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Jake Abraham is the new Executive Director for the City ministry of Cru. Get to know him a little better by listening to us talk about everything from football to Advent. While this is my farewell episode of Listener podcast, I'd love to connect with you in the future at samanthalholland@gmail.com. Peace & Love, Sam

Her dream was to work as a journalist in the entertainment industry, and now Marilette Sanchez is a mom of five ministering to young families in Brooklyn alongside her husband. Listen as she tells more of her story, including losing her father and embarking on a mental health journey during the pandemic.

Cas Monaco is an executive director with Cru City. She is a missiologist and theologian who is passionate about forging new paths to help people discover their place in God's story. Join us as we discuss narrative approaches to evangelism and how the pandemic has narrowed many of our realities from the many to the one. connect with Cas at CasMonaco.com

CJ Neal serves as a team leader for the high school and middle school ministries of Cru in the greater Indianapolis, Indiana area. A native of Indianapolis, CJ enjoys the opportunity to serve the same communities that shaped him from his youth. Over the last 25 years (17 on staff with Cru), CJ has spoken to, served in and advised many churches, schools and organizations in the Indianapolis area and beyond.

There are over 900 references to trees in the Bible! Who cares? We do! Cru City staff Elizabeth McKinney and I talk about Matthew Sleeth's book 'Reforesting Faith' and Jesus' invitation for us to care about the trees in our backyard.

Chris Ghubril is a Campus Team Leader in Tuscon and the West Coast Cross-Cultural Training Coordinator; his story as a bicultural Lebanese-American played into the development of the I am From Cultural Conversation cards, a fresh evangelism tool from Cru.

Listen as Asako Lee of the West Coast Campus Mobilization Team shares her unique bicultural perspective on summer missions.

Michele Davis of the Cru MPD (Ministry Partner Development) Team explains what fundraising has to do with flourishing, and what challenges and opportunities have arisen during the pandemic. resources mentioned: The Minority Experience by Adrian Pei

CU Boulder campus staff Jenny Logan met students on Instagram years before the pandemic; listen in as she explains how she uses it now more than ever! (Cru staff: to access Jenny's excellent video training, visit the US Campus Forum Group on Workplace)

Cru staff Derrick Grow shares what it's been like to live and do ministry in Minneapolis, since the death of George Floyd.

Sandhya Oaks shares her story of identity, loss, and redemption, involving transracial adoption. Resources mentioned: lensesinstitute.com theallendercenter.org theseattleschool.edu/about/innovation-collaboration/resilient-leaders-project The Adoption Triad, a private group on Facebook Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer is on Amazon.com

Tom Goodwin of Cru City tells us about The Roadshow, which is the product of much research and promotes gospel engagement in a changing culture. Find more info on the roadshow: https://www.cru.org/communities/city/roadshow/conversations-that-change-lives/

"the real work of prayer is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things"--Henri Nouwen. Kelly Sautner and Kelly Kimberlin join me on this surviving-a-quarantine episode to discuss Listening Prayer. Email Kelley.Sautner@cru.org and set up a time to pray with her!

Julie Chang and I discussed Cru.org's new racism resource (link below) and our own experiences with racism on this episode. We also talked about sabbatical, trees, and how God never lets us go. https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/life-and-relationships/hardships/racism-thoughts-feelings.html

Pandemic realities include social distancing and no global travel, but we can virtually go around the world with Rasool Berry's new video series "In Pursuit of Jesus." Rasool works with Cru City and is also a pastor in Brooklyn.

The Gospel is still good news, even during a pandemic. How can we grow in our gospel listening and communication skills? Matt Mikalatos shares wisdom from his evangelism book "Good News for a Change" on this episode of Listener. Find Matt's book wherever books are sold. Cru staff: Matt will host a series of live conversations on Workplace starting March 23, walking through some of the ideas in the book. Non-Cru staff: if you'd like to take a group through the book virtually, contact matt.mikalatos@cru.org and he will make every effort to call into one of your meetings.

