Persuasion With Erin Straza And Hannah Anderson

Unless you’ve been offline or off planet, you are aware of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. It is the major historical event of our time, affecting everything from work and school to church and community. We are all scrambling to figure out how to live and operate under a new normal—one without a playbook to reference. With all the upheaval, each one of us faces challenges and sorrows; life will not be the same again. Our only option is to find ways to adjust and grow and find stable footing in the One who holds every tear and hears every cry. This introductory conversation parses out two aspects of the current pandemic. First, there is the pandemic itself and all the ways we’ve had to alter our lives because of it. Second, there is the social phenomenon and how the changes we’re forced to make are impacting our mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

If the meaning and purpose of home wasn’t top of mind before our Go Home! series began, it certainly is now. Of course, most of that credit belongs to the worldwide spread of COVID-19. Government leaders around the world have recently initiated Shelter in Place and Safer at Home policies to flatten the coronavirus curve. And suddenly, going home—and staying there—has become THE issue of our day, regardless of your gender, religious camp, or philosophical stance. In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson wrap up their series titled Go Home! Finding Our Way. Each episode of the series explored the common assumptions regarding the home, both in the church and in society. This particular conversation is the series finale, giving Erin and Hannah the chance to tie together various threads from the series and their guests. Of course, the main discussion point is how the coronavirus pandemic has revealed unhealthy imbalances in how home and marketplace operate. Now that the economy is taking a h

If home is truly where your story starts, then our family members are the characters that make the story come to life. Every family has its own narrative, its own way of functioning and operating together. Those patterns profoundly affect us, for good and for ill. And sometimes, even long after leaving our childhood home, those family ties can even bind us a bit too tightly, causing us to live in ways we’d love to be free from. Home is where our story begins, but home sweet home isn’t always the case.

How does our perception of home affect the way we go about our work? One way is by adopting marketplace values and priorities and yielding our home life to achieve those ends—often to the detriment of our home life. The fallout of elevating the market above all else can even be seen in companies founded as an alternative to the traditional workplace, such as multilevel marketing businesses. A few weeks ago, news broke about the financial and operational difficulties at LuLaRoe, a women’s clothing company offering its consultants the opportunity to work from home. Because LuLaRoe consultants are primarily women, this business is presented as a way for them to build their own business on their own time. In reality, consultants report the impossible grind and monetary investment required to achieve success. Here again, home bows to the almighty dollar and the pursuit of the American Dream.

When John MacArthur told Beth Moore to “go home,” it revealed much about his framework for how the church and home should operate and who is responsible for each sphere. This perspective seems to see the spheres as quite separate. The church has a purpose and a mission, and the home has a purpose and a mission, but those only overlap because the biological family is the building block for both. But what if this framework undercuts the church as the family of God with brothers and sisters working together to build it? In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson continue their series titled Go Home! Finding Our Way. Each episode of the series explores the common assumptions regarding the home, both in the church and in society. This particular conversation centers on the family of God and the relationships we have with each other as spiritual siblings. Certainly the biological family is important and needed for stable homes and societies. Within the church, however, the biological family is

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dissect the notion that families are under attack. Many a Christian leader has presented evidence of this war, pointing to everything from Hollywood films to dual income families to divorce rates. They discuss the possibility that these issues are not causing the breakdown of the family but are instead a response to something that has already happened. 

You can’t think about home without thinking about the people in it. Our most formative and important relationships are rooted here, an inextricable part of what we conceive of when we think about home. In our modern society, home is most often associated with the nuclear family: parents and children. This modern conception isn’t the only framework available to us, however, nor does it provide home for all people.

Our understanding of home affects everything about us, both individually and collectively. Home is vital to us all, but determining its value in a market-based society is fraught with troubles. Salary.com has attempted to help by giving stay-at-home-moms (or dads) a $160K valuation. The intent is to elevate the status of the home maker by giving it a professional-level salary. Our need for the marketplace to validate our home life tells us more than we may care to admit. In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dig into their new series titled Go Home! Finding Our Way. Each episode will explore the common assumptions regarding the home and both in the church and in society. This conversation centers on home making—looking at the value we place on domestic life and the building of the home as the calling and vocation of us all. The church has tried to value the home by assigning it as women’s work. By claiming the home as the woman’s place and home making as a woman’s highest calling, the

Disagreements within the church are often and many, and in today’s digital age, that drama often spills out to the interwebs. Last fall, one in particular dominated Christian social feeds for several weeks that included Pastor John MacArthur and Bible teacher Beth Moore. It all started when MacArthur, as part of a panel discussion, was asked to play word association and was given Beth’s name. His two-word reply—“Go home.”—was met by laughter from the crowd and followed by his argument for why Beth (and all who listen to her) are in biblical error. As the clip of his comments made the social media rounds, it sparked afresh the debate over a woman’s place and role in society, within the church, and in the home. In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson kick off a new series titled Go Home! Finding Our Way to explore the common assumptions regarding the home and both in the church and in society. The way that we frame our definitions of home will shape how we operate in the world as well as

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson wrap up their mini-series called A Persuasion Christmas. Each episode features conversation about a specific way pop culture is shaping our mindset and approach to celebrating the season. The first two episodes—A Hallmark Christmas and A Die Hard Christmas—cover all things merry and scary, yet in unrealistic narratives. This installment cuts through the make believe to reveal some truths about our current culture that couldn’t be received otherwise. This animated show is devoid of adults, leaving the Peanuts gang—mere children—to do the heavy lifting. And they deliver.

