This is a challenging time to be a Christian in the United States. In many denominations, churches are losing members and closing churches. In other places, the church is growing. Our multiethnic team of Christian antiracism educators and friends is asking the question about what the future holds for church renewal – renewal that incorporates the Biblical value of racial justice – in Trump’s America.
344 – Is Colorblindness a Christian Virtue?
Many white people describe themselves as colorblind, and many white Christians do as well. However, is this a virtuous thing, or a posture that goes against scriptural precedent? In this episode, we will discuss this popular stance in light of the book of Acts.
343 – What Is the Future of Intercultural Ministry for the Western Church?
Intercultural ministry – when people from two different cultural groups worship together – is a phenomenon many aging, historically white churches are exploring more and more. But what dynamics do these cultural unions bring us, and what does scripture have to say about these challenges?
342 – Is Antiracism a Political or Gospel Issue?
James 2: 14-17 says “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Christians are called to turn faith into action, but many get stuck on thinking that some actions are “too spiritual” or “too political” and turn away from taking those kinds of actions. Our multiethnic team of antiracism educators and friends have a discussion about this perplexing issue.
341 – What is Biblical About Antiracism?
We are going back to basics on the Antioch Podcast, talking about tough questions that come up for Christians involved in racial and social justice movements. This week’s question – “What is Biblical about antiracism?” Our tagline for the Antioch Podcast is conversations about Biblical antiracism so you can bet we have thoughts.
340 – Where We’ve Been, and Where We Are Going.
The Antioch Podcast team has been off for a number of months, and as we return, we share a bit about why we took an extended break from our conversations about Biblical antiracism, as well as what we to expect as the podcast undergoes a number of significant changes in our next chapter together.
Episode 339 – When Protesters Are Killed: “A Biblically Antiracist Perspective.”
In the past few weeks, the Trump administration has sent large numbers of Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement agents to Minneapolis in response to charges of fraud among a small number of immigrants in the Somali community there. This was not a targeted action, but a massive undertaking arresting many people who were, and who were not, undocumented immigrants. A cascade of horrific events has been documented by people capturing ICE agents – many wearing masks to conceal their identities – committing questionable and at times heartbreaking acts. The pushback from protesters has been continual, and two American citizens were shot and killed so far by ICE agents, bringing a spotlight on Minneapolis and what many are considering to be tactics and policies of ICE officers that are going too far. What are God-fearing people to do in moments when the government is behaving in terrifying ways? Our team of Christian antiracism educators and friends talks about this question in today’s episode.
This is a part of our RILED series, an acronym we are using for our ongoing talks about what the Bible has to say about Racial Justice, Immigration, Leadership, Economic Justice and Diversity, during these challenging times.
Episode 338: What is Economic Justice? – “What Are We Doing With God’s Money Part 1.”
I grew up in a country church in rural America where we sang hymns from old navy-blue hymnals every Sunday. One of our congregation’s favorites was the hymn “This Is My Father’s World.” The first two verses celebrate God’s providence and majesty displayed through the natural world. And in the third verse, the tone of the poem changes:
This is my Father’s world.
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!
What is this wrong that seems so strong that is mentioned in the poem? We can imagine many things which the lyric may allude to, but in today’s current financial reality, greed and poverty create a lot of ecological, economic and social ugliness we need to grapple with as Christians – Christ-followers who literally are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. If everything is part of “my Father’s world”, that includes money, begging us as believers to ask ourselves, “What are we doing with God’s money?” Our team of Christian antiracism educators and friends will talk about this in today’s episode.
This is a part of our RILED series, an acronym we are using for our ongoing talks about what the Bible has to say about Racial Justice, Immigration, Leadership, Economic Justice and Diversity, during these challenging times.
Let’s go now and listen to this conversation.
CREDITS
Episode 337: Goodness, Self-Control and Other Virtues – “Characteristics of Biblical Leadership Part 4.”
Scripture has a list of qualities that represent what it means to be a follower of Jesus known as the fruit of the Spirit. This is the evidence of a Spirit-filled life, a life focused on reflecting the qualities of Jesus to the rest of the world. Ideally, this list would describe what a Christian was like, and for Christian leaders, a call to a higher level of leadership that embodies these ideals. Sadly, some leaders who call themselves Christians or whom Christians devotedly follow, claim to represent Christian ideals, but don’t show the qualities listed here that are the evidence of a Spirit-filled life.
