United? We Pray: Recent Episodes
United? We Pray
Taking racial struggles to the throne of grace, United? We Pray is a ministry devoted to praying about racial strife—especially between Christians.
Author, evangelist, and apologist Preston Perry joins the show today to discuss his new book, How to Tell The Truth: The Story of how God Saved me to Win Hearts, Not Just Arguments (Tyndale, 2024). Preston has much wisdom to share about how Christians should engage the lost world around us. He teaches us about humility, boldness, and relying on God in prayer. We hope you are emboldened to share the Gospel with folks after this!
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can find Preston's book here.
- Preston co-hosts a podcast with his wife Jackie, which you can find here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Dr. Nate Brooks, professor at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary joins Austin today to talk about a few important doctrines of the Christian faith. The first is the sufficiency of Scripture and the second is God's common grace. How are we to think about the Bible? What about other resources like books by non-Christians? Dr. Brooks gives us a helpful framework that prioritizes Scripture and honors God's common grace to us through other means. We hope this episode encourages you to read your Bible!
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Check out our interview with former Klansman Tom Tarrants here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Adrianna Anderson is back once again as we wrap up our study through the Old Testament. Today we're looking at the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament. There is so much in here about how to live a righteous life, how to seek and acquire wisdom, and how to live at peace with our fellow believers. If we would pay more attention to this portion of Scripture, there is much for us to learn on how to disagree well. We hope you've enjoyed this series, but more than that, we hope you are spending time in God's word!
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Dr. Paul D. Miller is a professor at Georgetown University's school of foreign service. He is a veteran, patriot, and author of The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong with Christian Nationalism (IVP: 2022). Dr. Miller joins Austin today to talk about Christian Nationalism - what it is, isn't, and what it gets wrong about both the church and the state. Many of us have loved ones who hold these views, and it is important for us to understand them in order to love them well. Dr. Miller is careful and fair in how he engages, and we hope this episode helps you.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Dr. Miller's book is available here.
- If you missed our conversation with John Wilsey a few weeks ago, you can find it here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin is joined today by Dr. Robert Elder, Associate Professor of American History at Baylor University. We're talking about the Lost Cause - the myth that the Confederacy was a noble institution and those who fought for it are worthy of our veneration. The truth is more complicated, as we discuss. Dr. Elder is a model of both clarity and charity in how he deals with this topic and shows how we can be both clear-minded about the past without wrongly celebrating things we should denounce.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can find Dr. Elder's books for sale here.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
In the final episode in this series on virtue, Kaitlyn Schiess joins us to think about the virtue of love, and how we as Christians can exercise this virtue in service of our neighbors. How can we love our neighbors with our politics? How can we cultivate the virtue of love in our hearts? How have we gotten this wrong in the past? What's the role of the local church in all of this? We discuss all of these questions and more, as Kaitlyn shares insights from her book, The Liturgy of Politics.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can find Kaitlyn's excellent book here.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Continuing our series on political virtues, Joshua Chatman joins Austin to talk about the Christian virtue of hope and the difference hope makes for our political engagement. Josh introduces several categories of hope which he and Austin then apply to political engagement. By being hopeful rather than fearful, Christians can stand out in this anxious generation. We hope you are encouraged.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Learn more about Josh and his podcast here.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Pastor Steve Bateman hosted Austin and Isaac for a discussion on the political virtue of faith. Pastor Steve believes that despite the trouble regarding Christianity and politics, Christians should remain politically engaged. By exercising our faith and being reasonable (Philippians 4), we can bless our neighbors with our political engagement. Steve speaks about the fear and anxiety that so often dominate our political engagement and shows how Scripture gives us the answers to today's problems. We hope this episode encourages you in everyday faithfulness in the political realm.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can learn more about Steve Bateman and FBC Decatur here.
- Here is the article referenced in the episode on political virtue.
- Here is Steve's article about discerning truth.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin is joined today by Dr. John D. Wilsey, author of American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion: Reassessing the History of an Idea (IVP, 2015). Dr. Wilsey has much to teach us about history and how Americans have thought about themselves and their place in the world. While American Exceptionalism has sometimes referred to an imperialist mindset, Dr. Wilsey encourages us to lean into the legacy of people like Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Dr. King who called us to live up to the ideals expressed in our nation's founding documents. We hope this episode encourages you toward greater love of God and neighbor.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can purchase Dr. Wilsey's excellent book here.
- This is the recent article Austin referenced by Dr. Wilsey
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Justin Giboney is a husband, father, attorney, ordained minister, and author. He is the co-founder & president of the & Campaign and host of the church politics podcast. He joins Austin and Isaac to talk about politics and race. Political convictions aren't the only things that divide Christians. We are still divided by ideas about race as well. Justin has much wisdom to share on both politics and race, and we are grateful he spent this time with us.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can learn more about Justin's ministry here or subscribe to his podcast here.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin and Isaac are joined by Dr. Derwin Gray to discuss political idolatry in our churches. Dr. Gray is both a pastor and scholar. We wanted to hear from him about this difficult topic, and the fruit he's seeing from it in our churches. We discuss the different manifestations of political idolatry, its causes, and the terrible fruit it produces. Despite that, Dr. Gray is encouraged because Jesus is still building His Church. We hope you are encouraged to fight sin after hearing this.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can find Dr. Gray's books here.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Pastor Joshua Chatman joins Austin to talk about how to be agents of unity in difficult political seasons. We learned during the last election cycle of the deep divides within the Church over politics. Josh and Austin talk about what we should not do, and what we should do as we relate to our brothers and sisters who think differently about politics. When the watching world thinks about Christians and politics, we hope they have a more positive example in the future than they have had in our recent past.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Dan Darling joins the show once again to talk through political convictions. It's no secret that this is a difficult political season for a lot of Christians. Without diving into the weeds of any specific issue, Dan and Austin discuss how we should arrive at our political convictions and how we should relate to brothers and sisters who have arrived at different convictions. Please join us in praying that we'd all do better in showing love and charity towards those with whom we disagree.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can learn more about Dan here.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Happy fourth of July! This week we are joined by special guest, Pastor Bobby Scott. "Bible Bobby" is a friend of the ministry who has been on the podcast and has written for us several times. He has a particular interest in black history and all the ways our nation has failed to live up to its ideals in its treatment of black people. Despite this, Bobby is a proud military dad and a patriotic American. We talk through that tension and think about what it means to love an imperfect nation. We hope you are encouraged and that this spurs you to pray for our country.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
On today's special episode, Pastor Isaac Adams interviews one of his church members, Brittany Elmer. Brittany and her husband have adopted three special needs children, none of whom share their ethnicity. Her son, Isaac, went to be with the Lord earlier this year. Brittany shares how the prayers of her friends carried her through that tragedy, and how she is still learning about special needs and transracial adoption. We hope Brittany's testimony and example are an encouragement to you.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Dr. Timothy Muehlhoff is a professor of communication at BIOLA University in California. He is also co-author of End the Stalemate: Move Past Cancel Culture to Meaningful Conversations along with his BIOLA colleague Sean McDowell. This book, which came out today, is an excellent resource for what to do when conversations feel stuck, as can often happen when discussing race. We encourage you to check out the book and hope you are helped by this conversation.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can buy End the Stalemate here.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Brittany Salmon is a scholar and author of It Takes More than Love: A Christian Guide to Navigating the Complexities of Cross-Cultural Adoption (Moody, 2022). She is also the adoptive mother to three children who do not share her ethnicity, so her teaching on transracial adoption is not simply academic. She has spent many hours listening to birth mothers and adult adoptees whose experience has shaped her thinking on transracial adoption. She stopped by to talk with Austin about pitfalls Christians should avoid as we try to do the good work of caring for widows and orphans (James 1:27). She also offers helpful insight in how to care for transracial adoptive families, so we hope you will listen and share this episode so we can all support multi-racial families.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
We're back in our Bible study series with Adrianna Anderson. Today we look at the minor prophets, where we see a fuller picture of God's mercy to His people, Israel, and to the nations. There are plenty of sober warnings of judgment, but God's mercy shines through these books as time and again the people are given chances to repent and know God as father rather than judge. God's mercy extends to the ends of the earth, and these 12 authors drive that point home. Along the way, we also get more details on the day of the Lord and the coming Messiah. We hope you read along and are encouraged as we continue to see God's mercy and faithfulness to all people.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Few things are as difficult as parenting. If you desire to raise your kids to be agents of unity among God's people, it is even harder. Josh Chatman, host of the Train 'em Uppodcast stops by to talk about parenting. Austin and Josh shared their experience of both raising children who do not share their ethnicity. We hope this episode is helpful beyond the context of multi-ethnic families. As discussed on the episode, diversity and representation is a good thing for all children. All of us have ways we can help raise the next generation of bridge builders.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Today, Adrianna and Austin are exploring the major prophets and seeing God's plan for His people from all nations. While these books occur in the context immediately preceding and during the Exile, God's faithfulness permeates the whole thing. We see that God has not forgotten His people or His covenant with them. We see that while He uses the nations for judgment, He remains faithful to Israel and will deliver them from the consequences of their sin. God's faithfulness extends also to the nations, who have been a part of His plan from the beginning.
We hope you are enjoying this series and that you are sharing with your family and friends, but more importantly, we hope that you are reading and praying along with us. Time in God's word is never wasted!
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
What does the Bible say about interracial marriage? Adrianna Anderson and Austin Suter continue this exploration of Biblical Theology as we look at Daniel, Esther, Nehemiah, and Ezra. These books represent the exile and the mercy of God in allowing the exile to end and for God's people to return to Jerusalem. Ezra and Nehemiah both contain references to God's people taking foreign wives, and these passages have been abused, particularly in America, to suggest that Scripture is opposed to interracial marriage. Adrianna is careful to teach us that the thing foreign about the women in this passage was not their ethnicity (which we see clearly in the lives of Zipporah, Rahab, and Ruth) but their religion. We hope you will see how using these passages to teach against interracial marriage is just bad Bible study. We hope you are encouraged by God's faithfulness and mercy in these books and we hope you are reading along with us!
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Is the idea of race in the Bible? In the last episode of this series, Adrianna Anderson joined Austin to study the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. This week, we’re looking at the history books of the Old Testament: Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. God’s desire for His people was to be a light to the Nations. In these books, we see Israel relating to the surrounding peoples and sadly being influenced by them instead of the other way around. Despite their unfaithfulness, God remains faithful to His covenant and committed to blessing the nations through His chosen people, Israel. While it would be incorrect to apply modern conceptions of race to Scripture, the idea that God calls people of every tribe, tongue, and nation to follow Him is clear from the earliest pages of Scripture.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Adrianna Anderson is back as we continue walking through the Old Testament. These three books, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, share the history of God's people in the promised land. There is much history here to lament and learn from, and thankfully there is history to celebrate as well. We see the people being influenced by the nations around them, and see examples of faithfulness at the same time. Through it all, God is faithful to provide for His people.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the Show.
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Adrianna Anderson is back with us to discuss the law: Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. We take a high-level view of these books and see the many lessons God has for His people in dealing with the nations. From this, we are able to start building a Biblical theology of race and ethnicity as we see God's heart for the nations present from the beginning of Scripture. We hope this series encourages you in your reading of Scripture!
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
We continue our Bible study series by looking at the book of Exodus. There are many ethnic issues in this book, from the oppression of the Israelites by the Egyptians, to the covenant faithfulness of Zipporah. This was a fascinating discussion and we hope you are encouraged.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Here's a link to John Currid's Against the Gods.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
We are kicking off our Bible Study or Biblical Theology series with the book of Genesis. Adrianna Anderson brings her expertise as a Bible scholar to help us look at Scripture to see God's plan for diversity and ethnic harmony. There is so much in Scripture on this topic. Genesis is packed full of promises for the nations, as you will hear in this episode. Take up and read with us!
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Here is the series Pastor Chris Davis wrote for us on the Curse of Ham
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin and Isaac were pleased to welcome Courtney Reissig to the studio today. Courtney is an accomplished author who has also been writing for us for years. We talked with her about her burden to speak out on racial matters and overcoming her own self-consciousness to do so. We hope you're encouraged by her example and our conversation together.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Link to Courtney's books.
- Link to Courtney's articles for us.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
What does multi-ethnic ministry look like in different contexts? Pastor Yannick Christos-Wahab joins us to talk about his church in London. We hear about similarities and differences between the UK and the US, and Yannick gives us a positive vision for being salt and light in a dark world.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can learn more about Yannick and his church here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Isaac and Austin sit down for the second installment in our FAQ series with a question we often get on the road - "what if my church doesn't care about ethnic unity?" We talk through scenarios when someone might want to leave their church, but spend most of the conversation cautioning against making quick decisions or judgments about others. Not everyone has to care about and pursue ethnic unity in the exact same way. In God's economy, our differences are actually a good thing.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Our episode on how hard bridge-building can be.
- Our episode on whether to stay with or leave a difficult church.
- Alicia Akins' article on being patient with others.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Dr. Randy Newman joins Austin to discuss the disturbing increase in antisemitism happening in the world right now. Randy shares his own experience with antisemitism, shares some of his family history, and provides a theological perspective on why history keeps repeating itself. We hope you will join us in praying for our Jewish neighbors.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can pre-order Randy's new book here.
