What if the problem in some churches isn’t a lack of gifted leaders, but our failure to recognize them?

In this episode of The Disrupters, psychologist, author, and retired professor Susan Harris Howell joins Caleb Campbell for a conversation about power, gender, and the assumptions that quietly shape life in the Church. Drawing from her book Buried Talents, Susan explores how culture influences the ways we think about leadership, calling, authority, and whose voices are heard.

Together, they examine why Jesus consistently made space for women's participation, and how churches can unknowingly reinforce the patterns of the world by burying God-given gifts beneath assumptions about gender. Susan argues that gifts and callings don't come in "pink and blue," explores the link between power and abuse, and challenges listeners to consider what the Church loses when some voices are consistently overlooked. At the same time, she offers a hopeful vision of churches where women and men are empowered to steward all that God has entrusted to them.

If you've ever wondered how culture shapes the church, wrestled with questions of leadership and belonging, or longed to see healthier uses of power in Christian community, this conversation will challenge you to notice what you've stopped seeing and imagine what the Church might become.

Ready to disrupt for the good of the Church? Tune in now.

This episode highlights the following themes:

• Why abuse thrives when power is hoarded by a few
• How churches unintentionally copy harmful cultural patterns
• The difference between wanting power over others and claiming agency for oneself
• Practical advice for people who feel silenced in their own congregations

Links from the episode:

• Learn more about Susan Harris Howell
• Read Susan Harris Howell’s book, Buried Talents
• Check out Susan Harris Howell’s Substack
• Join Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE)
• Learn more about The Disrupters
• Learn more about Caleb Campbell
• Read Caleb Campbell's book, Disarming Leviathan
• Read the transcript here

Credits:

✅ Special offer: Visit ivpress.com and use the code IVPDISRUPT40 for 40% off and free US shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.

✅ Producers: Jack Reece, Helen Lee, and Travis Albritton

✅ Assistant Producer: Christine Pelliccio Melo

✅ Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts

✅ Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne

✅ Podcast Art: Kate Lillard

✅ Theme Song: "Sneakerhead" by Ghost Beatz

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

American exceptionalism isn’t a patriotic value; it’s a theological problem.

In this episode of The Disrupters, Jonathan Walton, executive director of the Center for Beauty and Resistance, joins Caleb Campbell for a challenging conversation about stewarding power, nationalism, and the idols hiding in plain sight.

Together, they explore why American exceptionalism remains so compelling, how the American Dream can become a counterfeit version of “life to the full,” and why Christians are often tempted to pursue power through dominance, control, and self-preservation rather than sacrificial love.

Drawing from Scripture, history, and years of walking alongside people learning to steward the power God has entrusted to them, Walton argues that the way of Jesus stands in stark contrast to the logic of empire. He invites listeners to reexamine assumptions about nation, identity, success, and faithfulness, asking what happens when allegiance to God's kingdom comes into conflict with the stories our culture tells us about greatness.

The American Dream offers a counterfeit kingdom. Jesus offers the real thing. The difference changes everything about how we understand power.

This episode highlights the following themes:

• The power, privilege, and stewardship of a Christian life
• The dangers and illusions of American exceptionalism
• Jesus’s disruptive approach to power and empire
• How confession, humility, and justice reshape the way we use power

Links from the episode:

• Learn more about Jonathan Walton
• Support the work of A Rocha USA and the Center for Beauty and Resistance here
• Check out Jonathan Walton’s Substack
• Read Beauty and Resistance and Twelve Lies That Hold America Captive by Jonathan Walton
• Get more information on the NYU Faith, Innovation and Social Impact Course. Applications are due on November 15. NYU, the Christian Community Development Association, Innofaith and the Center for Beauty and Resistance are collaborating for this unique opportunity!
• Read The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper
• Learn more about The Disrupters
• Learn more about Caleb Campbell
• Read Caleb Campbell's book, Disarming Leviathan
• Read the transcript here

Credits:

✅ Special offer: Visit ivpress.com and use the code IVPDISRUPT40 for 40% off and free US shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.

✅ Producers: Jack Reece, Helen Lee, and Travis Albritton

✅ Assistant Producer: Christine Pelliccio Melo

✅ Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts

✅ Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne

✅ Podcast Art: Kate Lillard

✅ Theme Song: "Sneakerhead" by Ghost Beatz

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

As an Amazon Affiliate, this channel earns commissions from qualifying purchases when you use the links above.

When American Christians pray for revival, is our narrow imagination blinding us to how God is answering those prayers?

In this episode of The Disrupters, Caleb Campbell sits down with Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero, pastor, author, and president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, to disrupt how we define revival, church health, and spiritual renewal.

Drawing from a variety of passages across the Old and New Testaments, as well as evidence from the global church, Gabriel argues that revival is about more than attendance, influence, or numerical growth. True spiritual awakening is holistic: it welcomes the stranger, uplifts the vulnerable, strengthens communities, and reflects the multicultural kingdom of God. From Pentecost and immigration to church growth and community flourishing, Gabriel paints a bigger, more complete vision of revival than many American Christians have been taught to expect.

If we measure revival only by what happens inside our churches, we may miss what God is doing all around us. Tune in now to discover why the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger are the most important witnesses to whether revival is truly taking place.

This episode highlights the following themes:

• Revival as a holistic, community-centered movement
• The dangers of the cult of personality and American celebrity church culture
• How biblical revival always includes the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger
• Immigration, ethnicity, and the Spirit’s radically inclusive work

Links from the episode:

• Learn more about Gabriel Salguero
• Learn more about the National Latino Evangelical Coalition
• Learn more about The Disrupters
• Learn more about Caleb Campbell
• Read Caleb Campbell's book, Disarming Leviathan
• Read the transcript here

Credits:

✅ Special offer: Visit ivpress.com and use the code IVPDISRUPT40 for 40% off and free US shipping on any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.

✅ Producers: Jack Reece, Helen Lee, and Travis Albritton

✅ Assistant Producer: Christine Pelliccio Melo

✅ Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts

✅ Social Media Manager: Makayla Payne

✅ Podcast Art: Kate Lillard

✅ Theme Song: "Sneakerhead" by Ghost Beatz

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.