United? We Pray

Latest Episodes:

Political Convictions: What Are They? Jul 10, 2024

Show notes

Dan Darling joins the show once again to talk through political convictions. It's no secret that this is a difficult political season for a lot of Christians. Without diving into the weeds of any specific issue, Dan and Austin discuss how we should arrive at our political convictions and how we should relate to brothers and sisters who have arrived at different convictions. Please join us in praying that we'd all do better in showing love and charity towards those with whom we disagree.

LINKS & SHOW NOTES:

This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
You can learn more about Dan here.

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July 4th Special: Black and Patriotic with Bobby Scott Jul 04, 2024

Show notes

Happy fourth of July! This week we are joined by special guest, Pastor Bobby Scott. "Bible Bobby" is a friend of the ministry who has been on the podcast and has written for us several times. He has a particular interest in black history and all the ways our nation has failed to live up to its ideals in its treatment of black people. Despite this, Bobby is a proud military dad and a patriotic American. We talk through that tension and think about what it means to love an imperfect nation. We hope you are encouraged and that this spurs you to pray for our country.
LINKS & SHOW NOTES:

This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.

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Adoption, Prayer, and the Unexpected Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

On today's special episode, Pastor Isaac Adams interviews one of his church members, Brittany Elmer. Brittany and her husband have adopted three special needs children, none of whom share their ethnicity. Her son, Isaac, went to be with the Lord earlier this year. Brittany shares how the prayers of her friends carried her through that tragedy, and how she is still learning about special needs and transracial adoption. We hope Brittany's testimony and example are an encouragement to you.

LINKS & SHOW NOTES:

This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.

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End the Stalemate: How to Have Hard Conversations with Tim Muehlhoff Jun 18, 2024

Show notes

Dr. Timothy Muehlhoff is a professor of communication at BIOLA University in California. He is also co-author of End the Stalemate: Move Past Cancel Culture to Meaningful Conversations along with his BIOLA colleague Sean McDowell. This book, which came out today, is an excellent resource for what to do when conversations feel stuck, as can often happen when discussing race. We encourage you to check out the book and hope you are helped by this conversation.

LINKS & SHOW NOTES:

This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.
You can buy End the Stalemate here.

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Transracial Adoption with Brittany Salmon Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

Brittany Salmon is a scholar and author of It Takes More than Love: A Christian Guide to Navigating the Complexities of Cross-Cultural Adoption (Moody, 2022). She is also the adoptive mother to three children who do not share her ethnicity, so her teaching on transracial adoption is not simply academic. She has spent many hours listening to birth mothers and adult adoptees whose experience has shaped her thinking on transracial adoption. She stopped by to talk with Austin about pitfalls Christians should avoid as we try to do the good work of caring for widows and orphans (James 1:27). She also offers helpful insight in how to care for transracial adoptive families, so we hope you will listen and share this episode so we can all support multi-racial families.

LINKS & SHOW NOTES:

This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.

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Biblical Theology: Minor Prophets Jun 05, 2024

Show notes

We're back in our Bible study series with Adrianna Anderson. Today we look at the minor prophets, where we see a fuller picture of God's mercy to His people, Israel, and to the nations. There are plenty of sober warnings of judgment, but God's mercy shines through these books as time and again the people are given chances to repent and know God as father rather than judge. God's mercy extends to the ends of the earth, and these 12 authors drive that point home. Along the way, we also get more details on the day of the Lord and the coming Messiah. We hope you read along and are encouraged as we continue to see God's mercy and faithfulness to all people.

LINKS & SHOW NOTES:

This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.

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Raising the Next Generation May 29, 2024

Show notes

Few things are as difficult as parenting. If you desire to raise your kids to be agents of unity among God's people, it is even harder. Josh Chatman, host of the Train 'em Uppodcast stops by to talk about parenting. Austin and Josh shared their experience of both raising children who do not share their ethnicity. We hope this episode is helpful beyond the context of multi-ethnic families. As discussed on the episode, diversity and representation is a good thing for all children. All of us have ways we can help raise the next generation of bridge builders.

LINKS & SHOW NOTES:

This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.

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Biblical Theology: Major Prophets | God's faithfulness May 22, 2024

Show notes

Today, Adrianna and Austin are exploring the major prophets and seeing God's plan for His people from all nations. While these books occur in the context immediately preceding and during the Exile, God's faithfulness permeates the whole thing. We see that God has not forgotten His people or His covenant with them. We see that while He uses the nations for judgment, He remains faithful to Israel and will deliver them from the consequences of their sin. God's faithfulness extends also to the nations, who have been a part of His plan from the beginning.

We hope you are enjoying this series and that you are sharing with your family and friends, but more importantly, we hope that you are reading and praying along with us. Time in God's word is never wasted!

LINKS & SHOW NOTES:

This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.

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Biblical Theology: The Exile | Interracial Marriage May 15, 2024

Show notes

What does the Bible say about interracial marriage? Adrianna Anderson and Austin Suter continue this exploration of Biblical Theology as we look at Daniel, Esther, Nehemiah, and Ezra. These books represent the exile and the mercy of God in allowing the exile to end and for God's people to return to Jerusalem. Ezra and Nehemiah both contain references to God's people taking foreign wives, and these passages have been abused, particularly in America, to suggest that Scripture is opposed to interracial marriage. Adrianna is careful to teach us that the thing foreign about the women in this passage was not their ethnicity (which we see clearly in the lives of Zipporah, Rahab, and Ruth) but their religion. We hope you will see how using these passages to teach against interracial marriage is just bad Bible study. We hope you are encouraged by God's faithfulness and mercy in these books and we hope you are reading along with us!

LINKS & SHOW NOTES:

This UWP Podcast Episode was produced by Josh Deng with editing by Roshane Ricketts.

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Biblical Theology: History Books May 08, 2024

Show notes

Is the idea of race in the Bible? In the last episode of this series, Adrianna Anderson joined Austin to study the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. This week, we’re looking at the history books of the Old Testament: Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. God’s desire for His people was to be a light to the Nations. In these books, we see Israel relating to the surrounding peoples and sadly being influenced by them instead of the other way around. Despite their unfaithfulness, God remains faithful to His covenant and committed to blessing the nations through His chosen people, Israel. While it would be incorrect to apply modern conceptions of race to Scripture, the idea that God calls people of every tribe, tongue, and nation to follow Him is clear from the earliest pages of Scripture.

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