Inside Out\\u00a0<\\/em>was revelatory<\\/h2>\\n The 2015 Pixar animated movie Inside Out<\\/em> was one of the most imaginative and accurate portrayals of the inner workings of a child\\u2019s mind I\\u2019ve ever seen. The film tells the story of 11-year-old Riley struggling with the move to a new city and school from the point of view of the five emotions that jockey for position within her.\\u00a0 Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger are iconic representations of the feelings that shape her interpretation of her formative memories. \\u00a0The crisis of losing her friends and home forces the emotions to learn to work together to keep her from running away and putting herself in danger.<\\/p>\\n Inside Out<\\/em> worked so well because Pixar figured out how to layer content for three different audiences:\\u00a0 young children, teens, and adults.<\\/h3>\\n When my husband and I watched it with our children, then ages 11 and 8, the movie made each of us laugh for different reasons.\\u00a0 And cry for different reasons.<\\/p>\\n For me, one of the most emotional moments was when Riley\\u2019s imaginary friend, Bing Bong, who she hadn\\u2019t thought about in years, makes the ultimate sacrifice. He gives up his life in Riley\\u2019s subconscious for her to move through her depression and integrate her emotions in a more holistic and complex way. I tearily recalled my own imaginary friends that, somewhere along the way, receded to faded memories so that I could grow up and find my way with new possibilities.<\\/p>\\n Inside Out 2:\\u00a0<\\/em>Make room for new emotions<\\/h2>\\n Inside Out 2 <\\/em>finds Riley two years later with new friends, a solid relationship with her parents, and a positive identity as a cracker-jack hockey player.\\u00a0 Joy, the emotion that narrates Riley\\u2019s story, explains that \\u201cour girl\\u201d is now developing beliefs that give her a sense of self and help her make good choices.<\\/p>\\n \"Inside Scene from Inside Out 2, Disney, Pixar<\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n Joy has been culling Riley\\u2019s positive memories in order to create her positive identity.\\u00a0 But in the process, she launches the negative memories to the Back of the Mind.\\u00a0 In this way, the internal splitting from the first Inside Out <\\/em>happens again. But this time, instead of relegating merely Sad memories to a lesser status, the negative memories are rejected altogether.<\\/p>\\n Creating the sense of self<\\/h2>\\n The core of Riley\\u2019s self at this point is represented by strings of light that arise from the deep well of her soul and create a radiant, symmetric design.\\u00a0 \\u201cI\\u2019m a good person\\u201d is the primary belief about herself and this creates a stable environment for all the emotions within her.<\\/p>\\n As a seminary professor, and one who went through seminary myself decades ago, I see parallels of this stage with students who first enter theological education.<\\/h3>\\n They come to seminary with the faith they\\u2019ve already constructed. Many come because they already believe in and have dedicated their life to the God they know and worship. \\u00a0\\u201cMy faith is strong\\u201d is often one of their primary beliefs.<\\/p>\\n The French philosopher Paul Ric\\u0153ur calls this stage \\u201cfirst naivet\\u00e9.\\u201d He says that when we initially approach a text of importance, such as the Bible, we read it with a certain innocence.<\\/p>\\n We think that we are taking the Bible at face value. But in truth, we may be reading into it what we want<\\/em> to be there.\\u00a0 We\\u2019ve been conditioned to read in a way that affirms our worldview. Thus, we bring our presuppositions to the text.<\\/p>\\n But soon after entering seminary, students are hurtled into a new phase of development that rocks their world and their faith.<\\/h3>\\n As seminarians study the Bible and their faith through a critical lens, they experience dissonance. <\\/em>And it can feel like their whole worldview is being deconstructed.\\u00a0 Because that\\u2019s exactly what\\u2019s happening.<\\/p>\\n For Riley this happens with the onset of puberty that literally deconstructs her internal command center.\\u00a0 Suddenly her stable world is \\u201cunder construction\\u201d and new emotions appear: Embarrassment, Envy, Ennui, and Anxiety. Now there are nine emotions within Riley\\u2019s central command.\\u00a0 In the span of a minute, she can go from fear to doubt to anxiety to anger to embarrassment with breakneck speed.<\\/p>\\n But Anxiety and Joy are the two emotions that compete for control.<\\/h2>\\n \"Inside Inside Out 2, Embarrassment, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui. Disney\\/Pixar<\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n Outsmarting them all, Anxiety launches Riley\\u2019s core beliefs to the Back of the Mind.\\u00a0 Then Anxiety jettisons the primary five emotions out of the command center and takes over the controls.