Reconciliation Roundtable

In this episode, we welcome a very special guest, the dynamic and inspirational Bishop Michael Curry, 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church. Known worldwide for his passionate proclamation of "The Way of Love," Bishop Curry's ministry centers on the transformative power of God’s unconditional love to heal, unite, and renew.

With his charismatic preaching style and a heart devoted to justice, reconciliation, and inclusion, Bishop Curry rose to international prominence after delivering a moving sermon on the power of love at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Yet his legacy extends far beyond that moment, as he has consistently challenged the Church to follow Jesus by embracing love, confronting societal divisions, fighting injustice, and embodying hope in action.

Join us as Bishop Curry and our host, Bishop Mark Beckwith, discuss a vision for a more compassionate world and how we can all embrace love as a force for transformation in our own lives. This conversation will inspire and uplift anyone searching for deeper meaning, courage, and connection.

Guest Links

• The Way of Love Podcast
• Facebook (@PBMBCurry)
• X / Twitter (@BishopCurry)
• Instagram (@pb_curry)

Guest Books

• Love Is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times (2020)
• The Power of Love: Sermons, Reflections, and Wisdom to Uplift and Inspire (2018)
• Songs My Grandma Sang (2015)
• Following the Way of Jesus: Volume 6 (Church's Teachings for a Changing World) (2013)
• Crazy Christians: A Call to Follow Jesus (2013)

It's an honor to welcome new guest Curtis Chang to Reconciliation Roundtable to discuss his efforts to bridge partisan divides through his work on the The Good Faith Podcast and The After Party project. In this episode, we delve into the importance of addressing spiritual dysfunctions in the Church and fostering meaningful dialogues across differences. Curtis offers helpful insights into overcoming political polarization, the temptations of power, and finding hope and mission in local communities.

Curtis Chang is a consulting professor at Duke Divinity School and a Senior Fellow at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is also a former senior pastor of an Evangelical Covenant Church in San Jose, California. Curtis is the author of The Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry Is the Doorway to Your Best Self (2023) and co-author with Nancy French of The After Party: Toward Better Christian Politics (2024).

Curtis is the Executive Director of Redeeming Babel, home of The After Party faith & politics course. He's also the host of The Good Faith Podcast, where friends who follow Jesus gather each week for conversations that matter.

He founded Redeeming Babel in 2019 to address three underlying theological problems driving the chaos and confusion of our current world. These three problems damage Christians in their interior, institutional, and societal selves:

• a mistaken spirituality of anxiety (interior)
• a missing theology of organizations (institutional)
• a misshapen approach to politics (societal)

Guest Links

• Redeeming Babel
• The After Party: Toward Better Christian Politics
• The Good Faith Podcast
• Facebook (@CurtisChangOfficial)
• X / Twitter (@CurtisChangRB)

In this episode, I welcome new guest Dr. Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. He is the author or co-author of four books including The Nones, 20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America, and The Great Dechurching. He has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and POLITICO. He has also appeared on 60 Minutes, where Anderson Cooper called him, "one of the leading data analysts of religion and politics in the United States." He previously served as a pastor of an American Baptist Church for over seventeen years.

Together, we dive into Ryan's journey as a researcher, data analyst, and person of faith exploring the nuanced landscape of American religion and politics. Our conversation covers the growth of the religiously unaffiliated "nones" and "dones" and examines the broader implications of religious disaffiliation across America. We also discuss the intricate dynamics between faith communities, political identities, and the strong cultural markers that influence them. Ryan sheds light on the important role that empathy, service, and community engagement play in his work and life, and underscores the significance of faithful mission over perceived success.

Guest Links

• Website & Books (drburge.com/books)
• Substack (@ryanburge)
• Instagram (@graphsaboutreligion)
• X/Twitter (@ryanburge)

Reverend Adam Hamilton is the founding Senior Pastor of the Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City, the largest Methodist church in the U.S. Adam grew up in the Kansas City area, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from Oral Roberts University and a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Methodist University. He is the author of numerous books, served as a presidential appointee in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and frequently speaks on leadership across the US.

