Podcasts about african american christians

The Bible is largely silent about race. People are identified by their lands of origin and beliefs, not their skin color. Yet centuries of biblical interpreters have read race into the Bible, for good and for ill. As our guest Stacy Davis explains, the biblical land of Cush (sometimes translated as Ethiopia) has long been associated with Black people, a point of pride for African and African-American Christians. And Josephus believed that the legendary Queen of Sheba was Black. But the Bible has also been misused for racist purposes. In the 1800s, pro-slavery forces in America cited a convoluted reading of Genesis 9 and 10 to justify the enslavement of Black people under the so-called "Curse of Ham."To learn more, check out Stacy's excellent book, This Strange Story: Jewish and Christian Interpretation of the Curse of Canaan from Antiquity to 1865.Join the Time Travelers Club!Support the podcast and get special perks like bonus content and the ability ask your questions on air. Learn more about the Time Travelers Club. Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you (Genesis 28:15). Let's return once more to this word to Jacob -- a part of God's promise to him as he fled his brother's wrath. I've often wondered how African slaves sold on the American auction block kept hope alive. Likewise, how did those who resisted the Nazi's maintain their resolve to hide Jewish folks, even as their own loved ones were carted off to concentration camps? Or how do folks who have suffered abuse for years and years find the resolve to live after finding freedom? I'm sure the answers are varied and complex. We may catch a glimpse in some of the songs left us from African American Christians. The lyrics of “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” harken back to this promise of God to Jacob while in the same beat stretching forward to the new heaven and new earth. Such hope is rooted in God's promise, “I have better things in store for you.” Thus, there is good reason for all of us to ponder these great promises tucked into the pages of the Bible. And looking at the context of this promise offers us enormous hope. Remember that Jacob is running for his life. His brother is angry with him. And the anger is justified. Jacob has connived and tricked his brother out of the family birthright, blessing and inheritance that belonged to the oldest son. But at the heart of this deception is a lack of faith in God. Rebekah, Jacob's mother, had learned, even before her twins were born, that the older would serve the younger. Faith would have waited and watched as God fulfilled his promise. She knew the story of her husband, Isaac, born to the aged Sarah. But she did not watch and wait. Instead, she deceived her husband and older son. Despite this lack of faith in God's ability to bring about what he has promised, God makes a new promise to Jacob: “you are running away, but I will bring you home”. And our Lord does it. This theme of God fulfilling his promise to his doubting people continues throughout the Bible. When the people of Israel reach the promised land, they don't believe that God could bring them in. They are banished to the wilderness, even as God promises to bring their children in. Later, when Israel refuses to worship God, he threatens to remove them from the land. They don't take him seriously; they keep sinning. Even as God sends his people into exile, he promises to bring them back. He will resettle them in the promised land. He had promised Abraham that this land would belong to his children forever. He will keep his promise. What does all this have to do with Christians today? Well, at least two things. First, it points towards Jesus on the cross. Paul is emphatic, that Christ died for us while we were still sinners, enemies, even, of God. When we read about Israel, we read our own stories. We are saved by grace, nothing else. Further, Matthew tells us that even while some of his disciples still doubted, Jesus sent them out to be his witnesses (Matthew 28:16-20). God does not need people who have it altogether. Its flawed and doubting folks that are saved and sent. That's good news for all of us. Secondly, the promise of the land still stands: a renewed earth. We have something to look forward to. We believe that there is life after death. While the details might be sketchy, one thing is clear, the renewed earth will be vastly superior to this one. And God will be with us all the way from here to there. So, whether its our own lack of holiness or faith, or the bleak circumstance of our lives, these promises of God penetrate our despair and offer us hope. These promises deserve celebration. Live with joy today as you consider the hope we have in God. That hope fueled the songs of African slaves in the Americas. It's a hope that belongs to all Christians. It's a hope that we need today. As you journey, go with the blessing of God: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

Judicial Reform bill passes and we hear opinions from opposing sides of the debate, the Free Burma Rangers bring hope and relief in Burma and Martin Luther King's dream fulfilled as African American Christians march in Jerusalem in support of Israel.

African American Christians score 10 percent higher than all other Christians in spiritual vitality, a new scale of holistic spiritual health the American Bible Society introduced in its 2023 State of the Bible report. In an informative and encouraging discussion, a group of missions and prayer leaders took a look at the Asbury Awakening that happened earlier this year and the role prayer played in the movement. And, in a piece in the Baptist Press Toolbox, Danny Forshee writes, “Being maxed out will lead to burn out, and when you are burned out in ministry, you are unhealthy. Allow me to offer three practical tips to help you make some changes in your schedule so you can at least take one day off a week.”

It's Black History Month! Here at The Link, we want to celebrate the heroes of black history who've helped spread the Gospel and build the church.  On this episode, Pastor Chris Brooks is joined by the founder and president of the Jude 3 Project, Lisa Fields. They'll be having a meaningful conversation about why we, as Christians, should celebrate black history and how God continues using people across all cultures to spread the Gospel to a world in need.  Resources: The Unspoken Documentary - https://bit.ly/3HoRjtPJude 3 Project - https://bit.ly/3HIHIynCelebrating Black History Month: A Resource Guide - https://bit.ly/3RBFmpzSupport the show: https://woodsidebible.org/listen/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is God only concerned with saving souls? Or does He care about both the spiritual and physical well-being of humanity? In this episode of VOICES' Where Ya From? podcast, Dr. Esau McCaulley shares his origin story with Rasool and outlines what the Bible has to say about being socially active and pursuing justice. Guest Bio: Rev. Esau McCaulley, PhD, is an assistant professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He is the author of Sharing in the Son's Inheritance and Christianity Today's book of the year, Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope. Esau's writings have appeared in the Washington Post, The Religious New Service, and Christianity Today, and he is also a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. Esau is married to Mandy, a pediatrician and Navy reservist. Together, they have four wonderful children. Notes & Quotes: “What happens when you've received everything that you want, but it's not sufficient to bring you joy?” “I wanted to write something that's going to inspire African American Christians to continue to see in the text of the Old and New Testament, hope. Because I think that's what's marked the African American Christian tradition throughout all of our history, right? That we looked in these texts and we saw in them a God who loved us.” “It is simply exegetically dishonest to say that you can get from one end of the Old Testament to the New Testament and not see some engagement of Christians in the public square.” Links Mentioned: Visit our website to sign up for emails: whereyafrom.org Leave us a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/where-ya-from-podcast/id1581145346 Check out our Voices Collection from Our Daily Bread Ministries Follow Where Ya From? on Instagram: @whereyafrompodcast Dr. Esau's bio: https://esaumccaulley.com/about/  Dr. Esau's book: Reading While Black Extra resource: This Far by Faith reading plan Verses Mentioned: Romans 14:13–23 “Don't cause another Christian to stumble.” Isaiah 5:6–11 Isaiah 58 and 61 quoted by Jesus in Luke 4 Luke 1:46–55 “the Magnificat” Revelation 17 “Babylon the prostitute” 1 Timothy 1 and 2 Deuteronomy 15:18 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast, Hank answers the following questions:I lost my business, I lost my wife, I lost my home, and I lost my faith. I just want to give up. What can I do?I came across some information claiming that African Americans are the true descendants of the Israelites. What does this mean for African American Christians?Can you shed some light on Luke 6:29-30?How do you respond to the clear teaching on sovereign election in Romans chapter 9?

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (01/13/22), Hank answers the following questions:Does 1 John 5:7-8 teach the doctrine of the Trinity? If one God is doing all things, why does the world say that God is a Trinity?Did God put a 120-year limit on the span of human life in Genesis chapter 6?Is there a passage in the New Testament that teaches tithing? Is this for us today?I came across some information claiming that African Americans are the true descendants of the Israelites. What does this mean for African American Christians?Can you shed some light on Luke 6:29-30?How do you respond to the clear teaching on sovereign election in Romans chapter 9?

In this episode, Doug and Pesach are joined by Bishop Glenn Plummer, recently appointed by the Church Of God In Christ to be the Bishop of Israel. Bishop Plummer shares his plans to promote engagement with Israel in the African-American community through a range of programs. They also discuss trends in attitudes towards Israel, the complex experience of African-American Christians within the American Christian community, and a fascinating explanation of Watch Night, the unique observance of New Years Eve that many outside this community are unaware of.

In this episode Ann is joined by Roslyn Rene from the "Therapy as a Christian Podcast" to talk about all things mental health and Christ. Some questions covered: Why is it so important that we talk about mental health in Christian circles? How is the approach to mental health different for African-American Christians versus others? How does God work through trials and even motherhood to draw us close? Why does it matter if we read our Bibles? You can find out more about Roslyn at www.roslynrene.com, including her podcast, weekly newsletter, workshops, and more! Have a question you'd like a Christian counselor to answer? Submit it to info@soulgritresources.com with Subject Line “Podcast Question.” Follow Soul Grit on FB and IG @soulgritresources.