\\u00a0 Joy then leads her crew on the journey to find their way to the Back of the Mind, rescue Riley\\u2019s core self, and restore her beliefs.<\\/p>\\n For the Riley seen by the external world, the journey looks like a confused adolescent trying on different personas, overthinking everything, trying to impress new friends, and abandoning old ones.<\\/p>\\n For students in theological education, the process looks like questioning everything about the Bible, trying on different perspectives, overthinking everything, trying to impress professors, and sometimes abandoning old notions that don\\u2019t make sense anymore.<\\/p>\\n Students find out that their faith changes in seminary because they grow. But like Riley, it can feel like being in a world that no longer makes sense.<\\/h3>\\n They begin to realize that God is even bigger, expansive, and more mysterious than they had imagined. Yet they also question what they really believe.\\u00a0 And sometimes the challenge to one\\u2019s worldview can be too much. So some either deny what they\\u2019ve learned and devalue it altogether. Or they compartmentalize it and put it aside. Still others give too much power to their anxiety and doubts. They risk giving up on what they\\u2019ve believed in the first place: the core that constructed their faith.<\\/p>\\n This is the struggle we see with Riley \\u2013 both internally and externally.<\\/h2>\\n She lets Anxiety direct her choices which leads to some painful consequences. It all comes to a climax during an important hockey game that could determine her future in high school.\\u00a0 Her drive to succeed and conquer her old fears propels her to a dangerous and violent move that injures one of her friends.<\\/p>\\n As she sits in the penalty box, all the emotions are finally back in her command center, but Anxiety has created a tornado within her.\\u00a0 Joy cradles Riley\\u2019s core belief, but the new jagged one is firmly in place.<\\/p>\\n Instead of \\u201cI\\u2019m a good person,\\u201d her new belief is:\\u00a0 \\u201cI\\u2019m not good enough.\\u201d<\\/p>\\n This scene is an excellent depiction of what happens in a panic attack.\\u00a0 Riley experiences shortness of breath, pounding heart, and sweating while Anxiety realizes with horror what she\\u2019s set in motion and cannot stop.\\u00a0 She wanted to protect Riley, which is a good thing.\\u00a0 But in her zeal, she ended up putting Riley in an emotional whirlwind that could break her.<\\/p>\\n It\\u2019s only when all of the emotions rush to embrace Riley\\u2019s core that her sense of self begins to reintegrate.<\\/h2>\\n The pieces start to come back together: her selfishness and kindness. Awkwardness and coolness. Sarcasm and sincerity. Doubt and faith. \\u201cEvery bit makes her who she is,\\u201d says Joy.<\\/p>\\n In theological language, we use phrases such as being both sinner and saint, judged and justified, already and not yet.\\u00a0 These are the paradoxes we must embrace if we are to construct a sense of self that is fully integrated in the faith journey.<\\/p>\\n Theology students who can integrate their new understanding of the Bible and their religion with their original core of faith can appropriate the new knowledge in such a way that it transforms them. They enter the process of reconstruction.\\u00a0 Their understanding of the Bible, of God, the world, the church, and of themselves is born again. This new understanding leads to new behavior, new ways of doing, new ways of being.<\\/p>\\n In this way, the person experiences a second naivet\\u00e9.<\\/h2>\\n This is an informed, critical naivet\\u00e9 in which the person has been claimed by the new ideas in a way that leads to a renewed and more nuanced faith.<\\/p>\\n But the process doesn\\u2019t suddenly come to an end at that point.\\u00a0 Rather, their renewed faith is open for still more transformation. Indeed, the second naivet\\u00e9 must remain open to revision and future change. The interpretive cycle is not a closed one. It is never finished.<\\/p>\\n Riley experiences this as she takes deep breaths and remembers her love of skating and the game of hockey that brought her here in the first place.\\u00a0 She steps onto the rink and simply plays and glides with pure Joy \\u2013 who is finally back at the console.\\u00a0 All the other emotions step back and let Joy direct Riley\\u2019s every move.<\\/p>\\n It is a beautiful sight to behold.<\\/h2>\\n \"Rev. Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade with graduates from Lexington Theological Seminary, June 2024<\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n Every June, our seminary holds a graduation ceremony where we celebrate our students who have finished all their courses, completed their competency exams, finished their theses and capstone projects, and earned their certificates and degrees.\\u00a0 Watching them march down the aisle is a beautiful sight to behold.\\u00a0 Joy is definitely at the helm!