Sermons and Talks at Myers Park Baptist: Recent Episodes
Myers Park Baptist Church
This summer, Ben and Mia are talking all things television, film, and music as we explore the ways art helps us heal, helps us understand the turbulence of the last 2½ years, and helps us imagine a future for ourselves and community in the midst of grief and uncertainty. In this episode, Mia and Ben...
This summer, Ben and Mia are talking all things television, film, and music as we explore the ways art helps us heal, helps us understand the turbulence of the last 2½ years, and helps us imagine a future for ourselves and community in the midst of grief and uncertainty. In this episode, Mia and Ben...
This summer, Ben and Mia are talking all things television, film, and music as we explore the ways art helps us heal, helps us understand the turbulence of the last 2½ years, and helps us imagine a future for ourselves and community in the midst of grief and uncertainty. Ben and Mia continue the dis...
This summer, Ben and Mia are talking all things television, film, and music as we explore the ways art helps us heal, helps us understand the turbulence of the last 2½ years, and helps us imagine a future for ourselves and community in the midst of grief and uncertainty. In this episode, Ben and Mia...
Rev. Tara Gibbs & a Member of the Youth Graduating Class | 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 & Acts 2:1-12...
Transgender Day of Visibility conversation, featuring MPBC member Franchaska. Rev. Mia McClain and Franchaska talk about the housing crisis affecting the transgender community in Charlotte, legislations affecting transgender youth and their parents in Texas, and how major human rights initiatives th...
The Diversity of Black Voices: An Intergenerational Panel featuring MPBC Members To close out our Black History Month 2022 celebration, Rev. Tara Gibbs curates a powerful intergenerational dialogue featuring Black members of Myers Park Baptist Church. They discuss culture, political and social reali...
Rev. Melissa McQueen-Simmons | “Living Beyond the Veil” | Exodus 34:29-35 & 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 ...
Dr. Jonathan Lee Walton | Isaiah 42:1-13 |(re-airing of Dr. Jonathan Lee Walton’s sermon, “Declaring New Things,” recorded January 12, 2020 at Myers Park Baptist) ...
Rev. Carrie Veal | Psalm 67 & Matthew 2:1-12 from A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Year W by The Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD. ...
Rev. Dr. Ben Boswell | Matthew 1:18-25 from A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Year W by The Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD. ...
Rev. Dr. Ben Boswell | Luke 2 from A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Year W by The Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD. ...
Mia and Ben discuss their favorite Christmas movie, the criteria to determine if a movie is Christmas, and the new themes they’d like to see in holiday movies....
Rev. Dr. Ben Boswell | 1 Samuel 2:1-10 from A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Year W by The Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD. Luke 1:46-56 from A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Year W by The Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD.“What would it look like if we were able to receive the gifts we’ve been...
The Holidays aren’t always “Deck the Halls” and “Jingle Bells.” Join Mia and Ben as they discuss grief, lamentation rituals, and loss. Content Warning: There is mention of suicide in this episode. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones....
Rev. Dr. Ben Boswell | Genesis 17:15-22 from A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Year W by The Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD. “Sometimes laughter is the only weapon we have that has the ability to overcome the power of fear and the banality of evil. Laughter can be a subversive activity—an i...
Dr. Ben & Rev. Mia discuss true holiday films (not just the fluffy and fun ones), how we navigate nostalgia, and fighting for Advent in the midst of holiday consumerism....
Rabbi Asher Knight | Genesis 28:10-22 & Matthew 25:34-46“God is everywhere at the margins – manifest in the least of these. And God is manifest in those who can and choose to help the least of these. The Jewish framework for these ideas is from Genesis 127 where scripture teache...
Dr. Ben & Rev. Mia discuss their favorite Thanksgiving and holiday foods, what their favorite holiday memories are, and starting new traditions....
Rev. Dr. Ben Boswell | Judges 13:1-25 from A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Year W by The Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD. | Judges 13:8-14 & 24-25 “Contrary to what many of us believe, joy does not lead to gratitude, it’s the other way around. Gratitude is not a rando...
