Happy Hour #305: Megan Lively

The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey

Ivey Media

Personal Journals, Religion, Society & Culture, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

5 • 7.1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2020

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

My guest for The Happy Hour #305 is Megan Lively. Megan has worked in social media marketing and management since 2008. In 2019, she transitioned away from that and is now using her experience, education, and love for the church to equip the church in the area of social media through Relevant Reach. I first met Megan at an ERLC (Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission) Conference in Dallas where we were both invited to speak. While I was there to talk about how to care for friends as they heal from abuse, Megan was there to share boldly and for the first time about her own story of being raped while in Seminary and the subsequent trauma and retraumatization she has endured and begun to heal from. In today’s episode, Megan shares her story with us much like she did that day in Dallas. We discuss how we process trauma and PTSD, the effects shame has on victims of abuse, and how these events have shaped her relationship with God and with the church. Megan tells us about the healing ways people have responded to her story, like her husband and her pastor and, unfortunately, how she encountered times where “Instead of people viewing [her] as an image-bearer, they viewed [her] as someone who was there to make life messy for the church -- and the church needs to be protected.” Friends, today’s episode is important for so many reasons. I’m incredibly grateful for Megan’s vulnerability, bravery, and willingness to share with all of us today! My prayer is that if you or someone you know has experienced or is experiencing abuse, you will be encouraged to reach out to a loved one and a counselor. This should not happen to you and it’s not okay. If you are someone who has been told of abuse, I pray that you can be an empathetic listener and take action to support them.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey friends and welcome to the happy hour with Jamie, Ivey podcast. I'm your host Jamie and I'm
0:04.8	so glad you're here. Each week on this show, I invite a girlfriend to join me and we chat about
0:09.2	the big things in life, the little things in life, and everything in between.
0:23.3	Happy Wednesday my friends. The conversation today is one that I've been wanting to have on the
0:27.5	happy hour. For close to a year, I met Megan lively last year at an event at the ERLC that we were
0:33.7	both speaking at. I was invited to share on the topic of how to care for your friends as they
0:39.2	face healing from abuse. It's an important topic and one the church often doesn't do well.
0:44.1	Megan was there to share her story. She's going to share parts of that story with us today.
0:49.4	You see, Megan was raped while in seminary. She reported that rape and then nothing happened.
0:54.7	Fast forward 15 years later and Megan told her husband for the first time about the incident.
0:59.1	He was in fact the first person that she had told since she reported it all those years ago.
1:03.7	Megan, I have talked before and after this interview about what we hope listeners will understand
1:08.0	from hearing this episode today. We hope that you'll hear number one how not to handle a report
1:12.7	of abuse as it happened to Megan in 2003 and you'll hear what that felt like for her to not be seen,
1:18.6	to not be believed, to not be taken care of. And number two, you'll see what the right and
1:23.0	biblical and appropriate response to abuse be reported like she experienced in 2018. All those
1:28.0	years later, the response was affirming and life giving and life changing for her. These two
1:34.0	experiences offer Megan a unique perspective and I hope they offer all of us understanding
1:38.9	knowledge and wisdom with how we might respond when learning about abuse. Before we get to my
1:43.7	conversation with Megan, I need to ask you, do you subscribe to our newsletter? If you do,
1:48.4	did you see what we announced last week? We announced that registration for our happy hour in
1:53.3	Israel with terribly cobbled trip has officially opened. If you missed the email, first go to
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