Paul's Letters to the Romans Bible Study with Jairus – Romans 2   Judging Others The first paragraph (verses 1-16) of Romans 2 discusses Paul's criticism of self-righteous people. For example, verse 1 says, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things” (NIV). While paragraph 2 (verses 17-29) discusses Paul's criticism of Jews who boast in the law. For example, verse 17 (NIV) says, “Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God,” but in verse 23 (NIV), Paul also criticized them as “someone who brags in the law but has dishonored God by breaking the law.” These words sound harsh. How do you think you would feel if you were a believer in Rome, opened Paul's letter, and only read up to the second chapter?  Why did Paul scold the Roman believers in this way? It's possible Paul is not berating only Roman believers, but others as well. But Paul did not mention any names, so we have no way of knowing. However, in verse 24, Paul quoted the Old Testament and said, “God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you" (NIV). Here is it is clear he is criticizing the Jews. There were many Jews in the early church, and there were also many Jews in the Roman church. So, it would be difficult to say that Paul was not criticizing the church in Rome. Imagine if person A wrote a letter to person B and criticized person C. It might be because both person A and person B don't like person C. But this type of exchange would be out of character for Paul. There was no need for Paul to write a letter to one person and criticize another. Paul did criticize some people such as Alexander in 2 Timothy 4:14, but he made it clear by mentioning his name. The reason why Paul wrote certain letters to a group of believers was mainly to suggest corrections to some problems these believers were facing. For example, Paul wrote 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, which were aimed at addressing the problems of the Corinthian church he founded.   The Intention of Paul's Letter But a man in our Bible study asked, "How could Paul write such a serious and critical letter to the church in Rome if he had never been to Rome before?" I replied that in chapter 16, Paul mentioned that he greeted a dozen people he knew at the Roman church. In Romans 16:3, Paul mentioned Priscilla and Aquila because, as it is recorded in Acts 18, when the Jews were forced to leave Rome, they saw Paul in Corinth. Paul was a tentmaker like they were. After they met, Acts 19 recorded that Paul decided to go and visit Rome. And Romans 16:5 also mentioned that there was a church in Priscilla and Aquila's house. In other words, Priscilla and Aquila were a couple of the leaders of the Roman Church. We don't know how many people there were in the Roman church, but at least some church leaders were familiar with Paul. In Romans 16:7, it even mentioned that two people had been in prison with Paul. These two people were Andronicus and Junia. Paul said, "They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was" (NIV). This shows that there were apostles in the Roman Church. These apostles were not only in Christ before Paul, but they also had been in prison with Paul and were inmates. So they also had friendships with Paul. Paul may have learned about the Roman church when he was setting up tents with Priscilla, Aquila or when he was with Andronicus and Junia in prison. This could have led him to be so burdened that he wrote 16 chapters of Romans to them. One of the reasons we mentioned in our previous study was the dispute between the Gentiles and Jews in Rome, and even the Jews were forced to leave the city. As we mentioned last time, during Paul's time, the letters might have been written on parchment. To write so much content was not as convenient as having a computer, email, or paper like we do today. Since it is not very convenient, it must have been a heavy burden.   Disputes Between the Jews and Gentiles Acts 18:2 says, Because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome, Aquila had brought his wife Priscilla who had recently come from Italy, and Paul went to see them. Historical records prove that the Jews and the Gentiles at that time had a lot of disputes which caused so much turmoil that Claudius ordered the Jews to leave Rome. From these records, we can see the historical background of the Roman church. We can speculate that the conflict between the Jews and the Gentiles was not only outside the church but inside as well. For example, Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 1:22 (NIV), "Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom," demonstrates Paul's observation of this. Paul met Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth. Corinth was also where he wrote the book of Romans and made the decision to visit Rome. This verse may reflect Paul's observation of the Roman Church – Both the Jews and Gentiles had something to brag about. Paul continued in 1 Corinthians 1:23 (NIV), "We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." These were also some of Paul's thoughts on the subject. We believe that the church in Rome, like other early Gentile churches, consisted of Jews and Gentiles. If both Jews and Gentiles were present, it would lead to a lot of conflicting ideas. For example, let's take a look at the story recorded in Galatians 2. Peter used to eat with the Gentiles, but after certain men from James arrive, he dares not to eat with the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. Thus he pretended. Even Barnabas joined him in his hypocrisy.  There was a lot of pressure among the Jewish Christians to follow the rule of circumcision as this was in accordance with the Jewish law. Similarly, we can guess that such difficulties also existed in the Roman church. The Jews hoped that the saved Gentile Christians would be able to accept circumcision or become Christians who also observed the law. It was not easy for the Jews to deal with the Gentiles. Many of them were not subservient to the thoughts of the Jews. Since the Jews could boast about their own law, the Gentiles, especially the Greeks, could also boast about their wisdom and philosophy.   Navigating Cultural Differences Some of the problems in the church were specific to their culture and setting, while other problems were the type even churches today could experience. I will cite some examples of what I have encountered in the church. I am Chinese, and in the Chinese churches in the United States, there are often people from Taiwan and mainland China. Many people from the mainland believe that Taiwan belongs to China; they advocate unification, while many Christians in Taiwan want independence. But most of the time, when these believers meet together, they don't talk about politics. They only talk about spirituality and how to love and serve the Lord, so they live in peace. But there are always people who don't follow this rule. Once, I saw a dispute occurring between a person who advocated for unification and a person who advocated for Taiwan's independence. It ended very unpleasantly. This is an example of a problem in the modern church. Witness Lee, the leader of the Local Church Movement, placed great emphasis on teaching how to "live out Christ." No matter what the circumstances, one should not live according to one's own culture and religion, but according to the life of Christ within us. I heard a story where Witness Lee was with some American Christians, and they were eating cheese. Witness Lee said he would also eat a slice. An American Christian sister immediately said, "I thought that the Chinese do not eat cheese." Witness Lee immediately replied, "Sister, I am not Chinese." Witness Lee was indeed Chinese from Shandong, China. This story was told by an American Christian brother. He said that this was a great shock to him as he respected Witness Lee very much and believed that Witness Lee was a model of "living out Christ." He was not living by the life of a Chinese, but by the life of Christ within him. The American brother sighed as he couldn't honestly say, "I am not an American" at the time because he felt that he was still living his life based on American culture. Although the Local Church Movement teaches "living out Christ," there are similar conflicts between members of many American churches and Chinese churches. For example, many Chinese Christians often cook Chinese food when serving meals. Some Americans like Chinese food, so it goes over well. But some Americans do not like Chinese food, so they complain and say things like, " there is too much Chinese food." I have been in the Local Church Movement for 13 years, so I have experienced things like this many times. An American believer told me that one of the biggest problems of the Local Church Movement was it included too much Chinese culture. Because the Local Church Movement originated in China, the founders are Chinese, and many members are also Chinese. Naturally, it would be heavily influenced by Chinese culture. As a Chinese, I certainly don't like to hear this, and I clearly saw that this American Christian was living his life according to American culture. Chinese culture emphasizes collectivism, respect for authority, and respect for the elderly. American culture emphasizes individualism and does not emphasize respect for authority or the elderly, which is reflected in the church.   Unity in Christ I remember when I was in graduate school, we were taking a course called "Organizational Culture." We had an assignment that required us to observe an organization in order to study the organization's culture. I suggested my group observe our church. Three of my Chinese students, including me, came to our church to observe and write our research paper. Our approach was for each of us to write down our own observations, and through the different observations, we would compare the organization's culture and draw our conclusions. Half of the people in our church were Chinese, while the other half were American. I was a member of the church, and I represented the internal point of view of the church. The other two members of my group were not believers. I invited them to come to our church, but they were not interested. Therefore, when writing this observation for our class, our perspective was naturally different. I had written the characteristics of the Local Church Movement from the Church's perspective. The church is love and light, and the brothers and sisters are in oneness. The Local Church Movement advocates living out Christ and not living according to culture. So when we sing, we all sing the same song, but each of us sings in our own language. This shows that although we have different cultures, we are all one in Christ. But their observations were different. They had come to a conclusion that although the church advocates unity in Christ, they still live according to their own culture. The example they cited was when a Chinese church leader came to the dinner table, several of our young Chinese Christians stood up and gave him a seat. They, therefore, concluded that this church was deeply influenced by Chinese authoritarian culture as it is not a common phenomenon for young people to stand up and give seats to the elderly in the United States. So they believed Chinese people in these churches were unconsciously influenced by Asian authoritarian culture. I disagreed with this observation because I believe that it's done out of love and respect for one another. But then another thing occurred that made me rethink my point of view. A retired white believer often attends our meetings. He is 80+ years old already and walks a bit slowly. I once offered him a seat, and he thanked me and said, "That's very kind of you. At my age in the United States, young people think that I'm a hindrance and just want me out of the way. But the young Chinese are not like that." Hearing what he said, I realized that American culture and Chinese culture are indeed very different in dealing with the elderly. I am not saying this to deny the teaching and practice of "living out Christ" of the Local Church Movement. On the contrary, I think that it is a wonderful concept and it is needed by many churches. I remember one morning in 2008, I went to see a doctor in a hospital in Baltimore. I was singing some Bible verses composed by a man in our church using a familiar Christian melody. I was practicing "live out Christ" while waiting for the doctor. While I was humming the song, I felt very joyful. An African American woman next to me asked if I was a Christian and asked why I was so happy. I said, "I am a Christian. I am practicing according to the teaching of Witness Lee of living out Christ in any case such as while waiting for the doctor.” She told me that she had heard and read Watchman Nee's books, but she had never heard of Witness Lee. After returning home, she started to read Witness Lee's works according to my recommendation. Later, she wrote several times to thank me. She said that she had been in a Pentecostal Church for decades, but she had never heard anyone teaching to "live out Christ."   Living Out Christ In today's culture, where racial tension is rising in American society, "living out Christ" instead of "living according to culture" and "living according to race" may be a good solution.  If every Christian can live according to the life of Christ in us instead of living according to our natural flesh, religion, culture, and race, it can naturally become the answer to all kinds of conflicts in the world. But if all the church members are living according to their race, culture, and not the life of Christ, it is difficult to imagine that the world will have an answer to this problem. In other words, such a serious situation of racial tension in American society is actually a reaction of the situation of the church members who are living according to flesh, culture, religion, and race. Looking at the American church, Christians in the United States are still not doing enough to let Christ's life fill them and reveal His life through them. The church is the soul of our society. If we are not mature in Christ, we will see this reelected in the society we live in. Of course, there are also positive interactions occurring as well. For example, when we see white Christians and African American Christians kneeling and forgiving each other, it sets a good example. If we can all do this, it will slowly have a positive impact on society. The reason I said the church in the US is not mature in living out Christ is not to criticize or neglect these positive examples. Rather it is my observation that the church needs to grow in Christ, and many Christians in the US should go deeper in the life of Christ. In other words, they need to live out what God tells us through the Bible. After sharing these personal experiences and observations, we went back to Romans 2 to discuss the problems that the Roman church may have faced and also discuss Paul's burden. My guess is that many Jewish Christians in the Roman church at that time did not live out the life of Christ but lived according to the Jewish religion, law, and tradition. Not only that, but they may have also required some Gentiles to follow their traditions. Many Gentile Christians had not even completely broken free from sin. Therefore, Paul was particularly burdened with writing to the church in Rome to criticize this situation.   Living a Victorious Life In Christ When you read Romans 1 and 2 again after our analysis, it will make more sense to read it within the context of what was going on at the time. In Romans 1, after praising the Romans' faith and gospel work, Paul began to talk about the wrath of God against the unrighteous (Romans 1:18-32), which describes the various sins of man. For example, idolatry (Romans 1:23), sexual impurity (Romans 1:24), homosexuality (Romans 1:26-27), and at least 21 kinds of unrighteousness (Romans 1:29-32) such as evil and greed. In this situation, it is difficult for anyone to believe that these verses are not talking about the sins of the Gentiles. I‘m sure that you will agree that this is also the picture of today's society. In Romans 2, it seems that Paul's remarks changed. He began to criticize the Jews. He first criticized the sins of the Gentiles, then the mistakes of the Jews. Ephesians 5:8 (NIV) says, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light". In this verse, Paul said to the believers, "We used to live in the darkness and also in sin, but today we are light in the Lord. We should live a life of light and as children of light." This sentence can also be applied to the Gentile believers in the Roman Church. This must mean there were Gentile believers who although they had been saved, were not living this life of light. These are all foreshadowings. In Romans 7, Paul was distressed. "For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing" (NIV, Romans 7:19). So much that in Romans 7:24 (NIV), he sighed, saying, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?" But in Romans 8, he said, "Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set me free from the law of sin and death." (NIV, Romans 8:2). In other words, what Paul had written in the book of Romans was based on his own experience and how he overcame his flesh and sin. Having freedom in Christ and in the Holy Spirit is to live out the life of Christ. This is what I meant by "living out Christ" earlier. One of the purposes of Paul's letters to the Roman Church was to tell them how he was he able to live a victorious life in Christ through the process of overcoming the flesh, religion, and the traditions of the Jews. His goal was to help both the Gentile and Jewish Christians in Rome overcome sin, religion, and unhealthy cultural norms that would hinder them so they could have freedom in Christ. Instead of sharing this profound wisdom from the start, Paul started by sharing the most basic concepts first and slowly built them up. It wasn't until Romans 8 that he shared the burden on his mind.   Living by the Law If the sins of the Gentiles weren't exposed, it would be difficult for them to repent. Similarly, if how the Jews who were living according to the law weren't exposed, it would be difficult to persuade them to live out the life of Christ. Therefore, after exposing the sins of the Gentiles in Romans 1, Paul began to expose the limitations of the Jews who were living by the law in Romans 2. Paul said that they should not pass judgment on one another or be self-righteous. The Bible says, “God will judge you in the same way you judge others, because you who pass judgment do the same things (NIV, Romans 2:1)”. This indicates there was probably judgment going on between the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers in the Roman Church. Paul went on to say that God would judge the Jews as well as the Gentiles. "There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile" (NIV, Romans 2:9). God does not show favoritism (NIV, Romans 2:11). All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law (NIV, Romans 2:12) For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (NIV, Romans 2:13). In other words, it isn't really necessary to live according to the requirements of the law in our daily life. According to the language of the New Testament, we should live out the life of Christ every day to manifest His love and sacrifice for us. The law of the Gentiles, who did not have the law, is their conscience (Romans 2:15). As long as they live according to their conscience, they are keeping the law. This verse is also a timely warning for Jewish Christians who may have felt superior because God gave the law to the Jews. Although the Jews had the law, the Gentiles also had one. God let their conscience act as their law. In verses 17-20, Paul began to criticize such Jews. He said, “Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth”. Then starting in verse 21 he said, “you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: ‘God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.'” Then Paul talked about circumcision and how the law was not merely an external guide, but a matter of the heart and the Spirit, not just a written code (NIV, Romans 2:25-29), and this concludes the chapter.   Living out Christ Impacts Society If I were a Jewish Christian in Rome, I might have been offended by Paul's words! Even yesterday, my wife and I discussed some situations of racial conflict in the United States. I said that many of the participants are Christians. When you belong to a specific race, and you want to talk to other people of another specific race, especially those who are hurt, about living out Christ and not living according to race, culture and religion, they will definitely not listen. They might even get offended. My wife jokingly said, "So God will raise Paul to talk about this issue to the Jews. He was a Jew, and it would be easier for him to talk with other Jews. The Jews at that time would probably have a hard time listening to similar criticism from Gentle apostles." I said it is true that Paul's work seemed to be effective. We did not see the records of negative responses from the Church in Rome or the Jewish believers there. Paul's Gospel of Romans still speaks to us today. I hope sharing this will enlighten the American church in the case of racial conflict. Only when the church lives out Christ can it have a positive impact on society. This may be the reason why Paul had the burden of writing the book of Romans for the Roman church during the conflict between the Jews and Gentiles in Rome. He wanted to share his own experiences with the Romans of how he attained freedom from the law of sin and death and reached freedom in the law of the life of Jesus Christ. It's true that racism is one of the giants we are facing in the US today. But we are called to be giant slayers like David. What is the stone that will kill the giant? It is deliverance from the law of sin and death. The church, or individual Christians need deliverance from this law and we have positive examples such as Paul to guide us. Social and political reforms are only a temporary means to subside the problems. The real answer is for the church to live out Christ. This is our ultimate calling.    

Two pastors talk openly about the complexities of racial justice work in the church. Pastor Jeff encourages white pastors and Christians to take responsibility for their own education when it comes to racial justice. He explains how we cannot put the burden on our African American brothers and sisters to educate and lead us into this space and how owning the work builds trust for deeper relationship. Pastor Moore unpacks the effects on African Americans who feel that burden to help white Christians. He encourages African American Christians to take the risk in building relationships with their white brothers and sisters and points out the beauty in embracing these relational opportunities.  

