“Thoughts Beyond Thought” is an unscripted conversation hosted by Travis Meredith and Chris Fogle. This follow-up to Episode 2 ("Sexual Abuse in the Church") discusses enabling factors and character traits for unhealthy and abusive church leaders. The episode covers:

-A leader’s “ability” before character formation, our love of celebrity, arrogance, lack of accountability, issues with a visionary on a special mission. unquestioned loyalty, consolidated power, and refusal or excuses for being mentored.

-Human nature's propensity to be tempted by power and whether any leaders can be trusted.

-Realizing we are partly to blame for empowering, respecting and worshipping these prideful personalities, but we must acknowledge seeing the same problems in the mirror.

-Because we are complicit, now that we know what to look for, what can we do? Some suggestions covered are: don’t overgeneralize, don’t implicitly trust but don’t distrust everyone either, see how the leaders lives their life (and if you can’t get close enough to know, follow someone else).

-And finally, the “Beyond Books” segment.

Link: “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast.

“Thoughts Beyond Thought” is hosted and produced by Travis Meredith and Chris Fogle, edited by Bryce Meredith, artwork by Erin Meredith.