In her book "Out of Zion," Cru staff Lisa Brockman describes how she left religion to follow Jesus instead. You can connect with Lisa and find out more about her book at lisabrockman.me

What do you get when you combine Cru with Warner Brothers, a University's Black Student Center, and Kim Kardashian? Milwaukee campus team leader Jake Mlsna talks about partnership and platforming the film "Just Mercy" as a way to entering into conversations about the intersection of faith, race and justice.

What if Jesus followers focused more on having the first word than the last word? Ron Sanders and I discuss this idea and more on today's episode. His book "After the Election: Prophetic Politics in a Post-Secular Age" is available on Amazon.

Happy New Year Listeners! Today's episode features Jimmy McGee, President and CEO of Impact, a movement that equips Black students to become disciples of Jesus Christ who integrate their faith into every aspect of life.

Gina Butz works in leadership development for Cru, and on today's episode she shares tips for thriving on staff. Her book "Making Peace with Change: Navigating Life's Messy Transitions With Honesty and Grace" comes out February 4th, 2020; preorder it on Amazon.com today.

Michael Allen of the Jesus Film production team brings us up to speed with Jesus Film, and tells us about the Create short film contest. For more info on the contest visit staff web, and for general Jesus Film information Jesusfilm.org.

Four our fourth and final episode celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, we welcome back Yaneth Diaz, Cru High School's Team Leader in Houston. Yaneth describes her experience before, during and after Cru19.

Listener continues celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by featuring Matthew Melendrez, who splits his time between Athletes in Action's Lenses Executive Team and Cru's Campus Ministry.

Listener continues celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by featuring Dina Martinez, who gives leadership to Cru's Inner City ministry and Cru's Destino ministry in North Los Angeles

Michelle Blanco works at Cru Headquarters in the Finance Department, but you might recognize her as the one who sang onstage, in Spanish, at our biennial staff conference Cru19. Listen as we talk about the different careers she's had, what it was like growing up Puerto Rican in the United States, why she likes our internal communications platform Workplace, and Cru19.

Four Latina/Latino colleagues share their perspective in the wake of the August 3rd El Paso shooting. Bios: Matthew Melendrez is Mexican, and splits time between the AIA Lenses Executive Team and Cru's Campus ministry Dina Martinez is a Latina woman of Salvadoran immigrant parents, and lives in Los Angeles, serving with both Cru's Inner City Ministry and Destino: Cru's ministry to Latinos Yaneth Diaz is from El Salvador and lives in Houston, overseeing the Cru High School movements in that city Michelle Blanco is Puerto Rican and serves at Cru Headquarters in Orlando, in the finance department.

Heather Holleman serves with Faculty Commons, Cru's ministry to professors, and she also lectures part-time at Penn State. She spoke at campus ministry days during Cru19 and emerged a fan favorite. Listen as we discuss being seated with Christ, and how that identity informs how we live and relate to the world. Resources Mentioned: "Seated With Christ" by Heather Holleman "A Grander Story" by Rick Hove/Heather Holleman Heather's podcast: The Verb With Heather Holleman heatherholleman.com

Life hit Pat and Tammy Mcleod hard when their son Zach collapsed on a high school football field; he had sustained a severe brain injury. The book they've written, "Hit Hard", is the true story of their journey through ambiguous loss--both having and not having their son. Pat and Tammy serve as Harvard chaplains for Cru, an interdenominational Christian ministry. Tammy is the director of college ministry at Park Street Church in Boston. She received her master's degree in spiritual formation from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Pat holds master's degrees in theological studies and science and religion, and a PhD in practical theology from Boston University. He and Tammy have been married for more than three decades and are parents to four grown children. Their book "Hit Hard" is available on Amazon

The Campus Ministry Summit is an annual event for current or potential major donors to the ministry, and in this episode staff and ministry partners share what the event is for and how God has used it in their lives.

