Postulating Solutions with Preachers

Jade Simmons joins Pastor Perkins and Pastor Watts to discuss her candidacy for President of the United States. Candidate Simmons explains her goal to bring servant-leadership from a non-partisan leader, and why she believes this is so much better for the future of the country than looking for a political savior. Simmons rejects the idea of gradual, symbolic change when real and tangible change is needed, and she offers examples related to education, criminal justice, and healthcare. She explains how she intends to bring vision and her unique leadership capacity as a Black woman to involving the American people in healthy governance.

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Pastor Perkins and Pastor Watts are joined by Rev. Cecilia Williams, the President and CEO of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) to talk about place-based people-focused community development. Rev. Williams shares her encouragement and disappointment in how the church responded in Minneapolis this summer. They discuss the importance of developing home-grown leaders in the practitioner-based CCDA movement, along with the necessity of engaging systems and structures. Pastor Watts discusses truancy and the schoolyard to prison pipeline as a practical example of a system in need of reform, and the long slow work of making change.

Rev. Williams highlights the CCDA Collective that will take place October 1-3, 2020: The World has Changed, but Our Mission Remains the Same.

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Pastor Perkins and Pastor Watts discuss the removal of the Mississippi state flag and statues as well as renaming schools. Pastor Perkins asks “How do we get from where we are today to where we need to go?” and Pastor Watts argues for the creation of economic justice and equity funds.

They discuss the church's responsibility for the poor; the difference between giving money to poor people and addressing systemic poverty; and the need for voting plus action.

The Pastors ask whether the Church in America is still an essential institution and discuss the need for courage in exercising the prophetic responsibility of the Church.

Ms. Sandra Chappelle joins them toward the end with a reminder of where real change comes from.

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Recording artists Propaganda and Jon Foreman (of Switchfoot) join Pastor John Perkins and Pastor Matthew J. Watts to discuss the racial divide in America today. They discuss law enforcement, the question of who America is, the role of music and sports, and the hope they have.

Economic justice and equity require real-life strategies and tactics. Pioneer church planter, Dr. Robert Owens, of the Evangelical Covenant, joins Pastor Perkins and Pastor Watts to discuss how to move the conversation forward in order to discover practical ways to make an impact. Calandra joins in with information on police budgets and the pastors discuss #defundthepolice, youth suspension, juvenile justice, and over-criminalization in the second half.

Joe Knittig, CEO of the Global Orphan Project joins Pastor Perkins and Pastor Watts to discuss spiritual fatherlessness as a global malady. They discuss how God has built the church around the world as a global distribution network, which can excel in the care of children and families in crisis. The pastors consider issues of socioeconomic disproportionality and large increases in the need for foster care placement. Joe describes the CarePortal platform, which connects churches with needs in the community, while encouraging listeners to search out what God is up to. Finally, the pastors discuss connections between criminal justice reform and child welfare reform as well as long term systemic issues with the ways in which government attempts to parent children in crisis.

Pastor Perkins asks Pastor Watts how move to action with the ideas he presented in his recent address. Pastor Watts explains how to address gaps in what the government is already doing to lift people out of poverty. They discuss the generational shift among African Americans and the ways in which the church has failed to meaningfully engage issues of justice and poverty on the national scene and how this has impacted people’s faith.

The pastors also discuss the idea that many people do not actually care about the poor, and how to hold government officials accountable even when they don’t care.

Minneapolis Pastor Luke Swanson joins Pastor Perkins and Pastor Watts to talk about the protests as well as race relations among pastors in Minneapolis. Pastor Watts discusses divisions within the African American church, and how important it is that the church demonstrate that Black lives matter through pursuing justice and equity in every area of society. The pastors then discuss how White folks can move toward confession and lament instead of defensiveness and how the question of "who is my neighbor" can guide meaningful responses. Pastor Watts suggests where people can start if they want to make a difference. Pastor John talks about the tension between power and authority.

Pastor Watts gave an address on Tuesday May 19, detailing missed opportunities to move toward health parity and increased health for all. In this episode, we present a excerpt of the address, followed by a conversation with Pastor Perkins, Sandra Chapelle, Bishop Thomas Jenkins, and Pastor Watts.

They discuss why it is so important for the church to postulate place-based people-focused solutions to the problems that society faces, and consider examples of church-based initiatives that have made a real impact.

Pastor Watts gives a preview of his address that will happen on Tuesday May 19, detailing missed opportunities to move toward health parity and increased health for all. Pastor Watts suggests a path toward community health through accessing money that the Federal Government has sent to the states and calls on Christian leaders to mobilize to address the systemic causes behind the health inequity. Pastor Watts explains why it is so important for the church to postulate place-based people-focused solutions to the problems that society faces, and how Christians with different perspectives on these issues can think about one another. They also explain how place-based people-focused Christian Community Development models are uniquely suited to make a difference today.