- Here's the book by Michael Brown that randy referenced in the episode.
- Here's Austin's article on antisemitism that was referenced.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Pastor Josh Chatman is back with us because he thinks Christians need to grow in our application of charity. Christian charity is just another way to speak about loving our neighbors, which is a duty all of us have. We don't have to agree with, understand, or even like someone to be kind to them. We do this in our churches, families, and workplaces, and when we do it well, God is glorified. Please join us in praying we'd look more like Jesus as we apply Christian charity.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
When we think of abolitionists, most of us think of Abraham Lincoln or John Brown. But there were many black abolitionists doing the work who, for whatever reason, haven't received the recognition they deserve. In this episode, Jasmine Holmes stops by to educate us on some of the black abolitionists who helped bring about the end of slavery and who did amazing work in the years following the Civil War.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- The Truth is Marching On, the book referenced by Jasmine
- Here's a link to Jasmine's excellent books, including Crowned With Glory
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
As we continue our Black History Month series, we look today at the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a remarkably gifted man who managed to lead the complex, often contentious movement we now think of as the Civil Rights Movement. Though he is beloved in our day, he was hated in his own. Helping us think through all of this is Dr. Kevin Smith, a pastor and church historian. We appreciate Dr. Smith's insight and hope you are encouraged by the episode.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can read Letter from Birmingham Jail here.
- The King biography Dr. Smith mentioned can be found here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Continuing our Black History Month series, Jasmine Holmes stops by the podcast to talk about the faith of American slaves and the persecution they endured. We also discuss historical sources that can give us an an idea of what slavery was like for the saints who lived through it. God sustained His people and heard their prayers, even in the worst circumstances.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can find books by Jasmine Holmes here.
- Here's a link to the Lost Cause book recommended by Jasmine.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
It will surprise no one to see that we're kicking off Black History Month by talking about Francis Grimke. Francis was a pastor in Washington, DC in the early 1900s. He was a former slave who lived an extraordinary life. His work inspired Isaac to start this ministry, so we feel a special connection to his life and work. Be encouraged by this faithful saint!
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin is joined in the studio today by Dr. Mike Ahn, Interim Dean of Spiritual Development at BIOLA University. Mike graciously shared something of the Asian American experience with us, an experience which is often misunderstood or overlooked, even by those who care about ethnic harmony. Mike shares how common conceptions of Asian Americans are too truncated, and shares some of the blessings of growing up in the Korean Church. We hope you are encouraged.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Here is the article referenced by Austin about the Asian American experience.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Some surprise encouragement for your weekend! Ray Ortlund, of Immanuel Church in Nashville, recently preached at Iron City Church in Birmingham to celebrate the anniversary of Isaac's installation as lead pastor. The sermon was on the Christian's hope of heaven, and it was so moving for us that we wanted to make sure you all had the chance to hear it. Be blessed, beloved.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin is joined today by Carl Laferton, Executive Vice President of The Good Book Company (TGBC). We talk about the children's books published by TGBC, and how the illustrations both reflect historical accuracy and highlight diversity. We also talk about TGBC's lay-level commentary series, and how diverse authors contributed to the project. Carl shares how he has learned the importance of representation and of learning from Christians from various cultures and ethnicities, and how that informs the way TGBC highlights diversity within their projects.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- The Good Book Company
- The "God's Word for You" series
- Resources for children
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Pastor Josh Chatman joins Austin once again to discuss loving our neighbors. How can we better love our neighbors who are not like us? How do we even go about doing it when society is so often segregated? Josh encourages us to look for diversity that we might be missing, and then share some helpful tips for how we can build relationships outside our normal orbits. Our heart in all of this is not that we all develop some artificial but perfectly representative portfolio of relationships. We are instead trying to be intentional to love our neighbors. All of them.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Here is a link to the podcast Josh hosts, Train 'Em Up
- Jonathan Morgan's testimony of the power of a church in prayer.
- Our episode with Alicia about her book Gift of the Outsider
- Our episode with Drs. Jones and Williams on their book In Church As It Is In Heaven
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
To kick off the new year, Austin and Isaac sit down to discuss Jesus' warning to the Church of Ephesus from Revelation 2. Jesus admonished them for losing their first love. We talk about how loving Jesus should supersede everything else we do as a ministry and as Christians. Whatever good works God has prepared for us are meant to be fueled by our love for Jesus rather than serve as a substitute for loving Jesus. That's what we want to be about as a ministry and as individuals. We hope you will join us in praying for a greater love for our Savior.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Josh Chatman, pastor at Midtown Baptist Church joins Austin today to talk about our prayers lives. Specifically, they discuss structured prayers and how praying different kinds of prayers can help us when we feel stuck, get us to pray about different things, and create a more rich prayer life. We hope this episode encourages you to pray in ways you might not have considered before. Let's go to the Throne of Grace together, friends.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Here is a link to the podcast Josh hosts, Train 'Em Up
- Episode with Shai Linne on Ethnic Sins
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Merry Christmas from United? We Pray. For this very special Christmas episode, we sit down with Dr. Fred Sanders to talk about the Incarnation of Christ. What does it mean that Jesus came to Earth as a baby boy? What does it mean that he came as a Jewish baby boy with a specific ethnicity? We talk about redemption, union with Christ, prayer, and what the Incarnation has to do with all of it. This was one of the most moving and devotional episodes we've ever recorded, and we hope it motivates you to greater worship of our Savior. Merry Christmas, beloved.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- For more information about Fred can be found here.
- His excellent blog can be found here.
- Los Angeles Bible Training School
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Shai Linne joins us again today to talk about his section in The New Reformation (Moody, 2020) in which he outlines various ethnic sins which commonly fall under the heading "racism." By differentiating these kinds of sins, Shai gives us tools to deal with them from Scripture and lowers the temperature of the conversation by removing a label that almost no one can see themselves wearing. While none of us think of ourselves as racist, all of us have been guilty of some kind of ethnic sin in the past. We hope this conversation helps you to think, talk, and pray more specifically.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- The New Reformation, by Shai Linne
- Austin's article on interracial marriage.
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
It was an honor to be joined by Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, author of the new book The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, & Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis. Dr. Prior has keen insight into the role our imaginations play in creating assumptions about ourselves and those around us. She shares how the Evangelical imagination was created within our community and how it has changed over time. We hope you are encouraged to think more deeply about the assumptions we all carry about our neighbors, and hope you join us in praying for a more redeemed imagination for all of us.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- To order Dr. Prior's excellent new book, click here.
- To find more information on her substack newsletter, click here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Isaac and Austin sit down with Dr. Matt Hall, who is the Provost at BIOLA in California. We discuss his interest in history. There are good and bad ways to study history, so we talk about pitfalls to avoid and how we can make sure we're being as honest as possible. We also talk about black history and ways it has been neglected, abused, or viewed through a narrow lens of suffering. In all of this we aim to encourage especially those who teach history. It may be hard work, but it is good, God-honoring work when done well.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- For more information about Matt and his work at BIOLA, click here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
How does the Biblical concept of ethnicity relate to our modern conceptions of race? Does Jew and Gentile equal Black & White? Shai Linne is back to take us through Scripture to show how God's promise to Abraham for a multi-ethnic family is central to the gospel and our lives together as Christians. We hope you are encouraged to look to Scripture for help in addressing our biggest social problems.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- For more information on Shai and his work, including his forthcoming album, click here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Talking with kids about race is hard but important work. Shai Linne is back with us to share his own childhood experience, as well as advice for talking with kids about race. We want to be proactive in teaching our children that they are made in the image of God, and they are valuable and beautiful. We also want to prepare them for this fallen world and equip them to love the many different types of people God has created. We hope you are encouraged and hope you join us in praying for wisdom.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Here is the link to Shai's excellent children's book.
- For more information on Shai and his work, including his forthcoming album, click here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Shai is back with us for a conversation about ethnic diversity. Diversity is hard. Many of us can love the idea of an ethnically diverse church, for example, but be disappointed when the reality is much more difficult than we expected. We talk through reasons it can be so hard and share personal experiences that illustrate the point. This episode feels a little heavier than most, but even in the difficulty, we trust that the Lord is still working.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- Here is the polling data Austin referenced about diversity in churches.
- For more information on Shai and his work, including his forthcoming album, click here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Shai is back for the second episode in this series. We are talking books! Both Shai and Austin are avid readers, so they go back and forth with book recommendations across multiple categories. Discussed are books to shape our minds, books we think every Christian should read, books on history, and what we think are the best books on race. Then, after all the books we think may be helpful, we talk about the one book we know will always be helpful - the Bible. We hope you are encouraged to take up and read!
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- You can search the book titles by name, but if you want to read the DOJ reports Shai mentioned, they are available here: Baltimore, Ferguson, Minneapolis
- For more information on Shai and his work, including his forthcoming album, click here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Grace and peace, friends. Isaac is out on paternity leave, so for the next six weeks, we will be joined by guest co-host Shai Linne. Shai is an author, musician, theologian, and friend. In this episode, we talk about how complicated multi-ethnic corporate worship can be. As always, Shai is careful to define our terms and keep us focused on the most important things. He offers encouragement to those who feel like outsiders and exhortations for us to keep love of our brothers and sisters as our main focus. We hope you enjoy this series with Shai!
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
- For more information about Shai and his work, click here.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
For the third and final episode in this series, Matt Martens fields questions from our audience after his talk on criminal justice reform. He covers topics varying from criminal justice procedure, Christian ethics, history, and theology. We would encourage you to listen to the previous two episodes before listening to this one. Matt's book ends with the encouragements to think differently, speak differently, and vote differently to enact criminal justice reform. We hope these episodes will help you do just that.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- Listen to the previous two episodes with Matt: Part 1, Part 2
- You can find more information on Matt Martens here.
- You can preorder his excellent new book here.
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
In this episode, we hear an address from Matt Martens on criminal justice reform from a Christian perspective. This is the second episode we've had with Matt, and we encourage you to listen to last week's episode before this one. Matt frames Christian responsibility related to criminal justice around Christ's ethic of love. There are some things in this episode which are hard to hear, but Matt is hopeful, because he knows that the perfect Judge will one day set everything right. We hope this episode helps you to think and pray differently.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- Listen to last week's episode here (insert hyperlink once it's live)
- You can find more information on Matt Martens here.
- You can preorder his excellent new book here.
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Matt Martens is an accomplished attorney with experience in both prosecution and criminal defense. He also has a masters in Biblical Studies and is working on another theological degree. He brings all this expertise together in his new book, Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal, which will be published by Crossway in November, 2023. Matt joined Austin in the studio for the first of three episodes with him to discuss criminal justice and our obligation to love all our neighbors, including the criminally accused and the criminally victimized.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- You can find more information on Matt Martens here.
- You can preorder his excellent new book here.
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin and Isaac are joined today by Raphael Mnkandhla. Raphael recently completed a PhD on Athanasius, specifically his resiliency in ministry. We talk with Raphael about the life, ministry, trials, and perseverance of this great African church father and all that the Church can learn from him. Join us in praising God for this great saint's life and enduring work.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin and Isaac are joined today by special guest, Dr. Ed Litton. Pastor Ed leads Redemption Church in Mobile, Alabama. Ed has also held influential positions, including the role of President of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Ed has long been burdened for ethnic unity among the people of God, so we were encouraged to hear from him what that has looked like over the years. We hope you will share his burden for the unity of God's people.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- You can find more information on Pastor Ed here.
- Here is a link to the balcony video that Pastor Ed referenced.
- More information on Shrink the Divide can be found here.
- More information on the Unify Project can be found here.
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin and Isaac were blessed to be joined in the lab by Carl and Karen Ellis. Carl is a Professor at RTS, Atlanta, and Karen is a writer and lecturer. Together, they lead the Edmiston Center for the Bible and Ethnicity. We wanted to have Karen on to teach us about the role of prayer in the Christian life. We cover that and much more in this long, hopeful conversation. We hope you are encouraged to trust God in prayer.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- You can find more information on the Edmiston Center here.
- You can find more on Carl's work here.
- You can find more on Karen's work here.
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the show
To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Isaac sits down with a living legend, Dr. Robert Smith, Jr. Dr. Smith is Professor of Preaching at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Smith is a black man who has lived through racism and division, but has not allowed it to define him. As Isaac describes him, he is God's man. Dr. Smith instructs us on what it means to have our identity in Christ as we consider our other, lesser identities. We hope you are as encouraged by his wisdom as we were.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- You can find more information on Dr. Smith here.
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the showTo learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Isaac and Austin are joined in the studio by Josh Chatman, Jared Torrence, DeMyron Haynes, and John Talley. As we were sitting around and talking with the mics off, someone asked the question, "who do you think is shaping most people's minds on race, and what role does the pastor play in that?" So, we fired up the mics and talked about it. We hope you are encouraged and hope that church is a place where you feel free to talk about race.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- You can find more information on Train 'Em Up, Josh Chatman's ministry
- John Talley’s website and podcast
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the showTo learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Bridge-building can be lonely work. Isaac and Austin are joined in the studio by Josh Chatman, Jared Torrence, DeMyron Haynes, and John Talley to discuss friendship and support. What should a healthy rhythm of life look like, and how do we make sure we have the friends we need to be encouraged in the Lord? Join us in thinking about it and praying for wisdom.
