The Better Samaritan Podcast

In just 13 days, two million Ukrainians have so far been absorbed into other nations in the European Union—not in camps, but in homes, welcomed with open arms by 27 nations. How much more can Europe absorb? Roger Sandberg, VP of Field Operations for Medical Teams International, was asked by the government of Poland to operate a clinic on the border of Ukraine. He just arrived in the region, and jo...

Rev. Dr. Nicole Massie Martin is the founder and Executive Director of Soulfire International Ministry and Senior Vice President of Ministry Impact at the American Bible Society. Previously, she ran the Trauma Healing Institute at the American Bible Society. She spoke with Kent and Jamie about questions like: How do you define impact in ministry? What steps can local churches take to make sure the...

Which Enneagram numbers are drawn to helping professions? Might trauma impact our Enneagram types? And how can we use the Enneagram to do good, better? Listen as Jamie (3) and Kent (number as yet unknown) interview Suzanne Stabile, often known as the 'godmother' of the enneagram, on these questions and more. Suzanne's newest book, The Journey to Wholeness , explains what it means for certain numbe...

Participants at last year's virtual Spiritual First Aid Summit were totally captivated by one particular workshop. It was a free-writing exercise with Bethany D. Hiser, who refers to herself as a "recovering social justice workaholic." Hiser authored the book, "From Burned Out to Beloved: Soul Care for Wounded Healers." We decided to bring Hiser's workshop to you, our podcast listeners, for you to...

Pastors can't stop talking about this recent article by Melissa Florer-Bixler, Raleigh Mennonite Church and the chair of L'Arche North Carolina. Nearly half of pastors under 45 have considered leaving ministry in the past year, along with much of the rest of the workforce—a phenomenon which seems to be unique to the U.S. , for various reasons. Since Jamie conducted research on pastors who stayed i...

Michelle Reyes is a second generation Indian American author, speaker, and activist. She serves as the Co-Executive Director at Pax and as the Vice President of the Asian American Christian Collaborative, an organization born out of the anti-Asian racism growing due to the pandemic. Michelle's first book, Becoming All Things: How Small Changes Lead to Lasting Changes Across Cultures , released ear...

There are many reasons we might feel isolated these days. The ups and downs of the pandemic have forced us to socially distance and carefully plan our social gatherings, especially large group events. Political and cultural polarization makes us feel like we no longer know our neighbors and family members. And technology, while connecting us on a superficial level, can leave us feeling starved of...

The hit show "The Chosen" raised $10 million through crowdfunding for its first season alone. And when tickets went on sale for its upcoming Christmas special—which is starting out in theatres–it topped the box office chart. As nonprofit leaders (and professors), Kent and HDI colleague Jamie Goodwin wanted to know: what drives Dallas' marketing philosophy? Is it anything that other nonprofits coul...

As Howard University welcomed students impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Marcus watched with fascination the chapels provided for these students on his campus. That experience—plus serving on alternative spring breaks and witnessing the power of multifaith services at an even younger age—launched him into a career connecting churches and government entities. Now, he's an administrator at the...

Sophia Lee and Stefani McDade tell hosts Kent Annan and Jamie Aten about their personal experiences reporting on the Afghan refugee crisis—and ways they see the church responding. (As it turns out, the more you practice welcoming, the better you get at it.) Sophia describes a difference between people who have interacted with refugees and people who have only read about them. Stefani describes a b...

As disasters increase each year across the globe, research shows that the vulnerable suffer disproportionately from them. Fortunately, the church is uniquely suited by its design to bring much-needed assistance to the vulnerable. That's why in 2011, disaster psychologist Jamie Aten founded the Humanitarian Disaster Institute (HDI) at Wheaton College. Its mission: to help the church prepare and car...

Shane Claiborne, of Red Letter Christians, just spent a few days participating in the " We the People Ride " along the southern border, a story-telling effort to meet the people who live, serve and work along the border. and those who have the best way forward for our immigration and border practices. He joins Kent and Jamie in this episode to describe what he realized there: that hope abounds, es...

