Antioch Worship Leadership Podcast

We are in the middle of our series “Why I Am Still a Christian”.  In this series we have been asking people to share their stories of why they are still Christians given that aspects – or even large parts of their identities – may fall outside the experiences of most mainstream, white, American Christians.  … Continue reading Episode 230: Mid-Series Conversation – “Why I Am Still a Christian.”

Rhonda Roorda is an award-winning author, consultant, and thought leader on transracial adoption. Rhonda was adopted out of the New York foster care system at the age of two and into a white American family with Dutch heritage. She was raised with her two non-adopted siblings in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Rhonda has dedicated … Continue reading Episode 229: Rhonda Roorda – “Why I Am Still A Christian.”

Ryan Struyk is many things. A pastor’s kid, a member of the Christian Reformed Church of North America, and a nationally-recognized journalist and news producer living in Washington DC covering American Politics. He also has an impressive collection of framed original front-page newspapers covering major news events of the 20th Century that fill his home … Continue reading Episode 228: Ryan Struyk – “Why I Am Still a Christian.”

This week co-host Jane Bruin shares her story about why she is still a Christian as an immigrant child from a Christian minority in Pakistan who immigrated to the United States. She shares her story of how her journey from Pakistan gave her experiences as a minority person in Senegal, Nigeria, and several locations within … Continue reading Episode 127: Jane Bruin: “Why I Am Still a Christian.”

This week Reggie and Michelle talk about why they both have stayed Christians as African American people.  Christianity was used to justify slavery and white Christians have contributed to the oppression of African Americans up until the present day.  However, the Black Church has been a place of sanctuary, strength and strategizing for the Black … Continue reading Episode 226: Reggie Smith & Michelle Loyd-Paige – “Why We Are Still Christians.”

This week, we have invited Mark Charles to the Antioch Podcast as part of our series “Why I Am Still A Christian” to talk about why he is still a Christian as a Native American person who is an expert on the impact of Christian theology on the Indigenous people of the Americas. Mark is … Continue reading Episode 225: Mark Charles – “Why I Am Still a Christian.”

We have been in a series called, “Why I am a Christian” or more specifically, “Why as a _________ “fill in the blank identity” am I still a Christian.” It is a question a lot of people get asked, because Christians have done some harm historically, and recently in the world. We don’t have a … Continue reading Episode 224: Eric Nykamp – “Why (as a White man) I am Still a Christian.”

Bing Goei is a prominent Asian American business leader, politician, and faith leader within the Christian Reformed Church, in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan where the Antioch Podcast is produced. Bing shares his story of immigrating to the United States, and how his faith has been a foundational part of his identity driving his … Continue reading Episode 223: Bing Goei – “Why I Am Still A Christian.”

In this vulnerable and powerful episode we hear Susie’s heart and her passion to love everyone, no matter who they are. Susie opens up at a deep level about her journey of faith as a Latina woman who was raised Catholic and for many years felt alienated from the church. It is remarkable that Susie has … Continue reading Episode 222: Susie Dixon – “Why I Am Still A Christian.”

In this week’s episode, the women of the Antioch Podcast enjoy reconnecting after their Christmas break and also kick off a new series called “Why as a _____ (fill in the blank) Am I Still a Christain?”. They talk about the inspiration for the series growing out of the team’s last strategic planning retreat. At that retreat … Continue reading Episode 221: The Women of the Antioch Podcast Introduce the “Why I Am Still A Christian” Series

We are a diverse group of Christian antiracism educators and friends who gather every week to share stories of our lives, which some of the time has to do directly with our experiences as antiracism educators. We also are whole people – people who enjoy telling stories. So this week, we thought we would gather … Continue reading Episode 220: The Christmas Episode – “Our Christmas Memories.”

The World Cup is perhaps the most-watched sporting event around the globe. And like most sporting events, the World Cup is not without its controversies. Our team of Christian antiracism educators and friends took some time to talk about the World Cup in Qatar, and how we are thinking about some of these controversies through … Continue reading Episode 219: The World Cup – “Thoughts on Faith and Football.”

We’ve spent the past couple of episodes talking about antiracism journeys. This week we invited John Williams back to the Antioch Podcast to share his story with us about what brought him as a young man from the east coast of the United States clear across the country to the west coast – a literal … Continue reading Episode 218: John Williams – “My Antiracism Origin Story.”

Last episode we started talking about our antiracism journeys and it got us thinking … sometimes being on an actual journey, like a trip, a vacation, or just traveling somewhere outside our familiar surrounding has impacted our antiracism journey. Seeing life in a new place, comparing our lived experience with the experience we have in … Continue reading Episode 217: Antiracism Journeys – “Reflections From Our Travels.”

The Antioch Podcast is a team of Christian antiracism educators who are friends that sit down together each week to have a conversation about Biblical antiracism. It has been a while, however, since we have chatted together about how each of us got started on this journey, so we thought we would take today’s episode … Continue reading Episode 216: Antiracism Journeys – “How We Started. What We Are Learning Still.”

Over the next hour you are about to hear a candid conversation between myself and Reggie Smith about his experiences at the International School of Reconciliation in Rwanda. Reconciliation is a term used to describe Christian antiracism efforts often, but what reconciliation means – what it really means – takes on new meaning in the … Continue reading Episode 215: Reggie Smith – “Reconciliation in Rwanda.”

Once in a while, the Antioch Podcast gets to take our show on the road, and this month, four of us had the privilege of speaking as a team at Calvin University for their annual Unlearn Week, a week dedicated to unlearning stereotypes, biases and racism. This speaking series, which is open to the public … Continue reading Episode 214: Unlearn 2022 – “Talking About Racism as Friends.”

Antiracism trainers get to talk to lots of groups of people.  Sometimes you get to talk to groups of people who really want to grow and learn.  This is the ideal.  These conversations tend to be very motivating for leaders and easier for participants because of the level of interest and buy-in right from the … Continue reading Episode 213: Antiracism Trainings – “Hard Dynamics in Antiracism Work.”

Today we are once again joined by John Williams, Director of the Fellowship Center for Racial Reconciliation in Monrovia, California. John was a former member of John Perkin’s Harambe Center, and is a nationally sought-after antiracism educator who combines history and theology in his justice education initiatives. He joins us today for the second of … Continue reading Episode 212: John Williams – “Internalized Racial Superiority.”

Today we are joined by John Williams, Director of the Fellowship Center for Racial Reconciliation in Monrovia, California. John was a former member of John Perkin’s Harambe Center, and is a nationally sought-after antiracism educator who combines history and theology in his justice education initiatives. He joins us today for the first of a two-part … Continue reading Episode 211: John Williams – “Internalized Racial Oppression.”