Melody Copenny, managing editor of Cru's virtual magazine "Storylines," is the first African-American woman to lead in a comm role at that level within Cru.

Carolyn Culbertson discusses calling: What is it, and how do we discover it? Carolyn has influenced countless staff and students since she got involved with Cru in 1969. She's retiring April 1st, and will still be available to connect via carolynculbertson.com, where she offers resources on spiritual practices, stages of faith and life, reading lists and much more. Thank you listener Kara Coe for recommending this episode! resources referenced: Courage and Calling: Embracing Your God-Given Potential by Gordon T. Smith Consider Your Calling: Gordon T. Smith

Tom Fritz is a war veteran who's served on staff with Cru for 45 years. In honor of Black History Month (February), he started a Cru Black History series for Cru staff, which prompted this episode.

Gwen and Darryl Smith direct Cru's Oneness and Diversity Team, committed to helping shape a unified community that increasingly values ethnicity, age and gender. We discussed what their team is working on, Black History Month and much more. Recommended resources for pursuing Oneness & Diversity: for Gwen's talk "Brown Faces Navigating White Spaces" email gwen.smith@cru.org books Divided By Faith by Michael O. Emerson White Awake by Daniel Hill Insider Outsider by Bryan Loritts White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson Woke Church by Eric Mason Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson films The 13th (Netflix) Race: The Power of Illusion (check local library) Many Rivers to Cross (check local library) Hidden Figures (Prime Video)

Yaneth Diaz was only four years old when she and her mother fled civil war in El Salvador and found refuge in the United States. She shares candidly about her undocumented entry into the country, her immigration experience, and her hope that telling her story will spark compassion and kindness. Today, Yaneth serves with Cru's High School ministry in Houston, Texas, and she's courageously finding her voice at wordlessvoice.com

UC Berkeley Team Leader Deb Goodson and Local Missions Director John Iamaio shed light on adapting our methods to reach iGen college students with the gospel--and what students can teach us in the process. Resources mentioned: "How to Raise Adults" byJulie Lythcott-Haims "After the Election" by Ron Sanders

On this Christmas episode, Dr. Patrick Schreiner, Assistant Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Western Seminary, discusses the significance of the nativity story's "wise men" and the modern-day implications.

Renee Begay talks about growing up Zuni in New Mexico (8:35) sin-stained culture (14:55) how God shows up before missionaries do (17:12) what she's learning about violence in New Mexico's history (25:54) and Nations' work helping college students explore what it means to be Native and Christian (39:30). People and Resources Referenced: Mark Charles www.sojo.net/biography/mark-charles Richard Twiss (author of One Church Many Tribes) Savage Anxieties by Dr. Robert A. Williams First Nations Bible Translation Project www.firstnationsversion.com Violence Over the Land by Ned Blackhawk Astoria by Peter Stark Template to create I Am Poetry and access Renee's Cru Ted Talk: www.thetalkingcircle.com for more information about Nations visit www.nationsmovement.com Other books Renee recommends: There, There by Tommy Orange Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann Heart Berries: A Memoir by Terese Mailhot

In Part Two of Leaders at Risk with Marc Rutter, he shares about questions he asks himself daily for a spiritual check-up (1:15) why it can be hard to get feedback regarding our cultural compentency (6:15)how to approach restoration (20:45)and his new book about being accountable for each other's spiritual health (25:30)

What are signs that a leader might be struggling? Marc Rutter, Cru's U.S. Director of Leadership Development and HR, shares insights from his work studying leaders at risk. To access Marc's resources, please visit marcrutter.com

In this Halloween edition, Listener spoke with Dr. Gerry Breshears of Western Seminary, discussing the light and the dark sides of Halloween, including the reality of satanic rituals today (4:00) who exactly is susceptible to demonic influences (13:50) what this all has to do with elohim and the biblical theory of a divine council (15:30) and resources for anyone experiencing demonic oppression (24:15) Resources Referenced: The Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser The Bible Project Podcast https://thebibleproject.com/podcasts/the-bible-project-podcast/ Breshears.net

