As long as we think God’s affection for us is tied to his approval regarding our performance, we will grovel about in our shame and miss the reality of living loved. Joining Wayne this week is Dave Coleman, co-writer of So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore and a long-time friend of Wayne’s. The sort through some recent email and end up in a discussion about those who cannot conceive of a God who would enjoy them just as they are. Religion so saddles us with expectations God has of us, and the shame that results from falling short of them makes them feel unworthy of God’s loving. God wants to rewire our thinking so that we know him as he is and not the way religion has disfigured him, making him our judge instead of our Abba.

Podcast Links:

Previous Podcasts with Dave Coleman: Meet Jake Colsen (3/24/06), Why Religion Doesn’t Work (4/17/08), and Why Religion Doesn’t Work II (4/25/08)

Contact Dave Coleman

Brene Brown’s Book – The Gifts of Imperfection and her talks at Ted.com: The Power of Vulnerability (12/10) and Listening to Shame (3/12)

The Orphanage in Kenya