In this episode, we discuss our collaborative work to promote kindness and depolarize America through initiatives like the Campaign for Kindness and Braver Angels. Adam shares insights on his church's growth, guiding principles, and the importance of fostering intellectual and spiritual discourse within diverse congregations. We also explore how faith communities can model respectful political dialogue and embody Christ's teachings to create a more just and equitable world.

Cathy Bien, lead director of communications and public relations at Church of the Resurrection, also joins to discuss their collaborative projects and campaigns to encourage kindness and empathy in advance of the 2024 election.

Guest Links

• Adam's Website & Books (adamhamilton.com/books)
• Facebook (@PastorAdamHamilton)
• X / Twitter (@RevAdamHamilton)
• Instagram (@RevAdamHamilton)
• Campaign for Kindness (campaignforkindness.com)
• Resurrection, A United Methodist Church (resurrection.church)
• Sermons on YouTube

Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz joins me to discuss his journey towards becoming a rabbi, the challenges faced in his role, and his deep involvement in interfaith work. The discussion also covers the Hebrew concept of machloket (disagreeing without rancor), its relevance in the current crisis between Israel and Gaza, and the importance of interfaith dialogue both for religious leaders and the wider community.

Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz began his tenure as the Senior Rabbi of Temple B’nai Jeshurun in July 2006. Previously he served as Senior Associate Rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Sholom. 

A strong advocate of social justice, Rabbi Gewirtz was a founding executive committee member of the Newark Coalition for Hope and Peace, an interfaith organization of Jews, Christians and Muslims that was committed to ending gang violence in Newark from 2007-2017. Rabbi Gewirtz currently serves at the President of the Coalition of Religious Leaders for the State of New Jersey.

A regular contributor to numerous professional publications, including the CCAR Journal, The American Rabbi and The Wisdom Daily. He is the author of “The Gift of Grief: Finding Peace, Transformation and Renewed Life after Great Sorrow” (Random House). His second book, “To Build a Brave Space: The Making of a Spiritual First Responder” came out in November, 2022 (Post Hill Press).

Rabbi Gewirtz is a Fellow at the National Jewish Think Tank CLAL. He appears as a commentator on religion on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and CNN’s State of the Union. He was a tri-anchor of PBS’s (NJTV), A Matter of Faith with an Imam, Bishop and Rabbi from 2016-2020 along with Imam W. Deen Shariff and myself.

Rabbi Gewirtz is married to Lauren Rutkin, a philanthropy advisor. They are the proud parents of Jake, Natalia and Sadie. Rabbi Gewirtz is also an ardent fan of baseball (NY Mets) and football (NY Jets). 

Guest Links:

• X / Twitter (@rabbimat)
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RabbiMatt
• Website: https://rabbimattgewirtz.com

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines. 

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.

Guest Dr. Matthew D. Taylor shares his faith journey and we discuss his involvement in religious pluralism and extensive research on the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement in America. Dr. Taylor shares insights into his background in and transition from evangelical fundamentalism, his interfaith dialogues, and the threats posed by NAR's radical Christian nationalism, which advocates for Christian supremacy and has influenced political events like the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The episode delves into the implications of this movement, the need for intra-Christian dialogue, and the challenge of addressing radicalization within American Christianity.

Matthew D. Taylor, Ph.D., is a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore. He specializes in Muslim-Christian dialogue, Evangelical and Pentecostal movements, religious politics in the U.S., and American Islam. Prior to coming to ICJS, he served on the faculty of Georgetown University and George Washington University. His first book, Scripture People: Salafi Muslims in Evangelical Christians’ America, offers an introduction to the often misunderstood Salafi movement in the U.S. by way of comparison with American Evangelicalism. He is also the creator of the award-winning audio-documentary series “Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation,” which details how networks of extremist Christian leaders helped instigate the January 6th Insurrection. His next book, The Violent Take It By Force: The Christian movement that is threatening our democracy, will be published in September 2024.

Guest Links:

• X / Twitter (@TaylorMatthewD)
• "Spiritual Warriors: Decoding the Christian Nationalism at the Capitol Riot" (a 25-minute video documentary)
• "Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation" (an audio-documentary podcast series)
• The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy (book available for preorder)

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines. 

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.

This is a special episode in which I reflect on the last year of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast and thank all listeners for spending time with me and my guests, exploring how we can be agents of reconciliation in a time and a place where doing so often seems to be beyond the pale.

This podcast is possible because of your support, so if you enjoy listening please share it with others and make sure to subscribe and leave a review on your favorite platform.

If you would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines.

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.

Wilk Wilkinson joins me to discuss his journey from political apathy to toxic political engagement, followed by the epiphany that since led him on a mission of bettering the world, one attitude at a time, by charting a course toward understanding, bridging divides, and fostering a community where wisdom prevails over discord.

We talk about how this mission shapes Wilk's work with Braver Angels and the Derate the Hate podcast. We also discuss Wilk's personal faith as a Christian, his commitment to individual liberty as a conservative, and his views on gun ownership and safety. This timely conversation emphasizes the importance of engaging with diverse perspectives and finding common humanity with others, even when we disagree.

To hear a prior conversation between Wilk and myself where we go deeper into "braving the gun divide" - you can listen to the Braver Angels podcast episode of that name here.

Guest Links

• Derate the Hate Podcast
• Wilk's Opinion Blog
• Facebook (@DerateTheHate)
• X / Twitter (@DerateTheHate)
• Instagram (@derate_the_hate)
• LinkedIn

The Reverend Canon Dr. Stephanie Spellers is one of the Episcopal Church’s leading thinkers around 21st-century ministry and mission. She is a priest, author, speaker, and friend who currently serves as the Canon to the Presiding Bishop for Evangelism, Reconciliation, and Creation Care.

She is the author of Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other, and the Spirit of Transformation as well as The Episcopal Way; Church’s Teaching for a Changing World and Ancient Faith, Future Mission: Fresh Expressions in the Sacramental Tradition. She has worked for many years at the intersection of practice and reflection, renewal and justice. Her latest book, The Church Cracked Open; Disruption, Decline, and New Hope for Beloved Community is an important response to the question, “What will The Episcopal Church look like over the next 50 years?”

Prior to accepting her current position at the Church Center, she taught at General Theological Seminary, served as a Canon in the Diocese of Long Island, and founded The Crossing, a ground-breaking church within St. Paul's Cathedral in Boston. Canon Stephanie spent five years as Chaplain to the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops, co-chaired the Standing Commission on Mission and Evangelism, and directed new ministry initiatives for the Center for Progressive Renewal.

Canon Stephanie began her career as an award-winning religion journalist in Knoxville, Tennessee; a job she took after graduating from Harvard Divinity School, where she studied religion and social change movements. She later graduated from Episcopal Divinity School and, in 2018, received an honorary doctorate from The General Theological Seminary for her contributions to the Christian faith and the wider Church. She grew up in Frankfort, Kentucky and maintains close ties to her extended family there.

Guest Links

• The Church Cracked Open
• Facebook (@sspellers)
• Instagram (@revspellers)

The Rev. Amy Peeler, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, IL and an Associate Rector at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Geneva, IL. Author of Women and Gender of God (Eerdmans, 2022), “You Are My Son”: The Family of God in the Epistle to the Hebrews (T&T Clark, 2014), and co-author with Patrick Gray of Hebrews: An Introduction and Study Guide (T&T Clark, 2020), she continues to research, write, and speak on Hebrews and familial language in the New Testament.

She received her BA in Biblical Languages from Oklahoma Baptist University, M. Div. and Ph. D. in New Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary, and served as a Senior Research Fellow with the Logos Institute at the University of St. Andrews. She is an active member of the Institute for Biblical Research, Society of Biblical Literature, and a Fellow with the Center for Pastor Theologians. Her current research includes a commentary on Hebrews with Eerdmans. In addition to teaching, preaching, and writing, Rev. Dr. Peeler enjoys running, CrossFit, and time with her husband Lance, a church organist and liturgical scholar, and their three children.

Our discussion focuses on Rev. Dr. Peeler's journey of faith, her path to ordination as an Episcopal priest, her passion for and vocation of studying scripture, and the challenges and blessings she has experienced along the way.

Guest Links

• Website
• Sermons (St. Mark's Church- Geneva, IL)
• X / Twitter (@albpeeler)
• Instagram (@amy.peeler)

Bishop Mariann Budde is the bishop and spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., and the Washington National Cathedral. Prior to her election in 2011, she was a parish priest in Minneapolis for eighteen years. She has appeared on PBS NewsHour, Meet the Press, Good Morning America, and the Today show, among others. Bishop Budde earned her master’s in divinity and doctor of ministry from Virginia Theological Seminary.

Bishop Budde believes that Jesus calls all who follow him to strive for justice and peace, and to respect the dignity of every human being. To that end, Bishop Budde is an advocate and organizer in support of justice concerns, including racial equity, gun violence prevention, immigration reform, the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons, and the care of creation.

Her sermons have been published in several books and journals and she is the author of three books:

• How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith (2023)
• Receiving Jesus: The Way of Love (2019)
• Gathering Up the Fragments: Preaching as Spiritual Practice (2007)

Guest Links

• Bishop Mariann's Writings (Episcopal Diocese of Washington)
• Facebook (@bishopmariannbudde)
• Instagram (@mariannbudde)

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines. 

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.

Pastor Raymond Chang is the president of the Asian American Christian Collaborative (AACC), a pastor, and writer. He regularly preaches and speaks throughout the country on issues pertaining to Christianity and culture, race and faith. He has lived throughout the world (Korea, Guatemala, Panama, Spain, China), traveled to nearly 50 countries, and currently lives in Chicagoland, serving as the Executive Director of the TENx10 Collaboration (an initiative of the Fuller Youth Institute at Fuller Seminary), which is a collaborative movement that is geared towards reaching 10 million young people over 10 years with the gospel). Prior to his role at Fuller, Raymond served for 7+ years as the Associate Chaplain for Discipleship at Wheaton College. He also worked in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, and served in the Peace Corps in Panama.

He has contributed chapters to several books including “Ministers of Reconciliation: Preaching on Race and the Gospel,” with other books forthcoming.

He is currently pursuing his PhD on the intersection of Spirituality and Campus/Organizational Racial Climates. He is married to Jessica Chang.

In this episode, we discuss the roots of Ray's faith commitment, the origins and nature of his work to prevent gun violence and the impact of the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings in his life and work, current events in Israel and Palestine, and the role of reconciliation in all of this.

Guest Links

• X (Twitter): @tweetraychang | @aachristcollab
• Instagram: @raychang502 | @aachristcollab
• Facebook @aachristcollab
• Linkedin: @rchang502
• Website: raymondchang.org | asianamericanchristiancollaborative.com

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines. 

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.

Angela Ferrell-Zabala (“Fuh-RELL Zuh-BAH-luh”) serves as the first ever Executive Director of Moms Demand Action where she is responsible for leading and growing the largest grassroots network in the gun violence prevention space. Angela has been with the organization since 2019 leading its movement building work overseeing grassroots organizing, external, cultural and corporate engagement, and national partnerships and programming.

Our discussion touches on Angela's faith journey, the influence and inspiration of her mother as a model of how to care for and love others, as well as Angela's pathway from working as an advocate for reproductive rights and reproductive justice to her current role as a gun violence prevention leader.

Guest Links

Angela's X (Twitter), Instagram (@FerrellZabala)

Moms Demand Action X (Twitter), Instagram (@MomsDemand)

Website: https://momsdemandaction.org/

Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon is the executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is a coalition of more than 30 national Church communions and organizations working to encourage U.S. policies that actively promote just, lasting, and comprehensive resolutions to conflicts in the Middle East.

CMEP helps church organizations, leaders, and individuals nationwide advocate in a knowledgeable, timely, holistic, and effective way to express their concerns about justice and peace for all peoples in the Middle East. CMEP uses three primary strategies to encourage U.S. policies that promote a just peace: Educate; Elevate; and Advocate.

Our conversation in this episode focuses on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Dr. Cannon offers a helpful perspective on the competing narratives invoking justice and peace surrounding this conflict, the underlying issues at hand, and some of the obstacles to and opportunities for a just peace in the Holy Land. Her story and perspectives are fascinating and listeners won't want to miss this episode.

Guest Links

Personal Website: maecannon.com

X (Twitter): @MaeEliseCannon

Facebook: Mae Elise Cannon

Instagram: @MaeEliseCannon

Guest Books

Beyond Hashtag Activism: Comprehensive Justice in a Complicated Age

Just Spirituality How Faith Practices Fuel Social Action

Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for A Better World

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines.

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.

Daniel Darling is an award-winning writer, bestselling author of fifteen books, pastor and Christian leader who regularly appears on and contributes to national news and media outlets. He currently serves as the Director of The Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Assistant Professor of Faith and Culture at Texas Baptist College.

Daniel hosts the weekly podcast, The Way Home, featuring conversations with key Christian leaders on church, community and culture. He also speaks at churches and conferences around the country.

Prior to his leadership of the Land Center, Darling served as the Senior Vice President for Communications of the National Religious Broadcasters. He also has served the Southern Baptist Convention as the Vice President of Communications at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He has also pastored churches in Illinois and Tennessee.

Daniel's newest book is Agents of Grace: How to Bridge Divides and Love as Jesus Loved (Zondervan, 2023). In this book, Daniel explores practical ways we can follow the Bible's commend to "strive actively for peace" even in a painfully divided church, county, and world.

Guest Links:

• Website (https://danieldarling.com/)
• Substack
• Facebook (@danieldarling)
• Twitter/X (@dandarling)
• Instagram (@_dandarling)

In this episode, I talk with my friend and colleague Shane Claiborne about his passion for gun violence prevention, his faith journey, and his work as founder of The Simple Way and leader of Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living "as if Jesus meant the things he said." Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. Now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty and help stop gun violence. Shane also works closely with RAWtools, a gun violence prevention organization with a mission to disarm hearts, forge peace, and cultivate justice.

Shane’s books include Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence (2019), and his newest book, Rethinking Life: Embracing the Sacredness of Every Person (released February 2023).

In our discussion, Shane helpfully shares where and how he finds hope and encouragement in the work of gun violence prevention. Listeners will find this an uplifting and refreshing treatment of gun violence from a lens of faith-filled hope.

Guest Links:

• http://www.shaneclaiborne.com/
• https://www.redletterchristians.org/
• https://rawtools.org/
• https://thesimpleway.org/

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines. 

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.

In this episode, I had a chance to talk to Dr. Gilford (Gil) T. Monrose, who is based in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. He is doing amazing work serving humanity, building bridges, and working on gun violence prevention. Our conversation touches on how his faith anchors him and, when gun violence met Pastor Monrose "at the front door" of his church, how his faith compelled him to respond out of love for his neighbors.

A proud native of the United States Virgin Islands, Pastor Gil relocated to New York in 1999 to pursue studies at Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary. Pastor Gil always had a passion to serve the church, especially young people. He has served as the pastor of the now-historic Mt. Zion Church of God 7th Day church in East Flatbush, Brooklyn New York, since his ordination in 2005.

As the Director of Faith-Based and Clergy Initiatives in the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President and as Founding President of the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, Pastor Monrose successfully brings together faith leaders and clergy of diverse traditions to improve Brooklyn’s communities, regardless of their religious or political beliefs.

Guest Links:

https://linktr.ee/pastormonrose

https://www.facebook.com/pastormonrose/

https://www.instagram.com/pastormonrose/

https://twitter.com/pastormonrose

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines. 

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.

In this week's episode, guest and friend John Wood Jr. joins me to discuss his "unorthodox path to Christianity" involving a beautiful journey of the heart facilitated by lessons he learned from his parents, by performing music, meeting the woman who would become his wife, and encountering Christ in others. John also shares about his pathway to working as the National Ambassador at Braver Angels, America's largest bipartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to the work of political depolarization, which you will remember as the same organization co-founded by David Blankenhorn (Episode 2), to overcome tensions, foster understanding, and help people find common ground.

John is a public intellectual, speaking, writing and organizing Americans around issues of civil society, depolarization and the practical application of moral philosophy. John writes an opinion column at USA Today, was a nominee for congress in California's 43rd district in the 2014 election cycle, and served as 2nd Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County. John is a highly regarded public speaker on matters of racial and political reconciliation. He is a member of the Progress Network, an initiative of the New America Foundation dedicated to foster civilizational progress through thought leadership across a wide spectrum of views, a field builder with New Pluralists, a collaborative of organizations dedicated to civic bridge-building and racial justice, and an advisor with the American Project: an initiative of the Pepperdine School of Public Policy dedicated to restoring the communitarian roots of conservatism. John also hosts the "Uniting America with John Wood Jr." podcast.

Guest Links

https://linktr.ee/johnwoodjr

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines. This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.

This week I had the chance to talk with a friend of mine, David Blankenhorn, about his passion for building bridges of understanding and helping people find common ground. You’ll learn about his journey from growing up in Mississippi to the inspiration behind an initiative he co-founded and leads called Braver Angels, a grassroots movement to restore civic trust that seeks to bring Americans together to bridge the growing partisan divide. David served as host of the Braver Angels Convention, held July 5-8, 2023 in Gettsyburg, Pa., where nearly 500 Braver Angels members along with 200 representatives from partner organizations met to launch a national movement to depolarize America. David is the author of In Search of Braver Angels: Getting Along Together in Troubled Times (2022) and has authored or co-edited 14 books.

Guest Website/Social Media: 

https://braverangels.org/

https://twitter.com/blankenhorn3

Thank You For Listening:

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines (Morehouse Publishing, 2022). 

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.

Welcome to the first episode of Reconciliation Roundtable, a new podcast where we discuss building bridges of understanding across religious and political difference.

This week I had the chance to talk with a friend and collaborator, Reverend Rob Schenck, about his path to God and what he calls his journey of "three conversions," from childhood Jewish roots to Christianity, from a pure faith to a highly politicized one, and from a radical role in the religious right to an epiphany that caused him to return to the simple Gospel that first drew him to Christianity.

You'll learn about the transformations that led Rob on his remarkable journey from the epicenter of the religious right to becoming the reluctant subject of an Emmy-award-winning documentary to his rise as a highly regarded public theologian known for his open and accessible style. To hear more of Rob's story and journey of transformation, you can read his memoir Costly Grace: An Evangelical Minister's Rediscovery of Faith, Hope, and Love (Harper Collins, 2018).

Guest Website/Social Media:

www.revrobschenck.com

https://www.facebook.com/RevRobSchenck/

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes, read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines (Morehouse Publishing, 2022).

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet. 

Full episode text transcripts can be accessed at https://www.markbeckwith.net/podcast