Did you ever wonder why IT diagrams always use a cloud to show an element where stuff goes in and comes out, but we're not 100% sure what happens inside? That was originally called a "TAMO Cloud" - which stood for "Then A Miracle Occurred". It indicated an area of tech that was inscruitable, but nevertheless something we saw as reliable and consistent in it's output. For IT pros who hold a strong religious, ethical, or moral point of view, our journey has had its own sort of TAMO Cloud - where grounded technology and lofty philosophical ideals blend in ways that can be anything from challenging to uplifting to humbling. In this series, we sit down with members of the IT community to explore their journeys - both technical and theological - and see what lessons we can glean from where they've been, where they are today, and where they see themselves in the future. This episode features my talk with my friend and frequent Technically Religious guest, Keith Townsend. Listen or read the transcript below. Into music (00:03): [Music] Intro  (00:32): Welcome to our podcast, where we talk about the interesting, frustrating and inspiring experiences we have as people with strongly held religious views working in corporate IT, we're not here to preach or teach you our religion. We're here to explore ways we make our career as IT professionals mesh, or at least not conflict with our religious life. This is Technically Religious. TAMO intro (00:53): Did you ever wonder why it diagrams always use a cloud to show an element where stuff goes in and comes out, but we're not 100% sure what happens inside that was originally called a TAMO cloud, which stood for then a miracle occurred. It indicated an area of tech that was inscrutable, but nevertheless, something we saw as reliable and consistent in its output for IT pros who hold a strong religious, ethical, or moral point of view, our journey has had its own sort of TAMO cloud where grounded technology and lofty philosophical ideals blend in ways that can be anything from challenging to uplifting, to humbling. In this series, we sit down with members of the it community to explore their journeys, both technical and theological and see what lessons we can glean from where they've been, where they are today and where they see themselves in the future. Leon Adato (01:39): My name is Leon Adato, and the other voice you'll hear on this episode is long-time technically religious, uh, contributor, Keith Townsend. Keith Townsend (01:47): How's it gone. Leon Adato (01:48): It is going great. It is so good to have you back on the podcast this year. Um, before we dive into any of these conversations, I've been waiting to have this one with you for a long time. Um, I want to give you a moment of shameless self promotion, where you can talk about anything and everything that is particularly Keith and CTO advisor and stuff like that. So where can people find you? What are you doing these days? All that stuff. Keith Townsend (02:12): All right. So you can find me, uh, easiest. Wait, you know what, there's a new website that we did this year. So let's Hawk that the CTO advisor.com has been a completely revamped. It's a completely new platform and, and sculp. Uh, we did it. We're pretty proud of the work there. Leon Adato (02:30): Awesome. So we'll check that out. Fine. And how about on the Twitters? Which we like to say to horrify your daughter? Keith Townsend (02:35): On the Twitter? Because you know, my daughter loves that it's @CTOadvisor. Leon Adato (02:42): Perfect. Um, anything else that you want us to pay attention to where people can find you and what you're working on? Keith Townsend (02:48): Well, what I'm working on is a, you know, we've been in the throws of cold COVID just. Leon Adato (02:54): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (02:54): Before the, you hit the big red button. We talked about just the impact of, uh, looking for the vaccine. What we're looking for at the CTO advisor is looking beyond that, we're going to do a road trip in which we're going to hit 12 cities over three month period. Me and Melissa driving around the big Ford pickup, pulling a Airstream and talking to people who listen to this podcast. So people in technology and, uh, technology vendors, we're we're going to have a good time over the three months. So keep checking the website, check the Twitter feed on for our travels. Leon Adato (03:33): Fantastic. Okay. And the last thing is, um, just briefly your religious ethical or moral point of view. Keith Townsend (03:39): So, you know, uh, this is a big, uh, questionmark for a lot of people, but I think I have it down pat, I'm non-denominational, Leon Adato (03:50): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (03:50): However, I'm from a branch of the Chicago, I mean of, uh, the churches of Christ. So if you're a Christian and you think of the churches of Christ as a denomination there, that's where I'm at. Leon Adato (04:03): Fantastic. Okay. And if you're scribbling any of the websites or stuff down, this is just a reminder to keep your hand on the wheel, pay attention to the road. Don't worry about it. There's going to be show notes that come out the day after this podcast drops. So anything that Keith and I are talking about here is going to be written down there for you. You do not need to make notes. With that said, I want to start off with the technical side. So CTO advisor doing road trips, like what, what is your day to day technical life look like? Keith Townsend (04:32): Well, you know what? I was just sharing with my wife, Melissa, that that has become a lot more blurry. So I can identify religious, really religion, really easily compared to what I do technically anymore, because I spent so much time as a business owner on the administrative parts of busy, of the. Leon Adato (04:51): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (04:51): Business, when I'm not spending time on the administrative parts of the business, selling product, creating product, et cetera, I'm doing analyst work. So I get briefed, I disseminate that information from technical folks. I create content around that and help, uh, decision makers, make decisions around purchases. And occasionally I'll take the advisory role and advise a company on their hybrid infrastructure journey. Leon Adato (05:19): Got it. And, and I know that you do a lot with, you know, basically in the cloud space, uh, you have a couple of opinions about Kubernetes. You, um, may even dabble in building data centers for yourself for fun. Keith Townsend (05:36): For fun, or for profit. Yes, I, so I do, uh, I have the CTO advisor hybrid infrastructure, which is, you know, we, this whole Kubernetes thing and all of the journeys we talk about moving from public, from private data center to public cloud, very abstract terms, the CTO adriser hybrid infrastructure is a concrete something I can put my finger on and say, this is what their journey from private data center to hybrid infrastructure looks like. This is what it tastes like. This is what it feels like. Here's the pain points, the gadgets. So we built a data center with the intent of showing the journey from private data center to hybrid infrastructure. Leon Adato (06:20): Very cool and nice that, that you have a visceral sense of what that looks like, and you can convey that. That's really cool. Okay. So I'm going to presume that you were not born with a silver keyboard in your mouth, that you were not that upon your birth, your mother didn't look at you and say, yes, let's call him CTO advisor. That's what we will do. Where did you start off in tech? What was your, your, you know, rough beginnings? Keith Townsend (06:42): So rough beginnings, the, uh, old man, as you know, we like to call them, uh, bought me a color computer 2 a tan TRS 80 color computer 2, for those of you that were born after the year 2000, this machine from, uh, I bought a car from somebody that was born in 20, in 2000 last night. So that was a really interesting experience. Leon Adato (07:06): Wow. Keith Townsend (07:06): But, uh, uh, in 1984, 1983, my dad bought me a color computer 2, uh, Leon. We're both of an age group that we remember war games, Leon Adato (07:18): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (07:18): The great geek movie of all the greatest geek movie of all times, Leon Adato (07:23): Possibly yes. Keith Townsend (07:23): And I had in my mind, you know what, I'm going to go play TIC TAC TOE on a, the color computer. And that started my love for technology. Uh, you know, and then you forward through the hobbyist phase to, when I actually started to get involved in tech, it was post, uh, my initial con uh, career in hospitality. I always had the bug for tech and I got a job, uh, pre year 2K when you had a win, if you had a pulse and could spell windows, you could get a job in technology. I parlayed that into a job working in the help desk for a, uh, commodities data provider, uh, commodities trading, uh, data provider, uh, for the third shift. And that's way back in 1997, I think. Leon Adato (08:14): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (08:14): So that's, that's the start. I just supporting commodity traders, trying to get real time data feeds off of our product. So that was a really interesting experience, uh, trying to, uh, explain to somebody with an Indian accent, what a Tilda was. Leon Adato (08:30): What a Tilda Yeah, What does that exactly look like? Keith Townsend (08:33): What is a Tilda? Leon Adato (08:33): And also on their keyboard, where would you find it possibly nowhere? Keith Townsend (08:37): Exactly. Leon Adato (08:37): Um, yeah. And, and I've commented a few times on the show that that help desk is for many of us, one of the formative experiences that we have that either show us that we never ever want to work in tech ever again, or that there is so much richness and so much, you know, to learn and so many different directions to go in that we just can't ever get away from it. Um, all right. So then the next question is, you know, started off post TRS, you know, color to TRS 80, uh, post that into the help desk. How did you get from there to where you are today? What was that progression like? Keith Townsend (09:18): Wow, that's a, that's a really great story, uh, or, or question, and it was a lot of, uh, just excellent people throughout my career and grit. The great thing about starting out and learning about technology, of a passion for it. This is one of those industries where you can make a really great living for your family and not have a degree. I don't have one, at the time. I did not have a degree in computing. I didn't even have a degree. I only had maybe six months of community college under my belt from a, from going to community college for two years. I'll probably only hit six months of credit. So, uh, the third shift job, I grabbed a MSCE, MS, MCSE, and then, Leon Adato (10:08): MCSE. Yeah, I have to say it really fast to get it right. Keith Townsend (10:10): MCSE certification guide. And I went down the journey of consuming every bit of information I can around certification. Uh, I'm super proud that I took the windows 95, uh, certification test, which was way harder than a windows NT4 old test. And I got like 98% on it. And I was super geek because I studied for it for months. But, you know, I use that certification path as a way to elevate myself into my next career opportunity, which was again, working at the help desk. But this time at the, at the Chicago Tribune making 20 grand more a year, Leon Adato (10:48): Whoo. Keith Townsend (10:48): Uh, the going again that self study route, uh, mentors, et cetera, moved on to network administration, not even a year after taking the job at, uh, the Tribune, still at the Tribune moved from that to a low dip. I started this brand called Townsend consulting. It's still part of my email address. I can't, uh, but I was super naive as many 20 or 20 something year olds are at the time, uh, thinking that I knew enough to actually advise and consult people on, on how to deploy windows technologies. I guess I was as knowledgeable as anyone, uh, took a hard turn in my career, actually, uh, personally I had to file bankruptcy because it was a very, very bad career move. Uh, I should have, uh, stuck with a full-time employment, uh, but, uh, this is around 9/11. Uh, so I spent, uh, think about six or seven months unemployed, uh, because I made wrong turn in my career. Uh, we, we re, recouped, spent a bit of time, uh, and a mid size organization doing again, network administration where, uh, did a lot of really cool projects like, uh, deploying a backup system, deploying my first sand storage area network, Leon Adato (12:15): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (12:15): Uh, just cutting the next five or six years, just really earning my stripes in IT around the 10, 11 year point of my career. Uh, I finally finished my degree and, uh, computing BA in computing from DePaul university. We, uh, moved to Maryland because we were in and yet a, another recession. This is around 2008, 2009. Leon Adato (12:43): Right. Keith Townsend (12:43): Uh, we moved to Maryland where I took a job at Lockheed Martin, which completely, uh, changed my career. Uh, uh, telemetry. Leon Adato (12:52): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (12:52): I went from very engineer focused. This is if people have ever followed me throughout my career, I was virtualized geek back then, uh, moved from, uh, being kind of an engineer to an architect, a lot more customer facing, uh, uh, roles and opportunities, managing projects. I finished up my Master's in IT project management, uh, that opened the door for me to, uh, move to PWC, which where I became the CTO advisor, the conversation has changed from, should I, you know, use I scuzzy versus NFS versus fiber channel to, you know, what should we outsource all of IT? Uh, the, so that's where, you know, I stepped away from the keyboard. This is circa 2012, 14, and ever since I've been kind of, you know, that's been the brand and the focus of my career, not necessarily, uh, I'm, I'm a management consultant. Not necessarily I am a management consultant necessarily, but I'm a management consultant with deep technical chops. So I can talk, you know, everything from, uh, file systems to storage technology, and other storage technologies to, uh, EBGP all the way to "Should, uh. we, you know, use OPEX versus CapEx for a purchasing decision is how I, how I landed here. Leon Adato (14:25): Got it. That is so what's wonderful about that, that narrative is that I think a lot of people who've been in it for a while can say, Oh, I, I can see myself in that journey. Again, a lot of us have gotten our start in or near the help desk. A lot of us have made several, um, you know, career or company changes, which led to career changes, or at least technical pivots and what we did. So, um, it's really nice to hear that story validated in your experiences. Um, you know, that, that there is a pattern to it. So many people come to it from so many different directions that sometimes you feel like, yeah, it doesn't matter what you do. It's and I, you know, who knows where it's going to end up? No, there really is. There really is sort of a path to it, even though it may not be as formalized as say, you know, a trade or, you know, one of the, we'll say the higher, How do I want to say this, one of the more traditional degreed paths, like, you know, get, you know, being a physician or a lawyer or whatever. Um, okay. So that covers the, the technical side of it. I want to flip over to the religious side and, Keith Townsend (15:40): Uh huh. Leon Adato (15:40): I always like to make the caveat that, um, labels are challenging in a lot of cases, you said that you had a very easy time sort of identifying yourself, but I know that a lot of folks, when they say, when I say, what are you, they're like, well, I'm a, I'm kind of this, but not that, not that part of it. I, one person on a earlier show identified themselves as a kicking and screaming Christian. So, you know, stuff like that. So I want to start off by saying, how do you identify religiously today? Tell us a little bit more about, um, where you place yourself religiously today. Keith Townsend (16:14): So, you know, it's really interesting because, um, I think when most people, um, for those who you can't physically see me, I've never physically seen me and can't tell by my voice, cause voices are hard. I'm an African-American. And when most people think of African-American Christians, I think they have this image in their head of Baptist, Leon Adato (16:35): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (16:35): uh, traditional soulful worship type of church. Nah, I go, I go to a multi-national I'm in a multi-national, uh, congregation. Leon Adato (16:48): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (16:48): And, um, community. So there's a bit of everything. So you can kind of think of it as a little bit more reserved, which has some really interesting, um, uh, I think impacts because traditionally I think you would think of the churches of Christ as more of a Evangelistic. Leon Adato (17:11): Ok. Keith Townsend (17:11): Movement. So when you think of the Evangelistic movement, you think of the politics around that today. And I'm very much not of the politics of the evangelistical movement, uh, and that creates some really interesting conflicts within our, uh, with our, within our multi-national multi-racial community, because you have a lot of that culture mixed with a whole lot of black folk. So, uh, if, if for those who need a point of reference, you'll think of the traditional evangelical, uh, doctrine, Leon Adato (17:53): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (17:53): But mixed with a lot of, uh, multi-racial, uh, congregation and you get the complexities and the flavor of that, but bubbling, bubbling up. Leon Adato (18:06): Yeah. It's, it's never as simple as I think the media, or, you know, a quick, you know, three inches of a New York times article wants to make it sound, there's always nuances. There's always, you know, people are complicated and they bring themselves to everything that they do. So it's, it's never, never a simple thing. So, um, that is interesting. And again, as I said, with the, with the tech, you probably weren't born as a multinational multicultural, uh, church of Christ evangelical, but not that kind, kind of a Christian. So you know, where do you start off? What was your home life? You know, what was your home religious life like growing up? Keith Townsend (18:48): So the, one day, if my mother was in tech, uh, she make a amazing, uh, guests because she kind of covers the, the spectrum. Uh, we, my mom specifically, my father was not religious. Uh, much of all, he has Christian, like many Christians are like many religions. If you're, if you're culturally a Christian, you know, you identify as Christian, but you're not really practicing. Leon Adato (19:13): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (19:13): So my father was a non-practicing Christian, just, you know, uh, but my mom, uh, when we were in, around, when I was in junior high, basically, uh, became a Jehovah's witness and my mom is now a Muslim. So, Leon Adato (19:32): Ok. Keith Townsend (19:32): That is, that has been quite the journey. And it's always an interesting conversation, uh, with her. And we'll get into that, I think, in, in another podcast or another date, but it's an amazing, uh, conversation, but which makes it really, which has made my Christian journey, my religious journey really interesting. Uh, what is common between events, if Jehovah's witnesses were, uh, political at all, I think their politics were probably lean towards what the evangelical churches will will, Leon Adato (20:04): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (20:04): But more importantly, culturally they're very similar. Faiths might be slight doctrine may be slightly different, Leon Adato (20:12): Sure. Keith Townsend (20:12): But culturally they're very, very similar. So I'm finding that a lot of the, of what I remember in my childhood as worship and as, uh, meeting and community is very similar in my, uh, religious experience today. Leon Adato (20:29): Got it. Okay. So yeah, so the, the, the feeling of it was the same, even if the, the particulars of the expression of it may have been slightly different, so that's. Keith Townsend (20:40): Yes. Leon Adato (20:40): Okay. Very cool. And so having grown up in a Jehovah's witness house, even though your mom herself went through her own religious journey, what was yours like from, from that, to this, to where you are today? Keith Townsend (20:53): So, what's really interesting is that I, I, uh, I wholeheartedly believe than the, uh, Jehovah's witnesses doctrine when as a, as a teen, as a, uh, fairly young adult, when my mother, uh, uh, faith changed so that mine's. Mines didn't change to the extreme that my mother's did, where she, uh, where, uh, where she went with a completely different lineage of faith, Leon Adato (21:25): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (21:25): Mine's changed in the fact that, uh, it wasn't as strong as I thought it was. Uh, I was sound in, um, the beliefs of Christianity, that I don't think has changed. Leon Adato (21:38): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (21:38): What had changed was whether or not I become, whether or not I was a practicing Christian or not, and that I was not. So in my early twenties, uh, from my post high school to my early twenties, right before I started my, uh, technology, my career in technology, I was not a, a practicing Christian. I did not, my life did not meet up to what my religious beliefs were, you know, so, you know, you're Jewish and you're Orthodox Jewish. So some of the stuff we can easily relate to because we're, uh, uh, I think, you know, Orthodox Judaism may be one of the most disciplined faiths you can, uh, go down. And when you come from a Jehovah's witness background is a very disciplined faith. Leon Adato (22:27): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (22:27): So there's strict, uh, beliefs around things like sexual immorality. So the fact that me and Melissa, who I've been with since I was 20, Leon Adato (22:38): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (22:38): That we were living together and not married, bothered me, uh, uh, from a faith perspective. Leon Adato (22:46): Got it. Keith Townsend (22:47): So I didn't reconcile that until, uh, I started to study the Bible again, uh, with the churches of Christ and become a baptized Christian around age 25. Leon Adato (23:00): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (23:00): Or so. And that kinda got me from, you know, kind of Jehovah's witness, uh, uh, on the verge of becoming a Jehovah witness to kind of stepping away from Christianity, to re-engaging in the faith in general. And then, you know, I, you visually morphed into, you know, as you think through kind of the entire journey from age 25 to I'm now 47. So a 22 year, uh, Christian journey, you know, it went from being, uh, you know, that fiery early Christian, uh, going