Every holiday season, a heated debate renews over the validity of calling the 1988 movie Die Hard a “Christmas movie.” The action-thriller is about a terrorist plot that takes place on Christmas Eve and is foiled by its hero, played by Bruce Willis. Technically, since the story takes place on Christmas Eve, it is a Christmas movie. The pushback is that it doesn’t have the typical seasonal elements viewers associate with Christmas: no magical/fantastical North Pole, no Santa and reindeer, no kids or elves. But it does have something threatening Christmas and our notions of peace on earth and goodwill toward men—a threat that takes on a real-world form rather than a magical one. In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson continue their mini-series called A Persuasion Christmas. Each episode features conversation about a specific way pop culture is shaping our mindset and approach to celebrating the season. The first conversation, A Hallmark Christmas, covered our desire for goodness and pred

Christmas cards, gift wrap, ornaments, decor—Hallmark certainly has a corner on Christmas. But in the past few years, Hallmark has practically owned the Christmas romance space. Its annual Countdown to Christmas begins in late October, when a new film rolls out each day for 40 days and previously released films play 24/7. Hallmark Christmas movies are extremely popular to watch—and to mock for their formulaic, saccharine-sweet plot lines. Even fans readily admit the stories are predictable. But is that all bad? In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson start a new mini-series called A Persuasion Christmas. Each episode will feature conversation about a specific way pop culture is shaping our mindset and approach to celebrating Christmas. This first discussion focuses on the heavy influence of Hallmark-type movies upon those who love them and those who love to hate them. How might such predictable stories point us to all that’s good and true and beautiful? Are such movies only an escape f

Pursuing the creative life in the digital age offers plenty of new opportunities and its fair share of challenges. The ease with which digital platforms allow us to reach our audience and share our work breaks down entry barriers that used to keep creators and makers isolated and unnoticed. But that easy access goes both ways—artists are now forced to install security measures for personal safety and carve out quiet spaces for proper development of their craft

A common struggle among artists of every genre is finding a way to connect their work with the a wider audience. Finding a way to increase reach and impact is often associated with knowing the right people and having enough funding… and neither of these are a given, even for the most talented creatives among us. The digital age gives us greater access to markets and outlets, but that doesn’t mean the right people will find us or take notice. In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson continue their series called The Creative Process by inviting Erik Lokkesmoe to a conversation about marketing reach and impact in creative work. Erik’s passion for spreading great stories and finding ways to promote good storytellers led him to launch Aspiration Entertainment, a marketing company that has worked on many films including Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Silence, and First Reformed. Because Erik has a knack for improving the reach and impact of good work, we’ve invited him to share ideas for being goo

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson continue their series called The Creative Process by inviting Mike Cosper to a conversation about productivity in creative work. Mike is a writer, speaker, and podcaster who has been quite successful in producing a body of work (and organizations). His productivity has been steady over the years, leaving many wondering how he’s gotten it done. Since many artists struggle to get their ideas from ideation to completion, we wanted Mike’s insigh

Erin and Hannah continue their new series called The Creative Process by inviting baker and theologian (and Christ and Pop Culture staff writer!) Kendall Vanderslice to a conversation about art’s temporal nature. Kendall shares about her work that is made only to be consumed and how she frames the temporal nature of her work. Such constraints are important in today’s world, as we all are creating work that is in some sense “consumed” and temporary.

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson kick off a new series called The Creative Process, exploring how the emergence of the gig economy is shaping our creative pursuits. For example, digital platforms allow anyone to become someone through the power of social media. This access is wonderful, but it’s not without it’s disadvantages, especially when we sacrifice quality output to meet platform and audience demands.

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson wrap their Never Seen series with a thorough discussion of Titanic—a film on Hannah’s Never Seen list and one that Erin saw on the big screen almost 22 years ago. They offer gut reactions and hot takes as they peel apart this story that oozes with class divides and stereotypes.

Erin and Hannah discuss Chariots of Fire, a film on the Never Seen list for them both. Erin was familiar with the film due to her background in running, while Hannah knew of it from the faith community angle. Both were surprised by its gentle, quiet retelling of two amazingly talented runners vying for Olympic Gold in 1924. Eric Liddell is a Christian whose faith frames his quest as part of his life goal of serving God. Harold Abrahams is Jewish, driven to prove his worth through his running feats.

Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson pack the Persuasion house with two guests to discuss The Breakfast Club: Wade Bearden and Kevin McLenithan, who host the Christ and Pop Culture film podcast Seeing and Believing. Only Erin had seen The Breakfast Club before, so this was a Never Seen for Hannah, Wade, and Kevin.