<\\/p>\\n But, of course, this isn\\u2019t the end of the story.\\u00a0 Commencement means \\u201cbeginning\\u201d as much as it celebrates a stage of completion.<\\/h3>\\n In ministry, the spiral of first naivete, dissonance, deconstruction, and reconstruction is all part of spiritual growth. We repeatedly come upon something new that calls for reinterpretation and critical examination. This will lead to new perspectives, to dissonance within us. And finally, to reintegrating the ideas into a renewed faith and practices.<\\/p>\\n The spiral may not always be as intense as it is during seminary, but it will always be an aspect of ministry.\\u00a0 The \\u201chermeneutical circle,\\u201d as we call it in seminary, is like a series of spirals linked in a chain of faith.<\\/p>\\n What about the Deep Dark Secret?<\\/h2>\\n One of the biggest teases in Inside Out 2<\\/em> is the character of Deep Dark Secret. When Joy and company find themselves imprisoned in Riley\\u2019s secret memories, this mysterious lumbering figure helps them to escape.\\u00a0 But when Joy urges him to leave the prison, too, he closes himself back in.\\u00a0 \\u201cI\\u2019m not ready yet,\\u201d he whispers.<\\/p>\\n \"Inside Inside Out 2, Deep Dark Secret. Disney\\/Pixar<\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n I thought the Deep Dark Secret would make an appearance at the end of the movie and help Riley discover the source of her Anxiety.\\u00a0 Oddly, however, he only makes an appearance in a post-credit scene.<\\/p>\\n Perhaps the Deep Dark Secret is a seed planted for the next sequel.<\\/h3>\\n My daughter, Rachel, who is a communication major in college, theorizes that Inside Out 3 <\\/em>will be about the next stage of Riley\\u2019s development: self-disclosure.\\u00a0 In this stage, we might see her as an older teen falling in love and deciding how much of herself to reveal to the object of her affection. She might then experience a crisis when the person she loves and trusts betrays her.<\\/p>\\n Rachel and I speculate that the next set of emotions will be along the lines of intimacy, perhaps involving romantic love, vulnerability, confidence, and trust.\\u00a0 And Riley might experience a crisis of faith that leads her to doubt everything and everyone \\u2013 her family, friends, paramour, and herself.<\\/p>\\n Ministers, too, can experience a crisis of faith.<\\/h2>\\n Sometimes it happens when a Deep Dark Secret reveals itself after decades of being hidden away.\\u00a0 Or it can take the shape of a toxic congregation or abusive denominational leadership that destroys our trust in the church.\\u00a0 Over the last four years, the conflagration of the Covid-19 pandemic, political polarization, stress and burnout, and the effects of misinformation have driven some pastors out of ministry altogether.<\\/p>\\n Any of these can shake the foundations of our command center, our sense of self, our relationships, and our faith.\\u00a0 And as Joy admits in the movie, it\\u2019s a lot of work to try to hold everything together when it all seems to be working against you.\\u00a0 For some ministers, they realize they must leave ministry and seek Joy elsewhere.<\\/p>\\n And yet, our hope remains.<\\/h2>\\n We hold onto hope for renewed purpose, a renewed faith, renewed relationships, and a renewed world.<\\/p>\\n Perhaps that\\u2019s the final character we\\u2019ll see in Inside Out 3: <\\/em>Hope.<\\/p>\\n My thanks to Rachel Schade who contributed to this article.<\\/em><\\/p>\\n Read also:<\\/h4>\\n Good Omens: An Antidote to Toxic Christian Apocalyptic Fiction<\\/a><\\/p>\\n Will God Forgive Us? First Reformed Film Review<\\/a><\\/p>\\n Blade Runner 2049: 5 Star Review<\\/a><\\/p>\\n \\n \"Leah Leah D. Schade<\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade<\\/strong>\\u00a0is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at\\u00a0<\\/em>Lexington Theological Seminary<\\/i><\\/a>\\u00a0in Kentucky and ordained in the ELCA. Dr. Schade does not speak for LTS or the ELCA; her opinions are her own.\\u00a0 She is the author of\\u00a0<\\/em>Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide<\\/a>\\u00a0(Rowman & Littlefield, 2019)<\\/em>\\u00a0and\\u00a0<\\/em>Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit<\\/a>\\u00a0(Chalice Press, 2015). She is the co-editor of\\u00a0<\\/em>Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis<\\/a>\\u00a0(Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). Her newest book is\\u00a0<\\/em>Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation<\\/a>, co-authored with Jerry L. Sumney and Emily Askew (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023).<\\/em><\\/p>\\n<\\/body><\\/html>\\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Inside Out 2 parallels the process of deconstruction I often see in seminary students. 