out and preaching on the, uh, on the street corners to having teenage children and trying to, uh, help them with their own religious journeys and understanding life just isn't as black and white, as we all would like to think. Leon Adato (23:54): Right. Keith Townsend (23:54): You know, it's, it's just, it's an amazing, like, if, once you start the pull part, the details of it, and we'll talk about things, some of it, and some of your next questions, but you know, things about, uh, things about my faith around, uh, uh, taboo topics, such as sexual orientation. Like once you become a full realized adult, and you have queer friends, how do you reconcile having queer friends? But your faith is saying that, uh, the doctrine of your faith is saying that this is something not acceptable. So. Leon Adato (24:32): Right. Keith Townsend (24:32): Separating the two or reconciling the two has been just a really interesting journey as I've matured. Leon Adato (24:38): Yeah. And, you know, friends or relatives, you know, to that. Keith Townsend (24:42): Yeah. Leon Adato (24:42): To that matter. Keith Townsend (24:42): I have a niece that I love to death and she's engaged to another woman. So, you know, we had them over to dinner before COVID, we had them over to dinner and we had a great time, but it is, it's some really tough questions that you, you end up, uh, just dabbling with. Leon Adato (25:02): Right. And if you're reconciled to it, to those things, to those contradictions, which I think, I think the tension, the, the religious and Holy tension, I think is where the excitement is the, the, the work, the introspection, the, the, again, as an adult, as a fully realized, mature, adult, and I recognize that as I say this, uh, if my wife or children listen to this podcast, they will laugh hysterically at my believing myself to be a fully realized mature adult, but that aside, um, I think that figuring out those things about what, what I believe and what I practice and, um, how I reconcile, what my, both, what my religious peers, my co-religionists are saying, and all those things, that's where a lot of the really interesting, dialogue can be found. Um, you know, I don't mean arguments, but I mean, real dialogue, like, you know, what do we mean when we say this? Um, and I will say that, you know, as, as IT people, I'm not trying to diminish it, but as IT people, I think we're used to, those hard conversations, those challenging conversations of, no, I really think this is the way we need to fix this, or this is the way we need to build this. No, that's not it, I think this is how we need to build it based on my experiences or my understanding of the facts on the ground. And I think that that's, that's part of the thing that makes, uh, folks with strong religious identities who work in it. I think that's where we find those, those overlaps. And that sort of takes us to the next, the next part of the, of the episode, which is when, as a person with a strong religious, ethical, or moral point of view, who works in IT, I'm curious about how those two things overlap, you know, has it created any friction and how have you overcome that, but also have there been any, you know, wonderful discoveries, delightful discoveries, I like to call them where you didn't think that being religious was going to help your tech, or you didn't think that being technical was going to enhance your experience of your faith. And yet it happened. So let's start off with the, well, we'll start off with the not so great stuff. And we'll end on a high note. So was, have there ever been moments when your faith caused friction with your tech or vice versa? Keith Townsend (27:35): So that's a really interesting question, I think, and this is not just, I think, unique to tech. I think the science is there's two areas. There's kind of work-life balance that category that we put in work-life balance and tech is unique in a sense that we don't ask our payroll people to run payroll at 10 o'clock at night. Leon Adato (27:58): Usually not unless something's going really wrong . Keith Townsend (28:02): But when, you know, when people are looking at me funny, and you don't have this problem because of, uh, your faith, but you have the conflict, uh, the, when people are looking at me funny, because I step out of service because I got a text, is weird. That was early on like, Oh, I get the servers down on a Sunday afternoon and I'm doing service. I think Orthodox Jews kind of get this part, right. Uh, you know what? You won't get that text because you don't have a pager on. So the, uh, the, uh, that's one aspect of it, but there's the second part of that, which is the work-life balance is when you need to push back, uh, from that the computers don't care that you go to service Wednesday nights and on Sundays. So I remember, uh, very vividly one night I was getting off of work at five o'clock and my, uh, I get a page, uh, right before I leave. And the former CEO of the Tribune is now, uh, running the, uh, back then, once you became the former CEO of the Tribune, once you retire from that, you became the CEO of Tribune's, uh, uh, charity, whatever that was named the, Leon Adato (29:28): Oh ok. Keith Townsend (29:28): Uh, and they had a problem and it was my job to troubleshoot that problem. So, you know, there's this super important person and the organization I'm working the help desk, I'm on call. I get a page that this senior executive has a problem, but I have church service. And that I can't that mentally I, in my mind, I cannot Miss Church service. So I have this conflict. Do I go help the executive? Or do I go to church in which you know, is so for me, it was really a question of faith and I chose to go to service. And this is just a good piece of advice for work-life balance. In general, I always always push against deadlines that conflict with my personal life. Leon Adato (30:17): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (30:17): I've done enough stuff to know that most deadlines are autofit are artificial. Someone somewhere said that this has to be done by a date unless we're talking about, Oh, VMworld is scheduled on the 19th of September, and this presentation will be delivered. And it has to be in by the morning of 19th of September, then everything else is negotiable. If it's not a written. And even then, you know, we get these weird deadlines and it, and in business in general, thou shalt have their, your presentation in a month before the thing. And I kind of just brush all that stuff off. I try, I tried to respect it if I can, but if I have conflict, I manage that conflict. The second thing is by definition, and I'm sure people who listen to this podcast struggle with this. When I read the old Testament and I see that Joshua prayed and the sun stopped in the middle of the sky, I simply don't believe it like, and you can, you can kind of water over your faith if you want to and say, Oh, you know what? I'm just being unfaithful. Or, and yes, I will believe this theme that I don't believe. I try to be as honest as possible when it, when it, when my, my semi scientists technical, technical brain can't reconcile something that I read in my religious texts, I don't cover it up. Like, I don't believe Adam and Eve, I don't believe the, I don't, I'm a Christian, but I don't believe the creation story as written and the texts that we read today. And those are the things that I truly struggle with. I don't struggle with, you know, um, again, I'm, I'm a mature adult. I have plenty of years of experience. I know how to push back on areas of conflict when it comes to scheduling. But as a, even as a 22 year old Christian, 22 years of my faith, I still struggle with reconciling what my technical brain tells me and what my faith wants to, uh, what my faith teaches. Leon Adato (32:35): Right. And, and that is actually a topic that we're going to cover, uh, In a future episode, which is this idea of proof and how do we reconcile our, you know, fact-based, don't go with your gut, say it with data, or don't say it at all, kind of 9 to 5 lives with our, uh, again, you know, biblically found, biblically founded ideas of how the world works and how it's structured and things like that, um, at the same time. So I want to just highlight the idea that, yeah, deadlines are artificial. If you're on call the challenge I think, again, as a, as a, another religious person, the challenge isn't reconciling your faith with on-call, it's reconciling your organization with on-call, that is being done by a human. Because, okay, you had church service, you could just as easily have had bath time with the kids. I'm sorry, I'm elbow deep in a bathtub with a two year old. I'm not turning around to go fix the server right now. It's going to wait another 10 minutes or 15 or whatever it is. You know, I have family emergencies. I have all those things. How does an organization handle the fact that on-call is a point of, you know, if the emergency is so bad that my not responding to it in the first 15 or 20 minutes caused it all to die, all to go away, Then there were some pretty fundamental problems with the system that had nothing to do with my failing on-call. Keith Townsend (34:13): Yeah. You have to be able to triage. Leon Adato (34:15): Yeah. Keith Townsend (34:15): You have to be able to say, you know, what is this really? I know I got a page for it, but is this really important because, uh, both of us have older children, mine are a bit older than yours, but there are times where I just simply can't get back. Leon Adato (34:31): Yeah. Keith Townsend (34:31): And I think back, wow, was getting that, uh, was getting that CRM system up in 2 hours versus 6 really worth missing that game. Hmm. Leon Adato (34:44): Right. Keith Townsend (34:46): Retrospect, maybe not. Leon Adato (34:47): Yeah. And I will say, I am absolutely a workaholic. I am. I mean, at this point in my life, I'm 53, I've been in IT for 30 years. There is no getting around it and there's probably no solving it. I am, I, I enjoy my work so much that it is very hard for me to walk away from it at the same time. Um, I've had some very hard conversations with my family who said, of course, you worked 12 hours to get that thing done. And you got the kudos. All we got was not having you. That's all we got out of it. And that, again, this is apropo of nothing that we're talking about in terms of tackle religion. It's just one of those life lessons that, you know, old tech dudes, you know, are sharing, but you really have to think, you know, not only is the applause you're going to get from your company, fleeting, you know, are you going to get a, an attaboy and that's it ain't worth it. Ain't worth dropping date night with your wife or your significant other isn't worth, you know, it's not worth dropping it for Oh, wow. That was really good. Thank you. It's not worth being asked to do it again. It's not worth thinking you will always be there and it's also not necessarily worth the frustration and the anger that you may see long-term in your family's faces when they start to hate your job. Keith Townsend (36:17): Yeah. The, uh, I love it. That my kids have memories of jobs that I had, that they loved. They were like, Oh, I love that job that you would take me to. And they don't. Leon Adato (36:28): Ahh. Keith Townsend (36:28): Know what I did, but they say, Oh, I love that job that you did, and there was the refrigerator full of soda and I can get free soda. And we, you know, we stop in and then we go, and then afterwards, we go across the street to, you know, one of my favorite stories is recently, my son said he took, uh, he took his girlfriend to the restaurant that was across the street from that job. Leon Adato (36:53): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (36:53): And he said he was so disappointed and heartbroken when his girlfriend just said, Oh, it was okay. And, uh, he said, I have some of my best memories of being with my dad and my family after he, you know, take us, uh, to work at the, he did a server upgrade or whatever. He take us across the street in, have this place in. And he said the other day, Oh, and to boot is now closed in. So there's this thing that you have to balance. We have tough jobs and information technology. And as, as, and most faiths have this thing, uh, and I think it's pretty consistent that pride is a sin. Leon Adato (37:37): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (37:37): And there's no better job than being an, IT Ex that feeds your pride. Leon Adato (37:44): Yes. Keith Townsend (37:44): Then what we do, the ability to be the superhero, the person who saw, saved the day, uh, I got, I had a CEO, tell me, Keith, you took us out of the stone age, et cetera. We get all the kudos in the world. And it feeds that pride. Leon Adato (38:01): RIght, right. Keith Townsend (38:02): At the end of the day, we have to ask the question and we'll get into this, in one of your, uh, next series of questions around, you know, what pride is a horrible thing for both your career and your personal life. Leon Adato (38:15): Yeah. Um, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna quote her correctly, but Charity Majors, who's the, I think she's still the CTO of honeycomb IO. She is still part of honeycomb, but she has gone from, I think the CTO to one of the engineers or back again, she founded the company, but she gets to have whatever job she wants in it. And she said, she's very much anti firefighting. She said, I actually do not give anybody credit in our company for fixing a problem that blew up. I want to give credit to the person who found the problem before it occurred, who did the steady, regular testing and, uh, quality control so that the problem never occurred. And I think IT is horrible at that as a, uh, as a industry where we lionize the 2:00 AM firefighter while completely overlooking the person who shows up at 9 leaves at 5 does good, solid, reliable work that is consistent,and has few, if any flaws, that person never gets a bonus. That person. I mean, in terms of like, when we think about, you know, bonuses for saving the day, that person never gets it because yeah. They just showed up. They just did their job. Yeah. They just did their job. Perfect. You know, uh, consistently all the time. That's the part that we should be holding up as the example. Um, but we don't. So you're absolutely right. And I actually made a note that, that, uh, we definitely need to do an episode on pride goeth before the fall, for sure. To talk about like what that means in tech and religion. Okay. So we've talked about some of the challenges. Are there any moments, uh, as I said before, this delightful discoveries, any times, when you're you realize that your faith was really a asset, a benefit to your technical life or vice versa, where you were at church, and you realize that being an IT person was really, and not just, I'm going to go back to an earlier episode, we had where it was like, Oh, Keith can fix, it keeps the AV guy, not the, again, that lionizing the problem solving. But anytime when you realize that, that your technical mindset created a deeper or more powerful connection to your faith. Keith Townsend (40:29): So let's talk about how the faith has, uh, impacted my work life and techno, uh, as a technologist, uh, you know what we, we'll talk about it, I think in a future episode and we'll address the, in the proof piece of it, but sometimes somethings just take faith, true story. Uh, the, I was on call and there was the help desk reporting system was running on NT 4.0 server when NT 4.0 was the latest OS from Microsoft out and available, Leon Adato (41:02): Right. Keith Townsend (41:02): But it was still then a horrible OS, and I was in there to do, uh, updates that you get in via CD back in, back in that time. And I came to it, hit the KVM. It was blue screened already. Like even before I touched anything, it was blue screened hours later. The, and this is, this has been a system that had been giving, uh, uh, problems. I called the director. He said, look, Keith, if this thing isn't up, by the time we get back into the office in the morning, we both might as well go out looking for new jobs. So I'm like, Whoa, hold on. I was just coming in to do updates. So how did I get lumped into this whole losing your job thing? It got to the point that it had to be about three o'clock in the morning. I literally got in the middle, on the middle of the data center floor. I got on my knees and prayed. Because I had no idea how you guys have to remember this. This is 1998, 1999. There is no internet blogs that you can just go to Google or AltaVista and Google and find. Leon Adato (42:09): Right. Keith Townsend (42:09): The solution to the problem. If you get on the phone with Microsoft, you're going to be on the phone for hours before you. Leon Adato (42:16): Yeah. Keith Townsend (42:16): Can get to someone who can help you, Leon Adato (42:19): Help you through it. Keith Townsend (42:19): So my only main line, my Google was just praying. I got some crazy idea to do it. So I've never, I've never shied away from my faith and my job. And I've taken principles from my Christian faith and apply them to my approach to work. I'm ethical. I, I'm moral, and I'm a better leader because I embrace the love of Christ in my approach to my job. I, uh, literally do not approach my job as I'm working for, uh, the Tribune or Lockheed Martin it's, I'm working for God and is what my is, is my work acceptable? Is this something that I can present to him? Is my leadership something that I can present to him? Uh, is it something if, uh, I, my, am I taking credit where I don't deserve to take credit? Leon Adato (43:20): Um hmm. Keith Townsend (43:20): That's how I approach my work because of my faith and people, uh, people give me kudos about it all the time, and I don't always succeed in doing this, but I am who I am because of my faith. You take away my faith from who I am as a person. And I'm pretty unlikable. Leon Adato (43:43): Got it. Yeah, it's, uh, it, it definitely is a, uh mitigating factor for a lot of us. Um, I will say also, just having known you for a while and worked with you in, uh, several different, um, venues that you, you bring that perspective to, is it worth doing? And, you know, you'll look at projects that I think a lot of folks in your position would say, I know that's not worth it. No, no, no. There's, there's a message here that I want to deliver. There's a, you know, there's a conversation I want to have. That's worth being part of or whatever. You, you value things in a way that, um, is not, is not necessarily business like or business centric, but it is, um, humanity centric. And it is really about, you know, what can I do to help? In a lot of ways. Keith Townsend (44:38): Yeah. I remember what it was like too. So my brother is also a business owner. My youngest brothers are business owners. He had a, Leon Adato (44:46): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (44:46): Uh, he had a employee. Uh, he was thinking that, you know what? I think I might be overpaying this particular employee. No, not overpaying, He said, you know I think I might be underpaying this particular employee, I really need to consider this. And then in a casual conversation, a week later, the employee said, you know what? I was at the grocery store, my wife, and it was the first time in our lives. And this person is over 40. Uh, this is the first time in our lives, where we went into the grocery store and we weren't worried about our checking account balance, and what we were buying for and being able to buy groceries. So IT technology has transformed my life from a, Leon Adato (45:32): Uh huh. Keith Townsend (45:32): From just a privileged perspective, you know, I'm, I, the, my wife got tagged in a photo of a billionaire. We're not rich, but we have access and privilege that the 12, 16 year old Keith could never even. Leon Adato (45:51): Yeah. Keith Townsend (45:51): Fathom. I just did not know this world existed. So when, whether it's your day job, or you personally, or someone comes with an opportunity for me to open that door to other people to have similar transformative experiences, why would I want to pull that ladder up from them and not give them the same opportunities? As I mentioned, it was grit partially that got me here, but it was also people willing to extend a hand. Leon Adato (46:19): Yeah. Keith Townsend (46:19): And help me up that ladder. Leon Adato (46:21): Very nice, Keith, it is always a privilege and a pleasure to talk to you. Uh, this is the lightning round. Any final thoughts, anything that you want to share with folks, um, just to think about on their way. Keith Townsend (46:34): So you know what the, I think if you can take anything from this conversation, it's don't be fearful of your faith. Um, people are people. There are some of them, there are truly jerks out there. One of our fellow contributors get challenged because of his faith on Twitter, but overall you impact way more people positively by sharing your faith, whatever that faith is. I'm not in a position to judge what you, how you choose your relationship with your God or your spiritual being. But what I am saying, the positivity from that will positively impact your career and others, way more than the pain for the most part inflicted upon us, because we're open with our faith. Leon Adato (47:20): Right? The, yeah. The benefits outweigh any of the challenges and sometimes the challenges are there to be overcome. Keith Townsend (47:26): Yes. Leon Adato (47:27): Um, I like it. Uh, fantastic. One more time for people who want to find you online, who want to see what you're working on, um, where can people get in touch with you? Keith Townsend (47:35): Yeah. So as CTO visor is the easiest way to get in contact with me. DMS are open, but don't send me anything weird, cause I will block you. Uh, and theCTOadvisor.com is how you get to me professionally. And I post a lot of stuff to LinkedIn because it's a very powerful platform. Leon Adato (47:53): Yeah, you, uh, you, you have a lot of nice talks on there too, that I've noticed, uh, from time to time you give a, it's almost like a mini podcast there. So. Keith Townsend (48:01): Yeah. Leon Adato (48:01): That's another thing to check out is that LinkedIn link. Well, uh, thank you again for taking some time out of your day. It's actually the middle of the day for both of us. And, uh, I look forward to seeing you back on the show. Keith Townsend (48:11): All right, Leon, I'll I'll hopefully I'll see you in person. When I visit you via the road show. When I visit Cleveland, Leon Adato (48:18): If the roadshow is coming to Cleveland, then we are absolutely going to do a tour of every kosher restaurant. I will weigh 900 pounds when we're done with it. Keith Townsend (48:25): I love me a kosher hot dog. Leon Adato (48:27): Perfect. We'll get you one, take care. Keith Townsend (48:30): Take care. Speaker 6 (48:30): Thank you for making time for us this week, to hear more of technically religious visit our website at technicallyreligious.com, where you can find our other episodes, leave us ideas for future discussions or connect with us on social media.  