This is a part of our RILED series, an acronym we are using for our ongoing talks about what the Bible has to say about Racial Justice, Immigration, Leadership, Economic Justice and Diversity, during these challenging times.
CREDITS
https://sermons.logos.com/sermons/1332604-donald-trump:-a-biblical-perspective-on-leadership-and-policies
Episode 336: The Fruit of the Spirit for Leaders – “Characteristics of Biblical Leaders Part 3.”
Character counts. I try to read at least one book every year about leadership in my role as a clinical director at a multisite therapy practice. Almost every book essentially talks about the characteristics of good leaders. These kinds of character traits impact how to listen, how to give feedback in a respectful and clear manner, how to build teams, and how to apologize effectively to name a few. In scripture, the fruit of the spirit mentioned in Galatians 5 are another list of character traits for Christians, traits that ideally show up in all our lives whether we are leaders or not. We wanted to take a moment to reflect on these characteristics, holding these standards up as examples of what Biblical leaders should be.
This is a part of our RILED series, an acronym we are using for our ongoing talks about what the Bible has to say about Racial Justice, Immigration, Leadership, Economic Justice and Diversity, during these challenging times.
CREDITS
https://sermons.logos.com/sermons/1332604-donald-trump:-a-biblical-perspective-on-leadership-and-policies
Episode 335: Prophetic Leadership – “Characteristics of Biblical Leadership Part 2.”
John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus, was a prophet with a short-lived period of influence. There had not been a prophet in Israel for 400 years before John showed up on the scene. During this period of silence, the Jewish people were first ruled by the Greeks and then the Romans. Now John was popular among the common people, as he called them to live lives of holiness and return to following the laws of God, and then he eventually called people to follow Jesus. But the story doesn’t end there. He also criticized the local Roman sub-king, Herod Antipas, for not following the laws of God – divorcing his wife so that he could marry his brother’s wife. This angered the king who had him arrested as a political prisoner, and later beheaded him to please his new wife during a drunken party at the palace. The Jewish historian Josephus recounts that John’s arrest may have also had other political motivations, noting that Herod had John imprisoned and killed due to “the great influence John had over the people.” This is not a unique fate. Prophets, especially Biblical ones, often suffered for speaking truth to power. Yet, their role as leaders in scripture is unquestionable, with over 25% of scripture being prophetic.
For Christians, prophetic leadership is something most of us need to understand better. However, many leaders are more pragmatic than prophetic. So today, we are going to take a deep dive into prophetic leadership as a quality we all need to aspire to as leaders and followers alike.
This is a part of our RILED series, an acronym we are using for our ongoing talks about what the Bible has to say about Racial Justice, Immigration, Leadership, Economic Justice and Diversity, during these challenging times.
Let’s go now and listen to this conversation.
Episode 334: Biblical Leadership – Characteristics of Biblical Leaders Part 1.
Through much of my career, I have found myself being pulled into positions of leadership, whether it is leading small groups or teams, leading church congregations, or routinely sitting in meetings where policies are made that affect both staff and clients. I once worked for a pastor who wisely told me that leaders “never get to take their leadership hat off” and she was right. Leadership is about character. When talking about Biblical leadership, we are talking about leaders whose policies and private life reflect the values of scripture. In essence, these are leaders who through the way they navigate their successes and failures show that they are people who care deeply for what God cares about. These are people who imperfectly try to love the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul and strength and love their neighbors as themselves. So today, our team of Christian antiracism educators and friends are going to talk about some of these characteristics of Biblical leaders – exploring the traits of servant leadership, humility, wisdom, discernment, and justice.
This is a part of our RILED series, an acronym we are using for our ongoing talks about what the Bible has to say about Racial Justice, Immigration, Leadership, Economic Justice and Diversity, during these challenging times.
Let’s go now and listen to this conversation.
Episode 333: Christlike Resistance In the Time of White Christian Nationalism
What thoughts go through your mind when you hear of a politically motivated shooting? Does it matter to you who was harmed or killed? In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, some Christians are calling for revenge, and some are calling for restraint. In this episode, our team of Christian antiracism educators and friends have a conversation of how we are doing following the events of the past few weeks and look at what scripture and the life of Jesus teach about leadership, enemies, persecution, and how to handle the kinds of differences that divide people deeply.
