Jim Davis and Justin Holcomb welcome Sheila Wise Rowe, author and executive director of the Rehoboth House, to discuss racial trauma and the many ways it can present itself cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally, and physically. Rowe describes how Christians should engage others who have experienced racial trauma, in an effort to close the trauma gap and bring healing. The group discusses: An introduction to Sheila Wise Rowe (1:06) Defining trauma (1:50) Causes of trauma (6:21) Helping those unf...
Nov 23, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Jim Davis and Mike Aitcheson continue a conversation with Jon Aragón and Ameen Hudson, picking up with power dynamics in culture and society and the concept of transitional justice as a means to bridging the gaps in America's traumatic racial history. Aragón and Hudson share the things they would wish the church would embrace in this cultural moment. The group addresses: Power differentials in scripture (:34) How Jesus addressed power differentials (8:42) Understanding transitional justice (16:2...
Nov 19, 2020•41 min•Season 2Ep. 14
In this episode of As In Heaven, hosts Jim Davis and Mike Aitcheson welcome Jon Aragón and Ameen Hudson to discuss the nuances of the Afro-Latino experience, and the ways in which language and code switching relate to power dynamics from a pastoral and cultural perspective. The group addresses: An introduction to Jon Aragón and Ameen Hudson (1:13) Afro-Latinos in South America (3:50) Afro-Latinidad culture in the US (8:17) Afro-Latina diaspora (17:43) Afro-Carribean, American Descendants of Slav...
Nov 16, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Disclaimer: This episode has been marked as explicit due to sensitive language related to racial slurs. Please listen with discretion. In this episode of As In Heaven, hosts Jim Davis and Mike Aitcheson welcome Jerome Gay to discuss and define dominant and subdominant cultural dynamics and break down how members of each group can interact in an understanding way that promotes deeper love for each other and for God. Jerome Gay helps us see and avoid some common mistakes and pitfalls like power dy...
Nov 12, 2020•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 12
In this episode of As In Heaven, hosts Jim Davis and Mike Aitcheson welcome Dr. Walter Strickland as he traces the history of the black church from its formation to present day. Walter Strickland covers origins, major developments, key figures, regional differences, misunderstood perspectives, evaluation of liberation theology, and the institutional, cultural, and sociological roles the black church has played in black communities. The group discusses: An introduction to Walter Strickland (1:04)...
Nov 09, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 11
In this episode of As In Heaven, hosts Jim Davis and Justin Holcomb welcome Dr. Christina Edmondson who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to bear as she examines some well-meaning but ultimately unhelpful tropes and perspectives regarding black people in America. Edmondson further shows us the ways in which white supremacy deeply harms the white supremacist. The group discusses: An introduction to Christina Edmondson (:38) Colorblindness (3:08) Gnosticism and melanin (8:04) All Lives M...
Nov 05, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Carl Ellis helps us understand the difference between “Side A theology”—propositional theology arrived at through rationality and “Side B theology”—ethical theology arrived at through intuition. He unpacks the ways in which the evangelical church fell into cultural captivity during the lion's share of the 20th century, resulting in deep ethical failures, especially in sins of omission during the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. Ellis shares how our care for ethical theology is critical for a sk...
Nov 02, 2020•53 min•Season 2Ep. 9
In this episode of As In Heaven, hosts Jim Davis and Justin Holcomb welcome Phillip Holmes in to offer his perspective on some of the differences between individual and systemic or systematic racism. Holmes connects these elements to biblical categories like total depravity and unpacks several examples from his own life. He shares the ways in which these things can manifest themselves as prejudice, bias, discrimination, antagonization, and hatred. The group discusses: Introduction of Phillip Hol...
Oct 29, 2020•53 min•Season 2Ep. 8
In this episode of As In Heaven, hosts Jim Davis and Mike Aitcheson welcome Collin Hansen to continue a discussion of the history of black people in America begun over the past two episodes by Ligon Duncan. Duncan discussed the onset of chattel slavery in 1619 up to the Civil War, the sordid practices of peonage, vagrancy laws, and sharecropping and how they helped pave the way for Jim Crow laws in America. Hansen furthers the conversation, picking up with the Civil Rights Movement, which certai...
Oct 26, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 7
In this episode of As In Heaven, Jim Davis and Justin Holcomb welcome back Ligon Duncan for the second of a two-part discussion of the history of black people in America. Duncan began with the onset of chattel slavery in 1619 up to the Civil War in the last episode. In this episode, he addresses the sordid practices of peonage, vagrancy laws, and sharecropping and how they helped pave the way for Jim Crow laws in America. Understanding these historical realities will help white believers underst...
Oct 22, 2020•49 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Jim Davis and Justin Holcomb welcome Ligon Duncan in the first of a two-part discussion of the history of Black people in America. Duncan begins with the onset of chattel slavery in 1619 and carries us all the way to the Civil War. Understanding these historical realities will help White believers understand how they still play a part in our cultural moment and grow a greater empathy for our black brothers and sisters. The group discusses: Introduction and background for Ligon (1:10) How chattel...
Oct 19, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 5
In this episode of As in Heaven , Jim Davis and guest host, Skyler Flowers, welcome Darryl Williamson to continue the conversation on race and justice. Williamson addresses the wide spectrum of opinions on the race issue and our tendency to try to find voices that agree with our preconceived notions. He claims the antidote is a posture of empathetic listening, which he unpacks with examples from his own life in a very pastoral and charitable way. The group discusses: Introduction and background ...
