United? We Pray

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, lesse...

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 ch...

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 Un...

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...

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...

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 Jo...

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 pu...

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...

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 a...

 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 edi...

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...

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 m...

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...

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 p...

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 t...

Kam Pugh is a pastor at Iron City Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He joins Austin on the podcast to talk about ministry in a city with a troubled racial history. When Kam convinced Isaac to come to Birmingham, it wasn’t only to co-pastor, but to lead. Kam talks about why that was important and what it looks like to empower minorities in leadership.  Links & Show Notes: Support the show To learn...

Faith Côté is a longtime friend of the ministry. She joins Austin to talk about her experience as a frustrated church member who learned how to channel her zeal into helpful contributions. She also gives tips for leading group conversations using Talking About Race.  Links & Show Notes: Faith’s article about her experience as a public school teacher. Our podcast episode about “cage-stage.”  Su...

Austin and Isaac are joined by Darryl Williamson, pastor of Living Faith Bible Fellowship in Tampa Bay, Florida. Darryl has been pursuing multi-ethnic unity as a pastor for over a decade and has much wisdom to share about working toward unity without growing bitter. We hope you are encouraged.  Show Notes: Living Faith Bible Fellowship’s website . Darryl’s books: 12 Faithful Men and All Are Welcom...

Austin sits down with Nate Brooks to discuss Nate’s new book, Identifying Heart Transformation. We talk about different Biblical frameworks for understanding the inner person and how that informs our view of human transformation.  Nate Brooks (Ph. D. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor of Counseling at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.   Links & Show Note...

Austin and Isaac talk about what Scripture is and how we read it. What affect does our personal experience have on how we read the Bible? Does our experience change what is true? Watch, listen, and pray with us.  Show Notes: Here is the Tim Keller interview Isaac referenced. Here is an article by Austin on learning from other traditions. Here is the book , Care of Souls that Isaac referenced.  Sup...

Austin and Isaac talk about what Christians can do in their everyday lives to build toward greater ethnic unity. Racism has affected many aspects of their world, which means Christians have opportunities for redemptive work in many different walks of life.  Links & Show Notes: Isaac’s article about preparing yourself for racial conversations. Courtney Reissig’s article about healthcare dispari...

Austin and Isaac sit down to discuss the last five years of ministry for United? We Pray and some of what has happened before and since. We trust that God is still working, even if public attention has drifted away from conversations around ethnic unity.  Links & Show Notes: Our aims as a ministry, which have been unchanged since 2017. The kit Isaac referenced regarding the CRT controversy.  S...

Overview:   Dan Darling is director of the Land Center at Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary. He returns for the second time this season to talk about his forthcoming book, Agents of Grace. This episode is full of helpful reminders of how Christians can be more charitable as we disagree about the right things and extend grace over smaller matters.  Here is more information on the Land Center a...

Overview:   Austin and Isaac discuss five books which have come out over the last two years, which we are calling, “The Stack.” These books work together to build a positive vision for racial unity which is self-consciously different than the most popular approaches in society.  Links & Show Notes: Derwin’s book . Shai’s book and the interview we did with him.  George’s book , the interview we...

Overview:   Jamaal Williams and Timothy Paul Jones have written a fantastic new book, In Church As it is in Heaven about working toward a redeemed vision of diversity in our churches. They join Austin to talk about it. Links & Show Notes: To pre-order As it is in Heaven, click here . For more info on Jamaal Williams, click here . For more info on Timothy Paul Jones, click here . Click here for...