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An ordained Lutheran minister (ELCA) for twenty-five years, Leah earned both her MDiv and PhD degrees from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary). She has pastored congregations in suburban, urban, and rural contexts. She has authored or co-edited seven books: Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice (Alban Books, Rowman & Littlefield, 2024); Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023); Apocalypse When?: A Guide to Interpreting and Preaching Apocalyptic Texts (Wipf & Stock, 2020); Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Alban Books\\/Rowman & Littlefield, 2019); Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019); For the Beauty of the Earth: A Lenten Devotional (Chalice Press, 2019); Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit (Chalice Press, 2015). She is also the EcoPreacher blogger for Patheos. Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade, author of Preaching and Social Issues Leah has served as an anti-fracking and climate activist, community organizer, and advocate for environmental justice issues. She is currently the grant director for the $1.25 million project \\u201cCompelling Preaching for a Climate-Changed World\\u201d at LTS in partnership with The BTS Center and Creation Justice Ministries. She also partners with ecoAmerica\\u2019s Blessed Tomorrow, and the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, with whom she writes EcoPreacher 1-2-3 for busy pastors wanting to address environmental issues in their sermons. She also served as President of the Academy of Homiletics in 2024. She has been a featured speaker for the Festival of Homiletics, leads workshops and retreats, and keynotes events throughout the country. She was the director of a Wabash grant exploring the use of deliberative dialogue in congregations and theological education is also conducting a longitudinal research study about ministry, preaching, and social issues that has surveyed more than 4,000 clergy and 1,000 laity since 2017. Leah received the Kentucky Council of Churches award in 2019. She is also co-founder of the Clergy Emergency League, a network of 3,300 pastors throughout the U.S. who provide support, accountability, resources, and networking for clergy to prophetically minister in their congregations and the public square in this time of political upheaval, social unrest, and partisan division.\\",\\"sameAs\\":\[\\"https:\\/\\/lextheo.edu\\/about-the-seminary\\/faculty-staff\\/leah-d-schade\\/\\",\\"https:\\/\\/www.facebook.com\\/LeahDSchade\\/\\"\],\\"url\\":\\"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/author\\/lschade\\/\\"}\]}<\\/script>\\n","yoast\_head\_json":{"title":"Inside Out 2 Parallels Faith Journey, Theological Education","description":"Inside Out 2 parallels the process of deconstruction I often see in seminary students. 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Embracing complexity & nuance is key for the faith journey","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/2024\\/06\\/inside-out-2-parallels-faith-journey-theological-education\\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":\[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":\["https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/2024\\/06\\/inside-out-2-parallels-faith-journey-theological-education\\/"\]}\]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/2024\\/06\\/inside-out-2-parallels-faith-journey-theological-education\\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":\[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Inside Out 2 Parallels Faith Journey, Theological Education"}\]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/#website","url":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/","name":"EcoPreacher","description":"Exploring environmental issues, the church, and politics from a faith perspective.","potentialAction":\[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/?s={search\_term\_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search\_term\_string"}\],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/#\\/schema\\/person\\/bcb20fda56b53805c78fef984dde1821","name":"Leah D. Schade","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/#\\/schema\\/person\\/image\\/","url":"https:\\/\\/secure.gravatar.com\\/avatar\\/cb072b6df1f7d0968779a7d9d33d2056?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\\/\\/secure.gravatar.com\\/avatar\\/cb072b6df1f7d0968779a7d9d33d2056?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Leah D. Schade"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary in Kentucky and is ordained in the ELCA. Dr. Schade does not speak for LTS or the ELCA; her opinions are her own. The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary in Kentucky. An ordained Lutheran minister (ELCA) for twenty-five years, Leah earned both her MDiv and PhD degrees from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary). She has pastored congregations in suburban, urban, and rural contexts. She has authored or co-edited seven books: Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice (Alban Books, Rowman & Littlefield, 2024); Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023); Apocalypse When?: A Guide to Interpreting and Preaching Apocalyptic Texts (Wipf & Stock, 2020); Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Alban Books\\/Rowman & Littlefield, 2019); Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019); For the Beauty of the Earth: A Lenten Devotional (Chalice Press, 2019); Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit (Chalice Press, 2015). She is also the EcoPreacher blogger for Patheos. Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade, author of Preaching and Social Issues Leah has served as an anti-fracking and climate activist, community organizer, and advocate for environmental justice issues. She is currently the grant director for the $1.25 million project \\u201cCompelling Preaching for a Climate-Changed World\\u201d at LTS in partnership with The BTS Center and Creation Justice Ministries. She also partners with ecoAmerica\\u2019s Blessed Tomorrow, and the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, with whom she writes EcoPreacher 1-2-3 for busy pastors wanting to address environmental issues in their sermons. She also served as President of the Academy of Homiletics in 2024. She has been a featured speaker for the Festival of Homiletics, leads workshops and retreats, and keynotes events throughout the country. She was the director of a Wabash grant exploring the use of deliberative dialogue in congregations and theological education is also conducting a longitudinal research study about ministry, preaching, and social issues that has surveyed more than 4,000 clergy and 1,000 laity since 2017. Leah received the Kentucky Council of Churches award in 2019. She is also co-founder of the Clergy Emergency League, a network of 3,300 pastors throughout the U.S. who provide support, accountability, resources, and networking for clergy to prophetically minister in their congregations and the public square in this time of political upheaval, social unrest, and partisan division.","sameAs":\["https:\\/\\/lextheo.edu\\/about-the-seminary\\/faculty-staff\\/leah-d-schade\\/","https:\\/\\/www.facebook.com\\/LeahDSchade\\/"\],"url":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/author\\/lschade\\/"}\]}},"\_links":{"self":\[{"href":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/wp-json\\/wp\\/v2\\/posts\\/11865","targetHints":{"allow":\["GET"\]}}\],"collection":\[{"href":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/wp-json\\/wp\\/v2\\/posts"}\],"about":\[{"href":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/wp-json\\/wp\\/v2\\/types\\/post"}\],"author":\[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/wp-json\\/wp\\/v2\\/users\\/2929"}\],"replies":\[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/wp-json\\/wp\\/v2\\/comments?post=11865"}\],"version-history":\[{"count":0,"href":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/wp-json\\/wp\\/v2\\/posts\\/11865\\/revisions"}\],"wp:featuredmedia":\[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/wp-json\\/wp\\/v2\\/media\\/11871"}\],"wp:attachment":\[{"href":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/wp-json\\/wp\\/v2\\/media?parent=11865"}\],"wp:term":\[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/wp-json\\/wp\\/v2\\/categories?post=11865"},{"taxonomy":"post\_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\\/\\/www.patheos.com\\/blogs\\/ecopreacher\\/wp-json\\/wp\\/v2\\/tags?post=11865"}\],"curies":\[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\\/\\/api.w.org\\/{rel}","templated":true}\]}}

{"id":11865,"date":"2024-06-18T13:15:50","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T17:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ecopreacher\/?p=11865"},"modified":"2024-06-18T13:15:50","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T17:15:50","slug":"inside-out-2-parallels-faith-journey-theological-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ecopreacher\/2024\/06\/inside-out-2-parallels-faith-journey-theological-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Out 2 Parallels Faith Journey, Theological Education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Inside Out 2 <\/em>is the long-awaited sequel to one of the most moving animated films of our time. As a seminary professor, I see parallels with the process of theological education and the journey of faith.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Spoiler alert: High.\u00a0 This review discusses major plot points and characters as well as reveals about the film\u2019s ending.<\/em><\/p>\n