Oct 15, 2020•52 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Trevin Wax drills down on his idea of multi-directional leadership and how it relates to our national conversation on race and justice. He helps us understand some of the dangers on either side of the political spectrum on this topic as well as the relative proportional size of those respective threats. Wax shows us how the historic black church offers us a paradigm for cultural engagement in our secular age and encourages us to embrace a posture of humility as we enter into these challenging co...
Oct 12, 2020•43 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Isaac Adams unpacks certain painful aspects of the broken trust in American culture and in the church. He talks about the challenges of being profiled, leaned upon as people’s “one black friend,” de facto segregated society, redlining, over-policing, and the long tail of the cumulative effects of these and a number of other things. Adams explains how public videos like George Floyd elicit secondary trauma in black persons due to other negative incidents from their own lives, as well as the ways ...
Oct 08, 2020•50 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Crawford Loritts shares how love is a preamble for why we ought to care about the conversation about race and justice. He explains why love means that we don’t just get to walk away from the conversation and how black people have no choice whether to have it or not. Loritts helps frame the conversation while providing excellent working definitions for a number of challenging, technical terms. The hosts and Crawford Loritts discuss: Introductions and the basics (1:51) Why we do cultural exegesis ...
Oct 05, 2020•59 min•Season 2Ep. 1
As in Heaven , hosted by Jim Davis and Michael Aitcheson, is a new podcast in The Gospel Coalition podcast network. Jim, Mike, and guest co-hosts will talk with more than two dozen ministry leaders about how to faithfully process our national conversation on race and justice. These conversations will help listeners think through racial justice biblically, historically, and relationally. Our prayer is that our spheres of influence would be places that look more like God’s kingdom—where love reign...
Sep 28, 2020•2 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Today’s guests are Dee Coleman and Lindsey Holcomb. Both of them serve at Samaritan Village, Dee as the executive director and Lindsey as the communications coordinator. According to their website, Samaritan Village is a safe home and therapeutic program for adult survivors of sex trafficking. This episode is by far one of the most eye-opening, emotional, and practical on the podcast thus far. There were several moments where all of us in the room were left speechless as Dee and Lindsey unpacked...
Mar 25, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Our guest on this episode is Dr. Scott Swain. Dr. Swain is President and James Woodrow Hassell Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He unpacks some of the origin story of Reformed Theological Seminary, how he strives to maintain a healthy organizational culture among a diverse staff, and how he thinks through the future of theological education. It was a pleasure to pick Dr. Swain’s brain on this episode, and we’re glad he agreed to chat....
Mar 15, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Today’s guest is Damein Schitter. He’s Senior Pastor at New City Presbyterian Church here in Orlando. He is also a visiting professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, where he teaches evangelism. In this interview, Damein dives into the way Christians conceive of and practice discipleship. Rather than just a few spiritual disciplines, Damein details how churches and Christians should be seeking a whole-life discipleship. If Christ is Lord of all of our lives, our discipleship practic...
Mar 09, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Today’s guest is Zach Van Dyke. Zach is the teaching pastor at Summit Church Herndon Campus. He also teaches for Key Life and can be heard weekly on the nationally syndicated radio program Steve Brown, Etc. Zach began his tenure at Summit in the wake of an abrupt succession and eventual tragedy surrounding the previous pastor, leaving much of his congregation reeling. In this interview, he discusses how he navigated the difficult waters of trauma at his church, how Summit successfully reaches an...
Mar 02, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Our guest on this episode is Michael Aitcheson. Mike is the senior pastor and planter of Christ United Fellowship (PCA) and is deeply involved in ministering to downtown Orlando. He tells us how he went from playing football at the University of Kentucky to planting churches in Central Florida, and gives us a glimpse of the joys and struggles of starting a church from scratch. He unpacks the story of Division street and some of the historic racial tensions in Orlando, and what it means to shephe...
Feb 24, 2020•52 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Leigh Swanson serves as Vice President of Community Relations at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. She’s also a trained theologian, teacher, and speaker. In our conversation, Leigh talks about why her course on teaching women to teach the Bible has exploded so quickly in Orlando and beyond; she unpacks a healthy way to think through biblical manhood and womanhood, and shares her personal thoughts on the Billy Graham rule and how it applies to Christian women in the workplace. Leigh is a ...
Feb 16, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Today’s guest is Vicky Matthews. Vicky is the Executive Director of Choices Women’s Clinic, which exists, “to equip and encourage women and men to make informed pregnancy decisions.” In this episode, Vicky shares her story of being a young woman with a crisis pregnancy, the way that Choices Women’s Clinic cares for men and women before and after challenging pregnancy decisions, and stories of the ways that the Lord has worked in the lives of so many men and women in Orlando. Vicky’s passion and ...
Feb 16, 2020•53 min•Season 1Ep. 2
We’re excited to kick off episode 1 of As In Heaven with our guest, is Dr. Joel Hunter. Dr. Hunter is the retired pastor of Northland Church, one of the largest churches in the Central Florida area. He served at Northland Church for over three decades in addition to serving as the spiritual advisor for President Barack Obama. His impressive career is matched only by his humility and heart to serve the hurting and disenfranchised, specifically in Orlando. In this interview, Joel talks about how M...
Feb 10, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 1