Rev. Tara Gibbs | 1 Samuel 1:2-20 (A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Year W) “Maybe what I could not find in othersOr in marriage or in shared identity kinship,I could find in a holy place.A sacred placeA God place…But even there,Would my longing be heard?Would my longing be...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | 1 Kings 17:8-24 “The healing of our bodies and souls is tied up with the healing of the Earth and the poor. If we seek our healing without the rivers and ravens, widows and orphans, then our healing becomes another idol that lets us feel quenched and full ...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Hebrews 12:1-4; 12-15 “As we express the grief that resides in our hearts over the losses that have changed our lives, honor those Saints who came before us, remember all our family and our friends we have loved and lost, and we lament the death that has c...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 10:46-52“Faith is not, getting Jesus right or our theology straight. Faith is not believing or assenting to doctrine. Faith is taking up our cloaks and our crosses and following Jesus. Faith is loving God and neighbor. Faith is crying out for mercy wh...
The Rev. Wil Gafney, PhD | Revelation 6:9-11 and Luke 6:43-45- from “A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church, Year W, Proper 24″“Where do you stand? . . . I know where Jesus would stand. . . . He stood in so much solidarity that he stood with the dying and died himself. And in his...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 10:17-31 “If we want to be possessed by a dream, we cannot allow ourselves to be possessed by our possessions. Instead we must be dispossessed for the sake of the dream. The dream is not a building, sanctuary, a governance structure, a liturgy, or a tra...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Isaiah 25:1-10“The table is not just a metaphor for life, but for who we are as a people. A table for all is God’s alternative to the fortified city and the ruthless way of life. The ruthless may not be building a beloved community, but God is—and I believe ...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 9:30-37“Like Jesus, we do not believe children are less valuable or lower in status than the rest of society. Nor do we believe people should only care for their own children. We believe all children are our children. They are not just our future or o...
Join Rev. Mia, Rev. Carrie, and MPBC member Megan Carmilani in a conversation about the effect of Long COVID, post viral syndromes, and things we should be looking out for as we continue to live our lives amidst a pandemic....
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Luke 15:1-2; 11-32 “The point of the parable is not the prodigal son, the pouting elder, or the pater familias, but the party where all people are welcome, where there is music and dancing, and more than enough to go around, where sinners and Pharisees, ta...
Join Rev. Mia as she chats with our 2021 Faith in the 21st Century scholar, The Reverend Wil Gafney, PhD. They discuss women in the Bible, her latest publication, A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church: Year W and Year A, as well as a myriad of her other works....
Rev. Tara Gibbs | Ecclesiastes 3:1-22“Ask yourself, Is this the time and season For me to reference and learn from the past? Is this the time and season For me to focus on the present? Is this the time and season For me to plan for the future? We cannot control many things in life But we ...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 8:1-21 “Bravery is born from the profound conviction that the inclusive community of love God is creating in and among us is so precious and needed in our world we are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect it from any yeast that would spoil th...
This week, Rev. Tara & Rev. Mia are discussing some great resources related to sexuality, gender identity & expression, queer theologies, & beyond! Take a listen as we round out our August Proud Theology series. ...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 7:24-37 “If Jesus can say something terrible and still be Jesus, that means we are not the worst thing we’ve ever done. We are more than our worst mistakes. Our failures do not ultimately define us. There’s so much grace in that. There’s a heart full of...
In this episode, Dr. Ben and Rev. Mia reflect on LGBTQIA+ inclusion and affirmation, discuss the heartbreaking events in Haiti and Afghanistan, and offer recommendations for positive depictions of LGBTQIA+ folks in media....
Rev. Mia McClain | 2 Kings 4:1-7 “When I’m on my death bed, I want to look around and know I did everything I could, even when it was unpopular—even when it was protested and I got angry emails. I didn’t just do the same ole same ole because of ‘tradition.’ I exhausted every possibility, ...
We are kicking off Charlotte Pride Season with another special guest. Join Rev. Mia and Minister James Admans as they discuss transgender biblical interpretations, the queering of the Femme/Woman Babylon in Revelation 17-19, and how LGBTQIA+ people search for safety and power within the context of t...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 7:1-23 “Jesus challenged tradition because it was standing in opposition to the new kind of community he was building where there was no hierarchy of human value and where all people were included and empowered to practice the radical demands of scriptu...
We are kicking off Charlotte Pride season with a special guest! In this episode, Rev. Mia sits down with Bethany Corrigan, Executive Director of Transcend Charlotte. Transcend’s mission is to pursue equity and social justice for transgender and gender expansive communities through education, advocac...