Michael Sylvester and I discuss Lenses Los Angeles, how The Lenses Institute was birthed out of the Urban project (8:00) Lenses Atlanta (17:40) how the experience can help us see, understand and act (28:50) and Michael's own transformation as a result of his work with the institute (34:10). ******* Resources mentioned: Christian Community Development Association https://ccda.org/about/ "With Justice for All: A Strategy for Community Development" by John M. Perkins and Charles Colson The Lenses Institute http://lensesinstitute.com/race-and-gospel/

TJ discusses with Samantha the benefits of interpreting The Bible in diverse community (1:00) why a white person's ethnic identity matters (7:30) lessons on grief and hope from Harry Potter (21:50) how God has used dreams to speak to her(36:16) and what grief and the healing of two daughters in Mark 5 has taught her about resurrection (38:55)

TJ Poon, Epic's People and Culture Director, hails from a small Texas town and got involved with a predominantly Asian-American Cru movement as a college student at Rice University. In this episode, we discuss the pitfalls of racial color blindness and what she's learned from Epic about being white (4:00) white privilege and oppression (11:30) power dynamics in white majority organizations (14:30) and The Circle Model, a new form of communal Ministry Partner Development pioneered by the Inner City ministry of Cru (25:30)

Listener goes overseas to catch up with Garrick Roegner, Spain's National Campus Co-director for Cru--known in Europe as Agape. We talk about what it's like to live somewhere where daily naps are appropriate, how Garrick and his family ended up in Granada, Spain (8:20) Agape's ministry on the Camino del Santiago (15:25) U2 (18:55) the ups and downs of ministry in difficult contexts (23:30) how Agape partners with the Catholic Church (32:10) and much more about life in España.

Rasool Berry and I discuss that Christianity is not a white man's religion, the biblical topics women and slavery (11:02) male privilege (12:30)Kanye West (16:45) and which Avenger he identifies with (39:22)

Rasool Berry of Cru City is featured in Part One of Two of "Eat the Meat, Spit Out the Bones". We discuss his elite status as a Yelp reviewer, how his Cru City team in NY is like the Avengers (10:13) the origin of his Arabic name (11:55) how the autobiography of Malcolm X changed his life (19:18) and ways the book Divided by Faith has impacted my awakening to racialization(25:33)

Tabitha Morales just crossed cultures--from New Jersey to Orlando--to join Cru's Oneness and Diversity team. We talked about Orlando Crespo's "Being Latino in Christ" and also "Mi Casa Uptown" by Rich Perez, why Hispanics and Latinos are uniquely positioned to reach the world (1:30) how Jesus crosses cultures (11:15) and Cru's current reality when it comes to Oneness and Diversity (22:50)

Tabitha Morales recently joined Cru's Oneness and Diversity Team, and in this episode she talks about growing up in a large extended Puerto Rican family in the Bronx, her miraculous healing from epilepsy at age ten (4:40) her September 11th, 2001 experience as a High School sophomore on Manhattan (8:50) and cultural experiences getting involved with Cru as a college student at Kean University in New Jersey (19:00)

Steve Sellers, VP of Cru and Director of US Ministry, regularly waterskis on a gator-filled lake in Florida (1:00). Listen as he takes us through a typical day (4:30) shares his thoughts on BCWI results (16:02) details how Cru prepares diverse succession planning for leaders at every level (26:07) and why teams with at least two women are more effective (29:38)

Rachel Gilson's Christianity Today article "I Never Became Straight. Perhaps That Was Never God's Goal" won second in its category for the Evangelical Press Association Awards. We discuss the article, her journey and much more in this episode. A Yale graduate and MDiv student at Gordon-Conwell, Rachel ministers to students at Boston University and also works with Cru's National Theological Development Team.