What We Really Mean When We Talk About … God – Not Omnipotent, But Empowering: Perspectives FUMCSD Pastors Podcast, Season 3, Episode 1
Sep 07, 2025
Summary
Join Rev. Trudy and Rev. Brittany as they kick off Season 3 with a fresh conversation series: “What We Really Mean When We Talk About …” Each week, the female pastors of First UMC of San Diego will be looking at different aspects of the Christian faith and breaking it down using a progressive theological lens. For this first conversation, they’re talking about the image of God, suggesting that instead of using the label “omnipotent” it would be more accurate to use the label “empowering”.
Detail
Join Rev. Trudy and Rev. Brittany as they kick off Season 3 with a fresh conversation series: “What We Really Mean When We Talk About …” Each week, the female pastors of First UMC of San Diego will be looking at different aspects of the Christian faith and breaking it down using a progressive theological lens.
For this first conversation, they’re talking about the image of God, suggesting that instead of using the label “omnipotent” it would be more accurate to use the label “empowering”. It’s an interesting topic that uncovers the real challenge of describing God due to our personal biases, cultures, and language. They muse that humans tend to label and mislabel God in a way that boxes God in and diminishes its full complexity.
As they move through the conversation, they discuss the various labels and images of God that irk them, talk about how they experience and see God, and end with the question of: What understanding of God is needed for the future?
It’s a rich, complex topic that has so much to explore. We invite you to continue the conversation by our weekly in-person Convergence discussion group or heading over to our Patreon channel to discuss the following questions with others:
- What childhood image of God still helps you in your faith?
- Are there questions of faith that might be resolved if you had a different image of God?
- What image of God would you suggest for people to embrace for the future?
Our Patreon community is open to all – no matter where you align in your spiritual beliefs. It’s free to join and connect over the weekly episode questions. There is also an optional paid membership that unlocks additional content. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/fumcsd!