Rev. Tara Gibbs | Mark 14:12-25 “When Jesus disrupted the Passover meal, he was not saying discard history, ignore tradition, or that the past does not matter. Instead, he was saying, I know you are focused on this symbol, this specific past event, this traditional meal, but I ALSO need...
In this episode, Rev. Ben and Rev. Mia talk all things current events. There is so much happening in he world. Every day there’s a new news story. Listen to them chat about Critical Race Theory, Nikole Hannah-Jones’ new venture, the scandals of the Olympics, and ongoing voting rights struggles...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 6:30-44 “The good news of the gospel is not just words and feelings, or thoughts and beliefs, its bread and food, it is work and wages, it is healthcare and housing.” “We can’t send the hungry away or explain their poverty with trite clich...
Rev. Ben and Rev. Mia continue the conversation on the growing generational gap in the Church, how Millennials and Gen Z are pushing back against capitalism and the fallout of neoliberalism by resting and resisting, and the resilience of faith communities throughout the course of time....
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 6:14-29 “Even though we are the followers of Jesus in an age of whitewashed history and a whitewashed gospel, the real good news can always be reclaimed. Like the disciples, we too can become the resurrection of Jesus. We are the hope for the resurrec...
Rev. Ben and Rev. Mia chat about the growing generational gap in the Church, trying to understand what Millennials want out of faith communities, and how the COVID-19 crisis has changed the landscape of religious institutions in ways that we can’t even understand fully at this moment....
Rev. Mia McClain | 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 | “When we dance, we are re-membering—re-membering our bodies in a culture that has disembodied us. We are putting pieces of ourselves back together again after 16-months of estrangement. We are re-membering the muscles we’ve forgotten existed—the ...
Join Rev. Ben and Rev. Mia as they discuss this new docuseries High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. Listen to their reactions about how spiritual life intersects with culture and the foods we’ve grown to know and love....
Rev. Tara Gibbs | Mark 6:1-13 “Saying ‘You are welcome and at home’ is one thing. Actively welcoming and taking a stance is another. Too often we passively hope our words are enough. When in reality, our homes or safe spaces for us, are harming others.”“Scripture ...
Join the crew as they discuss the curation of the Decolonizing Liturgy project which launched at MPBC in June. Decolonizing Liturgy is a course designed to help participants unpack their understandings of worship and liturgy in the White-dominant progressive Christian church with the hope of fosteri...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 5:21-42 “There’s not just enough to go around; there’s more than enough for everyone, there’s an abundance! There’s not enough for everyone’s greed, but there is enough for everyone’s need! History has shown us time and again that there will never be e...
In the episode, Rev. Mia and DJ Hairless (Dr. Ben) walk through the music and video playlist that accompanies the ‘What Does It Mean To Be White?’ course curriculum. This is a continuation of Ep. 4. All songs are by Black and Brown artists and speak on racial tension, whiteness, and the ...
Rev. Dr. Bill Leonard | Psalm 107:1-3; 23-32 & 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 “Today, Juneteenth Sunday 2021, can we recommend ourselves by the the innocence of our behavior – our grasp of the truth, patience, kindliness – our experience of the gifts of the Holy Spirit –...
This week, Rev. Mia sits down with our newest Senior Staff member, Rev. Tara Gibbs, to talk about beginning again, regathering, starting a new job during Covid-19, and embracing our ongoing Genesis moments....
Rev. Dr. Bill Leonard | Isaiah 58:6-12 & Mark 4:26-34 “In the gospel infrastructure, we confront injustice, oppression, hunger, homelessness. We confront the yolk in large movements and in small acts and when we do, something good, something gospel take place. And for a moment at le...
On this weeks episode, Ben and Mia chat about how economic injustice, police brutality, and the emergence of the landmark educational program, What Does It Mean To Be White?...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 3:20-35 “The problem in Nazareth wasn’t Jesus; it wasn’t his mental health or spiritual condition. The problem in Nazareth was a society that was fundamentally opposed to the work of healing and liberation. The crowds followed Jesus because he brought ...
Join Rev. Mia McClain for a conversation with Rev. Carrie Veal about beginning again in this season of change and awakening. The talk about justice issues, reflections on the last 15 months, and the holy command to REST!...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 2:22-3:6 “Jesus told the religious leaders that all their fasting and praying, worship and liturgy, laws and traditions, tithes and offerings, rules and regulations, all their piety, spirituality, and devotion meant nothing to God—absolutely nothing un...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Acts 2:1-21 “This pandemic is only one of many crises we face today. The storm outside the ark is as strong as ever, and it may not seem much worse than the stench inside. It may seem overwhelming or terrifying, but we’ve walked through storms and crisis be...
