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On Writing, Coming Out & Finding Belonging – Dr. Gregory Coles

During this podcast season, we’ve been exploring ways our ethnic identity, church traditions and personal experiences can impact our theology, scriptural understanding, and the churches we attend.

Last week, Dr. Vince Bantu talked with us about ancient African Christianity, the Black church and the importance of diverse representation in church leadership (and why that’s key to building an inclusive church culture where everyone feels like they belong).

Today, we’re going to continue digging into this theme of belonging by exploring ways our sexual identities can cause us to feel excluded from churches and loved ones.

And we’re going to specifically address why our LGBTQ+ community can struggle to belong in our churches — and what we need to do to make our churches a more safe and inclusive sanctuary for all, especially for those with marginalized identities.

In this episode, we learn from Dr. Gregory Coles about his love of literature, reciting Hamlet when he was eight years old, pursuing a PhD in English Literature, how he came out to his loved ones and church, why he wrote “Single, Gay, Christian,” how he’s dealt with criticism from Christians about his sexual identity, how he’s processed pain and grief when coming out, and what led him to write his latest book: “No Longer Strangers: Finding Belonging in a World of Alienation,” published by InterVarsity Press.

He also shares awesome advice for finding a church when you don’t feel like you belong — and provides helpful insights on ways to love and care for those who come out to us.

I pray this conversation encourages and empowers all of us to create more loving, safe, and inclusive spiritual homes for all.

You can subscribe or download this episode on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to the video series on YouTube.

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Ancient African Christianity, The Black Church & Dismantling White Supremacy – Dr. Vince Bantu

Most of the theology and church history that I’ve studied (and been exposed to) was passed along from the Western church tradition.

And I’ve been blessed to learn a lot from various theologians and thinkers like Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, Thomas Merton, C.S. Lewis, and N.T. Wright.

However, I never knew about the early church history and Christian tradition that developed in Africa, the Middle East and Asia — and how the beautiful Christian theology and spiritual traditions in these regions reveals how Christianity is not a product of the Western world.

In this podcast, Dr. Vince Bantu talks with us about early African Christianity and what led him to pursue academic research into the origins of Christianity in Egypt, Nubia and the continent of Africa.

He also discusses the need for ethnic representation in our churches, the sins and destructive impact of systemic racism and white supremacy in our church history, ways for us to better support our BIPOC church communities during times of tragedy and trauma, and the powerful faith and example that our Black church has set for all Christians. He also shares ways that parents can help raise anti-racist children.

You can subscribe or download this episode on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to the video series on YouTube.

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Prayers During Dark Nights: Prayer Practices When Feeling Faithless – Tish Harrison Warren

It’s been a tragic and painful year for many of us.

We’re watching a suffering world in the midst of a global pandemic, while also seeing the increased visibility of violence, discrimination and hate towards Black, Indigenous and people of color.

And, most recently, we’ve been witnessing increased violence toward our Asian communities, which has disproportionately hurt Asian women and elders.

It’s a troubling and sad reminder of the many systemic sins in our society, and that we (the Christian church) have a responsibility to be actively involved in the healing process.

As a quick reminder, we discussed ways for Christians to get involved in racial justice and care for our Asian American communities with Dr. Russell Jeung, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, in episode 21.

In the midst of all the pain and tragedy around us, it can be very difficult to pray.

Sadly, it’s much easier for me to get angry and resentful, rather than moved to silence before God. It’s a sinful struggle for me, which results in prolonging my own pain and sadness.

So how do we pray when in pain?

Well, I have found much-needed spiritual insights on how to pray during dark and difficult seasons from the writings of Reverend Tish Harrison Warren.

Reverend Warren is the author of the book entitled “Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep” — and she addresses ways to pray when we’re grieving, lamenting or angry at God.

It’s a helpful and honest book on ways to navigate our darkest seasons. Those times when we doubt. Those times when we feel uncared for by God. Those times when we’re angry, overwhelmed with grief, and possibly even feeling hopeless.

Tish Harrison Warren teaches us how to pray through sharing her personal stories of deep pain and traumatic experiences. She honestly discusses her personal feelings during these periods, along with the struggle of needing to be a priest, comforter and spiritual director for others. This book is an inside look at how a spiritual leader copes with pain and trauma, and filled with practical insights to help guide us during our own dark seasons.

