Esau McCaulley Makes Grace Plausible

What is the most racist thing you’ve ever experienced? 

That’s the question that was posed to Esau McCaulley, an author, assistant professor, and contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, as he sat on a panel in front of a mostly white audience. He didn’t answer the question. On a new episode of The Russell Moore Show, he explains why. 

Tune in for a rich conversation on suffering, how we tell our stories, and the meaning of empathy. Moore and McCaulley cover systemic injustice, the function of society, and how our personal backgrounds inform everything from our political engagement to the way we read Scripture. Reflecting on the wounds and grace of fatherhood, they discuss how they work to make God’s love plausible. They talk about McCaulley’s forthcoming book, a memoir titled How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South. And they talk about addiction, pastoring, and what McCaulley has learned as a military spouse.

Resources discussed during this episode include:

How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South by Esau McCaulley

Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCaulley

All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore

The works of James Baldwin

The works of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The works of Zora Neale Hurston

The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley

Confessions by Saint Augustine

The Seven Storey Mountain: An Autobiography of Faith by Thomas Merton

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C.S. Lewis

The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage by Paul Elie

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Pre-order:

Russell Moore's Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America

Esau McCaulley's How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South

Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to [email protected].

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“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today 

Executive Producers: Erik Petrik, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper 

Host: Russell Moore 

Producer: Ashley Hales 

Associate Producers: Abby Perry and Azurae Phelps 

CT Administration: Christine Kolb 

Social Media: Kate Lucky 

Director of Operations for CT Media: Matt Stevens 

Production Assistance: coreMEDIA

Audio Engineer: Kevin Duthu 

Coordinator: Beth Grabenkort 

Video Producer: John Roland 

Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton

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