How did a Baptist pastor’s kid from a small town in East Texas become a trailblazer in the areas of peacemaking and international religious freedom? Bob Roberts Jr.’s faith journey has had many twists and turns, but ultimately it has been—to echo Eugene Peterson—“a long obedience in the same direction.” Things got real for Roberts when he realized his understanding of the gospel was too small and that his theological fidelity was useless if he wasn’t loving people.

Today, Roberts is the founder of GlocalNet, a nonprofit dedicated to mobilizing the church for transformation in the public square, and he’s co-founder of Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, an organization committed to creating international religious freedom through intentional cross-cultural relationships. He is frequently called upon by the U.S. Department of State, United Nations, U.S. Islamic World Forum, World Economic Forum, ambassadors, diplomats, and others for his groundbreaking work in this field. Roberts is also a church-planting expert, the senior global pastor at Northwood Church in suburban Dallas-Fort Worth, and host of the Bold Love podcast.

In this episode Heather and Dr. Bob discuss what religious freedom is supposed to look like and why religious freedom for others is religious freedom for yourself. They also explore how our fears often prevent us from being loving neighbors, and why interfaith communication is essentially quite biblical.

Says Heather, “Dr. Bob brought so much heart and wisdom to this conversation that you’re going to want to listen to it more than once.”

Reach out to Heather at heatherthompsonday.com, on Twitter @HeatherTDay, and on Instagram @heatherthompsonday. 

Viral Jesus is a production of Christianity Today

Host and creator: Heather Thompson Day

Producer: Loren Joseph

Executive Producer: Ed Gilbreath

Director of CT Podcasts: Mike Cosper