086: Growing in Discernment with Hannah Anderson

Hannah Anderson is a pastor’s wife, mom of 3, writer, speaker, and author of the book “All That’s Good: Recovering the Lost Art of Discernment”. On today’s episode, she shares with us what discernment is, what it is not, and how we as believers can grow in it.

What We Chat about in Today’s Episode:

~Hannah’s latest book, what it’s about, what led her to write it, and what readers can expect

~What discernment is and what it is not; breaking through some of the myths and stereotypes surrounding discernment and being discerning

~Discernment and the mommy wars

~Discernment and legalism

~The crisis-level impact of the digital age on discernment and our ability to actually discern

~Discernment as a search and development of a taste for what is good and beautiful, as opposed to just a looking out for what is bad or wrong

~The language of discernment in Scripture, and why discernment isn’t to come from a critical, negative posture

~Philippians 1:9-10’s definition of discernment

~The correlation between negative-spirited “discernment”, legalism, and having a judgmental heart

~Why adopting certain rules and positions or retreating into certain circles is not enough to prevent a worldly heart or to ensure that you become a wise person

~Hannah’s own experience with legalism

~The pride that can come with doing the “right” things

~The two problematic extremes of our tendency to either dehumanize and demonize people who we don’t agree with, or else embrace everything across the board – even those things which we truly should not be embracing

~The problem with a list-driven path to sanctification

~Tribalism as a result of our legalistic boxes and checklists; what we miss out on when we hold to an unbiblical tribalism

~How list-driven “goodness” is taught in both the camps of progressive Christianity as well as conservative Christianity

~God’s character as our standard for goodness

~How communicating with others digitally leads to a harsh, critical heart towards them, particularly when we disagree

~Actually treating those with whom as disagree as fellow image bearers of God

~The sin of disregarding and disrespecting someone else’s humanity just because we disagree with them

~The beauty of giving others the benefit of the doubt

~Coming to potential disagreements with a kind of humble curiosity, a teachable spirit, and an ear that is quick to listen

~Swapping out a list of man-made rules for a list of the characteristics of God

~Philippians 4:8 and discernment

~The faith-builder that walking by the Spirit really is

~The difference between “live and let live” and “love and let love”

~A bonus little sneak-peak into the brand new book Hannah is working on right now!

~And more!

Resources Mentioned

Offer for a free audiobook and 30 day trial membership from Audible: www.audibletrial.com/HomeandHearth

Made for More: An Invitation to Live in God’s Image

Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul

All That’s Good: Recovering the Lost Art of Discernment

076: Civil Discourse and the Believer with Chelsea Andrews

Walk by the Spirit: What it Looks Like to Live the Spirit-Filled Life

In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World by Jake Meador

The Possibility of Prayer: Finding Stillness with God in a Restless World by John Stark

Inspiring Quotes from Hannah:

“When we approach discernment from a negative posture, it leads to isolationism and a critical spirit. That is not how Scripture defines and presents true discernment to us.”

“Romans, Hebrews, and Philippians all present a trajectory towards goodness and an emphasis on goodness when discussing growing in discernment.”

“The whole point of learning the difference between what is good and what is bad is so that you can follow after what is good. It’s a positive thing, not a negative, critical one.”

“Legalism turns discernment into a focus on doing the ‘right’ thing. It makes the goal of discernment into keeping to a checklist. But this is a fundamental reversal of how Scripture talks about us being sanctified – it is not about outward actions, but the Lord changing our inner selves, our hearts.”

“I had to wrestle with the fact that discernment is very much about the cultivation of the individual; it is about changing the inner us, not so much about us outwardly ending up in the ‘right’ place.”

“The reason Nicodemus didn’t get it was because he had been taught that his doing the ‘right’ thing would result in his being righteous. But the gospel tells us that the Lord makes us into righteous people by giving us the righteousness of His Son and that that is then what will lead to our making righteous decisions.”

“One of the unintended consequences of following a list of man-made rules is that we no longer just hold ourselves to that list, but we hold everyone else to it, as well.”

“We cannot test other people by our own man-made checklists of rules. Doing so results in a harmful form of tribalism .”

“This kind of list-driven ‘goodness’ happens in both the camps of progressive Christianity as well as conservative Christianity.”

“When our definition of goodness is God’s character, none of us can get away scot-free from that. That definition enables us to extend grace to others and be far kinder to them when they aren’t living up to it, and it is also an opportunity for us to repent.”

“We have to remember that people are not the sum total of their sins or of their political stances. If we don’t, we will never be able to show them the kind of love and grace we have been called to.”

“We are to honor the image of God in other people, regardless of their sin struggles or political positions.”

“For me, it’s no longer a question of ‘ Does this have a Christian label on it?” but ‘Does this represent the values of the Christian faith?’, no longer ‘This company was one someone told me I could trust’, but ‘Is this company truly trustworthy?'”

“Following a list of man-made rules never requires you to change. But walking by the Spirit does, and is a much more difficult and more soul-searching process.”

“Scripture tells us that the best way to overcome differences is to love and let love.”

“The call is not to uniformity. The call is to diversity, and to the relationship being more important than those things we have the right and the freedom to do.”

“Ultimately the thing that brings us together is not that we are all doing the same things and holding to the same checklists, but that we love the same Lord and that we are submitted to Him.”

“Cultivating discernment is fundamentally an exercise in hope. There is so much cynicism in the world and in the church, that we can get caught in cycles of negativity and despair. But there is still goodness in this world, and it is available to us, because God is good, and He is with us and at work in our lives.”

Where You Can Find Hannah Online:

Website – Sometimes a Light

Instagram –@hannah_._anderson

Facebook –Hannah Anderson

Twitter – @sometimesalight

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