The Moral Minority Show

Christian church history is often a white, western, and male-dominated field of study. Modern American Evangelical theology tends to neglect the perspectives of ethnic minorities, the Eastern Church, and women. In Scripture, Christ's movement was made all the richer by the women that were a part of his disciples and the women that were the first proclaimers of the gospel — the apostles to the apostles. Dr. Beth Allison Barr joins the podcast once again to bring attention to the phenomenal women of the medieval church, and how focusing on them could revolutionize the way we study and interpret church history.

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“Do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” This teaching from Jesus of Nazareth is often considered the epitome of forgiveness and forbearance. Author and pastor Melissa Florer-Bixler believes that perhaps this has been occasionally misapplied, and has a much richer interpretation, particularly for those who have been abused or have been oppressed. How can marginalized people follow the way of Jesus while fulfilling Christ’s vision of uplifting the lowly?

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Christianity Today recently dissected one of the most popular church movements in the modern era: Seattle’s Mars Hill Church, led by Mark Driscoll. Mars Hill was a popular brand, only trumped by Driscoll’s own popularity. The podcast series has shed light on that church’s fall from grace and the cult of personality that pervaded the environment. Ryan Poehl, Adult Ministries Pastor at Grace Bible Church in College Station, TX, joins the podcast to give a unique perspective from a pastoral point of view as to what creates an unhealthy church culture. Through our discussion, Ryan offers guidance on how to avoid creating a toxic church culture.

Over the past 2000 years, Christianity has largely been given the side-eye by its observers. At best, the Jesus movement was seen as a quirky community that sometimes cared for the greater culture in radical new ways. At worst, Christianity appeared to be a movement that engaged in cultic practices, such as eating flesh and blood or the exchange of “holy kisses”.  Over time, groupthink and outmoded ethics have increasingly grown to characterize Christianity in the West, furthering this cult-like perception. Is Christianity truly a cult? To begin our new series, “Reconsidering Christianity”, we investigate whether it is fair or foul to describe Jesus-followers as a cult movement. Former host Nina Leon joins once again to help discuss the strangeness of Christianity, and whether or not those differences are wholesome and holy.

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In 2017, hip hop officially surpassed rock as the most consumed genre of music in the world.  Hip hop is no longer a marginal expression of creativity, but is markedly a global phenomenon. 2021 has been a unique year of hip hop that only comes around every so often -- most of the biggest names and personalities in the space produced quality content or full-length albums. In response to this exciting year of music, we wanted to provide a bonus episode dedicated to analyzing this year in hip hop. Joining us for this conversation is returning guest, Tiffany Thompson, as well as a new friend of the show, local minister Kevin Garcia. We hope you enjoy our panel discussion -- let us know your own spicy takes on these albums!

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Let’s get Orthodoxical. Kyle Bumgarner comes onto the show to discuss what it means to be theologically orthodox when American Evangelicalism has hurt the Christian reputation in the public square. How can we follow Jesus and strip away cultural baggage? What is required to form authentic ideological communities of like-minded people?

Bonus: Kyle and Josh engage in the classic Drake vs. Kendrick debate, while Joel zones out and thinks about lunch.

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Another notable author joins the Moral Minority guest list! A.J. Swoboda brings his expertise in the areas of pastoral ministry and biblical studies to the topic of deconstruction. Dr. Swoboda is an Assistant Professor of Bible, Theology, and World Christianity at Bushnell University and is the recent author of After Doubt: How to Question Your Faith Without Losing It. This conversation between Joel, Josh, and Dr. Swoboda analyzes why people undergo faith transitions, discusses the role of idolatry in deconstruction, and explores healthy pathways back to a firm foundation in Christ.

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Cole Niles is BACK! Cole is a dear friend of the hosts who has gone through his own spiritual deconstruction, and is excellent at writing about it on his blog, Unorthodoxy. Cole, Josh, and Joel discuss the ideological factors that cultivate environments that cause people to deconstruct, and the necessary reforms to create improved spaces for processing doubt within the Church. As a bonus, Josh wastes all of our time by describing an incredibly boring board game moment as if it were a highlight (but we love him anyway).

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What does it mean to be Prophetic? Many of those who deconstruct their faith do so because of the abuse or hypocrisy they may have experienced from their faith community.  To combat the growing epidemic of those who speak out against injustice eventually leaving the Church, the community of Jesus must encourage the prophetic voices in our spaces. How should the Church respond when oppressive political movements and religious leaders have made strange bedfellows? In this episode, Joel and Josh elaborate on what The Prophetic Voice is, and how it has been both embraced and shunned in communities of Jesus-followers.

Welcome to Season 6 of The Moral Minority Show, where we are tackling the topic of deconstruction: what does it mean to deconstruct one’s faith, and how can we process faith transitions in a healthy way as a community? In this opening episode, the hosts, joined by legacy host Nina Leon, define the terms of the discussion. The language and culture of deconstruction is so broad, and Nina, Joel, and Josh attempt to speak from different personal and cultural perspectives on what deconstruction has looked like in their lives. Join us as we begin the journey of walking through the controversial world of faith transitions.

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This year has been an absolute trainwreck. But what have we found hope and joy in this year? What can we look forward to for 2021? Joel and Josh are joined by a blast from the past, Nina Leon, as they reflect on art and momentous events from 2020. Join us for a more casual episode and a trip down memory lane (it’s mostly fun, we promise)!

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Critical Race Theory: everyone seems to be talking about it - but what is it? Jyothis James is a PhD student in Philosophy at Texas A&M University, and his research focuses on Anti-Colonial Epistemology and approaches to philosophy outside of the Western Canon. We learn what Critical Race Theory really means, and discuss how to integrate these concepts from philosophy and the legal world to modern political and social discourse.

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Racial reconciliation in multi-ethnic churches has been a huge conversation in the Church, particularly since the 1990s. During this push to diversify local church spaces, the emphasis has often been on ethnic minorities to join majority-white spaces, both in low-level staff positions and church membership. This movement has come with many blessings, but has also been the source of heartache. Minorities are largely regarded as token members of their church communities and feel a lot of the same struggles and traumas that they receive from their educational and vocational spaces. Markus Lloyd has a tremendous amount of experience navigating predominantly white spaces within both the sacred and secular spaces, and we are pleased to have him help us process this dynamic to learn how minorities can thrive, and not just survive, in these spaces.

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Many Evangelical churches are massive proponents of missions. They are attempting to be faithful to Jesus’ final words before his ascension and are trying to complete that commission before his return. But are missions tainted at all by bad theology and America’s paternalistic bent? The Moral Minority Show may not have all of the answers, but we are joined on this episode by Christian Jackson, who has started his own missions organization, to discuss how we can approach both foreign and domestic missions in a healthy and holistic way.

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This presidential election season may be the most tumultuous of our lives thus far. Trump and Biden are the Republican and Democratic nominees, yet neither inspire the sort of confidence that the American people hope for in a leader. In the midst of a pandemic, racial injustice, and increasing political vitriol, voting this year can seem like a hopeless endeavor. Cole Niles joins Josh and Joel on the show to discuss what it means to vote with conviction as a follower of Jesus, when it seems like no option brings the sort of shalom we hope for.

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Adoption is a prevalent theme in Christian circles; since we have been adopted by God, some of us are compelled to show that same love to the marginalized. The history of adoption in Christian circles is complicated - especially when White parents adopt Black children. Ryan Price joins Josh and Joel to discuss his story of adopting his son, Josh, and the lessons he has learned raising a black son. Is transracial adoption truly an effective may to minister to the marginalized, or is it another example of White Savior Complex? Tune in and find out.

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Kamala Harris has been chosen by Joe Biden to be the 2020 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee. Harris is half-Black/half-Indian, and as a half-Black/half-Indian podcast, we should be excited...right? Josh and Joel are joined by Andrew Wong to discuss minority representation, tokenism, allegiance to empire, and substantive change. A pertinent biblical example is drawn from the biblical story of Mordecai and Esther.

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Black Americans have felt alienated from the broader evangelical church in America for hundreds of years. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said "it is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning", and this indictment still rings true in 2020. Irwyn Ince's new book, The Beautiful Community, is a timely polemic to the Church on her lack of true ethnic and cultural diversity in the 21st century. Ince employs a thoroughly Biblically-informed approach to tackle the Christian vision of the Church as a diverse and beautiful community. In this episode, we discuss the re-structuring local church communities to place minorities in leadership without tokenism, assimilation, or sacrifice of orthodoxy.

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While the term ‘African American’ often refers to Black Americans in the US who are descendants of slaves, it also includes those who have immigrated to the US from Africa. Mickey Gashaw joins Joel and Josh to discuss the African immigrant (and second-generation) experience - as well as how it relates to the Black Lives Matter movement. Listen as we examine the similarities and differences between Mickey’s upbringing and those of Joel and Josh - whose experiences are most similar?

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