

Latest Episodes:

Navigating Faith and Politics: What to Expect from Season 5 Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

With another election season approaching, how can Christians navigate the challenging political landscape without losing their souls?

In this season, we’ll dive deep into the topic of engaging in politics while remaining spiritually grounded and relationally connected.

I'm your new host, Kaitlyn Schiess, and together, we'll embark on a journey of thought-provoking conversations with a diverse range of experts and individuals who bring invaluable firsthand experiences from the world of politics.

Our esteemed guests include Pastor Tyler Burns, therapist Aundi Kolber, and theologian Luke Bretherton, among others.

Plus, we'll hear from some people who've been in the political trenches themselves, like Michael Wear, the president of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, and Shannan Martin, a current candidate for City Council in Goshen, Indiana.

Through their stories and insights, we'll be inspired and equipped to navigate the challenges of representing Christ faithfully in our public lives.

So, make sure to subscribe to "The Disrupters" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the IVP YouTube channel, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Our first episode with Tyler Burns drops on October 16, so mark your calendars.

Let's shake things up and have some real talk about faith, politics, and personal growth.

In this episode, we highlight the following themes:

The challenges of engaging in politics as a Christian
Kaitlyn’s background in political theology and books authored
Preview of topics and guests for the season

For its fifth season, hosted by Kaitlyn Schiess, The Disrupters podcast from IVP asks the question, "What does it mean to disrupt ourselves?" Join Kaitlyn as she explores the ways that Christians can prepare themselves—spiritually, emotionally, and relationally—to faithfully disrupt the church and the world. Pastors, scholars, activists, and therapists share their own experiences of formation and transformation to educate and inspire listeners who seek lasting change, both within themselves and in their communities.

✅ Special offer: Visit ivpress.com and use the code IVPOD25 for 25% off any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.

✅ Producers: Andrew Bronson, Maila Kim, Helen Lee, and Travis Albritton

✅ Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts

✅ Social Media Manager: Allie Noble

✅ Production Assistant: Isis Toldson

✅ Podcast Art: Kate Lillard

✅ Theme Song: "People" by Lightmuzik

==== Time Stamps ====

00:00 - Introduction

00:29 - Kaitlyn Schiess's background and interest in politics

01:30 - Preparing for an election season holistically

02:01 - Guests and interviews in upcoming episodes

02:28 - Episode subscription information

02:39 - First episode with Tyler Burns on October 16

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

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Introducing the New Host of the Disrupters Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

We've got some exciting news to share—we’re introducing a new voice and a fresh perspective to season 5. Welcome to the next host of The Disrupters, Kaitlyn Schiess!

Before we jump headfirst into all the exciting things this season has in store, let's take a moment to reflect on our journey so far. We deeply appreciate the work of our former host of seasons 3 and 4, Nancy Wang Yuen, who enriched The Disrupters with her unique perspective and thought-provoking conversations. In this transition episode, Nancy officially hands the baton to Kaitlyn, and they offer a sneak peek into what to expect from season 5.

Continuing the hallmark theme of disruption that characterizes The Disrupters, this season we are approaching the theme by asking how people of faith are to pursue disruption of themselves in order for the church, world, and culture to change for better. Through the shared insights of Kaitlyn and her guests, we'll be peeling back layers to uncover the underlying factors within ourselves that contribute to political dysfunction and cultural shifts.

So, mark your calendars for October 16, 2023 and get ready to embark on this new chapter of The Disrupters. Engage with us, challenge us, and let's continue our tradition of compelling conversations and disruptions that lead to a greater flourishing.

In this episode, we highlight the following themes:

The future of The Disrupters and what Season 5 holds
Kaitlyn’s expectations and aspirations for the new season
Nancy's journey with The Disrupters and reflections on her time as host

About the Host:

Kaitlyn Schiess is a writer, author, and doctoral student enrolled at Duke Divinity School, where she is pursuing studies in political theology, ethics, and biblical interpretation. She attained her ThM in systematic theology from Dallas Theological Seminary in the year 2021. One of her notable works is The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor, (InterVarsity Press, September 2020). Her writings on theology, politics, and culture have been featured in various publications, including Christianity Today, The New York Times, Christ and Pop Culture, CT Women, RELEVANT, Sojourners, Fathom, and the Christian Research Journal.

