67. Dr. Todd Bowman – Anxiety Drivers in Pastors, Deconstruction of Faith, and Cancel Culture

Red Ink Revival Leadership Podcast

Welcome to Episode #67 of the Red Ink Revival Leadership Podcast. Today’s conversation is with Dr. Todd Bowman, a psychologist, neuroscientist, and amazing human being as we talk through the powerful nuances of anxiety and panic. Our conversation, which is part 2 of a 2-part conversation, takes us into the following topics: * What it means to be established in truth. * How anxiety and distress is a driver in “progressive Christianity”, and the needs for deconstruction of faith. * How a generation of people–even in peer groups–may be drowning in anxiety and not know it. * How emotional distress shows up in insomnia, digestive issues, muscle pains, and splitting headaches. * How bi-polar cultural extremes are caused by anxiety. * How shame is anxiety turning against the Self. * How shame can’t be addressed without addressing anxiety. * How social media awakens social anxiety. * The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. * How the more we fight panic the more intense it will become. * How irritability, anger, and depression are expressions of anxiety. * Analyzing deconstructivism. * How truth is not just an honest expression, but is reality anchored in objectivity. * How objective truth is sometimes perceived as oppressive and therefore a source of anxiety. * “Cancel culture” and the threads of a “spirit of fear”. * Holding the tension between love (acceptance) and definitions of sin. * How to deal with a narcissistic critic as a Pastor. * How anxiety thrives in being unskilled at loving ourselves well with radical acceptance. * How social anxiety shows up in many Pastor’s personalities when they aren’t in a position of “control”. * The vulnerabilities of a pastoral role and how it fuels anxiety. * Various traumatic experiences and the anxieties of congregants transitioning out of the churches we pastor. * How boredom is a characteristic of anxiety. * How arousing a team with fresh vision can often be about anxiety in the leader. Be sure to listen to episode #66, which is part 1 of this conversation on anxiety and panic. Dr. Bowman is the Associate Professor of Counseling at Indiana Wesleyan University. He is an Adjunct Professor for Human Sexuality at Nazarene Theological Seminary. He is an Adjunct Professor of the Intro to Psychology at Nazarene Bible College. He also is an assessing psychologist for evaluating seminary applicants for ministry training. Visit our website: redinkrevival.com Please rate, review, share, and subscribe! Edited and produced by Evan (Emac) McAlister