Support the showTo learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Support the showTo learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Isaac and Austin are joined in the studio by Josh Chatman, Jared Torrence, DeMyron Haynes, and John Talley. We share ideas on how to engage our communities in reconciling work. How does that look in different settings? How do we keep our focus on the communities in which God has placed us? We hope you are encouraged to pray and love the people around you.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- Josh Chatman has a podcast called "Train 'Em Up" which you can find here.
- John Talley's website and podcast
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the showTo learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Isaac and Austin sit down to answer questions submitted by you, our listeners. This episode covers evangelism, interracial dating, adoption, and much more. We reference multiple resources, so check the show notes to learn more.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- Parts one and two of our "Advice for White Churches Considering a Black Pastor" episode
- Austin's Whitest Guy at the Cookout piece
- Jonathan Morgan's The Beauty of the Church at Prayer piece
- Our Family Kit
- How People Changewith Nate Brooks
- New Reformation interview with Shai Linne
- Alicia Akins' piece on patience
- The Crete Collective
- Our interview with Darryl Williamson
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the showTo learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin and Isaac are joined by Ben Sciacca, author of Meals From Mars, which is one of our favorite books. Ben has years of experience in inner-city ministry and has much wisdom to share about working for the right reasons, avoiding burnout, and the relationship between proximity, diversity, and unity. We really enjoyed this episode and hope you are encouraged.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- You can purchase Meals from Mars here
- Ben's article for us about three forms of knowledge
- Isaac's article about educating yourself before asking minority friends about race
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the showTo learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Jerome Gay is pastor of Vision Church, Raleigh, and author of several books, including the forthcoming African Heroes: Discovering Our Christian Heritage (NavPress, 2023). Pastor Jerome joined us to talk about the common neglect of African contributions in our telling of Church history. His excellent new book is an attempt to help correct this error, and it's written for children. Please join us in praying for wisdom and better telling of truth about our history.
Support the showTo learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Dr. James Eglinton joined us today to talk about his new English translation of J.H. Bavinck's Personality and Worldview (Crossway, 2013). Dr. Eglinton is a leading Bavinck expert, and had much to teach us on the relationships between personality, worldview, and other concepts. He also gave insight on Bavinck's concepts of race and racism, which was fascinating to consider. We hope you are encouraged.
Support the showTo learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin is joined in the studio today by a missionary friend. We are unable to share her name because she works in a closed country. She is also single and black, which offers both challenges and opportunities as she relates to her coworkers on the field and those they are evangelizing. We hope this encourages you.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:
- This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Support the showTo learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
This special episode is an excerpt from a sermon that Isaac recently preached at Iron City Church, Birmingham. This sermon from Mark Nine exposits teaching from Jesus on prayer, faith, doubt, and more. We hope it encourages you. This clip has been edited for length, so if you want to listen to the full sermon, that link is here.
Support the showTo learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Austin and Isaac talk about the problems faced by bridge-builders. Bridge-builders concerned for ethnic unity face problems like apathy, resistance, disagreement, and loneliness. When faced with those problems, should we stay in our current settings or leave? Pray with us as we wrestle through those difficult decisions.
Show Notes:
Dr. Derwin Gray is pastor of Transformation Church in Indian Land, South Carolina (just outside of Charlotte). He joins Austin to discuss his new book How To Heal Our Racial Divide (Tyndale, 2022). Austin thinks this book is the most complete offering for Christians on race and ethnicity. Dr. Gray has much to teach us about unity and God’s plan for His people.
Links & Show Notes:
You can buy Dr. Gray’s excellent book here.
Salvador Blanco joins Austin to talk about leading music in a multi-ethnic church. Music seems to be something that churches have historically fought about. We talk about why that is and how to think about worshipping together when we have different preferences.
Salvador Blanco joins Austin to talk about what life is like in Alabama as a second generation Latino. Salvador believes that second generation Latinos are uniquely positioned to build bridges between their immigrant parents and majority-white Evangelical churches.
Kam Pugh is a pastor at Iron City Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He joins Austin on the podcast to talk about ministry in a city with a troubled racial history. When Kam convinced Isaac to come to Birmingham, it wasn’t only to co-pastor, but to lead. Kam talks about why that was important and what it looks like to empower minorities in leadership.
Links & Show Notes:
Faith Côté is a longtime friend of the ministry. She joins Austin to talk about her experience as a frustrated church member who learned how to channel her zeal into helpful contributions. She also gives tips for leading group conversations using Talking About Race.
Links & Show Notes:
Faith’s article about her experience as a public school teacher. Our podcast episode about “cage-stage.”
Austin and Isaac are joined by Darryl Williamson, pastor of Living Faith Bible Fellowship in Tampa Bay, Florida. Darryl has been pursuing multi-ethnic unity as a pastor for over a decade and has much wisdom to share about working toward unity without growing bitter. We hope you are encouraged.
Show Notes:
Living Faith Bible Fellowship’s website. Darryl’s books: 12 Faithful Men and All Are Welcome.
Austin sits down with Nate Brooks to discuss Nate’s new book, Identifying Heart Transformation. We talk about different Biblical frameworks for understanding the inner person and how that informs our view of human transformation.
Nate Brooks (Ph.D. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor of Counseling at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Links & Show Notes:
Isaac’s article about preparing yourself for racial conversations. Courtney Reissig’s article about healthcare disparities. Our episode with Michael Emmerson in which he talks about buying a house. Faith Cote’s article about being a public educator.
Austin and Isaac talk about what Scripture is and how we read it. What affect does our personal experience have on how we read the Bible? Does our experience change what is true? Watch, listen, and pray with us.
Show Notes:
Here is the Tim Keller interview Isaac referenced. Here is an article by Austin on learning from other traditions. Here is the book, Care of Souls that Isaac referenced.
Austin and Isaac talk about what Christians can do in their everyday lives to build toward greater ethnic unity. Racism has affected many aspects of their world, which means Christians have opportunities for redemptive work in many different walks of life.
Links & Show Notes:
Isaac’s article about preparing yourself for racial conversations. Courtney Reissig’s article about healthcare disparities. Our episode with Michael Emmerson in which he talks about buying a house. Faith Cote’s article about being a public educator.
Austin and Isaac sit down to discuss the last five years of ministry for United? We Pray and some of what has happened before and since. We trust that God is still working, even if public attention has drifted away from conversations around ethnic unity.
Links & Show Notes:
Our aims as a ministry, which have been unchanged since 2017. The kit Isaac referenced regarding the CRT controversy.
Overview:
Dan Darling is director of the Land Center at Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary. He returns for the second time this season to talk about his forthcoming book, Agents of Grace. This episode is full of helpful reminders of how Christians can be more charitable as we disagree about the right things and extend grace over smaller matters.
Here is more information on the Land Center at SWBTS. Click here to preorder Dan’s book.
Overview:
Austin and Isaac discuss five books which have come out over the last two years, which we are calling, “The Stack.” These books work together to build a positive vision for racial unity which is self-consciously different than the most popular approaches in society.
Links & Show Notes:
Derwin’s book.
Shai’s book and the interview we did with him.
George’s book, the interview we did with him, and his article for us which outlines his thesis.
Jarvis’ book, and the interviews we’ve done with him.
Isaac’s book and an interview he gave on it.
Overview:
Jamaal Williams and Timothy Paul Jones have written a fantastic new book, In Church As it is in Heaven about working toward a redeemed vision of diversity in our churches. They join Austin to talk about it.
Links & Show Notes:
To pre-order As it is in Heaven, click here. For more info on Jamaal Williams, click here. For more info on Timothy Paul Jones, click here. Click here for the episode with George Yancey referenced in this interview.
Overview:
Omar Johnson is a pastor in Maryland, just outside of DC. He shares about his ministry in a difficult context, and how other churches are cooperating to help.
Links & Show Notes:
Here is the sermon on Psalm 131 that Omar preached at Iron City Church. This is the book Omar mentioned about the history of prosperity gospel preaching in some black communities.
Overview:
Alicia Akins is author of the forthcoming book, The Gift of the Outsider. She joins Austin to talk about how reading books by authors of diverse backgrounds leads to greater understanding.
Links & Show Notes:
Alicia’s new book will be available for pre-order soon. Her last book, which is excellent, is available here.
Overview:
Ryan King is a pastor in London, who also spends time in Ukraine. He shares what ethnic prejudice looks like in Europe and how that is similar and different than in the US.
Links & Show Notes:
Ryan’s article for us on the time he blogged about the lost cause and his dad confronting him over it.
Overview:
Dan Darling is director of the Land Center at Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary. He stopped by to talk about discernment, truth, and Christian virtue.
Links & Show Notes:
Here is more information on the Land Center at SWBTS. The article Dan mentioned on negative epistemology. Austin’s article on learning from those outside your own tribe.
Overview:
Dr. Mark Johnson is a professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He joins Austin and Isaac to talk about life as a black seminarian and professor.
Links & Show Notes:
For more about Dr. Jonson, see his bio here.
Overview:
Austin and Isaac discuss the good desire to hire people from diverse backgrounds and the challenges that can present.
Links & Show Notes:
Parts one and two of our conversation with friends about being the lone black pastor at a majority-white church.
Overview:
Austin and Isaac kick off season ten by answering a question we get often: “How big a deal is the race conversation?” We answer that by looking to Scripture, and by examining the relationships and contexts in which the question is asked.
Links & Show Notes:
Isaac’s article about historical asymmetry. Austin’s article about the different ways different people engage racism.
Overview:
We’re back! 10 Seasons running and we are grateful to God for what He is doing through this ministry. Austin and Isaac give some good news about the ministry, and give some tastes of what this season’s podcast will be like.
Overview:
This is a talk given by Isaac at a local church in Alabama explaining why it is so hard for us, even as Christians, to talk about race. We pray you are encouraged by it.
Links & Show Notes:
Isaac’s article explaining why he started this ministry. And here’s the link to our donation page for anyone wanting to partner in our year-end match.
Overview:
This sermon was given at an event hosted by Iron City Church and United? We Pray. Dr. Williams explains why Redemptive Kingdom Diversity has been God’s plan from the beginning and charts a way forward for the diverse people of God to live together in Gospel unity.
Links & Show Notes:
This talk draws heavily on themes from Dr. Williams’ excellent book, which you can find here.
Overview:
Following Dr. Williams’ address at Iron City Church, we had a time of Q&A. Austin interviews Jarvis and then takes questions from the audience. Particularly interesting were Dr. Williams’ answers on how history does not define a person but must me acknowledged to understand a person. We hope this is helpful for you.
Links & Show Notes:
This talk draws heavily on themes from Dr. Williams’ excellent book, which you can find here.
Overview:
Our friend Jarvis Williams was in town! Dr. Williams is associate professor of New Testament at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. We talked to him about his life and ministry, then Isaac grabbed the steering wheel to ask him about race & ethnicity. He has great insight into how those words are used Biblically, which gives clarity to today’s conversations.
Links & Show Notes:
Dr. Williams mentioned this article he wrote with ways to help Eastern Kentucky.
Overview:
This episode is a follow-up to episode 103, in which we discussed race. Isaac and Austin answer the question, “what is racism?” This touches on personal and corporate categories of sin. We compare our definition to others posed by our friends and highlight strengths of various approaches. Please join is in praying and working against this sin.
Links & Show Notes:
Overview:
This episode is a follow-up to episode 103, in which we discussed race. Isaac and Austin answer the question, “what is racism?” This touches on personal and corporate categories of sin. We compare our definition to others posed by our friends and highlight strengths of various approaches. Please join is in praying and working against this sin.
Links & Show Notes:
Overview:
This special episode is a sermon given by pastor Jared Torrence of Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA. Jared looks at some passages from the Gospels to see what Jesus has to teach us about ethnic unity in our churches today.
Links & Show Notes:
You can learn more about Covenant Fellowship here.
Overview:
In this episode, Isaac and Austin have a more theoretical discussion around the question, “What is race?” Scripture uses the word “race” in several different ways, and the concept of race has a complicated historical, sociological, and theological legacy. Understanding these complexities is crucial not just to check a box, but to understand and love our neighbors well. .Will you join us in praying for wisdom?
Links & Show Notes:
Chris Jones’ series on the so-called “Curse of Ham.”
Overview:
In this episode, Isaac and Austin are joined by some pastor friends as we think about our place in broader Christianity. When most of our contemporaries are white Evangelicals, how can we learn from what is good while also recognizing that Evangelical norms aren’t infallible, or even normal for Christianity throughout the ages?
Links & Show Notes:
Austin’s article about being the only white guy at the cookout.
Overview:
This is part two of a roundtable discussion we had with some of our favorite pastors. We talk through what primarily white churches should think about before they consider hiring a black pastor. Part one is mostly about things to avoid. This episode is about the things we should be doing.
Links & Show Notes:
Austin’s article about being the only white person at the cookout.
