Converge: Recent Episodes
CGNE Podcast
Common Ground Christian Church - Northeast is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. This podcast is produced by the church and is a long form interview format with local faith leaders.
Pastor Ken and Pastor Erik join Flor and Neil to reflect on Season 2 and what we learned about cultural negotiation.
Pastor Ken talks with Pastor Eric Wiggins from New Horizons Church, just down the road from Common Ground Northeast. This is a fantastic conversation about the role of the church in black culture and how others view the hard work of multicultural, blended church.
Flor and Neil talk to Pastor Hazel Owens from Common Ground Midtown. We discuss the parallels between multicultural marriages and churches and how we can learn how to negotiate cultural differences better.
Flor and Neil talk with Bishop Dr. Keith O'Neal, Lead Pastor at Destiny Christian Center in Muncie, IN. Destiny is 16 years old and is a multicultural and multiethnic church.
Flor and Neil talk to Angle Henry, author of Dents in the Ceiling: Tools Women and Allies Need to Breakthrough. We talk about what it means to practice cultural negotiation in the business world and what churches can learn from it.
Flor and Neil talk with Pastor Kenny Morgan, pastor of Glory to God Christian Church in Lawrence in Indianapolis, Indiana. We talk about his transition to ministry and how the church has navigated starting off as a multi-cultural congregation.
Hosts Flor and Neil sit down with Pastor Erik and Pastor Ken to talk about the new season. This season we are focusing on the theme of cultural negotiation. How do two cultures blend together in a church setting? What are the things they have to deal with? What are the conversations that have to take place? We set the stage for this new season.
For more than 30 years, Dr. Theron D. Williams has been the Pastor of the Mt. Carmel Church of Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Williams was born in Detroit, Michigan. He is the fourth of eight siblings. He attended the Detroit Public School System and is a graduate of Murray Wright High School. Dr. Williams is an alumnus of Virginia Union University and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor, School of Theology at Virginia Union, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Divinity degree, respectively. Dr. Williams is also an alumnus of The Chicago Theological Seminary, receiving a Doctor of Ministry Degree.
Dr. Williams is the founder and president of The Bible is Black History Institute, LLC. Its mission is to educate communities of African descent of their biblical heritage. Dr. Williams is the author of 12 books, including The Bible is Black History, The Bible is Black History Personal Workbook, The Bible is Black History Children’s Edition, The Bible Alphabet Book for Children, The Bible is Black History Children’s Activity Book, The Bible is Black History: Young Heroes of the Bible and The Bible is Black History: Great Women of the Bible.
Pastor Curry was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended the Indianapolis Public School system, graduating from Broad Ripple High School in 1982. After high school, Pastor Curry enlisted in the United States Army and served at various duty stations around the world including Desert Shield/Storm until 1992. He is currently the appointed Executive Director of Staff Development Emergency Operations for the Indiana Department of Correction. He is the husband of Kimberly Curry since December 1984 and together they have two childrenand three grandchildren.
Most of all, Pastor Curry is a born again servant devoted to the cause of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ. Pastor Curry answered his call to preach in March 1994. He was licensed in August 1994 and ordained in December of 2001. He served as the Youth Pastor of Corinthian M.B. Church in Indianapolis until he answered the call to pastor the True Tried Missionary Baptist Church in January 2002. Pastor Curry is very active in the Indianapolis community.
Jon is a son of the city of Indianapolis. Having grown up in the Old Northside of Downtown Indy, he early on developed a heart for the life and diversity of the Circle City. In 2000 he moved to Nashville, TN pursuing a career in the music industry and instead found his wife Kelley and a call to ministry. Jon has served in full-time ministry for 15 years as a creative director, worship pastor, and consultant. Jon and Kelley are accomplished songwriters and are deeply passionate about utilizing various artistic mediums to communicate the narrative of the Gospel. Jon received his Bachelors Degree from Florida State University and attended the Every Nation Leadership Institute. In the summer of 2016, Jon, Kelley, and their five children (Isaiah, Aaron, Judah, Jonny, and Eleanor) returned to Indy to plant City of Lights church.