==== Time Stamps ====

00:00 - Introduction

00:33 - Nancy's Reflections and Handoff

01:40 - Nancy's podcasting approach & thoughts on Kaitlyn

03:56 - What to expect in season 5

06:07 - Continuity and evolution of The Disrupters podcast

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Weinstein Survivor Rowena Chiu Writes Her Own Script Feb 27, 2023

Show notes

Content warning: This episode contains sensitive content about sexual assault. Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was recently sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison on top of his current sentence of 23 years for sexual assault. In this bonus episode of The Disrupters, Nancy Wang Yuen speaks with Weinstein’s former assistant, advocate, and activist Rowena Chiu. She left the film industry after being victimized by Weinstein in 1998. The 2022 film She Said tells the story of the New York Times investigation that led to Weinstein’s history of abuse and misconduct against women; Chiu is portrayed by actor Angela Yeoh in the film. For Rowena, watching her own story play out in a film evoked complicated feelings: “It is absolutely true that I'm super proud of it, and I think it's a major achievement. It is also an incredibly difficult movie for the individual survivor to watch,” says Chiu. “It's going to be difficult for me not to feel that the story is out of my control.” In this episode, Nancy talks to Rowena about how she copes with that tension, how being a Christian has made it difficult for survivors of sexual misconduct to receive support from the church, and how she has learned to tell a deeply difficult story with courage and clarity. To learn more about how issues of sexual misconduct and abuse affect faith communities, check out The #MeToo Reckoning by pastor and survivor Ruth Everhart. Use the code DISRUPT at ivpress.com for 30% off and free US shipping of The #MeToo Reckoning. *** Resources mentioned in this episode include: Rowena Chiu's op-ed piece in the New York Times Rowena Chiu's Sojourners article Trailer for She Said She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

The Disrupters is hosted by Nancy Wang Yuen. Theme song is New Eyes by Jason Chu. Mixed and Edited by Matt Linder Producers: Richard Clark and Maila Kim Executive Producers: Andrew Bronson and Helen Lee

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Kaitlyn Schiess Has a Warning for White Evangelicals Jan 09, 2023

Show notes

In recent years there has been much cynicism regarding Christians’ role in American politics, especially from younger generations. Kaitlyn Schiess, a doctoral theology student at Duke Divinity School and author of Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of our Neighbor (IVP), understands those challenges. “A lot of young people today, who want to stay in the church or really truly believe the gospel and want to to take Scripture as authoritative in their lives don't know how to reconcile the fact that the people that taught them to care about the gospel and taught them to care about what Scripture said, didn't seem to actually want to do those things when it really came down to it politically.” But where Kaitlyn lives, she’s seen young white evangelicals “act like [they’re} the first person to do this” type of justice work when “there is [already] a rich tradition of the Black church being deeply involved in politics here.” She cautions that especially for white evangelicals, “If you want to partner, if you want to learn…that's great. If you want to start a brand new thing, like no one's ever thought of this, you're pretty quickly going to be humbled.” Disruptions discussed in this episode: Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of our Neighbor The Bible and The Ballot: Using Scripture in Political Decisions The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here Bernie Sanders Liberty University Speech Raphael Warnock 2022 Georgia Senate Race Acceptance Speech Michael Wear

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

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Deb Liu’s Double-Edged Sword of Resilience and Resentment Jan 02, 2023

Show notes

For those not paying attention, it might seem as though Deb Liu, the CEO of Ancestry.com and the author of Take Back Your Power has been on a straightforward path to success her whole life. Despite Chinese cultural norms that tend to favor boys over girls, Deb’s parents were incredibly supportive, accepting her for who she was: “[My father] took us fishing, he taught me how to shoot. We went crabbing and shrimping. He treated us like he would any other boy or girl. And it was really great. I had such a wonderful childhood with him.” But great parents couldn’t fully protect Deb from what was seen as normal in the American south, “where people just brutally bullied you for being different,” according to Liu. For someone in her position, overcoming these kinds of experiences is often cited as a reason for success and not a barrier. But for Liu, it’s more complicated than that: “That taught me so much resilience, and yet gave me so much resentment at the same. I had to spend a lot of time really breaking through that…I used that resentment. I used it to actually help me accelerate my career, to get to college, to achieve so much. And yet at the same time, it was really hurting me too, because that chip on my shoulder of ‘I'm going to prove to them that I'm better than they think I am, that I'm more than they assume I am,’ really hurt me in the long term.” Disruptions discussed in this episode: MommySchool.net The Purpose Driven Life The Five Love Languages The Righteous Mind Why We’re Polarized Forward

