Merry Christmas from United? We Pray. For this very special Christmas episode, we sit down with Dr. Fred Sanders to talk about the Incarnation of Christ. What does it mean that Jesus came to Earth as a baby boy? What does it mean that he came as a Jewish baby boy with a specific ethnicity? We talk about redemption, union with Christ, prayer, and what the Incarnation has to do with all of it. This was one of the most moving and devotional episodes we've ever recorded, and we hope it motivates you...
Dec 27, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 157
Shai Linne joins us again today to talk about his section in The New Reformation (Moody, 2020) in which he outlines various ethnic sins which commonly fall under the heading "racism." By differentiating these kinds of sins, Shai gives us tools to deal with them from Scripture and lowers the temperature of the conversation by removing a label that almost no one can see themselves wearing. While none of us think of ourselves as racist, all of us have been guilty of some kind of ethnic sin in the p...
Dec 20, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 156
It was an honor to be joined by Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, author of the new book The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, & Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis. Dr. Prior has keen insight into the role our imaginations play in creating assumptions about ourselves and those around us. She shares how the Evangelical imagination was created within our community and how it has changed over time. We hope you are encouraged to think more deeply about the assumptions we all carry about ou...
Dec 13, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 155
Isaac and Austin sit down with Dr. Matt Hall, who is the Provost at BIOLA in California. We discuss his interest in history. There are good and bad ways to study history, so we talk about pitfalls to avoid and how we can make sure we're being as honest as possible. We also talk about black history and ways it has been neglected, abused, or viewed through a narrow lens of suffering. In all of this we aim to encourage especially those who teach history. It may be hard work, but it is good, God-hon...
Dec 06, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 154
How does the Biblical concept of ethnicity relate to our modern conceptions of race? Does Jew and Gentile equal Black & White? Shai Linne is back to take us through Scripture to show how God's promise to Abraham for a multi-ethnic family is central to the gospel and our lives together as Christians. We hope you are encouraged to look to Scripture for help in addressing our biggest social problems. LINKS & SHOW NOTES: This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Rosh...
Nov 29, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 153
Talking with kids about race is hard but important work. Shai Linne is back with us to share his own childhood experience, as well as advice for talking with kids about race. We want to be proactive in teaching our children that they are made in the image of God, and they are valuable and beautiful. We also want to prepare them for this fallen world and equip them to love the many different types of people God has created. We hope you are encouraged and hope you join us in praying for wisdom. LI...
Nov 22, 2023•51 min•Season 1Ep. 152
Shai is back with us for a conversation about ethnic diversity. Diversity is hard. Many of us can love the idea of an ethnically diverse church, for example, but be disappointed when the reality is much more difficult than we expected. We talk through reasons it can be so hard and share personal experiences that illustrate the point. This episode feels a little heavier than most, but even in the difficulty, we trust that the Lord is still working. LINKS & SHOW NOTES: This UWP Podcast Episode...
Nov 15, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 151
Shai is back for the second episode in this series. We are talking books! Both Shai and Austin are avid readers, so they go back and forth with book recommendations across multiple categories. Discussed are books to shape our minds, books we think every Christian should read, books on history, and what we think are the best books on race. Then, after all the books we think may be helpful, we talk about the one book we know will always be helpful - the Bible. We hope you are encouraged to take up...
Nov 08, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 150
Grace and peace, friends. Isaac is out on paternity leave, so for the next six weeks, we will be joined by guest co-host Shai Linne. Shai is an author, musician, theologian, and friend. In this episode, we talk about how complicated multi-ethnic corporate worship can be. As always, Shai is careful to define our terms and keep us focused on the most important things. He offers encouragement to those who feel like outsiders and exhortations for us to keep love of our brothers and sisters as our ma...
Nov 01, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 149
For the third and final episode in this series, Matt Martens fields questions from our audience after his talk on criminal justice reform. He covers topics varying from criminal justice procedure, Christian ethics, history, and theology. We would encourage you to listen to the previous two episodes before listening to this one. Matt's book ends with the encouragements to think differently, speak differently, and vote differently to enact criminal justice reform. We hope these episodes will help ...