Bible Study With Jairus - Romans 13  God's Will for Believers and Politics Roman chapter 13 is about obedience to authority. Paul tells us that all authority is given by God, and that we must submit ourselves to those who govern us. If we resist authority, we resist God, because God has set up authority to punish evildoers on God's behalf. If we do good, we don't have to be afraid. Paul also notes that we must pay taxes, because the ruler is God's servant. Jesus also said “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's” (Matthew 22:21). The words of Jesus have been interpreted in different ways throughout the ages. Some have used them to argue that Christians should not participate in politics. This will be our study focus today. How on earth do you understand what is being said here? First of all, the truth has two sides, and we must deal with each side in a balanced way. Although we should obey those in power, the premise is that those in power are doing what God wants them to do, such as maintaining social justice and punishing wrongdoers. But if the authorities persecute Christians by saying that they cannot believe in the Lord or preach the Gospel, this is a violation of higher authority. God's Word charges us to preach the good news to all nations and to baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, throughout the ages, many people have disobeyed the orders of those in power by preaching the Gospel. Second, regarding understanding Jesus' words, Christian participation in politics also needs to be considered with a balanced principle. Let's start by looking at some different historical interpretations of whether Christians should participate in politics. Should Christians Participate in Politics: A Summary of Views Anabaptists First, let's look at the Amish, the Anabaptist view. I live in Maryland. There is a large Amish population in Lancaster, PA about an hour north of us. Over the years, we have taken Bible study group members and non-believing friends on trips to Amish museums and the exhibits of life-size models of tents built by Mennonites. The Amish and the Mennonites are both Anabaptists, but the Amish are more isolated; they don't accept other people or modern things, such as electricity and cars. The Mennonites are more open to other people and modern things. According to what we were told in a tour of the museum, the Amish see modern electricity, cars, and the like as evil, so they still drive wagons and run farms for a living. Students are expected to attend school only through middle school, and there is only one class in a community. Younger and older children alike have classes in one classroom. (This is what I picked up from the tour guide at the museum and it may not be 100% correct.) The Anabaptists came into being during the Reformation period in Europe. They opposed both Catholicism and Martin Luther's Reformed Church, because both Catholics and the Reformed Church advocated infant baptism. The Anabaptists, on the other hand, believe that you have to be truly saved and baptized after you become an adult, so you have to wait to be baptized. Since many people had been baptized as infants, they started the practice of being baptized after being saved as adults, hence the name Anabaptist. The Amish have chosen to live in isolation, avoiding electricity, cars, and politics. William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was a Christian who was forced out of England because he was persecuted by the state church of England. It is said that his father, who was rich, bought him a piece of land in Pennsylvania and said “you can go to America and do whatever you want.” William Penn made Pennsylvania a land of diverse Christian denominations, including Amish and Quakers. American society also protects the rights of the Amish, who are said to pay no taxes and do not serve as soldiers. (In the process of evangelization in Europe, there were many brutal wars, so Christians suffered a lot in the military. Therefore, the Amish also choose not to serve in the military.) The Anabaptists do not promote active participation in politics and stay away from some modern things of society. To some extent, these practices keep them away from the evil of the world. But the evil is definitely not only in these modern civilizations; evil is in the human heart.  I do appreciate the Amish's willingness to abandon modern civilization and live a simple life so they can focus more on the Bible and their faith. But most people agree that such an approach is not a good way to have a positive influence in this world. Local Church Movement Second, let's move on to the point of view of the Local Church Movement (LCM) where I was saved. In an article titled "Attitudes of Local Churches to Authority and Politics," we find the following statement: "We believe that churches should have no share in, participate in, or influence politics on the ground, but should operate as a purely faith body under the rule of law of government. The church should be wholly of God  and for God. As for the participation of individual Christians in political activities, The Church does not support or oppose it."[1] The LCM does not object to individual involvement in politics, seeing it as a personal issue. They also believed that the church is spiritual and should not engage in worldly politics. In particular, the LCM has drawn lessons from many difficulties brought about by the mingling of church and state in history. They have made the church less spiritual but more worldly. Therefore, they advocate that churches should not participate in politics. This view is not only the view of the LCM but is also held by many churches and pastors since they see how politics can tear the church apart. Some pastors even prohibit the church members from talking about any politics in the church. However, this does not solve the problem. This problem still divides churches and Christians alike. A WeChat post in Chinese I read earlier says that President Lincoln was asked if he thought God was on his side during the Civil War. President Lincoln said,“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.” To a certain extent, this post reflects the attitude of some believers in the churches I mentioned towards politics. They are more spiritual and do not express their positions on controversial political issues. Instead, they hide their political opinions in a spiritual cocoon and say they want to remain one with God. But knowing exactly what the will of God is depends on the individual and the Lord. To me it is kind of confusing. One of my fellow members of our Bible study group was confused as well. He asked me since some Christains say God chose Trump, and others say God chose Biden, who did God really choose? I told him that one side must be wrong as God is not a schizophrenic. The view in this social media post does reflect the common view that God is sovereign, so whoever is sitting in the office is what God chooses or allows. This view dictates that as Christians, we just accept whoever it is. This view is criticized by many as being too passive. Theological Liberals Third, let's look at the theological liberal view of politics. Liberal theology was influential from Europe all the way to the United States. Theologians from Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher in Germany to Paul Johannes Tillich in the United States are representatives of liberal theology. Liberal theology was in part an attempt to explain theology in contrast to science, or to build a bridge between the rapid development of science and the somewhat stale theology of that time. But liberal theology went to the extreme of disbelieving the authority of the Bible, even accepting homosexuality and so on. Fundamentalism is a reaction to the overrun of liberal theology. It emphasizes the supreme authority of the Bible and the basics of Christian values. Randy Clark, the founder of Global Awakening and the Randy Clark Scholars program at UTS that I am now a part of attended a liberal seminary, but later in his ministry switched to more conservative and miraculous positions. He recalls that by the time he attended the liberal seminary, he had almost ceased to believe in God. It was only because he had experienced God's miraculous healing after being in a car accident that he had not lost his faith. He criticized liberal theology for the damage it did to seminary students, but he affirmed that one of its merits is concerning social justice and helping the poor. He says caring for the poor and social justice is a constant focus of God in the Old Testament. On this point, conservative churches can still learn from the churches that hold more liberal views. The conservative churches can do more to advocate for social justice and to help the poor. This type of liberal theology includes the social evangelicals that were once popular in Europe and America. The so-called Social Gospel was also popular in China in the 1940s. They advocated participation in social reform and social relief. They advocated breaking down the systemic injustices of society to help the poor. They wanted to be helpful “in the world” but gradually forgot that the church is “not of the world.” It went too far and gradually lost the spiritual position of the church. Many of these Christian organizations gradually degenerated themselves into welfare institutions. In other words, they are “in the world” to the point of being “of the world”. If you look at the YMCA, which was once a powerful organization of evangelism, you now see a community center for sports. This is also the case for the Salvation Army and many other organizations. Therefore, the LCM has borrowed from the failings of the Social Gospels in an effort to avoid becoming secular welfare organizations. It is said that in the early Gospel meetings in Taiwan, the LCM publicly declared that their churches did not provide free rice or other welfare like many other churches do, but only provided pure Gospel; the number of people at the next meeting was greatly reduced. It is obvious that the LCM attaches great importance to the purity of the church, and for this purpose they do not advocate the church's participation in politics. The African American Church Fourth, we will look at the views of the African American church on politics. Our course on church history at the UTS included a special course on the history of the African American church in the United States, so I have a slight understanding of the history of the African American church. The history of the African American church has been one of blood and tears. From the first African American slaves secretly learning the Bible and praying, to the rise of African American pastors and churches and the persecution from mainstream churches, to the later civil rights movement in which the church became the central organizing force, the African American church played a very important role in the Civil Rights Movement. The famous Martin Luther King, for example, was a pastor of a church. My personal observation is that the African American church is very politically engaged. And the politics that African American churches engage in tend to be more left-wing and possibly related to the liberal theology. This can be seen in the numbers of the 2016 elections. Only 8 percent of African Americans voted for Trump. The Democratic Party, with its focus on welfare and social equality, has traditionally been supported by African Americans. The percentage of African American people who are Christian is very high, according to certain reports. I don't have exact statistics, but I have heard that 70 percent of African American people in the Baltimore area are Christian. I met a number of African American pastors at our seminary. We became friends on Facebook, and I saw that many of them were staunchly anti-Trump and politically active on the left side. The African American church also has conservative members who support Trump, but they are a minority. I deeply sympathize with the struggles of the African American church throughout its history and have many close friends who are African American pastors. I have absolutely no motive here to criticize the African American church, but simply to describe my observations. My observation is that the African American church in general has been more influenced by the participation of liberal theology in society, and this, along with the rise of liberation theology in South America, has been very popular. Both had a positive impact on social change during the Civil Rights movement in the United States and the anti-colonial movement in South America respectively. Both black theology and liberation theology played an important role in emancipating those who are persecuted in the US and South America. But because the African American church is too focused on improving the discrimination against and status of their own race, it has also turned a blind eye to some extent, failing to see God's greater role in politics through Trump. It is through President Trump that American society has tried to stop the left and stop anti-God agendas such as abortion and homosexuality from dominating the political and social processes of the United States. The past and present wounds inflicted on African American Christians and the African American church are indisputable, but on the other hand, the wounds and the bitterness caused by them may also become a stronghold set up by the evil spirits. We must acknowledge the previous hurt of the African American church and people, but we must move beyond this to receive healing from the Lord. We must not allow the hurts and unforgiveness to be used by the enemy. Pentecostals Fifth, we look at the views on politics of some Pentecostal preachers. Compared to evangelicals, the Christians in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches are more politically engaged. I will cite only one prophet, Lance Wallnau, and in particular the 7 Mountain Mandate, which he and others have proposed. Since I left the LCM in 2015, I have studied and observed in different American Pentecostal churches and attended many special meetings of the Pentecostal church. I also attended many of the meetings where Lance Wallnau was a speaker, so I often listened to his messages online. His so-called "Seven Mountains Mandate Theory" advocates that Christians actively participate in politics and other social fields, including education, religion, family, business, government/military, art/entertainment, and media. These seven fields are known as the Seven Mountains. The main argument of this theory is that Jesus calls on us to be the light of the mountains, and that Christians are to actively enter the world to be influential figures on the seven mountains, thus positively influencing society. You have to understand the state of American society in recent decades to understand where this doctrine comes from and why it has become so popular among Pentecostal churches. For decades, leftists and homosexuals in the United States have become a vocal minority because of their active participation in society and frequent protests. In the media, especially in the arts/entertainment sector, homosexuality has become a big voice. For example, a Christian baker in the United States experienced a very difficult time because he would not make a cake for a gay couple. As a result, he was sued and his business suffered. These pastors and teachers in the Pentecostal camp learned that traditional churches do not participate actively in the political process. Based on the reality of American society, they draw a conclusion that because Christians do not participate in politics and hide in an ivory tower of spiritual pursuit, it results in a vacuum. In this vacuum, anti-God people occupy the media, art/entertainment, education, family, business, government/military, and even religion. Therefore, they actively advocated that Christians abandon the past position of not participating in politics and occupy every field with an active attitude of joining public affairs-- that they be in the world but not of the world. They encouraged each Christian to choose his own "mountains" to occupy according to his own gift and God's calling, and to be an influential person on those mountains. The purpose is not for personal success, but to influence society by occupying such a mountain and becoming salt and light to the people around us. These differing views influence churches all over the country. Churches and Donald Trump During the 2016 election, Pentecostal preachers began supporting Donald Trump from the very early stages. In addition, he received considerable support from Christians across all denominations in the United States. Stephen Strang, the founder of Charisma Magazine, a Pentecostal Magazine, described the convergence of Trump and Pentecostalism in a recent article titled "Why Most Pentecostals Back Trump." Trump, who wanted to run in 2012, sought Christian support. In the evenings, when he was free, he watched Pentecostal televangelists. One of them was Paula White, a Florida based Pentecostal evangelist. After Trump watched her show, he called Paula White. Paula White gathered a number of Pentecostal leaders, including Christian leaders gifted with the gift of prophecy, to pray for Trump. After some time in prayer, they said that God had told them that 2012 was not the right time for Trump to run, so they advised him to wait. Trump followed their advice, and in 2016 he asked them again to pray to God. When they prayed, they felt that God's time had come for Trump to go out and run. After Mr. Trump's first election, I attended a prayer gathering for him in Washington, the nation's capital, organized by the POTUS Shield. The event invited key Pentecostal leaders and many prophets to pray for President Trump after his first election. (POTUS stands for President of the United States, and the group aims to offer intercessory support to Mr. Trump.) One of the group's founders, Frank Amedia, a Pentecostal prophet, said he had a divine revelation while helping Mr. Trump campaign before he was elected. He wrote the prophecy in a note that he handed to Mr. Trump to read on the plane. The note read, "God says if you humble yourself, you will be the next President of the United States." There were many such prophecies, all of which said that Trump was chosen by God. I could give you a lot of examples, but that's not the point. The point I'm making is that talking about whether Christians should participate in politics right now is hard to separate from being for or against Trump. Because Trump is such a controversial figure, the US has acquired the phrase "silent Trumpist". If you openly support Trump's words, you may be attacked, alienated, and misunderstood by the mainstream media and people around you, because so many people in society are against Trump. Many people quietly support Trump, but are afraid to express their views publicly. One man told me that he had already seen some Chinese American churches split over their attitude towards Trump. Some churches have avoided such internal strife by taking the attitude that the church should not participate, and that individual Christians must choose their own political positions. Individual political attitudes are individual political attitudes, they argue, but the church should not take a collective stance. This would preserve the church's spiritual position and keep it from getting caught up in political disputes. But there are also people who are against this view.  “Don't worry that if you support Trump from the podium, your church will lose some supporters and followers,” said Mario Marillo, an active advocate for churches teaching their followers to support Mr. Trump. “If Mr. Biden takes office, you might lose your church.” What he said is by no means an exaggeration, because the suppression of Christian power is real. If the left, represented by Biden, is in power, the Christian influence in the United States will be greatly suppressed. So both sides are treating the presidential election as a battle to the death. I personally feel the same way. This is a decisive battle for Christian freedom in America that will decide the future of America and the future of the world. God has shown me many visions of the Great Revival to come, including a Great Revival in the United States, China, and the Middle East. I am convinced that the election of President Trump is a divine intervention to prepare the international political environment for the great revival that is to come. In a strange dream, God took me to Trump's office, where I felt God's presence. I felt that this was God confirming to me that Trump was His chosen one. So at this point, I chose to actively endorse Mr. Trump. By this day (March 23, 2021) Trump is not in the White House but I am still believing that God will intervene and bring Trump back to the White House supernaturally. But many of the people around me are deeply educated by the LCM, so their attitude towards politics is more reserved. In addition, the LCM does not hold an official  position, leaving individuals to make their own political decisions. As a former member of the LCM, I understand the reasons and considerations for their position. I also see individuals supporting Trump and Biden. I still agree with the view of the LCM that we should take the lessons of the Social Gospel and not fall into the trap of making church a political or social organization and losing the spiritual side of it. But I personally accept the Seven Mountains theory and believe that Christians should be actively involved in politics and changing society. Churches should get involved in politics and make it clear that they are taking a stand. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes' or ‘No'; anything more than this comes from evil (Matthew 5:37). This is what the Lord Jesus himself said. Personally, I think it is wrong not to say what should be said. I know from personal experience that we often do not take a stand on many things. It is not because we do not have a stand, but because we are weak and do not dare to take a stand. We are afraid of losing the church, we are afraid of losing the status and salary of the pastor, we are afraid of losing followers, we are afraid of being persecuted if we participate in politics, we are afraid of being attacked, we are afraid of getting into disputes with people and so on. Too often, we are afraid to engage in politics and take a stand out of fear, not spirituality. If this election is a showdown between God and Satan that will determine the future of America and the world for hundreds of years to come, then silence is appeasement, or even participation. Of course, my belief that Trump represents God's side and this election is a showdown was not formed within a day. It came after I left the LCM and went to a lot of Pentecostalist activities, special meetings, and teachings about the Seven Mountains. But many traditional churches and pastors do not teach these spiritual battles from the podium, so naturally, when election time comes, believers are left to decide for themselves. However, do not forget that many believers look at the media for information and are therefore influenced by the media. We also know that a lot of the media in the United States is opposed to God's agenda, so many Christians don't get a good spiritual education. They don't know why they should support Trump or what God's will is. In the end, many believers have made their own choices based on their own personal preferences, personal interests, and the media agenda. This, I have to say, is a natural consequence of the idea that the church does not participate in politics. Even though people say the church should be not involved in politics, the church is still involved. If the churches do not teach believers how to make right choices, many believers will be deceived by the media. In other words, the church, in the name of "church non-participation in politics," is actually abdicating their opportunity and responsibility to educate believers to make divine choices. If this election is a spiritual battle, the church that fails to educate its followers will be partly an accomplice to its enemies, so God will hold us accountable. This is not a condemnation, but a spiritual fact. The left is pro-gay and pro-choice, with millions of babies said to have been aborted in the United States over the past few decades. To support the left is to support homosexuality and abortion indirectly, which is not a position a Christian should take. And God's choice of Trump as president is just the tip of the iceberg of what God intends to do in the next few decades. The Great Revival is just around the corner, as evidenced by the many dreams and visions God had given me, and by the words spoken to me personally by the Lord and the Holy Spirit. God doesn't just say this to me. He says it to many people with prophetic gifts. But many churches do not accept the gifts of the prophets, which is part of the problem. “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint but blessed is he who keeps the law” (Proverbs 29:18). Many churches ignore the prophetic gifts that God has restored to the church in the last 100 years, especially in the last few decades, and that is why they don't hear God speak in a timely manner. The church urgently needs to reevaluate the Pentecostal  movement, especially the prophetic movement, and open itself up to prophetic gifts. I know that the prophetic movement itself has lots of issues, but they have made much progress in the last few decades. Many churches and church leaders need to pray before the Lord, ask these questions, and seek the Holy Spirit's guidance. Don't forget the story of the race between the hare and the tortoise. We may become the hare while belittling the tortoise. That was the shock I felt when I went from the LCM to the Pentecostal churches. I realized that, while I thought I knew a lot of truth in the LCM, the Pentecostal churches have made great progress in some areas. Therefore, I strongly desire to pursue learning these truths. In addition to taking prophetic courses and healing courses, I am currently enrolled in the Randy Clark Scholar doctoral program at the United Theology Seminary. My project there is to compare the prophesying practices in the LCM with the prophesying practices of Pentecostal churches. My personal view is that the practice of prophesying in a forthtelling way in the LCM, including Pray Reading and calling on the Lord's name, helps believers to build a foundation of biblical truth, practice good spiritual practices, and become holier. It is well worth it for other churches to learn, including Pentecostal churches. These practices can help the believers to grow more in holiness, spirituality, and life growth. At the same time, the practice of the Pentecostalist prophecy in a foretelling way can help believers unlock the gift of the prophecy, receive supernatural revelation from God, provide guidance for the church to move forward, and give comfort and encouragement to individual believers, so it is well worth learning for the LCM and  other evangelical churches. The Lord Jesus appeared to me in a dream and told me that two rivers were about to converge, which was also a confirmation of what I am trying to do. Politics and Love Finally, we come back to Romans 13:8-10 about loving one another. I know it's hard to get involved in politics because different political views can be divisive. But this is an opportunity for us to learn more about love. I agree with Christians being involved in politics, but I do not agree with the extreme language of many Christians on the right who criticized the left. We are not engaged in a physical battle, but a spiritual one. Even those who are used by the enemy are created in God's image, and God wants them to enter the kingdom. I have been praying every morning not only for President Trump, but also for Mr. Joe Biden, hoping that the people he represents will repent and enter the kingdom of God. Romans 13:11-12 says, “...the hour has come for you to wake from sleep... The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” To be involved in politics is not to give up love; to participate in politics requires a higher degree of love. Once you get involved in politics, you suddenly find yourself facing a lot of different people. All of this will require you to love not only those who disagree with you, but also your enemies. In other words, staying out of politics comes from a fear of exposing our inability to love. Staying out of politics is ostrich policy. It's not love. It's fear of not being able to love. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” Therefore, whatever comes from fear is not from God. We will open ourselves up to more attacks when we engage in politics. Attacks come not only from people with different opinions, but also from evil spirits. Some have recognized that it is God's will for them to be involved in politics, but they are afraid to take a stand. If this is you, I pray that God will give you a strong spirit that will dare to speak and proclaim your views. Don't get caught up in any kind of political correctness or false religious masks. Yes means yes and no means no. Don't be afraid to stand up for your biblical views. Fortunately, we have observed that this presidential election has caused many Christians to become politically active and engaged. This is also part of the will of the Lord in the process of awakening the church and believers. When the Church is no longer asleep, the Great Revival is not far behind. So I say again that the fight over Trump's presidency is just the tip of the iceberg of many things that God is going to do in order to prepare everyone and wake up the church. Time will tell. I still believe God will intervene. My Personal Testimony and Politics I was born and raised in China and am now a citizen of the United States. Like many Chinese immigrants, we did not have a strong desire to participate in politics in America since we did not come from a democratic country. It took many years to become a citizen of the US, so we usually stayed outside of American politics since we were not citizens for many years. But things changed when I became a U.S. citizen. God called me to be involved in politics, especially in China. I knew I had a calling to evangelize China, but I had never thought of a way to participate in the democratic movement in China. However, several prophetic dreams from God caused me to reconsider my stance. In one of the prophetic dreams, I was riding a bicycle. A bicycle or other type of vehicle in a prophetic dream often represents a ministry we have. In the dream, I then saw a couple Chinese Democratic dissidents chasing me on bikes as well. I was a little uneasy as I had never involved myself with them, even in the US. Many Chinese immigrants take this stand as well. Some do not like them and others are just afraid to be involved with them due to fear of family members in China being persecuted. When these dissidents finally caught me, they expressed their appreciation for my preaching and books which greatly influenced their effort in this democratic movement. I was surprised by the dream because they were 50 years old. I asked them how this was possible since I myself am not over 50 years old. Later I realized that this was a prophetic dream- God was showing me that my ministry will have a huge impact on them. In another prophetic dream, I was dropped down from the air into a chimney at my college in China. God often uses my college or other places I lived in China to represent China in my dreams. I worked at my college for a few years before I left China. This chimney is not actually at the college. These were all images to explain something. No one will come into your house through a chimney except Santa Claus. Santa Claus is a figure associated with Christmas, and Christmas is the birth day of Jesus. So this means I was trying to preach the Gospel to the Chinese people. However, people in the building were so surprised to see me coming through the chimney and reacted strongly. I was forced to come back. It represented the obstacles I will be facing in preaching the Gospel in China. In the next scene, I was able to miraculously land on the campus by a tree near this building with a chimney. I saw great battles happening but eventually found myself resting on a bed. By this bed, I saw a former colleague from my college who is a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and an alumni in the US who is a democratic dissident. They were talking with me in peace while I rested on the bed. I felt that this means China will have a great transformation in politics after the great revival in China. China may even become a democratic nation. The tension between those who support or oppose the CCP will be reconciled. In another recent vision I had several months ago, I was shown that a great revival will come to China. It will eventually transform China into a democratic country. In the last scene of this vision, I saw a fish type monster wrapped in a green military uniform the size of a dolphin. It was bound and taken away by some angels. In this vision, I asked if this was the CCP and the answer was yes. This vision showed me that eventually China will experience a great political change, and the Gospel and revival will play an important role in it. This is all out of my norm. I was taught to not participate in politics, and I was afraid to stand for justice as well. But I started to realize that my calling to be part of this great revival in China is involved in politics whether I am ready or not. It is like St. Patrick in the old days. His evangelizing efforts in Ireland were greatly involved with politics at that time. He was facing many dangers. Being involved in politics, especially in a country where the Gospel has not been fully preached, is dirty and bloody, but it is necessary. Politics in the US is much more civil than it was in the time of St. Patrick or how it is now in China. It is because the American people have the firm foundation of the founding fathers of this country and the history of Western Christian tradition and heritages. Those of us privileged to live in the US need to realize that we are very fortunate here to have the freedom that we enjoy, so we must stand up to fight for that freedom.     [1] https://cftfc.com/%E9%99%84%E4%BB%B6%E4%BA%8C%EF%BC%9A%E5%9C%B0%E6%96%B9%E6%95%99%E6%9C%83%E5%B0%8D%E6%94%BF%E6%AC%8A%E5%8F%8A%E6%94%BF%E6%B2%BB%E7%9A%84%E6%85%8B%E5%BA%A6-2/