Inside Out\u00a0<\/em>was revelatory<\/h2>\n The 2015 Pixar animated movie Inside Out<\/em> was one of the most imaginative and accurate portrayals of the inner workings of a child\u2019s mind I\u2019ve ever seen. The film tells the story of 11-year-old Riley struggling with the move to a new city and school from the point of view of the five emotions that jockey for position within her.\u00a0 Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger are iconic representations of the feelings that shape her interpretation of her formative memories. \u00a0The crisis of losing her friends and home forces the emotions to learn to work together to keep her from running away and putting herself in danger.<\/p>\n Inside Out<\/em> worked so well because Pixar figured out how to layer content for three different audiences:\u00a0 young children, teens, and adults.<\/h3>\n When my husband and I watched it with our children, then ages 11 and 8, the movie made each of us laugh for different reasons.\u00a0 And cry for different reasons.<\/p>\n For me, one of the most emotional moments was when Riley\u2019s imaginary friend, Bing Bong, who she hadn\u2019t thought about in years, makes the ultimate sacrifice. He gives up his life in Riley\u2019s subconscious for her to move through her depression and integrate her emotions in a more holistic and complex way. I tearily recalled my own imaginary friends that, somewhere along the way, receded to faded memories so that I could grow up and find my way with new possibilities.<\/p>\n Inside Out 2:\u00a0<\/em>Make room for new emotions<\/h2>\n Inside Out 2 <\/em>finds Riley two years later with new friends, a solid relationship with her parents, and a positive identity as a cracker-jack hockey player.\u00a0 Joy, the emotion that narrates Riley\u2019s story, explains that \u201cour girl\u201d is now developing beliefs that give her a sense of self and help her make good choices.<\/p>\n Scene from Inside Out 2, Disney, Pixar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Joy has been culling Riley\u2019s positive memories in order to create her positive identity.\u00a0 But in the process, she launches the negative memories to the Back of the Mind.\u00a0 In this way, the internal splitting from the first Inside Out <\/em>happens again. But this time, instead of relegating merely Sad memories to a lesser status, the negative memories are rejected altogether.<\/p>\n Creating the sense of self<\/h2>\n The core of Riley\u2019s self at this point is represented by strings of light that arise from the deep well of her soul and create a radiant, symmetric design.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a good person\u201d is the primary belief about herself and this creates a stable environment for all the emotions within her.<\/p>\n As a seminary professor, and one who went through seminary myself decades ago, I see parallels of this stage with students who first enter theological education.<\/h3>\n They come to seminary with the faith they\u2019ve already constructed. Many come because they already believe in and have dedicated their life to the God they know and worship. \u00a0\u201cMy faith is strong\u201d is often one of their primary beliefs.<\/p>\n The French philosopher Paul Ric\u0153ur calls this stage \u201cfirst naivet\u00e9.\u201d He says that when we initially approach a text of importance, such as the Bible, we read it with a certain innocence.<\/p>\n We think that we are taking the Bible at face value. But in truth, we may be reading into it what we want<\/em> to be there.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been conditioned to read in a way that affirms our worldview. Thus, we bring our presuppositions to the text.<\/p>\n But soon after entering seminary, students are hurtled into a new phase of development that rocks their world and their faith.<\/h3>\n As seminarians study the Bible and their faith through a critical lens, they experience dissonance. <\/em>And it can feel like their whole worldview is being deconstructed.\u00a0 Because that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n For Riley this happens with the onset of puberty that literally deconstructs her internal command center.\u00a0 Suddenly her stable world is \u201cunder construction\u201d and new emotions appear: Embarrassment, Envy, Ennui, and Anxiety. Now there are nine emotions within Riley\u2019s central command.\u00a0 In the span of a minute, she can go from fear to doubt to anxiety to anger to embarrassment with breakneck speed.<\/p>\n But Anxiety and Joy are the two emotions that compete for control.<\/h2>\n Inside Out 2, Embarrassment, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui. Disney\/Pixar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Outsmarting them all, Anxiety launches Riley\u2019s core beliefs to the Back of the Mind.\u00a0 Then Anxiety jettisons the primary five emotions out of the command center and takes over the controls.\u00a0 Joy then leads her crew on the journey to find their way to the Back of the Mind, rescue Riley\u2019s core self, and restore her beliefs.<\/p>\n For the Riley seen by the external world, the journey looks like a confused adolescent trying on different personas, overthinking everything, trying to impress new friends, and abandoning old ones.