Oct 25, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 148
In this episode, we hear an address from Matt Martens on criminal justice reform from a Christian perspective. This is the second episode we've had with Matt, and we encourage you to listen to last week's episode before this one. Matt frames Christian responsibility related to criminal justice around Christ's ethic of love. There are some things in this episode which are hard to hear, but Matt is hopeful, because he knows that the perfect Judge will one day set everything right. We hope this epi...
Oct 18, 2023•39 min•Season 1Ep. 147
Matt Martens is an accomplished attorney with experience in both prosecution and criminal defense. He also has a masters in Biblical Studies and is working on another theological degree. He brings all this expertise together in his new book, Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal, which will be published by Crossway in November, 2023. Matt joined Austin in the studio for the first of three episodes with him to discuss criminal justice and our obligation to love all our neighbors, inclu...
Oct 11, 2023•46 min•Season 1Ep. 146
Austin and Isaac are joined today by Raphael Mnkandhla. Raphael recently completed a PhD on Athanasius, specifically his resiliency in ministry. We talk with Raphael about the life, ministry, trials, and perseverance of this great African church father and all that the Church can learn from him. Join us in praising God for this great saint's life and enduring work. LINKS & SHOW NOTES: This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts. Support the show To lea...
Oct 04, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 145
Austin and Isaac are joined today by special guest, Dr. Ed Litton. Pastor Ed leads Redemption Church in Mobile, Alabama. Ed has also held influential positions, including the role of President of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Ed has long been burdened for ethnic unity among the people of God, so we were encouraged to hear from him what that has looked like over the years. We hope you will share his burden for the unity of God's people....
Sep 27, 2023•39 min•Season 1Ep. 144
Austin and Isaac were blessed to be joined in the lab by Carl and Karen Ellis. Carl is a Professor at RTS, Atlanta, and Karen is a writer and lecturer. Together, they lead the Edmiston Center for the Bible and Ethnicity. We wanted to have Karen on to teach us about the role of prayer in the Christian life. We cover that and much more in this long, hopeful conversation. We hope you are encouraged to trust God in prayer. LINKS & SHOW NOTES: You can find more information on the Edmiston Center ...
Sep 20, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 143
Isaac sits down with a living legend, Dr. Robert Smith, Jr. Dr. Smith is Professor of Preaching at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Smith is a black man who has lived through racism and division, but has not allowed it to define him. As Isaac describes him, he is God's man. Dr. Smith instructs us on what it means to have our identity in Christ as we consider our other, lesser identities. We hope you are as encouraged by his wisdom as we were. LINKS & SHOW NOTES: You can fin...
Sep 13, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 142
Isaac and Austin are joined in the studio by Josh Chatman, Jared Torrence, DeMyron Haynes, and John Talley. As we were sitting around and talking with the mics off, someone asked the question, "who do you think is shaping most people's minds on race, and what role does the pastor play in that?" So, we fired up the mics and talked about it. We hope you are encouraged and hope that church is a place where you feel free to talk about race. LINKS & SHOW NOTES: You can find more information on Tr...
Sep 06, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 141
Bridge-building can be lonely work. Isaac and Austin are joined in the studio by Josh Chatman, Jared Torrence, DeMyron Haynes, and John Talley to discuss friendship and support. What should a healthy rhythm of life look like, and how do we make sure we have the friends we need to be encouraged in the Lord? Join us in thinking about it and praying for wisdom. Support the show To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the pod...
Aug 30, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 140
Isaac and Austin are joined in the studio by Josh Chatman, Jared Torrence, DeMyron Haynes, and John Talley. We discuss social media use, and its effect on our relationships, our joy, and our perception of reality. This was a sobering conversation, but a joyful one as we considered our freedom in Christ and the potential social media has for good. We hope you will join us in praying for wisdom, and that our social media use would lead to greater unity. Support the show To learn more about United?...
Aug 23, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 139
Isaac and Austin are joined in the studio by Josh Chatman, Jared Torrence, DeMyron Haynes, and John Talley. We share ideas on how to engage our communities in reconciling work. How does that look in different settings? How do we keep our focus on the communities in which God has placed us? We hope you are encouraged to pray and love the people around you. LINKS & SHOW NOTES: Josh Chatman has a podcast called "Train 'Em Up" which you can find here . John Talley's website and podcast This UWP ...