Rev. Tara Gibbs and Allen Davis | Acts 2:1-8 (NIV) It was the Holy that pushed our faith forward, and took the gospel message beyond its Jewish roots. That being said, I believe that today, the church can still move forward, but not without the push from our youth. – Rev. Tara Gibbs Sometimes y...
Sacred justice is new podcast that will feature discourse rooted in the pursuit of justice as sacred practice. Our weekly discussions will reflect on current events, art, media, theology, and how this intersects with the movements for freedom and liberation. We hope that through these conversations,...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Exodus 1:15-2:10 “We are called to be midwives of resistance deliverance, salvation and liberation. We are called to be midwives of freedom for all people in our world today. Mother’s Day should be about protecting children and preparing them for the pursui...
Rev. Carrie Veal | 1 John 4:7-13; 16-21 | Acts 8:26-40 “Over and over, we are told to welcome … we are told to love. We are not told to live in fear of another. We are not told to determine another’s value or worth; we are not asked to decide if another should have a place at the ta...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | John 21:1-19 “Resurrection is an open invitation. That is the definition of hope. No matter how far we fall or how many times we turn away from Jesus or our neighbors, there is always another chance. Our God is the God of second chances, the God of ‘t...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Joel 2:12-17, 21-29 | “Acknowledge your separation and return to your Creator! Return to your mother! Return to the land and the earth. Return to the one who made you, bore you, raised you, fed you, and who cares for you even now in the midst of your se...
Rev. Mia M. McClain | Acts 1:1-11 | “In our witnessing, we are preserving memories and legacies. In our witnessing, we are showing compassion. In our witnessing, we are disrupting dangerous status quos, we are putting our privilege on the line for the sake of justice, we are redistri...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 15:42 – 16:8 | “Grief has the power to start great movements against violence, spark an uprising against a culture of death, and raise the dead, because grief is born from the combustible union of the two most powerful experiences in human existenc...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 11:1-25 “Jesus was not a reformer. You don’t get crucified for being a reformer. Jesus knew some systems and institutions cannot be reformed; they must be abolished. Slavery could not be reformed; it had to be abolished. The death penalty in Virginia...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | John 9:1-12 “Jesus invites us to question bad questions—to question the idea of who is a sinner—to question those who blame the victim or their family—to question those who call for personal responsibility without naming the systemic causes of inequality...
Rev. Mia M. McClain | Psalm 30:8-12 | “Can the dust praise God? If the rocks can cry and the seas can roar—if floods can clap their hands and the hills can sing together with joy, surely this dust has something to tell us about God’s creation at work. Surely, the dust can be proof ...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | John 8:1-11 | “Jesus will not stand for patriarchy. He calls religious men to account for their sins against women. Even when the world will not hold men responsible for immoral and unjust actions, upholding of systems of oppression, and participatin...
Rev. Tara Gibbs | Genesis 2 | “We cannot ignore our dusty, clay bodies. No, we must embrace both our bodies and our breath or spirit. This Lenten season in particular, this Black History Month, we should ask ourselves: ‘Can this dust breathe?’ Not in relation to our own bodie...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 1:9-15 | “This Lenten season is not the time to worry about giving something up; we need to survive our journey. We’ve already sacrificed so much. Now is time to give in to the Spirit, to give in to all the life that is around us in the desert. ...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 1:40 – 2:12 Like Jesus, we have the power to declare all people clean, to stand against any religious system or priestly code that claims that someone is not enough because of their body, and to say to our families, our neighbors, ourselves, and the...
This Black History Month, we invite you on a journey with us to Williamsburg, VA to the church that Myers Park Baptist’s exterior was modeled after. We are led through history by FBC-Williamsburg member and historian, Liz Montgomery, from the church’s founding in 1776 to the present-day. Liste...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 1:29-39 “Jesus saw the city as a place of violence where God’s children were scattered like chickens, so he called us to follow him and become servants who seek the peace of the city by caring for the poor and vulnerable.”“We must do our ...
