In this episode, Canon Megan and Adam take on one of the trickiest theological questions out there: What does it really mean to say that God is sovereign?

They dive into the influence of Arthur Pink’s writing and it's influence modern Reformed theology, the challenges of hyper-Calvinism, and how different traditions—including Episcopalians (and Anglicanism) —understand God’s power, justice, and love. Spoiler: not everyone sees God as a puppet master pulling every string.

Instead, Megan and Adam offer a vision of a God who chooses relationship over control—and who gives us freedom not in spite of divine sovereignty, but because of it.

What You’ll Walk Away With:

• God’s sovereignty is one of the most debated concepts in Christianity—and there’s more than one way to understand it.
• Arthur Pink’s take has shaped a lot of modern evangelical thought, especially in more rigid theological circles.
• Hyper-Calvinism can make God seem distant, coercive, or even unloving—but that’s not the only option.
• The Anglican tradition sees sovereignty through the lens of love, not domination.
• Free will isn’t a threat to God’s power—it’s a gift from God that makes relationship possible.
• You can’t talk about sovereignty without also talking about God’s justice, mercy, and character.
• Theology doesn’t happen in a vacuum—history and context matter.
• True power doesn’t need to control everything. Sometimes, power looks like choosing to let others choose.
• God isn’t a puppet master—God is a partner in love and liberation.
• When we talk about God, the words we use really matter—and so does the story we’re telling with them.

If you’ve ever wondered how to make sense of God’s will, human freedom, or whether everything really “happens for a reason”—this episode is for you.

AI Disclosure: To support our staff in their limited time, many of our episode summaries are first generated by AI and then edited by the Communications Director to accurately reflect and preview our podcast episodes.