Overview:
This is part one of a roundtable discussion we had with some of our favorite pastors. We talk through what primarily white churches should think about before they consider hiring a black pastor. Part one is mostly about things to avoid. Part two (next week) will be about the things we should be doing
Links & Show Notes:
Overview:
We are joined today by Jasmine Holmes. Jasmine puts up with our nonsense and blesses us with her wisdom on life, history, theology, interacting with those who disagree, and how she balances it all. This is an instant favorite of ours and we hope you enjoy.
Links & Show Notes:
You can get Jasmine’s latest book here. The article she did for us. Her website where you can buy or download the resources we discussed in the episode.
Overview:
There’s so much hard news these days. Isaac and Austin sit down to talk about how we cope with the hard things in life, how and when to take a break from receiving news, and how to stay engaged without either going numb or despairing.
Links & Show Notes:
Overview:
Author Blake Long joins Austin on the podcast to talk about his book, Gospel Smugness. Blake has a particular burden to influence Christians toward godlier discourse as we engage each other and the watching world. We hope you are encouraged.
Links & Show Notes:
You can get Blake Long’s book here.
Overview:
Austin and Isaac discuss diversity in local churches. What does it mean for a church to be multi-ethnic? How should churches think about diversity? Does diversity mean adding minority members to white churches, or can it be more than that?
Links & Show Notes:
Derwin Gray has done good work on thinking through multi-ethnic churches. Get his books here. Jamie Dunlop’s article on how diversity is hard and costly.
Overview:
Sean DeMars of the Defend & Confirm podcast stopped by to talk with Isaac about the different inclinations Christians can have toward complicated, controversial topics. Sean also shared his heart about how Christians passionate about truth must not be unkind in how they go about making their case.
Links & Show Notes:
Kevin DeYoung’s article on four approaches to complex issues. Austin’s article on not calling people woke, choosing our battles, preaching the gospel, and on not being a jerk. Our kit on Critical Race Theory.
Overview:
This episode is part housekeeping while trying to also practice what we preach. Isaac and Austin talk about some slight changes coming to the podcast, our heart behind those changes, and a hard conversation we had recently that demonstrates why this is important.
Links & Show Notes:
Austin’s article on choosing our battles and on not being a jerk.
Overview:
Dr. Thomas Kidd stopped by to talk with Austin about his new book Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh. How we process complex historical figures is something we’ve discussed at some length here at United? We Pray. Thomas Jefferson is perhaps one of the most complicated figures one could study, and Dr. Kidd has done a thorough and fair job in this excellent book. There is much to learn and lament about this tragic figure.
Links & Show Notes:
Dr. Kidd’s book.
Overview:
Dr. George Yancey stopped by to talk with Austin about his new book Beyond Racial Division. He talks about his mutual accountability framework and the importance of moral persuasion. This hopeful conversation lays out ways forward in what seems at times like a discouraging topic. Dr. Yancey reminds us that God is still working and that normal Christian categories can apply to conversations about race.
Links & Show Notes:
Dr. Yancey’s new book. Dr. Yancey’s essay for us on mutual accountability.
Overview:
This episode was prompted by several of our favorite people leaving social media. Our friends Ray Ortlund and Jackie Hill Perry announced (independently from each other) that they would be leaving social media due to unkind, discouraging behavior seeming to dominate sites like Twitter and Facebook. Isaac and Austin talk about how Christians should view social media and our participation in it.
Links & Show Notes:
Isaac’s article on tone. Austin’s article on speech.
Overview:
Should Christians get political? Should our politics stop at the church’s front door? Why are Christians who talk about race accused of bringing politics into Christianity? Isaac and Austin talk discuss these issues and make that case that Christians need to be OK with folks disagreeing with us.
Links & Show Notes:
Austin’s article on being a political pharisee and article following the last presidential election.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
There are some really good books about race written from a Christian perspective. Austin and Isaac highlight some of our favorite resources and explain how best to use them when reading by yourself or with others. Take up and read! We hope you pray for fruit from the good resources being published right now.
Links & Show Notes:
Jarvis Williams’ books. Derwin Gray’s books. George Yancey’s books. Shai Linne’s book. Isaac’s book.
Isaac’s article cautioning folks to read before starting hard conversations about race.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
There are some really good books about race written from a Christian perspective. Austin and Isaac highlight some of our favorite resources and explain how best to use them when reading by yourself or with others. Take up and read! We hope you pray for fruit from the good resources being published right now.
Links & Show Notes:
Jarvis Williams’ books. Derwin Gray’s books. George Yancey’s books. Shai Linne’s book. Isaac’s book.
Isaac’s article cautioning folks to read before starting hard conversations about race.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
We’re sorry for the audio quality on this one. We recorded this on the road and one of our mics malfunctioned. We decided to post the interview despite the sub-par audio because Bobby is just so good. “Bible Bobby” as he is known, has been a faithful minister for decades in California. He has seen times changes and offers his perspective on where we’ve come from and how far we have yet to go, in regards to racism.
Links & Show Notes:
You can read Bobby’s articles he wrote for us here
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
This is a different kind of episode than anything we’ve ever put out. On March 3, 2022, Jan Adams passed into glory. She was the mother of UWP founder, Isaac Adams. Isaac talks about his mom and the impact she had on him. She was a woman committed to prayer, and we see her fingerprints all around our ministry. Please pray for her family as they grieve her sudden passing.
Links & Show Notes:
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
Pastor Marty Duren joined the show to talk about growing up in church in the South and what ministry has looked like over the years. We covered culture, politics, and more. Hope you’re encouraged by the conversation.
Links & Show Notes:
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
Alicia Akins, friend of the ministry and author of the new book, Invitations to Abundance joined the show to talk about how growing up and living in so many places amongst so many people has informed her perspective as an author. We also discuss her excellent new book, which we encourage you to get and read!
Links & Show Notes:
Alicia’s book. Her article in the Atlantic. Her articles here, here, here and here for us.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
We covered a lot of ground in this one. Returning to the podcast for our season nine opener is Dr. Nate Brooks, professor of counseling at RTS Charlotte. Nate and Austin discussed the nature of human beings, how we change, different kinds of change, and the hope this represents for human society.
Links & Show Notes:
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble,not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.
-1 Peter 3:8-9 (CSB)
Overview:
In the season finale, Isaac and Austin discuss intent behind words and actions. All of us can cause damage we did not intend. We encourage you to consider the effects of words and actions, not only the intent behind them.
Links & Show Notes:
Isaac’s article on how tone can cause unintended hurt.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble,not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.
-1 Peter 3:8-9 (CSB)
Overview:
In the season finale, Isaac and Austin discuss intent behind words and actions. All of us can cause damage we did not intend. We encourage you to consider the effects of words and actions, not only the intent behind them.
Links & Show Notes:
Isaac’s article on how tone can cause unintended hurt.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
In this special episode, Isaac and Austin talk through books we recommend for Christians thinking about ethnic unity. By no means are these recommendations exhaustive, but we hope it’s a good start. Tolle Lege!
Links & Show Notes:
Book responses for Redemptive Kingdom Diversity, New Reformation, Building a Multiethnic Church, Beyond Racial Gridlock, Consumed By Hate Redeemed by Love, and The Warmth of Other Suns.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’
“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.””
-Luke 18:9-14 (CSB)
Isaac and Austin talk through what it means to have zeal without discernment and how harmful that could be. Thankfully, Jesus shows us a better way.
Links & Show Notes:
Austin’s article on zeal, and his article on the term “woke.”
Eric Saunder’s article on labeling people.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle,[b] comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone”
-1 Thessalonians 5:14 CSB
Different people in different situations require different responses from us. Not every offense requires a correction. Only with God’s help can we have the wisdom needed to respond as we ought.
Links & Show Notes:
Austin’s article on avoiding slander.
Isaac’s article on tone. Isaac’s article on resources.
Eric Saunder’s article on labeling people.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands.
And they cried out in a loud voice:
Salvation belongs to our God,
who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”
-Revelation 7:9-10 CSB
Dr. Jarvis Williams joined us to discuss his new book, Redemptive Kingdom Diversity: A Biblical Theology of the Kingdom of God. This book is not so much a book about race and racism. It is more about God’s plan for a people from every nation, tribe, and tongue, and the implications this age-old plan has on our lives today.
Links & Show Notes:
Link to purchase Dr. Williams new book.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“Without guidance, a people will fall,
but with many counselors there is deliverance.”
-Proverbs 11:14 CSB
Christians believe that the Bible is not only true, but also clear. So why is it that we can also say that ethnic diversity increases our knowledge of the Bible? Dr. Nate Brooks of Reformed Theological Seminary joined us to discuss diversity as one of the many good gifts God has given us to help enrich our understanding of His word.
Links & Show Notes:
Dr. Brooks’ article on intellectual honesty and the image of God
Dr. Brooks’ podcast on when he recognized race
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“Rest in God alone, my soul,
for my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I will not be shaken.
My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts before him.
God is our refuge. Selah."
-Psalm 62:5-8 (CSB)
Some conversations, especially those had over a long period of time, are really hard. They tax us. Recognizing our need for rest is part of what it means to acknowledge that we are creatures and God is our Creator. He made us with limitations and it honors Him when we acknowledge them. Austin and Isaac talk about what it looks like to rest, when we need it, and even what can happen when we don’t. We hope you are encouraged.
Links & Show Notes:
Isaac’s article on things to consider before asking a minority friend about race
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“Come and listen, all who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
I cried out to him with my mouth,
and praise was on my tongue."
-Psalm 66:6-7 (CSB)
As we launch season 8 of the podcast, we paused to thank God for the work being done in Isaac and Austin’s lives and ministries. We also answered the questions you all sent in. Keep those coming! We will get to more questions in subsequent mailbag episodes.
Links & Show Notes:
Buy The New Reformation, Shai Linne’s book that Isaac referenced
Austin’s article on experiencing racism versus engaging it as an idea
Alicia Akins’ article on giving an account for one’s own heart, not others
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
We have asked contributors to our When I Recognized Race series to read their articles for this summer mini-series. In the final instalment of this series, we share this very heavy episode about an incident of racialized violence experienced by Danya Karina Albright, in her own words.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
We have asked contributors to our When I Recognized Race series to read their articles for this summer mini-series. In this episode, Rayshawn Graves shares how his father helped him as he struggled against feeling the pressure to think that being white was better than being black.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng.
Overview:
We have asked contributors to our When I Recognized Race series to read their articles for this summer mini-series. In this installment, Alicia Akins reflects on coming to love something she used to hate about herself—her black skin.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng.
Overview:
We have asked contributors to our When I Recognized Race series to read their articles for this summer mini-series. In this installment, Nate Brooks remembers how a story shared by one of his Bible professors did not fit with his own understanding about the world.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
We have asked contributors to our When I Recognized Race series to read their articles for this summer mini-series. In this installment, Alejandra Hargrave shares how her experience with an identification form forced her at a young age to reckon with how her skin color places her in society.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng.
Overview:
We have asked contributors to our When I Recognized Race series to read their articles for this summer mini-series. In this installment, Chrys Jones details his experience in dating across ethnic lines and shares how the mixed reaction of friends and family shaped his understanding of race.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng.
Overview:
We have asked contributors to our When I Recognized Race series to read their articles for this summer mini-series. In this installment, Courtney Reissig explains how learning about disparities in women’s health led to her understanding more about racial inequalities in our society.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng.
Overview:
“I rejoice in the way revealed by your decrees
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
and think about your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word."
-Psalm 119:14-16
It is our aim as a ministry to be Biblical in all we write and say. But what does that mean? Austin and Isaac explore what it does and does not mean to esteem God’s word as our ultimate authority for life and godliness. As always, we want to hear from you about ways we can do this better.
Links & Show Notes:
Buy The New Reformation, Shai Linne’s book that Isaac referenced
Austin’s article on whether race conversations are Biblical
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.”
-John 17:20-21
Jesus prayed these words right before going to the Cross. Obviously, unity is a big deal to Jesus.
For this episode, we had our friend Shai Linne on to talk about his new book, The New Reformation. Listen as he and Austin talk about reformed theology, ethic unity, why our language about these things matters, and more. You can order the book at the link below.
Links & Show Notes:
Buy The New Reformation
Book response on The New Reformation by our friend, Chrys Jones
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;
do not let them rule me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”
-Psalm 19:12-14
This is our first live show! Isaac and Austin recorded this conversation in front of a church who invited us to speak to their young adult ministry. We discussed ethnic partiality and how it is similar and different from other sins. Like all sins, confession and repentance are the way forward.
Links & Show Notes:
Article Isaac mentions which stresses humility.
Podcast interview with Tom Tarrants referenced in this episode
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“A word spoken at the right time
is like gold apples in silver settings.”
-Proverbs 25:11
In this episode, Isaac and Austin examine our third aim as a ministry, which is that we aspire to be helpful. It’s not that we understand others to be trying to be unhelpful and we’re the only helpful ones. It’s that we intend to rein in our instincts and personal preferences so that our contribution to broader conversations is helpful and builds up. As we say, this is an aspiration to which we would like you to hold us! Please let us know how we’re doing in this, and as always, we covet your prayers.