Philip Yancey grew up confused by the contradictions: "We heard about love and grace, but I didn't experience much," he says. Throughout his fifty year writing career, this is the book he has contemplated all along: "I truly believe this is the one book I was put on earth to write." Today Philip joins the Better Samaritan podcast to discuss his new memoir, Where the Light Fell . He reveals what ha...

"The question most Haitians are asking [is], what is working today in the country? Because everywhere you turn it's just one crisis after another."—Jacqueline Charles Turmoil keeps broiling in Haiti, with gangs growing increasingly powerful. In addition to recently kidnapping 17 missionaries, gangs also control fuel supplies, preventing internet use, hospital care and more. Haiti was also the last...

We started the Better Samaritan with the goal of addressing two things. Both were inspired by Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan, and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s sermon on that parable: How can we better help the hurting person in front of us? How can we make the road safer for those to come in the future? To that end, at the close of every episode of our podcast, we ask the same five...

We started the Better Samaritan with the goal of addressing two things, inspired by Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s sermon on that parable: How can we better help the hurting person in front of us? How can we make the road safer for those to come in the future? To that end, at the close of every episode, we ask the same five questions: What has surpr...

On the Better Samaritan podcast, we've had the great privilege of interviewing many humanitarians doing critical work around the world. To close every episode, we ask the same five questions: What has surprised you in your work? How are you learning to do good, better? What does humility look like in your field? How can we make the [Jericho] road safer for those coming in the future? How do you su...

On the Better Samaritan podcast, we've had the great privilege of interviewing many humanitarians doing critical work around the world. To close every episode, we ask the same five questions: What has surprised you in your work? How are you learning to do good, better? What does humility look like in your field? How can we make the [Jericho] road safer for those coming in the future? How do you su...

Tensions in Haiti have been high ever since President Jovenel Moïse took office in 2017, with increased violence, tensions, and kidnappings. The opposition had even disputed the date of the end of his term, saying it ended in February 2021 according the Constitution. Moïse refused to step down. Meanwhile, Marc Antoine, Haiti Country Director for global Christian nonprofit Tearfund, estimates that...

On the Better Samaritan podcast, we've had the great privilege of interviewing many humanitarians doing critical work around the world. To close every episode, we ask the same five questions: What has surprised you in your work? How are you learning to do good, better? What does humility look like in your field? How can we make the [Jericho] road safer for those coming in the future? How do you su...

Rich Stearns wants to flip the script on leadership. In his new book, Lead Like it Matters to God , he writes that God doesn't actually look for success. He looks for faithfulness. Join the Better Samaritan email list to receive a discount code for this and other IVP titles! Highlights: How God uses seasons in the wilderness (in Rich's case, getting fired twice in one year!) to refine our hearts W...

On the Better Samaritan we often talk about how to make 'the road' safer. This stems from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s sermon, pointing out that helping the wounded person in front of us is not enough; we also have to look up the road and determine what is causing it to be so dangerous. In humanitarian work, of course, these are known as systemic challenges. Terence Lester, our guest on this epis...

Questions we had for David in this episode: Tell us about the song and iInspiration behind "Turning Over Tables," the theme song for our podcast? Can you unpack the relationship between imagination, faith, and discipleship? What are the advantages—both in art and peacemaking—to being comfortable with dissonance? Listening has been a theme on this podcast, and it's something we discuss with our gra...

Pastor Jean Pierre Gatera landed in Minneapolis with his wife and three kids in September 2016. He later told CT , "Resettlement was like getting thrown into the sea." President Biden has already promised to raise the admittance ceiling to a relatively conservative 125,000. Is the American church prepared to start welcoming refugees again? Gatera would know; he is now a pastor of pastors, serving...

Women and children across the globe spend 200 million hours per day carrying out one vital task: collecting water. What if they could instead spend that time going to school, building businesses, and earning income for themselves? That's the unleashed potential of bringing access to clean water to everyone in the world, according to Dr. Greg Allgood. Allgood is VP of Water for WorldVision. He also...