The Allender Center Podcast Rediscovering the Gospel with Rev. Rob Schenck
Mar 27, 2026
Rev. Rob Schenck, former evangelical activist and founder of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute, recounts a dramatic reorientation from political power to truth-telling and repair. He discusses moments that cracked his assumptions about faith, how religion gets co-opted by politics, and the work of repentance and facing real suffering. Short, candid reflections on moral compromise and reclaiming a gospel grounded in reality.
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Religion Serving Politics Corrupts Both
- Schenck: when religion serves politics it corrupts both because divine endorsement silences dissent and shields power from accountability.
- That theological cover creates a moral advantage for political actors who then avoid scrutiny or challenge.
Jail Ward Screams That Broke An Illusion
- He recalled being jailed in Montgomery and placed on a psych wing where a woman screamed about her babies and no one came to help.
- That unmet suffering became the first crack in his imagined world where church aid always promptly arrives.
Disordered Theological Imagination Drives Harm
- Rachel Clinton Chen frames disordered theological imagination as a source of harm: religious systems can create distorted imaginations that justify suffering.
- She notes doubling down on false narratives defends power and fragile spiritual imaginations against painful realities.