Links & Show Notes:
Encouraging piece by Jonathan Morgan about the power of prayer (referenced in several episodes)
Podcast interview with Tom Tarrants referenced in this episode (and better than this episode)
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“For we are writing nothing to you other than what you can read and also understand.”
-2 Corinthians 1:13a
In this episode, Isaac and Austin examine one of our aims as a ministry, which is that we intend to be clear in all that we write and say. Conversations about race are so hard, in part, because we so often talk past each other. Insofar as God enables us, we desire to build bridges of understanding between Christians of different traditions and groups. Check out the show notes for some helpful resources toward that end.
Links & Show Notes:
Encouraging piece by Jonathan Morgan about the power of prayer (referenced in intro)
Our Word Study series referenced in the podcast
Our series on Critical Race Theory referenced in the podcast
Austin Suter’s post on learning from people outside your normal tribe
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
-Romans 15:13
In this episode, Isaac and Austin examine one of our aims as a ministry, which is that we intend to be hopeful in all that we write and say. Why is it that Christians can be hopeful about matters of justice when all around us looks so broken? We point to the empty tomb and the one who will outlast our troubled history. We pray that you are encouraged as you listen.
Links & Show Notes:
Encouraging piece by Jonathan Morgan about the power of prayer.
Austin Suter’s piece on why we must not despair.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“Woe to those enacting crooked statutes
and writing oppressive laws
to keep the poor from getting a fair trial
and to deprive the needy among my people of justice,
so that widows can be their spoil
and they can plunder the fatherless.”
-Isaiah 10:1-2
In this episode, Isaac and Austin are joined by Chandra White Cummings in a follow-up to our first episode about abortion and racial justice. These are heavy matters, but God has called us to consider justice and the weightier matters of the law. Listen in as we learn from someone knowledgeable on the history and practices of the abortion industry and their horrible effects on minority communities. As you listen and are burdened by these heavy truths, remember to take them to the Lord, the only one able to deal with them.
Links & Show Notes:
Our first episode on abortion and racial justice.
Chandra’s pieces in the Washington Post and Christianity Today.
Overview:
“In those days, as the disciples were increasing in number, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a convert from Antioch. They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.”
-Acts 6:1-6
In this episode, Austin and Isaac do something a little different and work through a passage of Scripture to think through what it can teach us. The situation in Acts 6 is not perfectly analogous to our racial moment, but there are many things for us to learn. Listen and pray with us.
Links & Show Notes:
Is Talking About Race Unbiblical?
Word Study: Injustice
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.”
-Colossians 3:15
Gratitude is hard work for sinners who are bent in on themselves. Turns out, that’s all of us. Scripture is clear that ungratefulness is a serious sin, and that gratitude bears good fruit in our churches. In this episode, Isaac and Austin talk about the importance of being grateful for all that God is doing, even when complaining seems to come more naturally to us.
Links & Show Notes:
Thankfulness during the pandemic
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”
-Matthew 23:23
When considering the weightier matters of the law, nothing is weightier than life and death. Because we live in a world in which abortion and racism are both realities, we can expect that abortion would disproportionately affect minorities. While this is a heavy topic, we did not feel we could avoid talking about it. We hope to do so in a way that hopefully points to the grace of Christ.
Links & Show Notes:
Resources about abortion
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”
-Hebrews 10:24-25
Moral clarity is a tricky thing, because most of us believe we already have it. In this episode, Austin and Isaac discuss what it looks like to have moral clarity, what works towards and against it, and ways we as saints can stir one another up towards it. Join us in praying for wisdom as Scripture instructs us.
Links & Show Notes:
On the Incarnationby Athanasius with introduction by C.S. Lewis
Overview:
“After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
Salvation belongs to our God,
who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”
-Revelation 7:9-10
Christians understand that diversity is good. We long for the day when all of God’s people will be gathered to praise the Lamb. What about now? In this episode, Austin and Isaac talk about diversity in our local churches. While ethnic diversity is a good thing, it can become an unhelpful metric if we love diversity more than we love God or His people. Listen and pray with us.
Links & Show Notes:
Race and Our Joy - Isaac Adams
Today on giving Tuesday, Isaac and Austin invite our listeners to consider giving to support the work of United? We Pray. Your donations make our ministry possible, and we appreciate you so much. To give, head to https://uwepray.com/donate. Thank you!
Overview:
“Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” - Ephesians 4:1-5
In this episode, Isaac and Austin talk about how our shared identity as Christ’s people should help Christians be unified. Remembering the Gospel helps keep us from the errors of either ignoring unity or idolizing it. Pray with us that Christians have God’s wisdom about how we can pursue a deep, Christ-centered unity.
Links & Show Notes:
More Christian than Black or White (9Marks) - https://www.9marks.org/article/more-christian-than-black-or-white/
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.”
-Matthew 18:20
What does it mean for a church to be gathered in the name of Jesus? What is at the center of a church’s gathering and agreement? Are there things about which we need to agree? Are there things on which we can disagree?
Race and racism make these hard questions even harder in our local churches. In this episode, Austin and Isaac talk through some different hypothetical scenarios and encourage listeners to pray for wisdom.
Links & Show Notes:
Season Six, Episode One: Should I Leave my White Church?
Alicia Akins: Be Patient with Slow Growers, Late Bloomers, and Those Yet Unseeing
Ryan King: Saying Hard Things
Overview:
“When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
-Matthew 22: 34-37
In this episode, Isaac and Austin talk about loving God with all our minds, specifically in regards to Critical Race Theory. They explore the field of study and Christians’ various reactions to it, with a few encouragements for how to foster good conversations and unity among fellow Christians.
Links & Show Notes:
How Should Christians Engage Critical Race Theory? (Part 1)
Critical Theorists Help us Understand History (Part 2 of Series)
Critical Theorists Draw Inaccurate Conclusions from the Facts (Part 3 of Series)
Conclusion: Six Ways to Engage Critical Race Theory (Part 4)
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
Would you consider your church a "white church" or just a "church"? Isaac and Austin discuss the dynamics around a minority member of a church leaving their predominately white church. We discuss:
Why is it important to recognize the ethnic makeup of your church?
What characteristics of your church's culture do you take for granted, but may be seen as starkly different for a person of color?
For the minority member, what should I consider when deciding whether to leave my white church?
How do you stay in a white church and not get angry?
How do you leave a white church?
Should you let your minority friend leave your white church?
Links & Show Notes:
A Quiet Exodus: Why Black Worshipers Are Leaving White Evangelical Churches (New York Times)
Be Patient with Slow Growers, Late Bloomers, and Those Yet Unseeing (United? We Pray)
Am I a Political Pharisee? (United? We Pray)
Overview:
We are back! As we start our sixth season, we take a minute to explain some of the changes with the ministry and in our personal lives. We also preview some of the topics for this season and ask for God to bring about a day when this ministry is no longer needed. Please join us in prayer.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
Overview:
Isaac Adams gave a two-part lecture to a group of churches desiring to play a small role in bringing greater awareness to the historical roots and present forms of racism in Washington D.C. Their goal was not merely greater intellectual knowledge but greater compassion, so that they'd be better positioned to empathize and strategize toward the end of “adorning the doctrine of God our Savior.” (Titus 2:10) In Part 2, Isaac speaks to why Christians care about justice and injustice, why he's speaking about the injustice of systemic racism, what it is, and where it may be seen in Washington D.C.
The handout for this talk can be found here.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng
Overview:
Isaac Adams gave a two-part lecture to a group of churches desiring to play a small role in bringing greater awareness to the historical roots and present forms of racism in Washington D.C. Their goal was not merely greater intellectual knowledge but greater compassion, so that they'd be better positioned to empathize and strategize toward the end of “adorning the doctrine of God our Savior.” (Titus 2:10) In Part 1, Isaac answers three questions:
What does the bible say about race?
What does the bible say about racism?
Why does it matter?
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng
Overview: ”O Lord, God of vengeance,
O God of vengeance, shine forth!
Rise up, O judge of the earth;
repay to the proud what they deserve!
O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?
They pour out their arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
They kill the widow and the sojourner,
and murder the fatherless;
and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.””Psalm 94:1-7
We’re on break for the summer, but we’d still love to bring you some specials to encourage your spiritual walk. Here’s a sermon given recently by Bobby Jamieson, a white pastor up at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, who preached on Psalm 94 in light of the death of George Floyd. Bobby teaches us 4 things we can do in the midst of a season when it seems like injustice is prevailing in our country.
Overview: ”One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.” Romans 14:5
How does conscience relate to faith? Isaac and Austin discuss how differences conscience can lead us to differences in acting out our faith, and how to live in biblical community whilst holding different consciences. Join as they answer questions like:
Why is a conscience critical to the conversation on race?
Does liberty of conscience change what we need to agree on?
How does one's conscience get seared or damaged?
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng
In this video, brothers and sisters lament and intercede about different matters given this woeful pandemic—matters ranging from the loss of lives to exacerbated racism in these times. Join us as we take racial struggles to the throne of grace, and sign up below and we’ll send you a free prayer guide.
Overview: ”Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.” Proverbs 28:27
Is a virus racist? Isaac and Austin explore the news that COVID-19 is disproportionally affecting African Americans. They also explain why we often tie racism today to America's history of slavery.
Links & Show Notes:COVID-19, Xenophobia, and a Prayerful Response (by James Choi)
King Jesus, COVID-19, And Vulnerable Black People (by Austin Suter)
Courtney Reissig: When I Recognized Race
Praying About Systemic Racism (by Isaac Adams)
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng
Overview: “How long, O Lord?” Psalm 13:1
In this short episode, Austin and Isaac discuss the recent shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, and how his death ties into a long chain of innocent black men murdered in recent history. They talk about reasons why they can’t watch the videos of the events anymore, and advocate a few ideas on what can be done in light of this tragedy.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng
Overview: What do you see in the church and the world that is not in line with God's word and His will? Isaac and Irwyn Ince discuss their "divine dissatisfactions" in the church and the world with regards to race. They also touch on Ince's new book. Listen as they answer questions like:
What is the racial status quo of today's American Church?
How did Wilmington, North Carolina go from 56% black to 15% black?
How does the racial history of a city affects the ways one plants a church?
Does a church who supported segregation in the past bear responsibility to right past wrongs?
What are the challenges for majority culture in racial reconciliation? For minority culture?
What are a few concrete steps for pursuing unity in diversity in the Church?
Links & Show Notes:Irwyn Ince’s book: "The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best"
Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy
Overview: "Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited." (Romans 12:16)
Austin and Isaac continue the discussion on unity, diving deeper into the particulars of racial unity. They give insights on how to be wise around the conversation on race, and share ways that people live out their faithfulness in the pursuit of racial justice. Listen in as they answer questions like:
What roles do pastors and church leadership have in pursuing unity? Do they have a weightier role?
How does your relationship with someone determine how you handle a hard conversation on racial unity?
How do the ethnicities of those in conversation on race affect the conversation?
Why should we consider giving minorities more voice in the conversation on race? Isn't that the showing the sin of partiality?
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng
Overview: "How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!" (Psalm 133:1)
In a tip of the hat towards the name of our ministry, Isaac and Austin give a two-part series on Unity, a hot touch word in the conversation on race. Listen in as they discuss:
How would we define unity, and specifically, Christian unity?
Why is unity so important anyway?
What is unique about the American experience that we should pay special attention to unity?
If unity is so important, why should we bring up "divisive" topics?
How does the manner in which we bring up these conversations affect the conversation itself?
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng
Overview: "Men ought not to content themselves with a general repentance, but it is every man's duty to endeavour to repent of his particular sins particularly." (Westminster Confession, Chapter 15.5,6, part two).
Following James Choi’s article, Isaac and Austin discuss ways in which they see racism, particularly against Asians, in this unique season we live in. Listen in as they discuss:
Is COVID-19 creating racism, or revealing it?
Why is calling the Coronavirus a “Chinese virus” racist?
What can fear drive us to in a time of pandemic?
What are ways we can combat the racism that we see today?
Overview: "O God, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you." (2 Chronicles 20:12).
During the coronavirus outbreak, there has been panic, fear, and disruption to our lives, both individually and corporately as churches. But praise God, we're not the only Christians who have had to weather this kind of storm. On Nov. 3, 1918, Francis J. Grimké, pastor of 15th Street Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C., preached a sermon to his church, which reopened after public gatherings were banned amid the epidemic of influenza—an epidemic in which 3,000 D.C. residents lost their lives. Grimké gave 8 remarks to his congregation, and answered questions such as:
What is the meaning of this epidemic? What were God's purposes in it?
What does it teach us about race prejudice?
What do we learn about the value of church and of faith in Jesus Christ?
Come and be comforted by brother Grimké's words as he preaches to us still today.
Links & Show Notes:
Grimke's Sermon (for phone)
Grimke's Sermon (for print)
How DC Churches Responded When the Government Banned Public Gatherings During the Spanish Flu of 1918 (9Marks)
Spurgeon and the Cholera Outbreak of 1854 (The Spurgeon Center)
Overview: Austin has a curious interaction while hosting a booth at a recent conference. This makes Isaac and Austin reflect on why exactly it is that we do what we do here at United? We Pray. Surely it’s not for cool points for being part of the “social justice fad”? Why do we care so much about this conversation as it pertains to God’s Church? Listen in as they discuss:
How do we help our friends enter the hard conversation of race?
