Diversity in Fellowship

What does "woke" have to do with the current debates about gender? How should we respond to that as followers of Christ?

Another area of battle for the woke wars is the environment. What does being "woke" have to do with that? How should we as Christians respond?

How do we view America? How do we talk about the image of our country? How should we view and talk about it as Christians?

What is DEI and how does it impact our jobs and universities? How is the concept of woke being used in this battleground?

How has the "woke" idea impacted education? How can we think through this battle as Christians?

What is the woke war? How did we get to this point? Why should we be concerned about this as Christians?

What is going on with the merge now? How has the Lord been working in our Church? What are we excited about for the future?

Can we really have unity between churches? How can we work towards that? (The continuation of our discussion in Episode 1 of this Season, which we now know is actually Season 4)

Is unity in the church really possible? How could we actually accomplish that?

Why do many Christians oppose the celebration of Juneteenth? How should we respond to that?   Juneteenth article by Nathan Finn referenced in this episode: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/christians-juneteenth/   Twitter thread referenced in this episode: https://twitter.com/nathanafinn/status/1670748264511963136

What do we do with TV shows about diversity and representation? Should we watch those as Christians?

What is virtue signaling? How is it a diversity in fellowship issue? How do we think about it biblically?

Where did the term "woke" come from? How should we as Christians respond to how it is being used today?

Does personal responsibility negate any discussion of systemic issues of discrimination? What should we think about personal responsibility when it comes to diversity in fellowship?

Does the prosperity that America enjoys mean that God is blessing us? Does this mean that our past sins are not that bad?

How should we respond to those who bring up progress in our discussions of diversity? How should we think through this as followers of Christ?

Should we compare countries when we are talking about diversity in fellowship? Is this a valid reason to dismiss criticisms against the United States?

How do we answer this question? Does this prove that police violence is not racially motivated?

Is marriage a diversity issue? How can we think through this as individuals and as the church?   Go to https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/07/marriage-prevalence-for-black-adults-varies-by-state.html for more info on the differences in marriage by ethnicity, age groups, and gender. 

Darren Casper interviews us at the "Mission Metro Quarterly" event in St. Louis, MO. The questions from the floor are difficult to hear but hopefully the answers will make sense!

Why do events like what happened to Damar Hamlin bring us together? Why does that unity not always last? What can we learn from that?

Why do so many niche churches exist? How should we respond to them?

What does Deion Sanders and Jackson State football have to do with diversity in fellowship? What can we learn from this situation?

What are microaggressions? How do we identify them and respond to them?

What is black fatigue and how does it impact diversity in fellowship? What can we do to prevent it?

How can the local church better love and serve immigrants? How should we address the issue of assimilation? We discuss these issues and more with our guest Joanna Mendez.   To read Joanna's article in The Pathway, go to https://mbcpathway.com/2022/11/03/ethnic-racial-reconcilation-why-it-matters-to-me/   The suggested diversity resource for this episode is "The God Who Sees" by Karen Gonzalez (https://heraldpress.com/9781513804125/the-god-who-sees/).

Why is representation important in movies and TV? Is representation important in the local church? How do we fight for that?

What has caused the recent uptick in antisemitism? How should we respond to this as followers of Christ?   The diversity resource for this episode is Urban Apologetics: Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel (https://www.amazon.com/Urban-Apologetics-Restoring-Dignity-Gospel/dp/0310100941/).    **Since the recording of this episode, Kyrie Irving has been suspended by the Brooklyn Nets and has subsequently apologized (https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kyrie-irving-issues-instagram-apology-hours-after-nets-suspend-him-for-statements-on-antisemitism/).

What is concept creep? How does it help us when thinking about diversity in fellowship?   To read the referenced tweet thread, go to https://twitter.com/profyancey/status/1580700626107138048.

A second episode in our "Whataboutisms..." series where we consider the issue of Black slave owners. How should Christians respond to this question?

People often bring up white slavery in America's history in response to discussions about Black slavery. Is this a legitimate response? How should we think through this as Christians?

We kick off Season 3 of the podcast by discussing the 3 year anniversary of our Church merge. What's the same? What's different? How do we move forward?

How is the church in America doing in regards to diversity? How can we improve going forward?

Why do some African Americans not swim or play golf? How is this a diversity issue?

How is the race care being misused in debates today? Is there a better way?

How is Youth Ministry a diversity in fellowship issue? How can we seek to be faithful in this area of ministry in our local churches?

What are some barriers to reaching the Black community? How can we overcome those barriers?

What is going on with the merge (our local church)? How does moving serve the goal of diversity in fellowship?

How should we respond to the Sexual Abuse Task Force (SBC) report that was recently released? How is this a diversity issue?   To read the report, go to https://www.sataskforce.net/updates/guidepost-solutions-report-of-the-independent-investigation.

What is the Great Replacement Theory? How should we respond to it as Christians?   The Diversity in Fellowship resource for this episode is the article "The FAQs: What Christians Should Know About the 'Great Replacement' Theory" by Joe Carter.

How will the church respond to the overturning of Roe v. Wade? How does this impact diversity in fellowship?

What are some (more) cultural differences that we need to be aware of? Everything you need to know about ironing your shirt!!

What is gentrification? How does it impact our efforts for diversity in fellowship?

How does the recent Supreme Court nomination impact the Church? How is this a diversity in fellowship issue?

Do different cultures find offense in different statements or actions? How do we respond to that as Christians?

Kenny and William got the chance to share at the pastor's retreat for Practical Shepherding.   Practical Shepherding is committed to "helping pastors thrive in the trenches of pastoral ministry." To find out more, go to https://practicalshepherding.com/.

Recently, there have been several injustices committed against women. William and Kenny discuss two of these.   A biological male who identifies as a female won a women's swimming championship (https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/lia-thomas-becomes-first-transgender-woman-win-ncaa-swimming-champions-rcna20562). Also, Christianity Today and Grace Community Church failed to respond properly when women reported abuse (https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/march/sexual-harassment-ct-guidepost-assessment-galli-olawoye.html), (https://julieroys.com/macarthur-shamed-excommunicated-mother-take-back-child-abuser/). 

Should we use labels like "Uncle Tom" or "Woke" or "sellout"? How do we respond when we are labeled as such while striving for diversity in fellowship?   While we do not agree with the conclusion of this article, we thought it represented the sentiment of those who use derogatory labels to describe "race traitors:" (https://andscape.com/features/what-should-black-folk-do-with-the-word-coon/)

When a racial tragedy strikes, why is black on black crime often a talking point? Is this right?

Does work in one area mean that we cannot be racist in other areas? How do we avoid this error?

"If I'm just stating the facts, then I can't be racist." Is this true? How should we respond to this?   We are again recommending the book "Talking about Race" by Isaac Adams as our Diversity in Fellowship resource.