Episode 332: Biblical Counter-Narratives – “Christianity Has Always Been Multicultural.”
We are in a series where we are giving Biblical Counter-Narratives to anti-Christian messages being increasingly pushed in America. We are calling this series our “RILED” series, where we talk about Racial Justice, Immigration, Leadership, Economic Justice and Diversity. We are talking about them, because the Bible has a lot to say on these topics, and this Biblical world-view is being threatened by people who twist scripture for political purposes. We are taking a wholistic scriptural view as we talk about these topics with our multiethnic group of antiracism educators and friends. Today, we are going to continue our discussion of Benjamin Cremer’s article “A Theological Response to Immigration Myths” – specifically addressing the fear that immigrants will change “our” culture and pose a religious threat.
CREDITS
https://benjamin-cremer.kit.com/posts/a-theological-response-to-immigration-myths
Episode 331: Biblical Counter-Narratives – “Countering Immigration Myths.”
We are in a series where we are giving Biblical Counter-Narratives to anti-Christian messages being increasingly pushed in America. We are calling this series our “RILED” series, where we talk about Racial Justice, Immigration, Leadership, Economic Justice and Diversity. We are talking about them, because the Bible has a lot to say on these topics, and this Biblical world-view is being threatened by people who twist scripture for political purposes. We are taking a wholistic scriptural view as we talk about these topics with our multiethnic group of antiracism educators and friends. Today, we are going to continue our discussion of Benjamin Cremer’s article “A Theological Response to Immigration Myths”.
CREDITS
https://benjamin-cremer.kit.com/posts/a-theological-response-to-immigration-myths
Episode 330: Biblical Counter-Narratives – “There Is No Immigrant Invasion.”
We are in a series where we are giving Biblical Counter-Narratives to anti-Christian messages being increasingly pushed in America. We are calling this series our “RILED” series, where we talk about Racial Justice, Immigration, Leadership, Economic Justice and Diversity. We are talking about them, because the Bible has a lot to say on these topics, and this Biblical world-view is being threatened by people who twist scripture for political purposes. We are taking a wholistic scriptural view as we talk about these topics with our multiethnic group of antiracism educators and friends. Today, we are going to continue our discussion of Benjamin Cremer’s article “A Theological Response to Immigration Myths”, looking at how immigrants are described as invaders, instead of seeing them for whom they really are – people made in the image of God.
CREDITS
https://benjamin-cremer.kit.com/posts/a-theological-response-to-immigration-myths
Episode 329: Biblical Counter-Narratives – “Immigrants are a Blessing.”
It is not uncommon for people to have some level of apprehension about the unknown. I recall the first time I ate sashimi – beautiful slices of raw fish served in sushi restaurants. I had never eaten raw fish before, and had a suspicion that eating any uncooked fish would make me sick. However, I tried it, liked it, and now enjoy sushi, sashimi, ceviche, and beef tartar and all manner of safe-to-eat proteins which are not cooked with fire. The belief I had gave me a bias against uncooked meat, similar to the bias some Asian people have about eating uncooked vegetables on a midwestern vegetable tray with ranch dressing. Recognizing bias, however, allows us to test them to see if they are worth holding on to.
Historically, immigrants bear the brunt of some of the worst biases, blamed for all manner of problems, and discriminated against in countless cultures. Wherever there are immigrants, the fear of the unknown tends to follow. Scripture has a lot to say about how we respond to our fears, as well as how we treat one another. Specifically, the Bible speaks clearly about how we are to treat people who happen to be immigrants, wherever we may be. We are going to talk about this in today’s episode.
CREDITS
https://benjamin-cremer.kit.com/posts/a-theological-response-to-immigration-myths
Episode 328: Biblical Counter-Narratives – “The Importance of Counter-Narratives.”
As a therapist, I spend my week listening to people’s stories. I’ve heard thousands of stories, and from listening to these stories, I have a number of thoughts about what makes certain stories powerful to people, and other stories more incidental. Often, it isn’t the events of the story that are most important, it is what we think these events mean about us, mean about the world, or mean about how much agency we have to shape our futures so that we have hope. Meaning -the conclusions, beliefs, and interpretations of the events in a story – is what makes stories powerful. As biased human beings, we tend to accept stores that fit our biases as true, and dismiss stories that don’t fit our biases as untrue.