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When God Seems Absent: Divine Absence in Esther & Song of Songs – Dr. Chloe T. Sun

How do you handle those spiritual seasons when God doesn’t feel present in your life?

Those moments when you feel alone — and possibly even uncared for by God.

The problem of God’s absence (or hiddenness) has been a struggle for many of us, especially during times of crisis, pain and trauma.

These are times that can shake our faith and can move us into seasons of doubt and faithlessness.

During these difficult periods, the Biblical passages dealing with lament, protest and anger toward God are often the only scriptures that relate to us.

Think about the laments and protests of Job, Jeremiah, the Psalmists, or even Jesus (when he cried out to God for feeling forsaken). In many ways, we are never alone with our frustrations when God seems hidden from us.

Interestingly, there are two books in the Biblical cannon that don’t have any explicit reference to God: Song of Songs and Esther.

God’s peculiar absence in these Hebrew scriptures can be unsettling.

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God’s Heart for Immigrants & Refugees: A Biblical Ethic of Kinship – Dr. Mark & Dr. Luke Glanville

The topic of immigration is a huge theme in our Hebrew Bible & New Testament scriptures.

Think about the story of Abraham being a foreigner in Egypt and Canaan, or Jacob moving his family to Egypt to reunite with Joseph, or the story of Israel being strangers in Egypt (and then being a displaced people wandering in the desert).

I mean, even the story of Esther is about an immigrant woman speaking up to protect her oppressed, immigrant community.

And, of course, we remember that Jesus was an immigrant and refugee. 

The Bible is chockfull of stories of immigration and God’s people living in the margins. And there are countless commands in scripture to love and care for displaced people.

Here are just a few passages:

Deuteronomy 10:18-19: “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”

Leviticus 19:34: “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizens among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

Ezekiel 47:22: “You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who reside among you and have begotten among you. They shall be to you as citizens of Israel; with you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.”

However, the the Biblical mandate to love and care for the foreigner is often debated by Christians as some have concerns on how immigrants and refugees can impact a nation’s economics, national security or their cultural identity.

So that’s why I was blessed to read “Refuge Reimagined: A Biblical Kinship In Global Politics” by Dr. Mark R. Glanville and Dr. Luke Glanville.

In Refuge Reimagined, Mark R. Glanville and Luke Glanville offer a new approach to compassion for displaced people: a biblical ethic of kinship. God’s people, they argue, are consistently called to extend kinship—a mutual responsibility and solidarity—to those who are marginalized and without a home. Drawing on their respective expertise in Old Testament studies and international relations, the two brothers engage a range of disciplines to demonstrate how this ethic is consistently conveyed throughout the Bible and can be practically embodied today.

I had an opportunity to chat with them about their new book and ways to better love and care for our immigrant and refugee communities. You can subscribe or download this episode on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to the video series on YouTube.

Here are some video clips from our conversation:

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On Faith, Fatherhood & Spiritual Awareness – Dr. James Choung

A few months ago, I had an opportunity to take a course on evangelism taught by Rev. Dr. James Choung on SeminaryNow.

Dr. Choung does a fantastic job describing the difficulties of sharing the gospel message, ways to address some of the key spiritual questions asked by different generations of people, and he outlines a simple and effective way to explain the gospel story to anyone.

I was so moved by his course that I reached out to him to learn more about his ministry work, his academic background, and how he determined his calling.

I had such a fun time getting to know Dr. Choung that our conversation moved into a lot more areas like mentorship, ways he cultivates self awareness, why he pursued doctoral work on postmodern leadership development at Fuller Theological Seminary,  the ways his parents modeled spirituality, and advice for parents who are raising children of color during COVID-19, amid the increased visibility of racism and violence toward minorities.

You can subscribe or download this two-part podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to the video series on YouTube.

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Asian American Identity, Theology & Racial Justice – Dr. Russell Jeung

We’ve been examining the ways our theology and personal faith evolves — and how oppression, disability, trauma and racism can shift the way we understand God, our scriptures and ourselves.

Today, we’re going to be focused specifically on addressing the marginalization and oppression of our Asian American communities — and how living in a liminal space (sometimes not accepted as fully American or fully Asian) has shaped Asian American theology and helped us to better understand our God who dwells in liminal spaces, too.