How can we encourage confession instead of shame when it comes to their racial realizations?
How can we promote humility in our racial conversations without tolerating apathy or antagonism?
Links & Show Notes:Check out Isaac Adams, H. B. Charles Jr, and Mark Vroegop’s breakout session at T4G 2020: “Taking Racial Struggles to the Throne of Grace: A Time of Corporate Prayer for Racial Strife Between Christians”
Overview: Isaac catches up with friend and original co-host Trillia Newbell! Isaac and Trillia talk Black History Month and how they and their families are celebrating it. Listen in as we discuss:
How does understanding history help us understand our current historical moment?
How does understanding history help us love our neighbor?
Why do we have black history month?
What are good ways to celebrate black history month?
Austin was surprised find out that one of his former bosses in Christian ministry was a former member of the Ku Klux Klan. Having been redeemed by the Lord from his former nature, Thomas Tarrants now shares with us insights into the ideology of his past.
Overview:Isaac has a new co-host! Isaac and Austin introduce season 5 and give a preview of what's to come. They take some time to mourn the death of Kobe Bryant, and discuss how it affects the African-American community. Austin also reflects on a recent talk he gave about race, and the outcome of it.
Overview: “The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.” (Luke 18:11)
Collin Hansen, Editorial Director of The Gospel Coalition, joins Isaac Adams to discuss the wounds of racism in the South. From the history of the University of Alabama football team to 16th Street Baptist Church, the brothers discuss how racism affects all facets of life. Most tragically, instead of being beacons of light, too many churches in the South became bulwarks of ongoing resistance to racial integration. Join the brothers as they discuss whiteness as an identity, why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s questions in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail are just as pressing today as they were when he first wrote them, and other questions like these:
What led you to think deeply about race?
Who are you educating? How are you educating them?
Racism and church membership rolls—what do they have to do with each other?
How should we think through the retort, "Just preach the gospel?"
Show Notes:
Talk: "History of Birmingham" by Collin Hansen
Article: "More Christian Than Black or White" by Isaac Adams
Overview: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
"Racial logic is the air we breathe." If this is true, how does this affect our understanding of race and racism? Why are these issues about more than personal, individual morality and how do we see them manifest in structures and systems? Moreover, how might Christians faithfully disrupt patterns of exclusion and injustice? Join Isaac Adams and David Leong as they talk about race, place, and their connection; listen for an encouraging testimony of how one church's stubbornness and faith has borne beautiful fruit, by God's grace. Other topics the brothers discussed include:
Racial identity formation, white fragility, redlining and gentrification
Lament and sitting in places of discomfort and pain
Not rushing to "fix racial problems" but realizing that this tendency in some of us may be a part of the problem
"Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?" (Psalm 94:20)
"Lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust." Why is understanding songs of sorrow so important for our thinking about race? Why is lament so important that a third of Psalms are lament? Join Isaac Adams and Mark Vroegop as they answer these questions:
What does the Scripture teach about the grace of lament?
What is the importance of Christians understanding race? How does understanding the grace of lament apply to the issues of race?
What about colorblindness that some people read into Colossians 3:11?
What is the distinction between repentance and remorse, and why does it matter for the conversation on race?
How have you used civil rights trips within your congregation?
Why does it matter that your church looks like your community?
How do you think through urban renewal and foreign missions?
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” (Psalm 32:1)
Despite division over their alma maters, Thabiti Anyabwile and Isaac Adams come together to talk about hope and its importance for the work of racial reconciliation. The brothers considered these questions:• What do you do when the race conversation feels as if it’s moving backward rather than forward?
• What do you do when you’re in a season of unbelief about racial reconciliation in your church?
• Why did you issue that apology? Why is pride deadly to unity?
• How are you trying to not just talk racism down but to live it down? How are you encouraging your church to do this work?
• How has there been progress in terms of racial reconciliation?
• What encouragements for the coming generations do you have as they think about race?
“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor." (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
In this episode, the rest of the leadership team join Isaac to talk about what roles they play on the United? We Pray team, and why they do what they do.
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Colossians 4:6)
How are you praying for the 2020 election? How might we as Christians prepare to speak about it with one another in a way that shows the world we are Jesus’ disciples?
In this episode, Isaac Adams and Trillia Newbell team up again to discuss the heightened political animosity and polarization that too often characterizes Christians online. Yet as Christians we are called to a love of neighbor that involves gentleness, being slow to speak, quick to hear. To bring us toward that kind of love, the Lord may need to tear down our political idols. “We will grapple to keep them,” Trillia says, “which can lead us to fight and be enraged with one another.”
We’re in a bad spot when we get online and the attacks we’re most tempted to fear are not from non-Christians but other Christians. Yet we don’t want to cling more closely to politics than we do to our brothers and sisters—because politics will fade, but our brothers and sisters will last forever.
Join us, as we pray for wisdom to discern our own speech and the voices we listen to. Join us as we pray for new rhetoric, that builds up and not tears down. After all, we’re all made in God’s image, so let’s speak to one another like it. May we speak love fluently.
At the 2019 JUST Gospel Conference, John Onwuchekwa exposits one of the most puzzling and impactful stories of reconciliation in the Scriptures. Meditating on Joseph’s reconciliation with his brothers, Onwuchekwa concludes that if you’re ever going to move past your past hurts, from frustration to forgiveness, you have to remember two things: 1) God’s part in your story and 2) Your place in His.
We all want to move past our pasts, particularly the pain in our pasts. The world may offer vain comforts, such as “time heals all wounds.” But the Scriptures, while not ignoring or minimizing our pain, offer a surer hope. Speaking to the bad posture our souls may have in light of our past pain, Onwuchekwa encourages us to look out and up vs. down and inward so that we might forgive as we’ve been forgiven. After all, “Nursing a grudge is like scratching chickenpox; it brings temporary relief but leaves lasting scars.” Come and be encouraged to rehearse God’s goodness more than other’s offenses because God’s plan make a lot more sense in hindsight.
In this special episode, we hear Isaac’s talk from the JUST Gospel conference, which took place in Atlanta this past May, and it was hosted by The Front Porch. In this talk he answers the question, “Can we be reconciled without prayer?” Standing on Scripture, such as John 17, Isaac offers two answers: 1) No and 2) Why would we want to? Why would we want a reconciliation born of the flesh but not the Spirit?
Brothers and sisters, we wage war against Satan and his dominion.
So, if you’ve ever been tempted to think that prayer is unnecessary and weak, here are four reasons why we can and should be reconciled with prayer:
1) The Bible commands prayer
2) Church history commends prayer
3) Pastors know about prayer
4) Christians agree on prayer
Pull up a chair, c’mon up on The Front Porch and listen.
In this episode, Isaac explains the break mid-season 3, forecasts a couple of sermons dropping on U?WP, and shares his poem of lament entitled: "Lord, I Cannot Fix this Brokenness." Here are the lyrics:
Lord! I cannot fix this brokenness,
Within the world, a thorny mess,
Will war and sorrow win the day?
Why has your justice so delayed?
Lord! I cannot fix this brokenness,
Within our churches, we confess:
We divide o’er race and politics.
How can, in Christ, these walls exist?
Lord—forgive us for our lovelessness!
Lord! I cannot fix this brokenness,
Within my family, black our dress,
Funerals have become our name,
Our unity as Abel and Cain’s.
Lord! I cannot fix this brokenness,
Within my self—lures temptation,
Enticing me from my first love,
To sin beneath, not heav’n above.
Lord! I cannot fix this brokenness,
Of a crooked generation:
Deceiving and being deceived,
Puffed with pride, blind with unbelief
Lord! I cannot fix this brokenness,
Can you see my wretched countenance?
“Where is your God?” people exclaim;
I come, O Lord, asking the same.
Lord! I cannot fix this brokenness,
I’ve forgotten all your promises.
How can I look to you and pray,
When day is night and night is day?
Lord! I cannot fix this brokenness,
I’ve tried the horse and chariot,
My hands too weak, they lend no rest;
If their work be all—all is hopeless.
Yet this my hope You bring to mind:
Your thoughts and ways stand over mine;
What’s meant for ill, You work for good,
As when your Son hung on the wood.
So, how long, O Lord? We still but ask,
But now we pray in dust and ash,
We’ll trust your Word; we’ll watch and wait,
And fresh courage our hearts will take.
Yes, we’ll trust you for our bread today,
And find our strength in Jesus’ grace.
Yes, this my hope You bring to mind:
Your thoughts and ways tow’r over mine;
You’re doing more than I can see,
My now is not my eternity.
O, Lord! I cannot fix this brokenness,
But one offering I know You’ve blessed,
I slowly leave it on the altar now,
Lament it is, and in lament I bow.
"As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting." (2 Corinthians 7:9)
Join Isaac Adams and Jemar Tisby as the two talk about politics, which so often combines race, religion, idolatry, and power. Still, Tisby maintains Christians are political creatures who need not shy away from politics.
Tisby discusses the nature of systemic racism, and how it's too narrow a view to reduce racism down to personal animus. Rather than only seeing racism as outright hostility, though it is that, Tisby maintains Christians should be also concerned with anything done to bolster a racist environment (e.g. furthering racial stereotypes or imposing bigoted ideas on groups of people). This type of racism can have disastrous consequences, the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama demonstrating as much.
If we can have a wider view of racism, we can better own up to our decisions, actions, and non-actions, all of which have implications and consequences. However, there's grace to reckon with these implications. We need not run away from politics or act as if we're merely above them. "We are political creatures," Tisby maintains. However, the grace of God which pardons us allows us to be forgiven and to pursue justice.
Discussing the history of the black church to past Supreme Court Cases, Adams and Tisby take a number of matters to the Lord in prayer. Let's join them in doing so.
FYI: This episode was originally recorded August 2018. Given that we pushed season three back to 2019, we had it scheduled to release in Spring 2019.
Host: Isaac Adams and Trillia Newbell
Overview: "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." (James 1:19-20).
In this episode, Trillia Newbell and Isaac Adams sit with Mark Dever, Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. The three of them discuss interracial dating, single-issue voting and racial divisions in churches, the American flag in worship gatherings, and other topics as they talk about the importance of understanding and remembering.
The Lord Jesus Christ told us to take his Supper in remembrance of him (1 Cor. 11:24). As Christians, memory is no mere thing. Dever, who grew up in what was formerly a slave-hold state, speaks to why knowing history is so important. Whether it's the history of George Liele, the first American missionary, or the history of the slave trade ending in the British Empire, or the personal history of a friend, Dever maintains that, "It's very hard to have a meaningful conversation about race and American history if you've not studied much about it."
As the last two episodes of Season 3 have taken place in Africa, "the continent of lament," as Dever refers to it—join Isaac, Trillia, and Mark as they discuss race, politics, and the local church in the United States.
Links & Show Notes:
11:45 -- "Why do you think working hard to not oppose either party is the best gospel strategy?"
14:00 -- Education [on race] is necessary but insufficient.
22:30 -- The American flag in our worship gatherings?
32:11 — Prayer
In this episode we referred to our episodes in Africa. Listen to the episode with a Zambian Pastor or a Kenyan Pastor. For more on the importance of American History in the race conversation, check out the episode with Matt Hall.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng
Host: Isaac Adams
Overview: But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. (Obadiah 12)
Join Isaac as he heads to Kenya to talk with Pastor Ken Mbugua about tribalism and its hidden faults. Kenya, along with some of its churches, has wonderful diversity as there are 42 tribes there. And every five years Kenyan pastors of mult-ethnic churches are reminded of their diversity. Why?
Because every five years there is an election.
Mbugua discusses the animosity between tribes such as the Luo and Kikuyu, and how confrontations and conflicts occurred over accusations of rigged elections and police brutality. "Kenya descended into an intense time," Mbugua said, reflecting on the 2017 Presidential Election.
One tribe felt disenfranchised. Another felt confused and perhaps callous. And Mbugua discusses how he led his church through this difficult time. He explained why, "You need to do a better job convincing me of your plight," is anything but a helpful response.
Mbugua goes on to talk about Western missionaries and how, though the Lord has used them, some have unwittingly done great harm. Nonetheless, Mbugua takes hope because "the Lord sometimes does a lot of good through us but often despite us."
Links & Show Notes:
3:45 -- The Challenges of Ethnic Diversity
9:22 -- "No one is tribalistic in Kenya"
14:20 -- Kenyan Presidential Election
20:53 -- Strength & Weakness in Addressing the Church
31:24 -- Reflections on the State of Race in America
37:00 -- Missionaries & Race
45:00 -- Prayer
- Meet Ken Mbugua
Quotes:
"The allegiance needs to be not political correctness but rather standing with what the Bible says." --Ken Mbugua
"Every five years we're reminded how diverse our church is because every five years we have an election" -- Ken Mbugua
"Are there challenges in your church when sinners of different ethnicities come into contact with one another?"
