Christianity is in crisis and many of our youth are checking out, for various reasons. Special Guest, Malcolm du Plessis, has seen this coming and has been working the last 5-6 years on an online library for what seems to be the future of what’s going to happen in Christianity and the world. Common Hymnal is an initiative that he has instigated which is basically aggregating creatives and their creativity from what might be called the fringes of the spiritual underground. Join in as Malcolm shares a story about writing a song that traveled the world, and the supernatural impact it made on a couple, and how these kinds of stories has kept him in the music industry for decades. He provides provocative insight into how colonization is inextricably intertwined with the story of Christianity, and you will learn the link between Apartheid and his relationship with America.
Malcolm has straddled the worlds of prophetic Christianity and showbiz for over forty years – ranging from church planter to record company executive; from songwriter to song publisher; from instigator of multicultural, multilingual worship music that fused praise and protest in the era of his native South Africa to artist manager in that same context; from consulting ministries, movements, artists, songwriters, record labels and publishing companies in the Christian arena to helping nurture the top 40 songwriters in the mainstream. He continues to consult for a range of organizations, yet identifies primarily as an underground activist and as a father figure to a growing number of young leaders. One of his priorities is his relentless call for the decolonization of the worship movement and for doors of dignity to be unlocked for more communities and ethnicities to contribute toward the “common” hymnal.
Resources:
Are You Real Podcast #167 - Be The Bridge with Diversity Expert, Latasha Morrison
Bishop Desmond TuTu, as quoted by Malcolm:
“When the white man came from Europe, we had the land and they had the Bible. Then they asked us to pray. But when we opened our eyes, they had the land and we had the Bible.”
Isaiah 49:6
"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Movie
Amazing Grace
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As Christians, we’ve been given the ministry of reconciliation. We’ve been reconciled to God, so therefore we can be reconciled to one another. Healing racial divides is what Special Guest, LaTasha “Tasha” Morrison delves into on today’s podcast. In John 17, Jesus prayed that we would be one, as He and the Father are one. Tasha covers some deep ground on how the Church has been complicit to racism, and her ideas to deconstruct that. By listening to marginalized voices and creating conversations, she has a mission to be the bridge by calling upon Christians and the Church to have a transformative response towards racial unity. It is this unity that will be a witness that points others to Christ.
Tasha lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is Founder and President of an organization called “Be the Bridge”, whose mission is to help people have a distinct and transformative conversation around racial healing. “Be the Bridge” has a world-wide reach, with groups in North America, Italy, Canada, and New Zealand, and continues to grow.
Resources:
Find Tasha
Book:
Be the Bridge: Pursuing God's Heart for Racial Reconciliation, by Latasha Morrison
If you’ve ever struggled with reading and comprehending scripture, you’re not going to want to miss today’s episode. Special guest, Sharon Kaselonis, shares the problems she encountered in studying the Bible, her prayer to the Lord to know and understand Him, and the gracious resolution He provided to her. Her new book, Jesus, Day by Day, is a daily devotional that teaches you to look for Jesus throughout the scriptures and takes you through a chronological one-year reading plan that covers the entire Bible, so that you can know and understand Him, too.
Sharon is an attorney, homeschool mom, writer, speaker, and educator whose passion is to inspire believers worldwide to read and know and study the Bible for themselves. Previously, she practiced law in the Washington, D.C., area, before serving as the director of women’s ministry at a large church in Jacksonville, Oregon. Sharon and her husband, Ray, live in Scottsdale, Arizona, with their two children.
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