Rev. Mia McClain | Mark 1:21-28 “When you walk in confidence, others awaken to their own. Even the demons wake up when you walk in the room! They call you by name and in public, confirming that you are living in your truth and your truth is connected to community — your truth is conne...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 1:14-20 “We’ve been gathered by a God who gathers so we might gather others; so we might heal and reconcile the world, by gathering up the fragmented pieces of God scattered all over creation and join them back together into a beloved family of peace...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Psalm 118:20-27 & 1 Peter 2:1-10 “We need to be re-founded on the stone the builders rejected — not the deed on which a restrictive covenant of whiteness is written, but the stone on which an open covenant with humanity is written — the stone of the...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Matthew 1:4-11 “Our apocalyptic crisis of identity has become an existential threat to our democracy. Toxic Christianity is what got us here. We need to start over. We need a new self, a new creation, a new society, and new nation. We need a new beginning...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Matthew 2:1-12 “Another world is possible—if we are willing to search for it. If we want to find life and joy in this new year, we must stop trying to protect our power, resist the death dealing ways of Herod, give up our power for others, and search for ...
Rev. Mia McClain | Genesis 16:7-16 “Perhaps the hope for all of us is not in ‘God save us,’ or ‘God deliver us,’ but in ‘God with us.'”“If we are to be God’s hands and feet in the world, we must see each other the way God sees us. We must open each other’s eyes to the wells in...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | John 1:6-8, 19-28 | “Truth is something we belong to. We belong to God and one another. The truth is beloved community. The truth is kindom. We are preparing for and learning how to love this truth. And when we do, a wellspring of the most indescriba...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Mark 1:1-8 | “In this fresh wilderness, each of us has a role to play in preparing our our lives and our world for the coming of peace.” ...
Rev. Mia McClain | Matthew 25:31-46“For I was hungry and you told me to pull myself up by the bootstraps. For I was thirsty and you let me drink poisoned water for 7 years. I was unemployed and you evicted me in the middle of a pandemic. I was cold and you cut off my heat during the winte...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Matthew 25:14-30 | “We give because we love. And when we give our love for what we love, fear disappears because love is more powerful than fear. Perfect love casts out fear.” ...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Matthew 25:1-13 “Eternal vigilance is the price of our liberty.” “The work is always the same—to stay vigilant, carry the fuel of love with us, strive to be the light of the world, as we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” &#...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Revelation 7:9-17 | “Becoming a good ancestor means not only loving the saints who’ve come before us and our neighbors in the present. It means loving the future generations of people who will come to live on this earth after we are gone.” ...
Join us as we wrap up our series with special guest and friend of MPBC, Dr. Gerardo Marti, Davidson College. We’ll be talking about class, religious affiliation, and how that intersects with political views...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell |Matthew 22:23-40 “Love is not a sentimental feeling, but a way of treating people with justice and equity. ““The very definition of love, according to Jesus, demands the ethical treatment of immigrants as citizens in our society.”“Vi...
In Episode 3, Ben and Mia take us on a journey from 19th century gender ideologies through the industrial revolution to how we engage with politics today....
Rev. Mia McClain Preaching | Exodus 33:12-14 | Psalm 23:1-6 | “Beloved, rest is not a form of inactivity—a passive directive that disconnects us from the call to do justice and love mercy. Rest is a form of resistance. You literally can’t spell ‘resistance’ without the word ‘res...
Join us for Episode 2, featuring special guest, Minister Candace Simpson. Candace is an Associate Minister at Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, NY. We’ll be talking about abolition — what it means and how we can embrace it fully as we lean into theo-political creativity. Make sure to lis...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | Matthew 22:1-14 | “No matter what happens at the apocalypse of 2020, our mission is the same as it always has been and will be forever: to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.”...
New worlds are only built when we lean into our creative possibilities. Join us for Theo-Political Creativity: A 4-part series on race, class, faith, and politics. This week, Mia and Ben will kick off the series by discussing how their past and present faith experiences have intersected with politic...
Mark Charles | Acts 11:1-18 | A dynamic and thought-provoking public speaker, writer, and consultant, Mark Charles is the son of an American woman (of Dutch heritage) and a Navajo man. He teaches with insight into the complexities of American history regarding race, culture, and faith in o...
Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell | 1 Corinthians 2:1-10 | “Aligning ourselves with the crucified people of the earth will always seem like foolishness to the world, yet this is what it means to live a life of love and this kind of love is God’s most profound wisdom.” – Rev. D...