"We wanted our eldership to be as diverse as the congregation." -- Ken Mbugua
"Evidence that made me see that I might be more tribalistic than I want to acknowledge is how I vote. The tribe you're from in many ways indicate seemed to at least indicate who you didn't vote for." -- Ken Mbugua
One Tribe: "The police are just doing their job."
Another Tribe: "The police are abusing their power."
Come hear from an African pastor how he navigated a chaotic political election and its threat to divide his church.
"The value in a human being ultimately lies in the fact that they're made in the image of God."
"There's one kind of white American that's defensive—'I'm not a racist.' And there's another that over-compensates, confessing things they don't even understand. Neither help the conversation."
"Our blindnesses are so deep, our sins are so hidden when we talk about race and tribalism."
"Lord, we look to you to grant to us as your church for everything we need to be what you have already made us—which is one in Christ."
"Lord, give us a love that doesn't keep a record of wrongs or election votes, and give us a love that is willing to stand up for what's right."
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng
Host: Isaac Adams
Overview: "And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great." (Job 2:13)
Come hear a man reckon with the hard history of his lineage: His family sold slaves. To kick off Season 3, Isaac Adams travels through Africa to pray with and learn from African pastors about race, the local church, and politics.
In this episode, Isaac sits with Pastor Saidi Chishimba, a pastor in Zambia. Chishimba relays his family’s history through the lenses of the sovereignty of God, the complexity of sin, and the power of lament. How can God be sovereign and slavery exist? How can a man sell another man? How can a pastor smooth tribal lines even in his preaching? How can a president make an effort to break tribal lines? Zambia and the Bemba Kingdom might teach us a lesson.
As season three is about politics, race, and the local church, Chishimba offers insights on the relation between tribalism and politics. “Tribal lines…usually hinge on politics,” he suggests, as he goes on to explain the concepts of cousinship and the good that comes from integration.
While much good was discussed, Chishimba and Isaac lament the death of Isaac’s father, and Chishimba explains why silence is good medicine in Zambia. “It’s not how much you hug me or kiss me,” Chishimba says in light of someone’s death, “it’s how long you sit in silence with me.”
If you’ve ever wondered how to wrestle with individual sin vs. corporate sin, Chishimba offers a faithful model. Come pray with these two brothers, that no tribe would be more devoted to their own tribe than to Jesus.
Links & Show Notes:
5:00 – My Great Grandfather, the slave-trader
14:30 – What is “tribalism” and “cousinship”
23:20 – Tribalism & Zambian churches
30:39 – Lament: You are the Chief Mourner
38:05 – How Chishimba responded to his ancestors trading slaves
44:10 – Prayer
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Central African Baptist College & Seminary | This is the seminary Isaac traveled to in Zambia. They’re doing great work. (Isaac may have called it Central African Bible College in the episode!)
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Article: “My Great-Grandfather, The Nigerian Slave Trader” | It’s striking to compare and contrast how Saidi processes the legacy of his family with the author of this piece in The New Yorker.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng
Host: Isaac Adams
Overview: “Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.” - Samuel Chadwick
Isaac gives us an overview of Season 3 and its focuses. We say goodbye to some old friends and hello to some new. Also, we’re hiring!
Links & Show Notes:
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Book: “If God Is For Us: The Everlasting Truth of Our Great Salvation” by Trillia Newbell
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Karl’s website: kmagnuson.com
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Produced by Josh Deng Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Host: Isaac Adams
Guest: Jarvis Williams
Overview: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10-12)
In this Summer Special, Isaac Adams sits with Jarvis Williams, professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The brothers discuss Dr. Williams’ latest work for children and families, “The Gospel in Color — A Theology of Racial Reconciliation for Families.”
As the song goes, “Jesus loves the little children—red and yellow, black, and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.” What do the truths of this hymn mean for us as Christians and Christian parents? What is race, racism, and racial reconciliation, and how does the gospel intersect with these issues? These are the questions Jarvis and Isaac tackle. Other questions include:
Is the Christian perspective on these matters to ignore racial difference?
How can anti-racist work be gospel work?
What does forgiveness look like in this conversation?
Why does prayer matter in this conversation?
What is whiteness? What is blackness?
Why is there something particularly redemptive about an African-American man teaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary?
Jarvis goes on to share what it’s like to be a parent of color and a Christian. At a Christian School, Jarvis’ son was told by a classmate that he was stupid because his skin was brown. Jarvis went on to teach his son why his skin color shouldn’t be an object of shame, and why God loves his brown skin.
There are more reasons to talk about race with our children. Three Jarvis and his co-author, Curtis Woods, lay out are:
Current racial divisions
Colorblindness isn’t a solution, and it inadvertently perpetuates the racism it seeks to avoid
Race is a systemic problem
Join Isaac and Jarvis for prayer, and check out this latest resource for parents and their children.
Links & Show Notes:
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Book: “Mississippi Praying: Southern White Evangelicals and the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1975” by Carolyn Renée Dupont
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Book: “Doctrine and Race: African American Evangelicals and Fundamentalism between the Wars” by Mary Beth Mathews
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Book: “One New Man: The Cross and Racial Reconciliation” by Jarvis Williams
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Overview: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
In the Season 2 Finale, Trillia and Isaac reflect upon God’s grace throughout another season of United? We Pray. They reflect upon 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 — “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” This verse becomes the summer, if not lifetime, homework for listeners of U?WP.
During this episode, Trillia and Isaac reflect on how prayer is an indispensable balm for wounds that are centuries old. They look back at past episodes, remembering that “racial reconciliation is a lifestyle, not an event.” Racial reconciliation is not a problem merely to be fixed and done away with; it’s an aim to love and enjoy one another and praise God for the different people he has made and united in Christ. Given these truths, “we will continue to pray until we’re face to face with God,” as Trillia reminded us, because there is always work to be done.
Join Trillia and Isaac as they encourage anyone pursuing racial reconciliation to endure, rejoice, and pray without ceasing.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Guest: Duke Kwon
Overview: “The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” (Luke 18:11)
Should our conversations about race and the church only be black and white? What is lost if we don’t have a wider conversation, and what is gained from having a broader conversation that includes those of other ethnicities?
Korean-American pastor Duke Kwon joins Trillia Newbell and Isaac Adams to discuss his experience as the other “other.” What is it like to be considered different than the norm? How has the model minority myth factored into the race conversation even in the church—and what is that myth?
Kwon explains how different experiences can be even within certain cultures. Cambodians experience life differently than Vietnamese, and these experiences can be very different than that of Koreans. And yet, in Christ, we are one — how can we live out that unity? Kwon explains what pushes back against that unity and why many Asian-Americans will take about being perpetually foreign.
“No matter how long you’ve been here,” Kwon said, “You’re always seen as different and foreign. People are always asking you where you’re from, and it leads to an ongoing sense of marginalization. It’s a subtle thing, but very impactful: When you get asked ‘Where are you from?’ your entire life, again and again, you start to internalize this message: I must not belong. I must not be from here. I must not be seen as a true neighbor.”
Join Isaac, Trillia, and Duke as they discuss how Asian-Americans have been used as a foil for black people and how understanding what it means to be black and white in this country informs what it means to be Asian in this country.
“If we’re going to unravel this crazy, broken, sometimes sinful knot that is what it means to be a racial person in this country, we need to get to the heart of the black/white struggle,” Kwon said. He continued to discuss why it is that people draw from other resources besides Scripture in this conversation, and why that leads to defensiveness. Yet it also presents an opportunity to the American church to mix up their conversation and biblically inform it so that conversations about race are a part of faithful, biblical discipleship.
Links & Show Notes:
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Article: “Why Asian Americans Struggle to Feel at Home in White-Majority Churches” by Steve Chang
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Article: “Being Asian American in a White Church” by Tim Chiang
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Academic Article: “The History of the Idea of Race…and Why It Matters” by Audrey Smedley
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Book: “White Awake: An Honest Look at What it Means to Be White” by Daniel Hill
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams
Guest: John Perkins
Overview: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Fifty years later to the day, Isaac Adams sat with Dr. John Perkins, an 87-year-old civil rights activist, a few blocks from where Dr. King was killed. There, Isaac heard Perkins’ reflections on race and the church in light of his work and MLK Jr.’s legacy.
Originally, Isaac and John were supposed to record on April 3, 2018. Dr. Perkins noted how he saw God’s sovereignty in the fact that they wound up recording on April 4 — 50 years to the day Martin Luther King Jr. was killed.
And Dr. Perkins was right.
Reflecting on Emmett Till, Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Perkins talks about how he was teaching in a rural school when he heard MLK Jr. was killed. He speaks of the vanishing of hope on that day, a “horrible moment in the history of the world.” Dr. Perkins continued to meditate on how necessary prayer is in the work of racial reconciliation. We pray because “the problems are greater than the resources.”
If you want to hear how suffering can be redemptive; if you want to hear how God used Perkins’ son to bring about his conversion; if you want to hear this titan of justice and advocacy pray for the church, then this is the episode for you. In this episode, Dr. Perkins seeks to put the gospel at the center of the conversation. Respectfully rebutting prosperity theology, Perkins makes clear that repentance is necessary for everyone because “sin, in its final analysis, is against God.”
At the end of this episode, Dr. Perkins likens his life, which he readily admits is coming to a close, to Paul’s parting words in Acts 20. Perkins has done what we could with what God gave him. He has served his generation. He was grateful to come another 50 years since MLK Jr. was killed. Though things have changed a lot, and many things have not changed, Dr. Perkins would say goodbye this way:
“You probably won’t see my face no more. I’m saying goodbye like Paul to the church at Ephesus…but it’s sort of joyful.”
Links & Show Notes:
- The Final Call of John Perkins A wonderful profile of John Perkins life, written by Sarah Zylstra.
2. John Perkins Has Hope for Racial Reconciliation. Do We? A review of “One Blood” by Pastor Duke Kwon
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One BloodJohn Perkins’ parting words to the church on race. There is an entire chapter devoted to prayer in this work, “the weapon of our warfare.”
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Dream With MeJohn Perkins’ latest memoir.
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Let Justice Roll DownJohn Perkins first book.
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The Sound (John M. Perkins’ Blues) Switchfoot wrote this song in honor of Dr. Perkins. He speaks about it in the beginning of his memoir, Dream With Me. This is the song played at the end of the episode.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Guest: Dr. Michael Emerson
Overview: "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger." (James 1:19)
In this episode, Trillia Newbell and Isaac Adams talk with Michael Emerson, one of the authors of the seminal work, Divided by Faith. Published nearly 20 years ago, Divided by Faith examines evangelicals and the problem of race from a sociological perspective.
What personal and professional experiences led Dr. Emerson to write Divided by Faith? Why did he seek to live in a community where he was in the racial minority and send his kids to school where they're in the racial minority? Dr. Emerson speaks to systemic and individual solutions to racial inequalities while providing both a warning and a word of hope to evangelicals today.
Having done thousands of interviews about this topic, Dr. Emerson encourages us to remember that "one of the ways we can addresses our history of racial division and inequality is to come together in our churches: to worship, to share leadership, to give voices to one another. If we can do this in authentic, biblical ways, it will make a profound difference." What do those authentic, biblical ways look like? Join us in this episode.
Links & Show Notes:
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Overview: Colorblindness is the theory that if we ignore race, then racial problems will eventually cease. Is this term and theory helpful or unhelpful. Why or why not? How is it present in our culture, and how is it present in our churches? Join Isaac Adams and Trillia Newbell as they discuss colorblindness and why the idea keeps appearing in Christian conversations about race?
In this conversation, Trillia and Isaac discuss how colorblindness has been embedded in popular culture and why it leads some folks to say things like, “I don’t see you as my black friend; I just see you as my friend.” A phrase like this might be said with the best of intentions to love that other person, but may ultimately reflect a zeal not according to knowledge.
Being colorblind prevents us from being able to fully weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. One of the glorious aspects of God is that he has made us to depict his beauty, and no one person or ethnicity can do that fully. Instead, we can celebrate and embrace our diversity as a part of God’s good idea and design. Praise God, and enjoy this episode!
Links & Show Notes:
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Galatians 3:28 Does NOT Encourage Color-blind Christianity! by Jarvis Williams
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4 Reasons You Shouldn’t be Colorblind by Trillia Newbell
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Don’t Be Colorblind at Church by Isaac Adams
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I Don’t See You as a Black Friend by Garrett Kell
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Disunity in Christ by Christena Cleveland. Cleveland has a section, “Should We All Be Colorblind?” starting on p. 186.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Overview: “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” (Romans 13:9)
In this episode, Trillia and Isaac talk and pray about the goal of racial reconciliation. Why is it helpful or unhelpful? What isn’t the goal of racial reconciliation? Join us in prayer. And as you do, consider what we suggest the goal of reconciliation is:
NOT THIS: We begin this episode by focusing on the fact that the goal of reconciliation is not merely appeasing minorities or showing off apparent diversity like a college brochure would. As Dr. Jarvis Williams suggests, “Many Christians equate racial diversity with racial reconciliation, so they conclude that if diversity is present than reconciliation is as well.” There’s an important implication of this point: it means that reconciliation can hardly have a metric put on it. It’s messy, it’s relational, and people know when you’re faking it. Instead of a quick, one-time fix, reconciliation is al lifestyle, not an event as civil rights activist John Perkins said.
