Chelsea Andrews works in the field of foreign policy and international relations, especially as they pertain to Israel specifically. She is an expert in the area of civil discourse and, as the first Christian in her family, is able to put these principles into practice on a regular basis. On the show today she is equipping us with the tools we need to be able to engage in respectful, loving, Christ-like conversation with those who are different than us.
What we Chat about in This Episode:
~The problem with an “us vs. them” mentality
~What civil discourse is, and how Chelsea became passionate about it
~Being able to contain, monitor, and be self-aware of your emotions while in discussions of disagreements with others
~The vicious cycle of conflict – basing your identiity in your beliefs, being attacked and then becoming self-absorbed, going into feeling defensive, and reacting in anger
~Tips for practicing and engaging civil discourse
~How Chelsea puts the steps of civil discourse into action on social media, both Instagram and Facebook
~The power of asking clarifying questions
~Areas where the church, specifically, is not doing a good job of practicing civil discourse; the things we should do (and not do!) instead
~What Chelsea has learned as a result of being in friendships with people who are very different from her and members of the Jewish, liberal, progressive, or LGBTQ communities; how those friendships began and how she keeps them strong
~Not viewing people as projects; letting go and letting God work in others
~Answering the belief that, because we are to be in the world and not of the world and bad company corrupts good morals, we can’t and shouldn’t be friends with them
~The issue of anti-normalization and how we as believers need to let go of our involvement of it
~The importance of guarding someone’s emotions and approaching the conversation with humility when attempting to engage in civil discourse
~How this practice has changed Chelsea, personally
~The place social media plays in the civil discourse discussions of the day
~And more!
Resources Mentioned
Offer for a free audiobook and 30 day trial membership from Audible: www.audibletrial.com/HomeandHearth
Podcast episode with Dr. Rosaria Butterfield
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
Inspiring Quotes from Chelsea:
“Civil discourse is being able to discuss issues in a calm, contained way with people you disagree with.”
“Civil discourse is not apologetics. The purpose of it is not trying to convince someone else where they are wrong. It is seeking to understand where someone is coming from and why they believe what they believe.”
“Approaching a conversation with an attitude of ‘I don’t know everything’ leads that conversation into a beautiful place.”
“When you have humility and vulnerability, it gives you credibility.”
“As Christians, we need to be able to stand for our beliefs while also not demonizing other people who disagree with us.”
“If we want to be able to share Christ with others, we are going to have to be able to practice civil discourse.”
“Being in a friendship where you can each know who you are and what you believe and be ok with that – even if you never agree – is important.”
“To remain in a respectful friendship with someone, you have to let go of the expectation of the other person being some ideal.”
“If I try to make a person into a project, that takes the Holy Spirit of God out of the equation and makes God a lot smaller than He really is.”
“If we other-ize people we disagree with to the extent that we ignore and reject them, we have a big missed opportunity to share Christ with people.”
“If there is no love, people will not be receptive to the gospel at all.”
“You can disagree with how people are living their lives, but if you are not willing to be in conversation with them, why would they want to do that back for you?”
Where You Can Find Chelsea Online:
Instagram – @chelsandrews
Twitter – @chelsandrews
Facebook – Chelsea Katlyn Andrews
To Leave a Rating and Review on iTunes
Have you been encouraged or inspired by today’s episode? If so, could I ask a little favor? If you could leave the podcast a rating and review in iTunes, that would be amazing! The more ratings and reviews a podcast receives, the more iTunes shows that podcast to other folks searching for shows to listen to, so by leaving me a rating and review, you truly are partnering with me in this podcast ministry to encourage and help as many women as we possibly can. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that! Here’s how:
If you’re on your computer:
- Access iTunes on your desktop and type Home and Hearth in the search box on the upper right hand corner.
- Click on the podcast photo when it comes up
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