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

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I’m Dreaming of a Not-White Christmas, Part 4: How White Santa Overshadows Jesus Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

In this series, Nancy Wang Yuen is joined by co-host New York Times bestselling author and historian Jemar Tisby for a miniseries exploring the Christmas season through the lenses of race, gender, and class. They examine some of the implicit and explicit messages that permeate Christian Christmas culture and that we often enjoy and consume indiscriminately. In part 4, Nancy and Jemar discuss the obsession with white Santa and the ways that cultural representations often distract from the heart of the season, Jesus Christ.

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

The Disrupters: I’m Dreaming of a Not-White Christmas is hosted by Drs. Jemar Tisby and Nancy Wang Yuen. Mixed and edited by Matt Linder Producers: Richard Clark and Maila Kim Executive Producers: Andrew Bronson and Helen Lee

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I’m Dreaming of a Not-White Christmas, Part 3: Christmas in Color Dec 12, 2022

Show notes

In this series, Nancy Wang Yuen is joined by co-host New York Times bestselling author and historian Jemar Tisby for a miniseries exploring the Christmas season through the lenses of race, gender, and class. They examine some of the implicit and explicit messages that permeate Christian Christmas culture and that we often enjoy and consume indiscriminately. In part 3, Nancy and Jemar discuss what it actually looks like to have people of color fully represented in Christmas movies.

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

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I’m Dreaming of a Not-White Christmas, Part 2: The Christmas Rom-Com Dec 05, 2022

Show notes

In this series, Nancy Wang Yuen is joined by co-host New York Times bestselling author and historian Jemar Tisby for a miniseries exploring the Christmas season through the lenses of race, gender, and class. They examine some of the implicit and explicit messages that permeate Christian Christmas culture and that we often enjoy and consume indiscriminately. In part 2, Nancy and Jemar discuss the proliferation of the Christmas Rom-Com, and the cultural tropes that often come alongside them.

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

I’m Dreaming of a Not-White Christmas, Part 1 Nov 28, 2022

Show notes

For the next four episodes, Nancy Wang Yuen is joined by co-host, New York Times bestselling author and historian Jemar Tisby for a miniseries exploring the Christmas season through the lenses of race, gender, and class. They examine some of the implicit and explicit messages that permeate Christian Christmas culture and that we often enjoy and consume indiscriminately. In part 1 of this series, our hosts discuss the reasons for doing a series like this at all and also share about their own personal experiences with Christmas through their unique perspectives as Christians of color for whom the phrase “white Christmas” has a completely different connotation. You will learn, you will laugh, and you will never see the Christmas season in the same way again. Join us in dreaming of a not-white Christmas this year!

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Why It Doesn’t Matter Whether Tennis Legend Michael Chang Wins or Loses Nov 21, 2022

Show notes

Michael Chang is a legendary tennis player, primarily known for his improbable 1989 victory as a teenager at the French Open, among his many successes. But for Chang, that is not his primary legacy. “I've never thought of tennis as just being tennis,” says Chang. “I've always positioned it as a way to touch lives, to share my faith, to inspire young people…young Asian athletes in particular.” It’s a perspective that has helped Chang see his sports career, however successful it has been, in the proper light: “Whether I was winning, whether I was losing, whether it was a very, very close match, the perspective of knowing that this doesn't change who I am or how I'm loved was a great comfort for me.” As the only Asian American male player to hoist a major tennis championship trophy, Chang provided a joyous moment for people of color and especially Asian American fans during a time of tennis’s heyday in the era of white American tennis stars such as Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. As a Christian on tour, Chang never shied away from naming his faith as a core piece of his identity. Decades later, his fans still remember how much of a disruption he was to the sport, long before the Williams sisters and Naomi Osaka became household names. Enjoy this conversation with Michael Chang, who still holds the record as the youngest man to ever win a major tennis championship. Disruptions discussed in this episode: 30 for 30 Documentary “American Son” Announcement Michael Chang vs Ivan Lendl - 1989 French Open Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming Our Ethnic Journey “Let's come together to end the hate,” essay by Michael Chang =

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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