Rev. Kris Cooper & Rev. James Stansbury tackle the complex emotions of celebrating the Derek Chauvin trial while being African American Christians in the U.S. They talk about the Kirk Franklin phone conversation and hardships of parenting. Last they bring laughter & joy to the conversation while giving a word to TMG. We pray this helps you Grow in the Classroom of Grace!

African American Christians voice their frustration and concern with racism in the American Church.

African American Christians voice their frustration and concern with racism in the American Church.

African American Christians voice their frustration and concern with racism in the American Church.

African American Christians voice their frustration and concern with racism in the American Church.

African American Christians voice their frustration and concern with racism in the American Church.

It's women's history month! So, I am profiling black women making a difference in their careers. In this episode, I sit down with Miia Torrera, the creator of Miiato Comics.  After over a decade of practicing corporate litigation, she bravely decided to pursue her dream of writing, and thus the ISA comic book series was born. She is the first Black female children's comic book author. Her stories are fun, age-appropriate, and most importantly features characters of color. For more information on Miiato Comics visit: https://www.miiato.com.Follow Me: https://linktr.ee/Embracing_Your_Virtue

In this special bonus episode, my good friend Otillia Ford and I discuss the impact of faith, meditation, and mental health counseling on our journeys as wives and moms and how it has reshaped our identity and values and led to much-needed self-care. Follow Me: https://linktr.ee/Embracing_Your_Virtue

No one knows when exactly it happens, but almost every woman feels a loss of identity at some point in her journey through marriage and motherhood. Suddenly, she realizes that things are different. She is different. In this episode, my good friend Otillia Ford and I discuss our journey as wives and moms and how it has reshaped our identity and values. We also share what we've done to either maintain or reclaim our sense of self in the midst of it all. Follow Me: https://linktr.ee/Embracing_Your_Virtue

When I became a mom, I had this desire to stay home and raise my kids full time. I had no idea what type of emotional and spiritual challenges awaited me. In this episode, I share my journey and share the lessons I've learned along the way. Follow Me: https://linktr.ee/Embracing_Your_Virtue

Author and Podcast Host Charles Moscowitz is joined by Autry Pruitt, CEO of New Journey PAC, in a talk about why African-American Christians support Democrats and how can this be changed. Autry Pruitt: http://autrypruitt.com/​ Charles Moscowitz: https://linktr.ee/moscowitz

In this episode, I share the financial strategies my husband and I used to transition to a single income (teacher's salary) family of 5 in one of the most expensive areas in the country.  If you ever wished you could stay at home full time, start your own business, or have financial peace of mind, this episode is for you!Follow Me: https://linktr.ee/Embracing_Your_Virtue

Every year, people make New Year's resolutions, but very few people actually keep them. If you're like most people, your resolve to get in better shape, declutter your home, learn a new language, or “be a better person” likely dissipates by the time February rolls around. This podcast offers you tips on making the right type of resolutions that will last throughout the year. Follow Me: https://linktr.ee/Embracing_Your_Virtue

Happy New Year! It's a new year and there are new things happening with my podcast. Thank you all for your support as we launched in 2020. By God's grace,.we will continue to grow and be refined. Stay tuned! Don't forget to subscribe and follow.Follow Me: https://linktr.ee/Embracing_Your_Virtue

The holiday season often brings an array of demands — cooking meals, shopping, baking, cleaning, and entertaining, to name just a few. And now with COVID-19 numbers rising and more places quarantining you may also feel stressed, sad, or anxious because your holiday plans may look different during the COVID-19 pandemic.But with some practical tips and intentional prayer, you can minimize the stress that accompanies the holidays. You may even end up enjoying the holidays more than you thought you would.Follow Me:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embracing_y...Website: https://www.embracingyourvirtue.com/

Part 3 - Featuring Noel Burton, Otillia Ford and Jannie HackmanIn part 3 of this series, "Embracing Special Education", we discuss the joys and challenges of raising children with special needs and navigating the special education system. In this video, we discuss the impact on our faith and relationships with God and share helpful tips for parents.Follow Me:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embracing_y...Website: https://www.embracingyourvirtue.com/

In this series, listen as Anthony interviews a collection of dynamic thinkers as they explore the state and place of God in America. Part 1 features an intense discussion on the intersection of race and faith in America, as he's joined by three African-American Christians who talk about how it is to sometimes feel like you're stuck between being Black and being Christian in today's climate! (Interview recorded 10.16.2020) Special thanks to Katrina Brown, Marcus Jones, & Langston Lee for their insight and wisdom! SHOW NOTES: Connect w/ Anthony Work w/ Anthony Make a one-time contribution to the show Crock-Po(d) Conversations. Copyright © 2020 Anthony D. Sparks LLC. All Rights Reserved. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/anthony-sparks/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/anthony-sparks/support

More than half of American adults, including 30% of evangelicals, say Jesus isn’t God but most agree He was a great teacher, according to results from the 2020 State of Theology survey. So, back on the podcast is our friend, Ken Jones, to talk about the importance of catechesis in the Church! Along the way, Ken talks about how to equip Christians for civic engagement without the Church becoming partisan and why otherwise conservative African American Christians still vote overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates ("Because I'm free"). Ken Jones is the Pastor of Glendale Baptist Church in Miami Florida. He's the current host of the Saints and Sinners podcast and a former cohost of the famed White Horse Inn radio broadcast.

More than half of American adults, including 30% of evangelicals, say Jesus isn’t God but most agree He was a great teacher, according to results from the 2020 State of Theology survey. So, back on the podcast is our friend, Ken Jones, to talk about the importance of catechesis in the Church! Along the way, Ken talks about how to equip Christians for civic engagement without the Church becoming partisan and why otherwise conservative African American Christians still vote overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates ("Because I'm free"). Ken Jones is the Pastor of Glendale Baptist Church in Miami Florida. He's the current host of the Saints and Sinners podcast and a former cohost of the famed White Horse Inn radio broadcast.

In this episode, Dr. Akers examines a little known historical reality of American history: the persecution of African American Christians for their faith.

One of the voices missing from the conversation of race in America is that of African American police officers. This week Priscilla Black sat down with Jerome to discuss reconciliation, faith & policing and a call to African American Christians when emotions as high. Catch the bonus video clip of this episode on YouTube www.YouTube.com/ItsPriscillaB **Visit www.itspriscillab.com and join the DBU fam! Monthly raffles just for email list subscribers.*** --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dontbeuseless/message

The Christian talk show continues! In this episode we talk about whether African American Christians should visit the White House while Donald Trump is president. Church members hold service outside and run from the police. An Easter play goes very wrong and more. Watch us live every Tuesday at 9 PM ET at http://facebook.com/ttyneighbor. Connect With Us: http://turntoyourneighbor.com Twitter - http://twitter.com/ttyneighbor Instagram - http://instagram.com/ttyneighbor YouTube --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

