A deeply soulful conversation with author and theologian Candice Marie Benbow on her new book, Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough. We also dive into God, faith, freedom and grief. This woman is quite the awakened thinker.

Candice Marie Benbow is a multi-genre theologian who situates her work at the intersections of beauty, faith, feminism and culture, giving voice to Black women’s shared experiences of healing and journeying toward wholeness. Reimagining how faith can be a tool of liberation and transformation for women and girls, she challenges Black women to think critically about how they see God and the world.

Named by Sojourners as one of “10 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2020”, Candice has written for various outlets including ESSENCE Magazine, Glamour Magazine, The Root, VICE, Shondaland, MadameNoire and the Me Too Movement.

Her first book, Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough (Convergent Books), is slated for release January 11, 2022.

Recognizing the totalizing impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on Black and Brown communities, Candice served on the Ad Council’s Healthy and Whole Vaccine Awareness Steering Committee to establish best practices related to COVID-19 vaccine education within African American and Latinx communities of faith and create activities and events to encourage proper education and vaccination.

Committed to faith and gender equity, Candice is proud to be a 2021 participant in the Brookings Institution and Rockefeller Foundation’s flagship program, 17 Rooms, an experimental method for advancing the economic, social, and environmental priorities embedded in the world’s Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, Candice participated in Room 5, which focused on assembling and communicating a case for faith to advance gender equality.

In May 2016, following the release of Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade, Candice created the #LemonadeSyllabus hashtag and social media campaign. With contributions from over 70 Black women, Candice released the syllabus as a free downloadable resource of over 250 works centered around the lives of Black women.

Read The Book That Inspires The Show

Paul Samuel Dolman, author, podcaster, and speaker, presents What Matters Most (the book!) a series of interview transcriptions from more than twenty inspirational Nashville and Tennessee residents, including special guest the journalist and author Bill Moyers.

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, former Governor Don Sundquist, Academy Award-winning actress Patricia Neal, Grammy Award-winning entertainer Wynonna Judd, and many more share intimate and inspirational aspects of themselves.

This twentieth anniversary edition also features bonus material from thirty more notables from Tennessee, including local business owners, spiritual leaders, coaches, radio personalities, authors, and educators.

Your Honest Review of What Matters Most Helps the Show Reach More People!

If you enjoyed this -- or any! -- episode of the What Matters Most podcast, please leave a review of the show! Reviews help boost the show in rankings, which makes it more visible...