And we’re grateful to learn from Dr. Russell Jeung, a leading sociologist of Asian American identity, race, and religion. He is also professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and author of many books focused on race and religion — including “Sustaining Faith Traditions: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion among the Latino and Asian American Second Generation” that he wrote with Carolyn Chen, published by NYU Press.

In 2020, Dr. Jeung launched Stop AAPI Hate, a project of Chinese for Affirmative Action, the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, and SF State Asian American Studies. It tracks Covid-19 related discrimination in order to develop community resources and policy interventions to fight racism. His spiritual memoir, At Home in Exile: Finding Jesus Among My Ancestors and Refugee Neighbors, shares his experiences living among the foreigner and the poor.

In this podcast and video, Dr. Jeung talks with us about Asian American identity, the history of Asian American studies, the formation of Asian American theology and how churches have responded to Anti-Asian American racism. He also discusses how he’s tracking the rise of racism and hate crimes during COVID-19 with the STOP AAPI Hate project.

You can subscribe or download this discussion on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to the video series on YouTube.

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Finding God in Our Pain & Weakness: Reconciling Body & Spirit in Chronic Pain & Illness – Liuan Huska

Our faith in God can crumble during times of tragic pain and illness.

It’s not just the physical pain that devastates us, it’s the feeling of being dismissed by the God who is supposed to care and protect us.

The Bible verses we’ve memorized, creeds we’ve believed, and catechisms we’ve recited don’t seem to make much sense during these darkest hours. Sadly, the Bible passages promising comfort, peace and healing can just incite more spiritual pain, disbelief and grief.

It’s still difficult for me to recite the Lord’s Prayer because the phrase “thy will be done” unsettles me. It’s easy to say those words when life is easy, but when life becomes tragic and painful, that phrase causes me to repel God. The Lord’s Prayer leads me silence as I’m still trying to process my theology along with the trauma.

During these dark seasons, the only scriptures that resonate with me are the cries of lament, especially the Psalmists who display their anger at God and wonder why they feel deserted by their covenantal God.

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The Life, Theology & Faith of J.I. Packer – Alister E. McGrath

We’re honored to learn from Dr. Alister E. McGrath about his latest book on the life, theology and faith of J.I. Packer in this week’s podcast.

J. I. Packer was one of the most influential evangelical theological and spiritual writers of the twentieth century, best known for his classic work Knowing God. In the 1990s Christianity Today readers named him one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century, second only to C. S. Lewis.

Dr. McGrath’s biography “J.I. Packer: His Life and Thought” focuses on J.I. Packer’s thinking on theology, spirituality and vocation to serve the church.

Alister McGrath is a scholar and writer who is presently  the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University.

After initial work in the natural sciences, McGrath moved into the field of Christian theology. He is best known for his definitive and widely used textbooks on Christian theology and his authoritative biography of C. S. Lewis. As a former atheist, McGrath is fascinated by the interaction of faith, science, and atheism, and writes regularly on these themes.

You can subscribe or download this show on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to the video series on YouTube.

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Social Justice, Latina/o Theology & The Brown Church – Dr. Robert Chao Romero

As you know, we’ve been living in a tragic time in our country amid COVID-19, political turmoil, friends and family members losing jobs, domestic violence increasing, and we’re seeing more violent examples of xenophobia, racism, and white supremacy around us.

A few weeks ago, we witnessed domestic terrorists invade our U.S. Capitol, people waving confederate flags and nooses to incite more violence, and “religious” people holding crosses, blowing Shofars, and plenty of signage with Bible verses to help incite more election anger and protests.

As a Christian, it’s absolutely appalling to see people use God’s name to incite violence and insurrection. Sadly, it’s another reminder of our church’s history of causing trauma.

People are hurting — especially our marginalized and immigrant communities. And the church has a responsibility to address these atrocities and be part of the healing process. And that’s why I’m grateful to have Dr. Robert Chao Romero as our guest on the podcast.

Dr. Romero is a historian and professor in the Departments of Chicana/o Studies and Asian American Studies at the University of California, UCLA. Dr. Romero has a unique perspective on social justice as an attorney, pastor, historian, and the son of a Mexican father and Chinese immigrant mother.

His academic research is focused on issues of race, immigration, history and religion — and his last book “The Brown Church: Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology & Identity” discusses the various ways our Hispanic church has fought oppression, slavery and other social justice issues.

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