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