In the therapy context, often important changes happen when we begin to question these biased stories. For example, someone who believes “I’m broken” or “I will never be happy” may find evidence for these beliefs from the events in their lives, telling themselves a story that reinforces these beliefs. However, changing these narratives often comes from observing the events in our lives for evidence of counternarratives, such as “I’m healing” or “I can experience joy as well as pain”, including these new facts into the evolving story of one’s life. As long as we are alive, the last chapter of our life has not yet been written.
In a justice context, the Bible has at times been misinterpreted by those in power to support things which are unscriptural and un-Christlike. Interestingly, much of scripture was written to people who themselves were marginalized by the cultures around them, and the Bible itself was a counternarrative to the story those cultural forces told. In today’s episode, we will talk about the importance of counternarratives, especially for people who try to love God by loving all their diverse neighbors.
Episode 327: Biblical Counter-Narratives – “Scriptural Truth vs. Christian Nationalism.”
What does it mean to be a podcast about Biblical Antiracism during a time when every week it seems that civil rights are attacked, people are being rounded up and arrested, and disagreement and speaking out is met with increasing levels of suppression. While some faith leaders are boldly speaking out, others are timidly wringing their hands while others loudly speak in support of these anti-scriptural policy initiatives.
This is not a new problem. In fact, the subtext of much of scripture is how God continues through the generations to love people and leaders, many of whom are not following after God either out of ignorance or defiance. Often national problems are exacerbated by both political and religious leaders who fail to follow the path laid out plainly in scripture. Much of the Old Testament is a chronicle of these kinds of leadership failures. Then in the New Testament, Jesus who is fully God and fully man, came to show us a better way through teaching and through how he lived. For example, in Matthew 16, Jesus warns his followers to “be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees” – popular religious leaders whose interpretation of scripture either reduced scripture to a complex catalogue of conservative rules to be followed, or a more liberal reading of religious texts that minimized some of the central teachings and truth claims of scripture – neither of which brings hope to the world or bears witness to the heart of God.
So what is the heart of God when it comes to matters of justice? Scripture is full of these examples, yet many people don’t know about or have not been taught about them. Nevertheless, scripture speaks – strongly and with a uniform voice – about how to love God by loving our neighbors as ourselves. So as a team, we, the Antioch Podcast: Conversations About Biblical Antiracism, are going to spend this season emphasizing the Biblical part of our tagline by looking at scripture together to learn what the Bible has to say about racial justice, immigration, leadership, economic justice and diversity. We hope that you find these conversations inspiring, and encourage you during this historical moment, to turn back to scripture to see what it has to say about the world we inhabit now.
Episode 326: The Spirit of Justice – “Stories of Strength.”
Since January, we have been discussing Jemar Tisby’s latest book “The Spirit of Justice”, looking at the stories of Black Christians and their allies who were inspired by scripture to work for racial justice. Today, our team gathered around the mics to talk about what we have learned so far on our journey though this moving book.
CREDITS:
THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE – Jemar Tisby
The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance
Episode 325: The Spirit of Justice – “Harriet Tubman”
Harriet Tubman is one of the most recognized and celebrated figures in American History. After escaping from slavery, she returned across the Mason Dixon line 13 times to free individuals from slavery. Estimates range from 70-300 people who were freed because of her efforts, with dozens of others who found freedom following her instructions. In later years, during a Union raid led by Tubman, she helped free another 700 enslaved individuals. She was honored in 1944 by the US Navy – being the first African American woman to have a Liberty Ship named after her which was in service until it was scrapped in 1972. In addition, there have been numerous memorials built to honor her memory, as well as movies, documentaries and books chronicling her life.
However, her life and memory have never been celebrated by everyone. For example, recent plans in the works to commemorate her by placing her portrait on the face of the 20-dollar bill were delayed by the Trump administration until 2030, and the administration is currently planning to remove her name and the names of other civil rights leaders from many Navy ships currently in service as part of their anti-DEI initiatives.
Despite the drama, many people don’t know much about this pivotal figure in American history who was guided by her faith to seek freedom for captives. We will discuss her story as part of our series discussing Jemar Tisby’s book The Spirit of Justice: True Stores of Faith, Race and Resistance. A link to purchase this book is provided in the show notes for this episode.
CREDITS
THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE – Jemar Tisby
The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance
Episode 324: John Williams – “Restorative Racial Justice in the Age of Trump.”
