The Austin Stone Podcast

Clarksville was named for Charles Clark, the man who decided Clarksville would be a place where Black men, women, and children could reunite with their families and friends, torn apart during slavery. As more Black families arrived in the area, Clark's visions guided them. He wanted them to direct their own lives and freely practice their religion away from the gaze of the establishment. It was theirs.

They were united by a shared history of being reduced to a condition, being ‘enslaved’ and never ‘a slave,’ and they were determined to be someone—to become citizens of the United States of America on their own terms. And that's what they did.

When the City of Austin made the decision to become what is renowned for today—a place of pristine green natural spaces, the center of knowledge production and innovative technology—they faced a problem. Black people and their communities dispersed in various parts of the city, stood as a challenge to them achieving their goals.

The city’s solution to this challenge was the creation of the 1928 Master Plan, which designated the area east of East Avenue, or present day I-35, to become the ‘Negro District,’ where all services for Black people were to be located. It was a deliberate and strategic decision to force Black people to move into East Austin. Those residents and community members that decided to remain in place were denied services and public investment.

Ross Lester leads us deeper into the book of Matthew with a message on our “Delivered Deliverer” from Matthew 17:22-23.

Although I wasn't there when the ministers in charge of St. John Regular Baptist Association began the organization, my great-great-grandfather, Reverend Calvin Allen Sr., was. He was among reverends Jacob Fontaine, Jessie B. Shackles, John Henry Winn Sr., Buffington, and Horace Smith.

His presence that day would ensure that I would be here today sharing with you their story and how they organized one of the largest independent associations of Black people within the state of Texas following the emancipation of enslaved Africans in the U.S. The St. John Regular Baptist Association went on to have over 200,000 members in its earlier years.

In a 1904 editorial of the Austin American-Statesman, they predicted that the association and the Negro race will become extinct. It read, ‘When the shackles of slavery were thrown aside, the Negroes, yielding to licentiousness and ignorance will soon disappear.’

Well, they were terribly mistaken because the St. John Regular Baptist Association continues until this very day. Upholding the same determination as those men who sat under that large canopy of the oak tree between 25th and Leon Street that decided they would take the future into their own hands and uplift their people.

Originally featured on “TGC Q&A,” a podcast from The Gospel Coalition, “How Do We Love the Unborn and Their Mother?” focuses on how we can advocate for the unborn and their mothers, empower women with better choices, and why compassion and grace are essential in upholding the sanctity of life.

The Gospel Coalition and The Austin Stone share a deep Scripture-based love for all of life—including the unborn. Scripture tells us we’re created in God’s image, foreknown, knit together by God in our mother’s womb—fearfully and wonderfully made. From conception to the grave, all life is precious.

So, how should followers of Christ view the sanctity of life and love our neighbor and the unborn in a way that honors God’s creation? Margaret Gibson, the Director of Development at The Source Texas and leader at The Austin Stone, explores the necessity of the whole body of Christ to engage in the pro-life cause and how we are to compassionately engage in supporting the unborn and their mothers.

Halim Suh leads The Austin Stone through Matthew 17:14–20 with a message on omnipotent faith.

The current racial demographics of most Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including Huston-Tillotson, lead some to believe that it has always been this way. That Black people founded, administered, and taught at Black schools and HBCUs. While true in some cases, it’s simply not reflective of history.

We must remember one thing, that during that time African people were considered ‘property, not people’ by the broader population. However, enslaved African people in the U.S. actively resisted this notion in demonstrative ways. This is evident in all the ways Africans and their descendants pursued higher learning and made historic contributions in all fields against all odds.

Although HT’s history, like many HBCUs in the U.S., are rooted in the agendas that discounted the interest of Black communities, Black people fought and lost their lives in the very literal sense to take control of their education and their institutions. During every phase of Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ existence, prominent men and women emerged from these institutions and went on to do great things within their communities.

Austin is no different.

We partnered with local historians and organizations to create “Know Austin, Love Austin,” a guided audio tour of racially-significant landmarks in our city. The tour highlights four locations across Austin, introducing its listeners to the historical importance of each site. Each stop includes a brief history of the landmark, remarks based on a Christ-centered perspective, and space for guided reflection and prayer.

It is our hope that this audio tour opens a door for us to see our city in a new way—that it educates us on the history of systemic racism and injustice and prompts us to be advocates for God’s justice and agents of meaningful change. We pray that this tour would arm us with the knowledge of the origins, results, and ongoing effects of injustice in our society and drive us to display the glory of the gospel in new ways.

Ross Lester leads The Austin Stone through Matthew 17:1-13 on the transfiguration.

Ross Lester, a native of South Africa, will share how we can grow in our love for the nations.

Ross Lester preaches on the sanctity of life from Psalm 139.