<\/p>\n For students in theological education, the process looks like questioning everything about the Bible, trying on different perspectives, overthinking everything, trying to impress professors, and sometimes abandoning old notions that don\u2019t make sense anymore.<\/p>\n Students find out that their faith changes in seminary because they grow. But like Riley, it can feel like being in a world that no longer makes sense.<\/h3>\n They begin to realize that God is even bigger, expansive, and more mysterious than they had imagined. Yet they also question what they really believe.\u00a0 And sometimes the challenge to one\u2019s worldview can be too much. So some either deny what they\u2019ve learned and devalue it altogether. Or they compartmentalize it and put it aside. Still others give too much power to their anxiety and doubts. They risk giving up on what they\u2019ve believed in the first place: the core that constructed their faith.<\/p>\n This is the struggle we see with Riley \u2013 both internally and externally.<\/h2>\n She lets Anxiety direct her choices which leads to some painful consequences. It all comes to a climax during an important hockey game that could determine her future in high school.\u00a0 Her drive to succeed and conquer her old fears propels her to a dangerous and violent move that injures one of her friends.<\/p>\n As she sits in the penalty box, all the emotions are finally back in her command center, but Anxiety has created a tornado within her.\u00a0 Joy cradles Riley\u2019s core belief, but the new jagged one is firmly in place.<\/p>\n Instead of \u201cI\u2019m a good person,\u201d her new belief is:\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n This scene is an excellent depiction of what happens in a panic attack.\u00a0 Riley experiences shortness of breath, pounding heart, and sweating while Anxiety realizes with horror what she\u2019s set in motion and cannot stop.\u00a0 She wanted to protect Riley, which is a good thing.\u00a0 But in her zeal, she ended up putting Riley in an emotional whirlwind that could break her.<\/p>\n It\u2019s only when all of the emotions rush to embrace Riley\u2019s core that her sense of self begins to reintegrate.<\/h2>\n The pieces start to come back together: her selfishness and kindness. Awkwardness and coolness. Sarcasm and sincerity. Doubt and faith. \u201cEvery bit makes her who she is,\u201d says Joy.<\/p>\n In theological language, we use phrases such as being both sinner and saint, judged and justified, already and not yet.\u00a0 These are the paradoxes we must embrace if we are to construct a sense of self that is fully integrated in the faith journey.<\/p>\n Theology students who can integrate their new understanding of the Bible and their religion with their original core of faith can appropriate the new knowledge in such a way that it transforms them. They enter the process of reconstruction.\u00a0 Their understanding of the Bible, of God, the world, the church, and of themselves is born again. This new understanding leads to new behavior, new ways of doing, new ways of being.<\/p>\n In this way, the person experiences a second naivet\u00e9.<\/h2>\n This is an informed, critical naivet\u00e9 in which the person has been claimed by the new ideas in a way that leads to a renewed and more nuanced faith.<\/p>\n But the process doesn\u2019t suddenly come to an end at that point.\u00a0 Rather, their renewed faith is open for still more transformation. Indeed, the second naivet\u00e9 must remain open to revision and future change. The interpretive cycle is not a closed one. It is never finished.<\/p>\n Riley experiences this as she takes deep breaths and remembers her love of skating and the game of hockey that brought her here in the first place.\u00a0 She steps onto the rink and simply plays and glides with pure Joy \u2013 who is finally back at the console.\u00a0 All the other emotions step back and let Joy direct Riley\u2019s every move.<\/p>\n It is a beautiful sight to behold.<\/h2>\n Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade with graduates from Lexington Theological Seminary, June 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Every June, our seminary holds a graduation ceremony where we celebrate our students who have finished all their courses, completed their competency exams, finished their theses and capstone projects, and earned their certificates and degrees.\u00a0 Watching them march down the aisle is a beautiful sight to behold.\u00a0 Joy is definitely at the helm!<\/p>\n But, of course, this isn\u2019t the end of the story.\u00a0 Commencement means \u201cbeginning\u201d as much as it celebrates a stage of completion.<\/h3>\n In ministry, the spiral of first naivete, dissonance, deconstruction, and reconstruction is all part of spiritual growth. We repeatedly come upon something new that calls for reinterpretation and critical examination. This will lead to new perspectives, to dissonance within us. And finally, to reintegrating the ideas into a renewed faith and practices.