John Williams is a frequent guest and friend of the Antioch Podcast known for his deep Christian faith and commitment to healing the church in America through truth telling, racial justice and repair. As the executive director of The Center for Restorative Justice in Pasadena, California, we are honored to have John join us today to talk about what it is like to be called to the work of restorative racial justice in during the second Trump administration.
CREDITS
The Center for Restorative Justice
www.Cfrjustice.org
Episode 323: The Spirit of Justice – “Fighting for Freedom.”
What is worth fighting and dying for? For many people, it is the prospect of safety for those they care about which is more likely to happen when someone has the liberty to live in freedom from oppression. Captain Thomas Higgenson, a white abolitionist, led a nearly all-black unit in the Union Army. Writing in his journal about the black troops under his command, he said, “The most reckless and daring fellows in the regiment were perfect fatalists in their confidence that God would watch over them, and that if they died, it would be because their time had come.” His statements echo the words of Paul’s letter to the Philippians where he writes, “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain… [but] whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”
In the period surrounding the Civil War, white American’s debated the humanity of Black slaves and the best route to preserve the Union if possible. This debate divided congregations, and split denominations. But for black Christians, slavery was a dehumanizing evil that could not be remotely justified by scripture. This difference in understanding scripture provided the theological justification for fighting for and against the institution of slavery.
We will discuss these stories as part of our series discussing Jemar Tisby’s book The Spirit of Justice: True Stores of Faith, Race and Resistance. A link to purchase this book is provided in the show notes for this episode.
CREDITS:
THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE – Jemar Tisby
The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance
Episode 322: The Spirit of Justice – “Radicals.”
Listen to Psalm 36, the lyrics of which contrast the way evil people use power with that of God.
1 I have a message from God in my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God
before their eyes.
2 In their own eyes they flatter themselves
too much to detect or hate their sin.
3 The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful;
they fail to act wisely or do good.
4 Even on their beds they plot evil;
they commit themselves to a sinful course
and do not reject what is wrong.
5 Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10 Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 May the foot of the proud not come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 See how the evildoers lie fallen—
thrown down, not able to rise!
Is the idea that God asks Christians to do justice – to see human beings, regardless of their diversity characteristics, as equals a radical idea? Is the idea that God’s justice doesn’t just extend to the way we treat one another, but the way we treat our shared planet a radical notion? Are people who share these ideas, especially when they go against the policy leanings of those in power “radical” … or are they just following the historical way of the gospel?
We will discuss the stories of three “radicals” as part of our series discussing Jemar Tisby’s book The Spirit of Justice: True Stores of Faith, Race and Resistance. A link to purchase this book is provided in the show notes for this episode.
Let’s go now and listen to this conversation.
CREDITS:
THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE – Jemar Tisby
The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance
Episode 321: The Spirit of Justice – “Resisting Unjust Economies.”
Have you ever tried to read the Bible from cover to cover? I know that when many try, they do pretty well getting through the stories of Genesis and Exodus, but lose interest as they start Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These books of laws can seem archaic and difficult to understand to the contemporary reader, but these instructions from God were given to a nation of recently-freed slaves in part to help them establish a legal and economic system that reinforced what it meant to live as a follower of God. So what did that mean? In practice, many of these laws were designed to set up a system that was economically just, made it difficult to stay in poverty, and limited abuse. Over and over in this part of the Bible, there are instructions to “remember that you were once slaves in Egypt” and that God brough them out of these awful conditions. So in theory, living in a just economic system would help the people remember that they were once slaves, and because of this, to treat others with justice and equity. However, this nation never lived up to the promise of their laws, and in time, God allowed them to be overthrown and taken into captivity.
Skip forward thousands of years. In the early years of the United States, those who created and perpetuated the trans-Atlantic slave trade twisted scripture to justify the enslavement of millions of Africans, despite the anti-slavery narratives that are woven through four entire books of the Bible. Yet there was resistance against this corruption of scripture to justify the misuse of power for the sake of riches. African-Americans and their allies fought and pushed back on the economic system built on the free labor of slaves.
We will discuss these stories as part of our series discussing Jemar Tisby’s book The Spirit of Justice: True Stores of Faith, Race and Resistance. A link to purchase this book is provided in the show notes for this episode.
CREDITS:
THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE – Jemar Tisby
The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance