EP 13: CHURCH BASEMENT FAITH
Christine chats with author and pastor Scott Sauls about regret, shame, and redemption. Scott shares highlights from his newest book, Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen, and why he believes that faith is formed more deeply in church basements than in sanctuaries. Together, they discuss the vital roles confession and community play in spiritual growth and emotional healing. If you have ever struggled with fear, doubt, shame, grief, regret, or anxiety, this episode is for you!
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Our Guest
SCOTT SAULS
In March 2012, Scott began serving as the Senior Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He is married to Patti and has two daughters, Abby and Ellie. Previously, Scott was a lead and preaching pastor for Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, where he worked alongside Dr. Timothy Keller. He has also planted and pastored churches in Kansas City and St. Louis, and is a frequent speaker at conferences, leadership retreats, and to university students. Scott has six published books and blogs weekly.
NOTE: Featuring a guest, resource, or organization on The Holy Shift does not necessarily constitute a blanket endorsement of their entire body of work.
We’ve highlighted some key points from this episode below. Feel free to share these on your blogs/feeds with proper attribution to the writer/speaker/podcast. Or stay tuned—we will be posting several of these verses and quotes, along with clips from this episode, on our IG page and you can save/share from there.
Scripture
Psalm 51:17
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
Psalm 13
How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Jesus, in John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Jesus, in John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Quotes
“I think there’s a lot the sanctuary can learn from the basement. You can feasibly have a room filled with non-Christian alcoholics who are more honest and more real about life than a sanctuary filled with Christians. And I just don’t think that should be so.” Scott Sauls
“Over and over and over again you’ve got this picture of flawed, broken, damaged people that God uses to shake the earth. God redeems and works through them to bring the healing power and grace of the kingdom of God into the world.” Scott Sauls
“We want to be pastored and led by people who are willing to tell the truth about themselves.” Christine Chandler Prater
“That happy-clappy, fake-it-till-you-make-it, pretend-everything’s-good-while-you’re-dying-inside – that’s not a Christian virtue. It hurts us and it hurts the commitment to honesty in community.” Scott Sauls
“Expressing distressed emotion in a broken world is not a sign of weakness but of strong faith. It’s not a sign of spiritual immaturity but of spiritual maturity. It is not a sign that we are unlike Christ but that we are like Christ.” Scott Sauls
“Embracing our weakness and lack of control is our first step to flourishing in faith.” Christine Chandler Prater
“It’s good as a human to be human and not a superstar. God has not created or called us to be awesome, amazing, above all the rest. He’s called us to be sinners who are saved by grace and in the process of becoming whole.” Scott Sauls
“We’re created in the image of a God who is both one and three, so that’s a model for us. We need one-ness with more than just ourselves” Scott Sauls
Resources
BOOKS
We all carry regret, hurt, and fear. These are burdens that weigh us down and make us feel trapped.
Scott Sauls knows what it’s like to be unfinished and on the mend under Jesus’ merciful, mighty healing hand. Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen reads like a field guide that can help you:
- Find hope in how God is drawn toward you, not appalled by you, in your sin and sorrow
- Practice emotional health with joy, gratitude, and lament
- Quiet shaming, wearying thoughts with God’s divine counter-voice
- Discover how the defining feeling of faith is not strength but dependent weakness
- Learn what the Bible calls “the secret of being content” in every circumstance
MUSIC
VIDEO
ART
ARTICLES
ORGANIZATIONS
Professional, licensed, and vetted therapists who you can trust
Tap into the world’s largest network of licensed, accredited, and experienced therapists who can help you with a range of issues including depression, anxiety, relationships, trauma, grief, and more. With our therapists, you get the same professionalism and quality you would expect from an in-office therapist, but with the ability to communicate when and how you want.
FROM BOUNDARIES.ME COURSE ON SHAME:
When we experience shame, we feel like we’ve failed ourselves in some way. We believe that we didn’t live up to some standard that was set. Maybe it’s a precedent that was set by ourselves, or perhaps it was someone else, but regardless, feeling shame leaves us feeling like we’re “bad” or “damaged” in some way. In this course, Dr. Henry Cloud is going to talk about how to address shame, how to cure ourselves from the burdens of shame and how to protect ourselves from feeling unnecessary shame as we move forward past pain in our lives.
OTHER RELATED RESOURCES
Special thanks to my production team!
- Show Notes: Lori O’Brien
- Podcast Editor: Tammy Munson
- Video Editor: Alyssa Bruce
Do you struggle with fear, hurt, or shame? What are your thoughts on the roles that confession and community play in our spiritual growth and emotional healing?
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