Aug 16, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 138
Isaac and Austin sit down to answer questions submitted by you, our listeners. This episode covers evangelism, interracial dating, adoption, and much more. We reference multiple resources, so check the show notes to learn more. LINKS & SHOW NOTES: Parts one and two of our "Advice for White Churches Considering a Black Pastor" episode Austin's Whitest Guy at the Cookout piece Jonathan Morgan's The Beauty of the Church at Prayer piece Our Family Kit How People Change with Nate Brooks New Refor...
Aug 09, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 137
Austin and Isaac are joined by Ben Sciacca, author of Meals From Mars, which is one of our favorite books. Ben has years of experience in inner-city ministry and has much wisdom to share about working for the right reasons, avoiding burnout, and the relationship between proximity, diversity, and unity. We really enjoyed this episode and hope you are encouraged. LINKS & SHOW NOTES: You can purchase Meals from Mars here Ben's article for us about three forms of knowledge Isaac's article about ...
Aug 02, 2023•40 min•Season 1Ep. 136
Jerome Gay is pastor of Vision Church, Raleigh, and author of several books, including the forthcoming African Heroes: Discovering Our Christian Heritage (NavPress, 2023). Pastor Jerome joined us to talk about the common neglect of African contributions in our telling of Church history. His excellent new book is an attempt to help correct this error, and it's written for children. Please join us in praying for wisdom and better telling of truth about our history. Support the show To learn more a...
Jul 26, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Dr. James Eglinton joined us today to talk about his new English translation of J.H. Bavinck's Personality and Worldview (Crossway, 2013). Dr. Eglinton is a leading Bavinck expert, and had much to teach us on the relationships between personality, worldview, and other concepts. He also gave insight on Bavinck's concepts of race and racism, which was fascinating to consider. We hope you are encouraged. Support the show To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring...
Jul 19, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 134
Austin is joined in the studio today by a missionary friend. We are unable to share her name because she works in a closed country. She is also single and black, which offers both challenges and opportunities as she relates to her coworkers on the field and those they are evangelizing. We hope this encourages you. LINKS & SHOW NOTES: This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts. Support the show To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagra...
Jul 12, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 133
This special episode is an excerpt from a sermon that Isaac recently preached at Iron City Church, Birmingham. This sermon from Mark Nine exposits teaching from Jesus on prayer, faith, doubt, and more. We hope it encourages you. This clip has been edited for length, so if you want to listen to the full sermon, that link is here . Support the show To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts , and ...
Jul 05, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 132
Austin and Isaac talk about the problems faced by bridge-builders. Bridge-builders concerned for ethnic unity face problems like apathy, resistance, disagreement, and loneliness. When faced with those problems, should we stay in our current settings or leave? Pray with us as we wrestle through those difficult decisions. Show Notes: YouTube Link: Don't Go It Alone Support the show To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating th...
Jun 28, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 131
Dr. Derwin Gray is pastor of Transformation Church in Indian Land, South Carolina (just outside of Charlotte). He joins Austin to discuss his new book How To Heal Our Racial Divide (Tyndale, 2022). Austin thinks this book is the most complete offering for Christians on race and ethnicity. Dr. Gray has much to teach us about unity and God’s plan for His people. Links & Show Notes: You can buy Dr. Gray’s excellent book here . Support the show To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on I...
Jun 21, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 130
Salvador Blanco joins Austin to talk about leading music in a multi-ethnic church. Music seems to be something that churches have historically fought about. We talk about why that is and how to think about worshipping together when we have different preferences. Support the show To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts , and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!...
Jun 14, 2023•46 min•Season 1Ep. 129
Salvador Blanco joins Austin to talk about what life is like in Alabama as a second generation Latino. Salvador believes that second generation Latinos are uniquely positioned to build bridges between their immigrant parents and majority-white Evangelical churches. Support the show To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Instagram and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts , and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!...
Jun 07, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 128
