Tish Harrison Warren: When Weariness Drains Your Soul, Don't Escape—Go Deeper
About this episode
Tish Harrison Warren discusses spiritual weariness and the importance of going deeper for renewal rather than escaping through distractions.
What Is Spiritual Weariness and How Can We Find Renewal? In this episode of The Good Faith Podcast, Curtis Chang chats with Tish Harrison Warren—Anglican priest, former New York Times columnist, and author of What Grows in Weary Lands —about burnout, spiritual weariness, and the exhaustion that escapism and rest alone cannot fix. Tish explains how polarization, digital distraction, consumerism, and isolation can leave us tempted to "flame out" or "numb out." Instead, she invites listeners to "go deeper" through prayer, silence, embodied community, Sabbath, and the difficult but meaningful commitments that lead to lasting renewal. 00:36 - Introduction to World Weariness 02:43 - Tish Describes the Draining Experience of Public Faith 06:04 - What Are the Cultural Factors of Collective Burnout? 13:01 - Dysfunctional Responses: Reinvention and Escape 15:01 - Flame Out, Numb Out, or Go Deep 20:51 - Are There Practical Steps to Go Deep? 23:29 - The Practice of "Staying in Your Cell" 26:40 - The Tough Sell of Going Deeper 32:07 - The "Dark Night of the Soul" as a Growth Stage 36:11 - Learning from Historic Church Practices 38:04 - What Do Healthy Rhythms of Engagement and Withdrawal Look…
People in this episode
Host: Curtis Chang
Guest: Tish Harrison Warren
Topics covered
- spiritual weariness
- burnout
- renewal
- escapism
- community
- prayer
- Sabbath
Keywords
- spiritual weariness
- burnout
- renewal
- escapism
- community
- Sabbath
- prayer
- digital distraction
- consumerism
- isolation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: New York Times, The Ezra Klein Show
Books & works: What Grows in Weary Lands
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