BUT THAT: What do we mean, then, by reconciliation? We mean genuine love for the “other” — a 1 Corinthians 13 love that sparks Philippians 2 service. A love that transforms the conversation and the pursuit of one another.
Links & Show Notes:
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Matt Hall’s United? We Pray EpisodeSeason 1 episode referenced in the episode!
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One New Man Book by Dr. Jarvis Williams
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Divided by Faith Book by Michael Emmerson and Christian Smith, which contains a review
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Guest: SharDavia Walker
Overview: “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10:9)
In the opening to season two, Trillia Newbell and Isaac Adams talk and pray with SharDavia Walker about interracial marriages—the beauty of them and the difficulty of them in and outside the church. How do you humbly and honestly navigate conversations with family who don’t approve of interracial relationships? Does the Bible speak about interracial marriages? How does the message of the gospel apply to this conversation?
Facing different forms of awkwardness, difficulty, and outright opposition—from humorous things to horrible things—Isaac, Trillia, and Shar reflect on God’s faithfulness to them as those who are in interracial marriages. Regarding difficulties, Shar spoke wonderfully to the need for compassion and humility, especially in a way that reminded us of Francis Grimké, the brother who inspired this podcast. In 1898, Francis said: “Let us meet in our places of worship, and there…devoutly pray to Almighty God: First, that if it is our fault that the hearts of our fellow countrymen are so cruelly turned against us, he will show us the evil, and give us the wisdom to remove it.”
In other words, as we seek to be honest with others and call for repentance, let us also do the same in our own lives. May God grant us humility and honesty as we pursue unity and pray for it.
Links & Show Notes:
Note: Due to the sensitive nature of this conversation, please be aware that as stories are recounted at the 8 minute mark, the n-word is used. You can read more about the context surrounding that sad story here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/mizzou-and-a-more-excellent-way/
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Mark Dever’s Sermon Introduction In a sermon following the 2016 Presidential Election, Mark Dever shares a testimony about a friend of his who met opposition when pursuing a white sister.
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Our Interracial Marriage and the Gospel A video testimony of Trillia Newbell’s interracial marriage.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12b)
Taking racial struggles to the throne, United? We Pray is a podcast that calls for prayer about racial divisions in churches. With all that could be said about race and the church, why have a podcast on prayer? Here are four reasons:
- The Bible commands prayer.
- Church History commends prayer.
- Pastors know about prayer.
- Christians agree on prayer.
And so we pray. We’d love for you to join us for this second season as we approach the throne of grace—will you?
Links & Show Notes:
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Francis Grimké Sermon Series The Negro His Rights and Wrongs, The Forces For Him and Against Him
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Trillia Newbell’s Call to Prayer Blog Post
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Isaac Adams’ Four Reasons for United? We Pray
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Guest: Jasmine Holmes
Overview: “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2)
In the season finale, Trillia Newbell and Isaac Adams reflect on the first season of United? We Pray, and they speak with Jasmine Holmes about safe places. In the race conversation, at times, someone will say something unhelpful or downright racist, and if their statement is met with correction, they’ll respond by saying, “I thought you were a safe place.”
Jasmine, Trillia, and Isaac reflect on the need to redefine the concept of a “safe place.” What does it look like to speak the truth and love, and hear the truth in love? How can Christians be honest with one another and yet extend heaps and heaps of grace to each other, as God has extended that grace to us in Christ? Trillia and Isaac continue to reflect on that grace as they look back on the episodes and start of Season 1 of United? We Pray.
As we reflect on God’s goodness, we have to say thank you! Thank you to Karl Magnuson, producer of United? We Pray. Thank you to Dante Stewart, social media manager of United? We Pray. Thank you to Thern Newbell and Megan Adams, wonderful spouses to Trillia and Isaac. Thank you to all the listeners who joined us for Season 1 of United? We Pray, and most of all, thanks be to the Lord Jesus Christ—our savior, Lord, and peace. To him be the glory now and forever, amen.
Links & Show Notes:
A Call to Prayer During an Anxious Time This is the blog post that Trillia wrote to call for prayer in the midst of racial turmoil.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Guest: Matt Hall
Overview: “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility...that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace…” Ephesians 2:14-15
In our last episode with Karen Ellis, Trillia Newbell and Isaac Adam looked at underground churches in other countries to glean lessons about unity. In this episode, the hosts speak with Dr. Matt Hall, Dean of Boyce college, to look back at American Christianity and its history race. What is race? What does it mean in the Bible? How many races are there? How does racism in the past affect us today?
Matt Hall looks at and defines race from a biological, theological, and sociological perspective as he explains where the modern idea of race came from. Matt suggests that we can’t talk about race in America if we don’t understand where it came from and what it is. Further, if we want to see true gospel reconciliation, a measure of historical truth-telling is required—a stance that is not always comfortable, popular, or simple.
How does the complexity of race and the past factor into our conversations about race today? What are helpful and unhelpful ways the current generation thinks about identity? How do the Scriptures’ constant reference to remembering the past accurately tether to our identity as Christians? Join us for prayer and discussion as we look at the reality of race, its incredible power throughout history, and God’s faithfulness in the midst of history.
Links & Show Notes:
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Removing the Stain of Racism from the Southern Baptist Convention edited by Jarvis J. Williams and Kevin M. Jones In this book, you’ll find a chapter by Dr. Jarvis Williams, whom Dr. Hall referred to. His chapter explains what race meant in biblical times and how the definition of it has changed. The definitions are fairly technical but helpful to those who want to dive in. In this book you’ll also find a helpful chapter on history and why it matters specifically for Southern Baptist churches as they live in a world in which race matters.
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Dream with Me: Race, Love, and the Struggle We Must Win by John Perkins Dr. Hall referred to civil rights activist John Perkins—his legacy and hope. Dream with Me is Dr. Perkins' latest work and memoir in which he reflects upon the issues of race and its effects on his life.
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The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity by Benjamin Isaac This book is a long, scholarly treatment of the idea of race and racism in the ancient world (or in Biblical times). However, the introduction alone is worth the price of the book.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Guest: Karen Ellis
Overview: “Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field…” (Matt. 13:31)
Missiologist Karen Ellis joins Isaac Adams and Trillia Newbell to share insights about race and unity from her work with underground churches. Karen focuses on the faithfulness of brothers and sisters in churches around the world as they do work that is small and unannounced. That’s what the things of the kingdom typically are—small, quiet, unannounced. Nonetheless, Karen reminds us that, “Unity may not be loudest voice out the gate, but praise God, it’ll be the voice that lasts into eternity.”
If you have ever felt like you’re not an expert on race and unity, if you have ever felt spiritually flabby in your prayer life, join us for this episode. In it, Karen reminds us of the freedom there is in faithfulness and in not having our voices dominate the scene and she speaks to other questions as well:
Is race a only a challenge for American churches? How has the conversation about race changed for evangelical Christians over the years? Do you have to be an expert to speak about race, the church, and justice?
The powerless have a word about power. If believers in a loud world can be quiet enough, we just might hear it.
Links & Show Notes:
Follow Karen Ellis on Twitter
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Guest: Jackie Hill Perry
Overview: “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
In this episode, Jackie Hill Perry discusses the difference between boldness and foolishness in speaking about race and the church. Jackie, Trillia, and Isaac discuss the power of prayer to guard the believer against unforgiveness and bitterness as well as other concerns about how the church is treated within this conversation.
What might weary saints do as they wait upon the Lord? When it comes to the race conversation, what are the pitfalls in how Christians use our language? How does one walk the line between their honesty being boldness or foolishness?
Join us in prayer, as we look to God’s Word and remember that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks; that mercy and justice are to go hand-in-hand; and that there is coming a day where justice, peace, and kindness will reign because Jesus reigns.
Links & Show Notes:
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“I Am Delivered” — Jackie mentioned that in this life God delivers us from sin, but we have not yet been finally delivered. In this article, she teases that idea and concept out more of what God has done and what he has yet to do.
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“The Art of Joy” — “The Art of Joy” is Jackie’s first hip-hop album that was mentioned in this episode; it focuses on how joy in Christ is what we were made for, and how that joy is better than anything else we might imagine.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Guest: Matt Chandler
Overview: “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” (Nehemiah 1:4)
Originally, Isaac and Trillia planned to talk and pray about white supremacy with Matt Chandler. However, given the recent tragedy in Texas at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, we thought it would be appropriate to pray for our brothers and sisters there.
While some may question the response of prayer in these times, we do not. And because of our unity in Christ, when one part of the body suffers, we all suffer. Regardless of our ethnicity, we are one—we share the same Spirit and the same Savior. Though there’s a question mark in the minds of many regarding racial unity, our unity in Christ is not in question. And so we pray.
Join us as we lament, pray, and discuss the pitfalls of social media in an age of evil, too often seen in mass shootings.
Links & Show Notes:
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Deep Demons: Race & The Church (w/ Ray Ortlund)As referenced in this episode, here is the United? We Pray episode where Ray Ortlund explains our oneness in Christ.
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Texas Shooting Kills 26 at Southern Baptist ChurchA short article describing the massacre that occurred at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.
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The Enduring Effects of White Supremacy in American Culture Professor Jarvis Williams reflects on Dylann Roof slaying nine black brothers and sisters at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Overview: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)
In this third episode, Isaac Adams and Trillia Newbell discuss why being a bridge-builder is so difficult and how bridge builders, in Christ, can persevere in their ministries. The reality for anyone building a bridge is that bridges get stepped on, they get driven on from both sides, and they’re the first to freeze over when the bad weather hits. How might a bridge builder guard against cynicism and despair? Why should they pray for the very folks who are burning bridges? What might taking care of yourself as a bridge-builder look like?
We don’t have all the wisdom to answer these questions, and so we pray.
Often, bridge-building work can be discouraging work because of sin—both the sin of others and our own. What’s more, bridge-builders can be tempted to look for external fruit from their labors, when the reality is that we cannot calculate our own fruit. We labor, but God gives the growth. Yet the great hope of bridge builders is that when we are weak, we are strong in the Lord. His grace is sufficient. His mercies are new each morning. And so we pray with this hope, knowing that, as one theologian said, “God will change out his workmen but carry on his work.”
If you know someone who is doing good bridge-building work, why not drop them a note of encouragement? We can never encourage one another too much. If there’s a brother or sister, whether publicly or locally, whose ministry you’ve appreciated, why not encourage them?
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Guest: Ray Ortlund
Overview: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)
Join Trillia Newbell, Isaac Adams, and Ray Ortlund as they discuss racial strife and the church. While recording this episode, Ray made an apt analogy. He compared the evil of racism to the demon possessing the boy in Mark 9:14-29. Jesus said about that demon: "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer." Reflecting on racism in the church, Ray said, "that demon is deep, baby; it's deep!" And so we pray.
We pray, as Trillia mentioned, that we wouldn't be smiling racists. We confess our weakness. And we do so because, as Ray said, "If we’re really going to make a difference regarding ethnic strife and unity, prayer must be at the foundation of everything.”
Links & Show Notes:
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Black Lives Matter and Racial Tension in AmericaHere's an article breaking down the statistics of racial divisions in American churches in light of the racial strife from the last few years.
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Divided by FaithA fuller-treatment that analyzes, from a sociological perspective, the differences in worldviews of different evangelicals and how that leads to racial divisions.
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No Racial Reconciliation Without Intersectionality and PrivilegeIs "white privilege" a term devised simply to make white people feel guilty? This article looks at privilege, and the different kinds of privilege, and suggests how we might both reckon with the truth and use the benefits God has given us for the service of others. It re-frames the understanding of privilege in a biblical perspective and speaks to the need for a more dynamic conversation about the complexities of race if racial reconciliation will occur.
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
Hosts: Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell
Overview:“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
In this first episode, Isaac Adams and Trillia Newbell discuss the purpose of United? We Pray and share their hopes for the podcast. The Bible makes clear that God’s people are a praying people, and United? We Pray seeks to encourage more prayer about racial struggles. We hope to pray proactively, and we hope to praise God, confess to God, thank God, and ask of God. What’s more, we hope that brothers and sisters listening in on these prayer join in prayer because, as Trillia says, “what a chorus that would be!”
The issue of race, unity, and the church may daunt you; it may have you altogether weary. Wherever you may be, join us as we come to the throne of grace in Jesus’ name. We pray that we would see these issues not as something entirely negative, something like a prison, but as something that can glorify God, a prism that reflects his beauty.
Links & Show Notes:
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Francis Grimké Sermon Series — The Negro His Rights and Wrongs, The Forces For Him and Against Him
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Trillia Newbell’s Call to Prayer Blog Post
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Trillia’s children’s book: God’s Very Good Idea
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey
One thing is clear: when it comes to unity in the church across racial lines, we need divine help. Prayer is how we ask for that help (James 1:5). Christians don't agree on how to address racial divisions, but Christians do agree that we ought to rely upon God in prayer. We must do more than pray if we are to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace, but we cannot do less. Will you pray with us?
To learn more about United? We Pray follow us on Twitter or our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!
Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson
Graphic design by Rob Alvey