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In the second episode of our series investigating the lives of overlooked witnesses to Jesus Christ, Matt introduces you to Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American poet, a significant contributor to the abolitionist cause, and a faithful disciple of Christ. This brilliant sister was a master with words; we encourage you to read some of her poetry and consider her witness to Christ.

For further reading:
- "Phillis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage," Vincent Caretta [https://smile.amazon.com/Phillis-Wheatley-Biography-Genius-Bondage/dp/0820333387]
- "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral," Phillis Wheatley [https://smile.amazon.com/Poems-Various-Subjects-Religious-Moral/dp/1540316785]
- You can find individual poems published simply by Googling them. Those I mentioned in the podcast include “To His Excellency, George Washington,” “An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of that Celebrated Divine, and Eminent Servant of Jesus Christ, the Reverend and Learned George Whitefield,” and “On the Death of General Wooster.”
- "The Collected Works of Phillis Wheatley," edited by John C. Shields [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/collected-works-of-phillis-wheatley-phillis-wheatley/1100465876]

Have questions or ideas for a future episode? Email them to [email protected].

Bespoken is a weekly podcast by Pastors, Jay Thomas and Ryan McKee. Each week we cover spiritual topics and issues that will help you grow closer to God and deeper in Christ.

Jay and Ryan are taking a break, so we begin a new series with Matt Gilleskie (our producer) flying solo. In this episode, Matt introduces you to Lemuel Haynes, a remarkable pastor and activist living during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Haynes was the first African American ordained in any religious body in America, the first to receive an honorary graduate degree, and a pastor of character, commitment, and intense hope in the Sovereign God. This brother has much to teach us.

 For further reading…

• May We Meet in the Heavenly World: The Piety of Lemuel Haynes, Thabiti Anyabwile
• The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors, Thabiti Anyabwile
• Sketches of the Life and Character of the Rev. Lemuel Haynes, Timothy Mather Cooley

 The books below are scholarly works and thus are quite expensive. I include them here because they may be available at your library or for online reading, if you are affiliated with an institution of higher education.

• Black Puritan, Black Republican: The Life and Thought of Lemuel Haynes, 1753-1833, John Saillant (note: “Republican,” as used in the title, denotes sympathy with the American cause against Great Britain and monarchy generally, not a contemporary political party)
• Black Preacher to White America: The Collected Writings of Lemuel Haynes, 1774-1833, edited by Richard Newman

Have questions or ideas for a future episode? Email them to [email protected].

Bespoken is a weekly podcast by Pastors, Jay Thomas and Ryan McKee. Each week we cover spiritual topics and issues that will help you grow closer to God and deeper in Christ. 

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jay and Ryan are taking a break, so we begin a new series with Matt Gilleskie (our producer) flying solo. In this episode, Matt introduces you to Lemuel Haynes, a remarkable pastor and activist living during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Haynes was the first African American ordained in any religious body in America, the first to receive an honorary graduate degree, and a pastor of character, commitment, and intense hope in the Sovereign God. This brother has much to teach us.

For further reading…
- "May We Meet in the Heavenly World: The Piety of Lemuel Haynes", Thabiti Anyabwile
- "The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors", Thabiti Anyabwile
- "Sketches of the Life and Character of the Rev. Lemuel Haynes", Timothy Mather Cooley

The books below are scholarly works and thus are quite expensive. I include them here because they may be available at your library or for online reading, if you are affiliated with an institution of higher education.

- "Black Puritan, Black Republican: The Life and Thought of Lemuel Haynes", 1753-1833, John Saillant (note: “Republican,” as used in the title, denotes sympathy with the American cause against Great Britain and monarchy generally, not a contemporary political party)
- "Black Preacher to White America: The Collected Writings of Lemuel Haynes", 1774-1833, edited by Richard Newman

Have questions or ideas for a future episode? Email them to [email protected].

Bespoken is a weekly podcast by Pastors, Jay Thomas and Ryan McKee. Each week we cover spiritual topics and issues that will help you grow closer to God and deeper in Christ.

Restrictions on gathering during the pandemic call for robust reflection on the church’s life together. That’s why Jay, Ryan, and Matt are investigating the theological and practical import of the physical gathering of the local church. This episode takes the theme in a slightly different direction than previous episodes in this series. Jay, Ryan, and Matt talk about the spiritual practice of feasting — not gluttony - but celebrating over a meal with friends. How does God work through such a practice? Is that even in the Bible? Tune in to find out.

If you’re interested in this topic, check out some of these resources:
- For an in-depth audio treatment of this topic, check out Mark Hampton’s Bespoken series on a theology of food [https://shows.acast.com/bespoken/episodes/food-for-thought-part-1]
- For a deeper theological treatment of this topic in book form, see "The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection" by Robert Farrar Capon [https://smile.amazon.com/Supper-Lamb-Culinary-Reflection-Library/dp/0375760563]
- For convicting and practical books on a related topic, hospitality, see Rosaria Butterfield’s "The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World" [https://smile.amazon.com/Gospel-Comes-House-Key-Post-Christian/dp/143355786X] and "A Meal With Jesus" by Tim Chester [https://smile.amazon.com/Meal-Jesus-Discovering-Community-Mission/dp/1433521369]

Have questions or ideas for a future episode? Email them to [email protected].