<\/p>\n The spiral may not always be as intense as it is during seminary, but it will always be an aspect of ministry.\u00a0 The \u201chermeneutical circle,\u201d as we call it in seminary, is like a series of spirals linked in a chain of faith.<\/p>\n What about the Deep Dark Secret?<\/h2>\n One of the biggest teases in Inside Out 2<\/em> is the character of Deep Dark Secret. When Joy and company find themselves imprisoned in Riley\u2019s secret memories, this mysterious lumbering figure helps them to escape.\u00a0 But when Joy urges him to leave the prison, too, he closes himself back in.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not ready yet,\u201d he whispers.<\/p>\n Inside Out 2, Deep Dark Secret. Disney\/Pixar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n I thought the Deep Dark Secret would make an appearance at the end of the movie and help Riley discover the source of her Anxiety.\u00a0 Oddly, however, he only makes an appearance in a post-credit scene.<\/p>\n Perhaps the Deep Dark Secret is a seed planted for the next sequel.<\/h3>\n My daughter, Rachel, who is a communication major in college, theorizes that Inside Out 3 <\/em>will be about the next stage of Riley\u2019s development: self-disclosure.\u00a0 In this stage, we might see her as an older teen falling in love and deciding how much of herself to reveal to the object of her affection. She might then experience a crisis when the person she loves and trusts betrays her.<\/p>\n Rachel and I speculate that the next set of emotions will be along the lines of intimacy, perhaps involving romantic love, vulnerability, confidence, and trust.\u00a0 And Riley might experience a crisis of faith that leads her to doubt everything and everyone \u2013 her family, friends, paramour, and herself.<\/p>\n Ministers, too, can experience a crisis of faith.<\/h2>\n Sometimes it happens when a Deep Dark Secret reveals itself after decades of being hidden away.\u00a0 Or it can take the shape of a toxic congregation or abusive denominational leadership that destroys our trust in the church.\u00a0 Over the last four years, the conflagration of the Covid-19 pandemic, political polarization, stress and burnout, and the effects of misinformation have driven some pastors out of ministry altogether.<\/p>\n Any of these can shake the foundations of our command center, our sense of self, our relationships, and our faith.\u00a0 And as Joy admits in the movie, it\u2019s a lot of work to try to hold everything together when it all seems to be working against you.\u00a0 For some ministers, they realize they must leave ministry and seek Joy elsewhere.<\/p>\n And yet, our hope remains.<\/h2>\n We hold onto hope for renewed purpose, a renewed faith, renewed relationships, and a renewed world.<\/p>\n Perhaps that\u2019s the final character we\u2019ll see in Inside Out 3: <\/em>Hope.<\/p>\n My thanks to Rachel Schade who contributed to this article.<\/em><\/p>\n Read also:<\/h4>\n Good Omens: An Antidote to Toxic Christian Apocalyptic Fiction<\/a><\/p>\n Will God Forgive Us? First Reformed Film Review<\/a><\/p>\n Blade Runner 2049: 5 Star Review<\/a><\/p>\n \n Leah D. Schade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade<\/strong>\u00a0is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at\u00a0<\/em>Lexington Theological Seminary<\/i><\/a>\u00a0in Kentucky and ordained in the ELCA. Dr. Schade does not speak for LTS or the ELCA; her opinions are her own.\u00a0 She is the author of\u00a0<\/em>Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide<\/a>\u00a0(Rowman & Littlefield, 2019)<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit<\/a>\u00a0(Chalice Press, 2015). She is the co-editor of\u00a0<\/em>Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis<\/a>\u00a0(Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). Her newest book is\u00a0<\/em>Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation<\/a>, co-authored with Jerry L. Sumney and Emily Askew (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Inside Out 2 parallels the process of deconstruction I often see in seminary students. 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She has pastored congregations in suburban, urban, and rural contexts. She has authored or co-edited seven books: Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice (Alban Books, Rowman & Littlefield, 2024); Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023); Apocalypse When?: A Guide to Interpreting and Preaching Apocalyptic Texts (Wipf & Stock, 2020); Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Alban Books\/Rowman & Littlefield, 2019); Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019); For the Beauty of the Earth: A Lenten Devotional (Chalice Press, 2019); Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit (Chalice Press, 2015). She is also the EcoPreacher blogger for Patheos. Rev. Dr. Leah D. 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