Michelle Van Loon was "getting around," doing drugs and acting 'a fool as a Jewish teenager but when a friend introduced and evangelized her to Jesus (may or may not have been over some weed), her life has never been the same.  Michelle, author of numerous books, recently wrote "Downsizing: Letting Go of Evangelicalism's Nonessentials," and joins Joey to discuss the contents. Could "downsizing" be the only hope for unity in the church?  Among the many topics discussed, the two talk whether "spiritual authority" has to go, what makes a pastor a pastor, Joey's former zeal for Mark Driscoll, how the church has made an idol of the nuclear family, and the silly notion that deconstruction is usually a bad thing.  

Synopsis of book: Michelle Van Loon came to faith in Jesus as a Jewish teenager and embraced the first Christian community she found: evangelicals. Over the next fifty years, she enthusiastically worshiped and worked in a wide variety of evangelical groups. Looking back on those experiences today, Van Loon treasures the things that truly deepened her faith. At the same time, she laments the accumulation of baggage—religious ideas and practices that were unhelpful at best, and harmful at worst. Unlike many who have given up on evangelicalism altogether, Van Loon is committed to saving what’s worthwhile in the evangelical faith tradition, and she invites others to join her. Simultaneously critical and hopeful, Downsizing encourages readers to reflect on their own experience with evangelicalism, evaluate the movement’s legacy, and participate in shaping its future.

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PWNA Theme Song by Stoy Prioleau (aka: Riggy Roc): Apple Music

Closing song by Derek Minor and other music by Mechanical River.