Who Is Your Neighbor? with Dr. J. Derek McNeil

The Allender Center Podcast

The Allender Center

Psychology, Religion & Spirituality, Mental Health, Christianity, Trauma, Health & Fitness, Theology

4.6 • 628 Ratings

🗓️ 21 February 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Rachael Clinton Chen welcomes back Dr. J. Derek McNeil, President and Provost of The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, for a thoughtful conversation about navigating today’s fragmented world with hope, kindness, and connection.

They explore how uncertainty, institutional distrust, and cultural polarization have left many feeling unmoored.

As people of faith, we are called to love God and our neighbors—but how do we do this in a world that feels so divided?

Regardless of religious, political, or personal identity, we all feel the effects of fragmentation. We are in search of a new story—a story that can hold us together.

Dr. McNeil reflects on the deep need for community and the dangers of isolating in survival mode. Together, they discuss the challenge of living faithfully amid social, political, and relational fractures.

If you’re grappling with feelings of disconnection or isolation, or if you’ve been wondering how to engage with others in a fractured world, tune in for a powerful conversation about finding hope, purpose, and co-creating a renewed sense of belonging.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for listening to the Allender Center podcast.
0:06.7	I'm Dr. Dan Allender.
0:08.7	And I'm Rachel Clinton-Centen.
0:10.5	We're fiercely committed to providing hope and healing to a fragmented world.
0:14.7	And restoration for the heart.
0:17.2	Thank you for joining us.
0:18.5	Let's get this conversation started.
0:30.6	Thank you for joining us. Let's get this conversation started. Well, good people with good bodies, I would say myself, you may have your own opinion, that these are actually some perilous days.
0:40.2	To try to stay human, to stay embodied, to stay kind, to stay hopeful, to not split off.
0:50.4	The list goes on.
0:51.8	So I am personally deeply grateful to have Dr. J. Derek McNeil returning back to the
1:00.0	Allener Center podcast today to help us find some language for the times that we find ourselves in.
1:06.9	And how do we love? What are we called to in this time? And actually getting into two, like, what are some of the practices that sustain us? How do we live as such a time as this? So, you know, no big deal. No pressure. Welcome to Eric.
1:25.1	Well, Rachel was great to be here with you again, and I have a chance to, it's always fun to kind of play with you in these conversations. I do think that play is some of the times we do the most learning. This has always been true of us.
1:41.9	Bodies who've grown up into adults, we worry more and play less, and I think play is really a wonderful space of learning.
1:49.3	Yeah, absolutely.
1:50.2	And a statement about our bodies as well.
1:52.3	So thanks for letting me be with you hang out.
1:55.7	Yeah.
1:56.2	Well, you know, as many of you already know, Derek is the president and provost of the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology.
2:04.1	I've had the profound privilege of knowing Derek since 2011, I believe.
2:11.0	I think even 10 because you interviewed me for my first job.
	...

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