Judge Geoffrey A. Gaither is a 2020 appointment to the Marion County Superior Court bench. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning and Design. In 1985, he earned his J.D. from Howard University School of Law. Judge Gaither completed the Indiana Graduate Judges Program in 2012 and the Indiana Judicial Masters Certificate in 2020.
The Reverend Dr. Winterbourne LaPucelle Harrison-Jones is a scholar, author, ecclesial leader, and distinguished Churchman out of the linage of Dr. William Augustus Jones, Dr. James Forbes, Dr. Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, The Reverend Marvin Chandler, and Dr. Howard Thurman.
A fifth-generation minister, Dr. Harrison-Jones is widely sought after as a preacher, speaker and workshop facilitator. Reverend Harrison-Jones is a 2006 graduate of Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School in Washington, D.C. and a 2010 graduate of the historic Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Religious and Philosophical Studies. While at Fisk University, Reverend Harrison-Jones had the distinct opportunity of being mentored by Fisk University President and former United States Secretary of Energy, The Honorable Hazel R. O’Leary, and Dean of the historic Fisk Memorial Chapel, the Reverend Dr. Jason Richard Curry, PhD.
In addition to Fisk University and Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Reverend Harrison-Jones holds degrees and professional certifications from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin Germany, and the Universidad de Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain. Reverend Harrison-Jones simultaneously matriculated in two national doctoral programs, earning the Doctor of Ministry from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and is currently pursuing the PhD in Urban Education from Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI).
As a scholar, Reverend Harrison-Jones investigates how theological and homiletic resources within Christian traditions are valuable for interpreting and responding to such pressing public issues as economic deprivation, religious bigotry, racism, class inequity, and structural inequality.
Reverend Harrison-Jones is married to Mrs. Jillian Ardelia Harrison-Jones, who is a doctoral candidate in Choral Conducting at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and serves as the Richard Wesp Assistant Conductor of the Cincinnati Children’s Choir and the Music Director of MUSE, the Cincinnati’s Women’s Choir.
His credo is shaped by words of noted scholar, theologian and 1926 graduate of Rochester Theological Seminary, now Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Dr. Howard Thurman, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive!” Reverend Harrison-Jones is the esteemed Pastor of the historic Witherspoon Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Rev. David W. Greene, Sr. is a dedicated husband, father, son, pastor and friend on a personal level; as well as a strong determined humanitarian, civic leader, educator, an advocate of youth, and a drum major for social justice.
Pastor Greene has been the dynamic Senior Pastor of Second Baptist Church (doing business name of “Purpose of Life Ministries”) here in Indianapolis for 25 years. Pastor Greene has an unconventional approach to ministry and ministers to the unchurched, unloved and unsaved continuously. Under his leadership he has established numerous ministries to support his humanitarian/civic beliefs based on the Word of God.
Hazel Owens is an Associate Pastor at Common Ground Midtown. She first came as a student intern from Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) in the fall of 2016, and accepted the staff Pastoral Intern role in April 2019. She has a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management from Indiana Wesleyan University, and a Master’s of Divinity and a Masters in Marriage & Family Therapy from Christian Theological Seminary. She currently sees clients for therapy at the Counseling Center at CTS.
Rev. Mindy Mayes is the pastor of Bethel AME Church in Noblesville, IN since 2018. She is also a Health and Human Sciences Educator with Purdue Extension.
Dr. Myron Duff is a scholar, administrator, educator and faith leader that has served in various ministry positions and currently serves as Associate Director of Multicultural Recruitment at Franklin College in Indiana.
In this episode we had the opportunity to speak with Bishop Anne Henning Byfield, the 135th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She is a bishop, preacher, psalmist, author, poet, spoken word artist, composer and strategic consultant.