Bespoken is a weekly podcast by Pastors, Jay Thomas and Ryan McKee. Each week we cover spiritual topics and issues that will help you grow closer to God and deeper in Christ.

Since its inception, CHBC has been known as a gathering of believers from diverse backgrounds of thought and culture. And, while such diversity is often a blessing; loving agreement in Christ between those who disagree politically presents unique challenges for pastoral shepherding. 

In this episode, Jay and Ryan discuss those challenges. They name the difficulties and the joys associated with pastoring a diverse congregation. They clarify other statements that the church has made on the riot at the Capitol. They discuss the "how" of communication (the means used to deliver a message). And they examine and explain their motives and intentions, which have guided their responses.

Near the end of the episode, Pastor Jay references a sermon by Zack Eswine called, "What Does Jesus Say About God and Country?" Watch the message here.

Have questions or ideas for a future episode? Email them to [email protected].

Bespoken is a weekly podcast by Pastors, Jay Thomas and Ryan McKee. Each week we cover spiritual topics and issues that will help you grow closer to God and deeper in Christ. 

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Since its inception, CHBC has been known as a gathering of believers from diverse backgrounds of thought and culture. And, while such diversity is often a blessing; loving agreement in Christ between those who disagree politically presents unique challenges for pastoral shepherding.

In this episode, Jay and Ryan discuss those challenges. They name the difficulties and the joys associated with pastoring a diverse congregation. They clarify other statements that the church has made on the riot at the Capitol. They discuss the "how" of communication (the means used to deliver a message). And they examine and explain their motives and intentions, which have guided their responses.

Near the end of the episode, Pastor Jay references a sermon by Zack Eswine called, "What Does Jesus Say About God and Country?" Watch the message here: https://subspla.sh/5mw6hpt

Have questions or ideas for a future episode? Email them to [email protected].

Bespoken is a weekly podcast by Pastors, Jay Thomas and Ryan McKee. Each week we cover spiritual topics and issues that will help you grow closer to God and deeper in Christ.

Restrictions on gathering during the pandemic call for robust reflection on the church’s life together. That’s why Jay, Ryan, and Matt are investigating the theological and practical import of the physical gathering of the local church. 

This episode builds on the conceptual foundation of the previous episode. Given that the physical gathering of the local church is essential to being a church and discipleship in the way of Jesus, what place do internet and digital media have in church? Can these complement the physical gathering of the local church? Do these detract from the life of the church? Jay, Ryan, and Matt try to understand the proper uses and limits of technology in the church’s regular, gathered worship.

Have questions or ideas for a future episode? Email them to [email protected].

Bespoken is a weekly podcast by Pastors, Jay Thomas and Ryan McKee. Each week we cover spiritual topics and issues that will help you grow closer to God and deeper in Christ. 

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Restrictions on gathering during the pandemic call for robust reflection on the church’s life together. That’s why Jay, Ryan, and Matt are investigating the theological and practical import of the physical gathering of the local church.

This episode builds on the conceptual foundation of the previous episode. Given that the physical gathering of the local church is essential to being a church and discipleship in the way of Jesus, what place do internet and digital media have in church? Can these complement the physical gathering of the local church? Do these detract from the life of the church? Jay, Ryan, and Matt try to understand the proper uses and limits of technology in the church’s regular, gathered worship.

Have questions or ideas for a future episode? Email them to [email protected].

Bespoken is a weekly podcast by Pastors, Jay Thomas and Ryan McKee. Each week we cover spiritual topics and issues that will help you grow closer to God and deeper in Christ.

Restrictions on gathering during the pandemic call for robust reflection on the church’s life together. That’s why Jay, Ryan, and Matt are investigating the theological and practical import of the physical gathering of the local church. In this episode, they introduce the theological basis for the claim that Christian discipleship requires physical presence. They also reflect on their experience of returning to the physical gathering after months of online worship.

Recommended resources:

• The Common Rule by Justin Whitmel Earley
• You Are What You Love by James K.A. Smith

Have questions or ideas for a future episode? Email them to [email protected].

Bespoken is a weekly podcast by Pastors, Jay Thomas and Ryan McKee. Each week we cover spiritual topics and issues that will help you grow closer to God and deeper in Christ.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Restrictions on gathering during the pandemic call for robust reflection on the church’s life together. That’s why Jay, Ryan, and Matt are investigating the theological and practical import of the physical gathering of the local church. In this episode, they introduce the theological basis for the claim that Christian discipleship requires physical presence. They also reflect on their experience of returning to the physical gathering after months of online worship.

Have questions or ideas for a future episode? Email them to [email protected].

Bespoken is a weekly podcast by Pastors, Jay Thomas and Ryan McKee. Each week we cover spiritual topics and issues that will help you grow closer to God and deeper in Christ.