Discussion Questions

Janelle suggests that “respect and humility in our relationships is more healing for trauma than prescribing a Bible verse or thinking that because I prayed for you, you should be better now”; where have you seen “religious prescribing” happen in church life, and what does it reveal about what we believe God is like and how He works in people? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where have you seen people in church try to “fix” someone by giving a Bible verse or quick advice? What does that show about what we think God is like and how He changes people?

The transcript describes trauma as leaving “an imprint on the person’s nervous system, their emotions, their body, their learning, and their relationships”; how does that challenge the way Christians often separate “spiritual problems” from “physical problems,” and what picture of God’s design of humans (body-and-soul) emerges from her description? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If trauma affects the body, emotions, and relationships, how does that challenge the idea that some problems are only “spiritual” and others are only “physical”? What does this suggest about how God made humans as body and soul together?

Janelle says trauma is not only about which events “qualify,” but “it’s the way the person responds that tells us more”; how would adopting that assumption reshape how a church interprets a member’s silence, panic, shutdown, or “lashing out,” and what would early Christians—who emphasized communal life and mutual care—likely assume the body of Christ should do with “weak” or disruptive members? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If trauma is shown more by how someone reacts than by what happened, how might that change how a church reads silence, panic, shutting down, or “lashing out”? What do you think early Christians would say the church should do for members who seem weak or disruptive?

She gives a concrete example of a client’s “complete freeze response” where they “weren’t able to speak” and she “knew what to do” in the moment; what are churches currently trained to do when someone’s body is clearly in distress during a conversation, and what does it say about our discipleship expectations if we have no skill beyond quoting verses? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When someone’s body is clearly overwhelmed in a conversation (like freezing and not being able to speak), what are churches trained to do in that moment? If all we can do is quote verses, what does that say about what we think discipleship should include?

The interview contrasts community responses to death (food, care, understood rituals) with trauma, where “there isn’t a way for community to gather around and mark it”; what kinds of communal practices could a church develop to “mark” trauma without forcing disclosure, and how might that mirror (or differ from) how the early church carried one another’s burdens? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Churches often know how to gather and care when someone dies, but trauma is harder to “mark” as a community—so what could a church do to support trauma survivors without making them share details? How might that be like, or unlike, the early church “carrying each other’s burdens”?

Janelle warns that when prayer and “speaking truth” don’t stop trauma responses, Christians can “lose hope” and even “start to blame them,” which becomes “retraumatizing”; where do you see this blame dynamic in modern Christianity (even subtly), and how does it expose our assumptions about sanctification, willpower, and what “faith” should look like? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see Christians (even quietly) blaming people when prayer and “speaking truth” don’t stop trauma symptoms? What does that reveal about what we assume sanctification, willpower, and “real faith” should look like?

She recommends churches partner with a Christian counseling center, learn their approaches, and even fund counseling because “it usually doesn’t come cheap”; what does this push against in typical evangelical ideas of “the church should be enough,” and what would it cost (financially, culturally, and spiritually) for your congregation to act on her model? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How does partnering with counselors and helping pay for counseling challenge the idea that “the church should be enough”? What would it cost your church—money, habits, and spiritual effort—to do this?

Janelle counsels individuals to move toward traumatized people “relationally at a pace that is right for them,” avoid pressure, and focus on the present (“be pleased to see them… make eye contact… express interest”); what would have to change in how your church does correction, accountability, and “checking in” so that it feels like safety rather than threat? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If helping trauma survivors means going at their pace and not pressuring them, what would need to change in how your church does correction, accountability, and check-ins? How could those things feel more like safety than a threat?

She ties trauma care to Galatians 6 and highlights that “restore” is the same Greek word as “mending nets,” requiring “hundreds of knots,” going slow, staying close, and doing “more than one thing”; what does that metaphor demand of a congregation’s patience and time, and how does it confront the modern preference for quick fixes and measurable outcomes? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If “restore” is like slowly mending nets with many knots, what kind of time and patience would that require from a church? How does that challenge our desire for quick fixes and easy-to-measure results?

In addressing “what happened to you” versus “what’s wrong with you,” Janelle holds both human brokenness and “through Christ… so much is also made… right,” keeping “two hands open”; how can a church preach sin, repentance, and obedience without collapsing traumatized people into either “victims with no agency” or “sinners who just need to try harder,” and what would that balance communicate about God’s mercy and truth? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can a church talk about sin, repentance, and obedience without treating traumatized people as either helpless victims or just sinners who need to try harder? What would that balance show about God’s mercy and truth?