‘Christ and Calamity,’ with Dr. Harold Senkbeil - Mere Fidelity: a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy

Dr. Harold Senkbeil—Adjunct Professor at Concordia Theological Seminary and Executive Director with DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel—joins Derek and Alastair to discuss his latest book, Christ and Calamity: Grace and Gratitude in the Darkest Valley. Listen in to hear them discuss why mere ideas are not sufficient to help those who are suffering, why calamity is its own category of suffering, how to endure tragedy without immediately trying to fix it, the suffering uniquely caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, and more.

Resources:

Excerpt of ‘Christ and Calamity’: “When You Bear Your Cross, Christ is Your King,” by Harold Senkbeil

Timestamps

0:00

Calamity and the Christian Life

6:15

Has the church failed to prepare people for calamity?

9:27

The difficulty of looking for Christ amidst calamity

14:05

How to disrupt the isolation caused by pain

18:05

Enduring tragedy without immediately trying to fix it

21:02

How to be a faithful companion

27:20

Using the psalms in our suffering

31:10

Is it ever alright to try and zone out from what is ailing us?

34:30

How we can prepare for suffering before we experience it

38:16

How God speaks into our situation beyond mere ideas

Follow Derek, Andrew, and Alastair for more tweet-sized brilliance. Thanks to Caleb Wait for keeping us organized. Special thanks to Tim Motte for sound editing. And thanks to The Joy Eternal for lending us their music, which everybody should download out of gratitude for their kindness.

Mere Fidelity is a listener-supported venture, and we can only grow as our supporters make it possible. Support Us on Patreon