How should society balance people's needs and wants for meat and eggs against the needs and wants of farmers and farm animals? What do theologians and ethicists have to say about factory farming, animals and marginalized communities. It's a complicated subject that triggers strong feelings about moral economics, racial equity, nutrition, and environmental sustainability. We will explore these issues today on The Leading Voices in Food podcast with our guest, Methodist pastor Christopher Carter, who's also an assistant professor of theology and religious studies at the University of San Diego. About Christopher Carter Pastor and Dr. Christopher Carter is an Assistant Professor of theology and religious studies at the University of San Diego. He has a background in theology, religion, and the study of ethics in society. He is the author of the book, The Future of Meat without animals and writes about the food system through the lens of oppressions experienced by people of color, the environment and animals. Interview Summary You're a Faith in Food Fellow with Farm Forward, which is an organization dedicated to reducing factory farming and promoting the best of animal husbandry and sustainable family farming. Could you tell me more about your work on farm forward? So the former executive director, but kind of the person who started it, Aaron Gross is a friend of mine and first encountered my work as a grad student several years ago. And he knew that I was kind of making connections between a farmed animal welfare, and race and farm workers in ways in which that he had not heard yet. And this was maybe in 2011 and 2012. So pretty early on in my academic research into this. And so he approached me many years later, and just kind of kept tabs on my work, and let me know that they had some finances. They were looking to invest in people who were really engaged in trying to address some of the systemic issues that you named earlier with regards to animal husbandry and animal welfare. I actually add to kind of farm worker element into it as well. And so initially what they helped me do with funding was to fund my research. And so I did five weeks, in Louisiana, in basically what you might call Plantation Alley, and visiting different former plantations to do research on indigenous African agricultural practices. I wanted to learn about the knowledge base that former or that enslaved Africans brought here with regards to animal agriculture. So animal husbandry and agricultural technologies that they brought here, that were used on plantations and how those knowledges still exists in different parts of the South especially. And how we might, as African American Christians begin rethinking a or adopting those things in our current context as well. And so they helped pay for that because at this point I was still a grad student, so I was still poor. So, after that, we maintained a relationship with regards to my outreach to local churches. And so they support me. I usually visit churches mostly in the spring and summer, so it is kind of offset my liturgical calendar, I guess, if you will, because you have Advent and other religious seasons that keep me tied to my local congregation. Spring and summer is when I'm able to actually visit other congregations to help them, as I say, start thinking theologically about food. So part of my responsibilities is just engagement with local churches specifically charging or looking at ethnic minority churches, but just broadly understood in the Methodist circle. Most of the churches tend to be predominantly White as well. And so helping them make the connection between their theological beliefs, our theological beliefs, I guess I should say, how we treat creation and how we treat and how we think about what we eat right. And how these things are interconnected perhaps in ways in which they hadn't unpacked, right? I even start with things like grace, you know, and we think about food and a religious perspective. We pray over this food, but what does that really mean when we do that and what are some of the questions and things that we're saying? Whereas some of the assumptions we actually have when we say grace. And let's begin to name those things, to bring that kind of a certain level of consciousness to it. And then ask ourselves, are the ways we are acquiring this food is it consistent with the ways in which we even say grace, right? Is it really consistent with the theologies that we claim to uphold? And often after some questioning and deep soul searching they find that, well, maybe it's not quite as consistent as we want it to be. And so then helping them think through what are the next steps, right? What they might do to begin to make some changes with regards to where they buy their produce, what they use, what they serve, all these other kinds of things. When you say you're helping churches think theologically about food, you gave a couple examples about saying grace procurement, but can you help our listeners understand what does that look like practically? How do you think theologically about food? Thank you. That's a great question. I think first and foremost, I guess I probably need to step back a little bit and say that I come at it from my own personal experience and then I try to make that accessible to others. And so personally I grew up in a very food insecure household. And so for me, thinking theologically about food, first and foremost starts with grace because it starts about being thankful to have something to eat. And so I begin with this premise of the creation narratives. And I look at those narratives as poetry and say what would it be like to imagine a space or all people, people have access to these kinds of opportunities in this, this blessing that from this poem that we can learn, that is a beautiful vision of what the world could be. And so first and foremost I encourage people to imagine and engage. To imagine what the world could be if this kind of a literature actually existed, but then to begin to do that kind of inner deeper work about what it is that we're actually doing in local congregations. So specifically, the ways in which I go about doing that first is helping them first to kind of map out their own assumptions around food and around eating. Who cooks? Where they get their food from? What do they eat? And then having them think more critically, once they begin to examine some of the ethical dimensions of where they get those things, and I say who cooks because that's a way to get at questions of gender and power. Quite honestly, you know. How does play out. Could you give an example to help someone think more theologically? Oh yes, I can. So I'll give you an example of what I did in my own congregation first. And what I did is, as a senior pastor at a black church, I never ate first. I always ate last and I always help prepare and serve the food. And I do this rooted out of Jesus's parable of washing disciples' feet and talk about our role as clergy to model service. And what that looks like. And then frame it around food as one primary means by which we actually can serve others, literally serve them food. But also help people who, especially the church I worked at--this was in Compton, California, we're in a very poor city with a lot of homeless and we had several unsheltered people come to our church, especially on first Sundays where we had potlucks. And they knew that and they were welcome. And so first and foremost, you have to, I would argue, you do have to model it in order to get people to be able to see that you, as the leader of this space, take this seriously. And you're trying to set a tone for creating a welcoming and inclusive space and environment. And that can be done through plates. The second way, I guess I would say, I help people think theologically about food. I did want to say this--real things I forgot earlier is through stories and having people. I always like to use the example of our, our bowls are griots and griots are in the West. African traditions are storytellers. And so what we serve tells a story. Often a story that is passed down from our grandmothers or mothers or fathers or whoever was the cook. There's something there that says something about us. And so when we serve food at church, what story does it tell you? Does it feel something's been missing from that story? I think if we are people of faith, if we were supposed to be about compassion and justice, I don't know that our food shares that story, right? That we serve if we haven't thought theologically about where that food comes from. Who's growing it? And who may or may not be suffering as a consequence of it. And so if we want to model that and share it, it's not just a saying. It's not so much to make sure that you acquire food from good suppliers to feel good about yourself. Right? It's really about actually naming that. So the people who are eating know that you've thought about these things. Most, especially if you're in a predominantly African American church, our ancestors come from agriculture. So you know, you're maybe a generation or two removed from people who are farmers and they can relate to that. My experience is they respect that and they honor that and there's a meaning there. And so helping them reconnect with those stories of their childhood. Modeling that particular kind of service, helping them understand that our bowls and plates tell a story about who we are and who we want to be in the communities that we belong to be a part of. I think this is essential into the first steps of getting people to think theologically about food. When you're trying to get people to consider these elements of maybe animal welfare, the welfare of the laborers, where the food comes from, all of these critical questions, what are some of the challenges you've encountered? Trying to get people to think theologically about food. So I would say the strongest challenges are from churches who tend to have more of an inward focus. And one could say that's most churches. Inward focused, meaning that they are focused on preservation. Self-preservation rather than any kind of ministry that's really directed towards a kind of solidarity for the community. Is that focus around sufficient funding to keep the church running? Yes. Often focused around sufficient funding. Operating out of a kind of a scarcity mindset that we have to do things to keep things open for us. And so you meet, I've met resistance by saying, well, this sounds great, but what you're asking us to do is going to cost more money if we buy food the way you're talking about. And if we do this, you know, we don't have the budget line item to do this kinds of work. We're more concerned about other things in the community. This seems as though it's not important enough because it's just about food and it's just about animals, right? That's been the pushback that I would get. The primary, strongest push back I get. When you look at those places where it's not where you would like it to go in terms of a theological underpinning around food, what does it look like and where are you trying to take it? I would say what it looks like when people haven't thought theologically about food and just have their plate there--it's usually food that not locally sourced and it's animal products that come from a factory farm in ways in which their food not only harms the environment, that only harms the animal, but that harms people. And this is where I'm able to, I find that's the space that I'm able to get people to begin to see the importance of changing. I think the dimension of farm workers and factory farm workers is obscured by the ways in which we buy groceries. And so people don't see the ways in which people might suffer because of where you get your food from or how you get it. So helping them be able to share those stories with them is, is I would say, one of the crucial ways to get people to think that perhaps there are ways we can change our plates. And I will say to a certain degree there has to be a health dimension there as well, with regards to looking at a plate that they haven't thought theologically about food, right? Where they aren't concerned. You know, it's funny because Paul, the Apostle, has lots of things that are a one might find, I won't say problematic, but somewhat troubling when it comes to society. But if you look at his letters as pastoral as they are, and if you recognize, I think, that at most I would say some of the interpreters are routed around what is it take for communities to flourish. And so he talks about the importance of being healthy so that he can do his job, this vocation. And so some of that language is the language that I use to congregations, for them to think about health and wellness. Not only as kind of superficial, such as I want to look a certain kind of way, but it's I want to feel good so I can do my vocation to the best of my ability. So I can be the person that God has called me to be. That I can actually do the work that I feel as though I'm called to do. And so trying to make those connections, I think. I would too, for large part, would say my work is about interconnection. It really is helping people see how these things are much more interconnected than they think. Because again, as I said earlier, our current model of food procurement just disconnects people in such ways that they just don't have to think about it Delving a little deeper into your current work, you're finishing up a book about African American Christians and food justice. Could you tell us a little bit more about that book? What are its primary arguments and what's the contribution you want to make? Yeah. So the book is entitled Spirit of Soul Food. It is at University Illinois Press. The essential argument there, and that was a part of the research that actually that Farm Forward was funding for me to do this research, I should say in Louisiana. I'm arguing for African American Christians to think theologically about food and creating ways for us to do that that are explicitly grounded in the black experience. Particularly leveraging the framework and language around soul that I think is really embedded in Black culture and soul food. And so what I try to accomplish, I call it a decolonial kind of liberative theology where I kind of try to decolonize the plate, so that we take seriously the ways in which White theological values have been adopted in African American church spaces that have limit food imaginations. What does it look like? Those differences between the white theology around what's on your plate versus the black theology? Yeah, thank you. I think that probably the primary difference I would say is I want us to think about the racialized dimensions that exists with--so it's not only how we get our food, we talked about that, so recognizing that those foreign workers are mostly black and brown is right. It's recognizing that the factory farm workers are mostly black and brown. It's recognizing that the people who live in these factory farm communities are black and brown. All the negative stuff about farming, industrial agriculture affects black and brown people more so than other communities. Globally it actually affects women more so than other communities. And so it's helping them see that and see this as an issue that's distinctly tied to the wellbeing of the black community in America. And writ large. So that's one piece. The second piece is the reason I was doing the research in Louisiana is to recapture some of the knowledge that was lost. I shouldn't say lost. A knowledge that many contemporary black people don't know that's a part of our culture. So I used to volunteer at this kind of urban-like garden that my little brother at his high school they used to grow food. And there was one, a couple of students, but one student in particular that came up to me that I was trying to get to volunteer for the Garden Club. And I told him what we were doing and he said to me, you know, I don't want to do that. What are you trying to do? Make me a slave? That was the language that he used about gardening. And it helped me. It awakened me to the fact that the consequences of forced agricultural labor psychologically and emotionally run deep rank. And so a part of my research, and going to the plantations and doing research on indigenous African agricultural practices, is for people to know that the knowledge--there was a reason why they enslaved certain black tribes and not others. It is because they brought a particular kind of knowledge and skill set that is still used. So the ways in which rice was grown in the Carolinas come from Senegambia. Like it's distinctly African as in the ways in which they still grow it over there right now. Different tribes, the Fulani for instance, are ones that were captured and brought to Texas and Oklahoma because of their particular experience in pastoral and animal husbandry. And so there's all this knowledge that that is in black culture, African culture. We have been often, as black people, are told that we came here and we weren't smart enough to know how to do any of this stuff. And so the plantation owner, you know, out of their gracious goodwill showed us how to grow food because we didn't know. And so I'm trying to undermine that assumption. So these people can be empowered to say, no, this is a part of our history and part of our culture and part of our past. We are an agricultural people. We are people from the land. And so I attempt to reclaim that through the language of soul and soul food, right? And redefine soul food and soulful eating in ways that not only challenge, I would say, decenter whiteness, right? Challenge the assumptions around farming and gardening. But center on the experience of black farmers and black gardeners and black cooks to show that there is this knowledge base that's distinctly--that we have a distinct contribution to make. And that I would argue is also embedded within a lot of Christian language just because that's as much as African Americans have been here. And so ultimately I think that's kind of my aim in the book by trying to describe what soulful eating will look like and what gardening will look like. All these different kinds of practices I think that African American churches can engage in as they begin this journey of thinking theologically about food. It's so exciting to hear your message of reclamation of this pride within the African American community around farming and food. You're here at Duke University and you are going to facilitate a large meeting around food and faith here. What makes this event unique? What do we want to get out of it? I'm here as a facilitator who was graciously invited to help design the process, designed to get people to be able to connect with each other, to not only share what their expertise is but also to plan and think about what we might do after we leave this space. Right? It can't just be a meeting where people come together and give each other hugs and feel good about what we do and then leave and go do nothing. Although there is a space for giving each other hugs. What excites me about this event is that it has academics and practitioners and farmers. Like there's a diverse group of people here committed to changing the structure of our food communities and food systems in America. And I think the potential for the cross pollination of ideas is exciting in this space. And so I'm really happy to be able to help do what I can to kind of create this space for that cross pollination of ideas to take root. So that we can begin to move forward and, and kind of change to the world with regards to how we source and eat our food. Produced by Deborah Hill, Duke World Food Policy Center

Lorna H. McNeill, PhD, MPH Alejandro Chaoul, PhD The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

In light of recent events regarding the racist slaying of African-American Christians and the Supreme Court ruling on so-called "same-sex marriage," Fr Thomas delivers a stirring and challenging message from the scriptures asking, "Who is your authority?"

In light of recent events regarding the racist slaying of African-American Christians and the Supreme Court ruling on so-called "same-sex marriage," Fr Thomas delivers a stirring and challenging message from the scriptures asking, "Who is your authority?"

Our Scripture verse for today is Genesis 15:13-14 which reads: "And [God] said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance." Our History of Black Americans and the Black Church quote for today is from Lee June, a professor at Michigan State University and the author of the book, "Yet With A Steady Beat: The Black Church through a Psychological and Biblical Lens." He said, "Faith in the God of the Bible and an association with the institutional church have had overall positive influences on the African-American community and were key in the survival of the slave experience in America." In this podcast, we are using as our texts: From Slavery to Freedom, by John Hope Franklin, The Negro Church in America/The Black Church Since Frazier by E. Franklin Frazier and C. Eric Lincoln, and The Black Church In The U.S. by William A. Banks. However, our first topic today is some good work done for the "God In America" series titled "The Origins of the Black Church" which was aired by the Public Broadcasting Service. This is just a brief historical overview; we will delve into these topics in great detail in upcoming episodes The term "the black church" evolved from the phrase "the Negro church," the title of a pioneering sociological study of African American Protestant churches at the turn of the century by W.E.B. Du Bois. In its origins, the phrase was largely an academic category. Many African Americans did not think of themselves as belonging to "the Negro church," but rather described themselves according to denominational affiliations such as Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and even "Saint" of the Sanctified tradition. African American Christians were never monolithic; they have always been diverse and their churches highly decentralized. Today "the black church" is widely understood to include the following seven major black Protestant denominations: the National Baptist Convention, the National Baptist Convention of America, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and the Church of God in Christ. New historical evidence documents the arrival of slaves in the English settlement in Jamestown, Va., in 1619. They came from kingdoms in present-day Angola and the coastal Congo. In the 1500s, the Portuguese conquered both kingdoms and carried Catholicism to West Africa. It is likely that the slaves who arrived in Jamestown had been baptized Catholic and had Christian names. For the next 200 years, the slave trade exported slaves from Angola, Ghana, Senegal and other parts of West Africa to America's South. Here they provided the hard manual labor that supported the South's biggest crops: cotton and tobacco. In the South, Anglican ministers sponsored by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, founded in England, made earnest attempts to teach Christianity by rote memorization; the approach had little appeal. Some white owners allowed the enslaved to worship in white churches, where they were segregated in the back of the building or in the balconies. Occasionally persons of African descent might hear a special sermon from white preachers, but these sermons tended to stress obedience and duty, and the message of the apostle Paul: "Slaves, obey your masters." Both Methodists and Baptists made active efforts to convert enslaved Africans to Christianity; the Methodists also licensed black men to preach. During the 1770s and 1780s, black ministers began to preach to their own people, drawing on the stories, people and events depicted in the Old and New Testaments. No story spoke more powerfully to slaves than the story of the Exodus, with its themes of bondage and liberation brought by a righteous and powerful God who would one day set them free. Remarkably, a few black preachers in the South succeeded in establishing independent black churches. In the 1780s, a slave named Andrew Bryan preached to a small group of slaves in Savannah, Ga. White citizens had Bryan arrested and whipped. Despite persecution and harassment, the church grew, and by 1790 it became the First African Baptist Church of Savannah. In time, a Second and a Third African Church were formed, also led by black pastors. In the North, blacks had more authority over their religious affairs. Many worshipped in established, predominantly white congregations, but by the late 18th century, blacks had begun to congregate in self-help and benevolent associations called African Societies. Functioning as quasi-religious organizations, these societies often gave rise to independent black churches. In 1787, for example, Richard Allen and Absalom Jones organized the Free African Society of Philadelphia, which later evolved into two congregations: the Bethel Church, the mother church of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) denomination, and St. Thomas Episcopal Church, which remained affiliated with a white Episcopal denomination. These churches continued to grow. Historian Mary Sawyer notes that by 1810, there were 15 African churches representing four denominations in 10 cities from South Carolina to Massachusetts. In black churches, women generally were not permitted to preach. One notable exception was Jarena Lee, who became an itinerant preacher, traveling thousands of miles and writing her own spiritual autobiography. We will continue this brief historical overview of the black church in our next podcast. _______ Our second topic for today is "The First West African States: Mali (Part 1)" from John Hope Franklin's book, From Slavery to Freedom. He writes: As Ghana began to decline, another kingdom in the west arose to supplant it and to exceed the heights that Ghana had reached. Mali, also called Melle, began as an organized kingdom about 1235, but the nucleus of its political organization dates back to the beginning of the seventh century. Until the eleventh century it was relatively insignificant and its mansas, or kings, had no prestige or influence.  The credit for consolidating and strengthening the kingdom of Mali goes to the legendary figure Sundiata Keita. In 1240 he overran the Soso people and leveled the former capital of Ghana. It was a later successor, however, who carried the Malians to new heights. Variously called Gonga-Musa and Mansa-Musa, this remarkable member of the Keita dynasty ruled from 1312 to 1337. With an empire comprising much of what is now French-speaking Africa, he could devote his attention to encouraging the industry of his people and displaying the wealth of his kingdom. The people of Mali were predominantly agricultural, but a substantial number were engaged in various crafts and mining. The fabulously rich mines of Bure were now at their disposal and served to increase the royal coffers.  We will continue looking at this topic in our next episode.

Listen to this sample broadcast by Dr. Kimberly Hardy talking about "African American Perspectives on Pastoral Counseling" originally recorded on October 26, 2012. Podcast Summary: The Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life has found that African-Americans are more religious than any other racial/ethnic group in the country. Born of struggle and resistance to societal injustice, the Black Church developed as a means of providing both a haven from harm and a sanctuary for worship. The Black Church is still critically important for African-Americans, but the roles it plays may be changing particularly regarding mental health. This session presents the findings of a survey study conducted in two phases: an electronic administration and a paper/pencil administration in the pews of several Black Churches in the mid-Atlantic region. The study identifies the perceptions of African-American Christians related to professional/secular and faith-based pastoral counseling. Specifically, the presentation will identify patterns of responses, reveal the preferred source of support for various personal and mental health issues, and specify ways in which to incorporate the findings into social education and practice.The sample audio was originally published as NACSW's January, 2015 Podcast of the Month. Join NACSW today to gain access to this full podcast, as well as other great resources for integrating Christian faith and social work practice.

Why African-American Christians aren't as prosperous as White-American Christians