Christian Civics Podcast

Ep. 18: ”Why Will The Poor Always Be With Us?” (Bonus Content from a Recent Conference)

If the only evidence of Christian growth in our lives is that it is changing the way we deal with politics, then we aren't actually experiencing Christian growth—we're impersonating it.
This episode features exclusive content that didn't make it into Christian Civics Executive Director Rick Barry's recent presentation at the Gospel Coalition Mid-Atlantic Conference. The topic of his talk was "Radical Responsibility: Fostering a Culture of Mercy in a Representative Democracy."
For more information or to sign up for a one-night-only Christian Civics event in Washington, DC, visit christiancivics.org.

Ep. 17: ”Losing Power Is Painful” (an interview with Bill Henson)

This week, we welcome Bill Henson, Founder and President of Lead Them Home, to talk about what it feels like to lose to power, lose relevancy, yet still maintain your witness and your confidence.
More information on Bill, on Lead Them Home, and a full transcript of the interview are available online at christiancivics.org.
CONTENTS
00:00-09:15 Introduction, terms of conversation, power.
09:20-27:45 Interview
27:55-32:30 A foreign country
32:32-35:15 Prayer
35:17-37:46 Bonus episode, endnotes

Ep. 16: Refuge and Asylum (with Pastor Chris Sicks)

A Virginia pastor shares the story of how his church engaged with a national questions in a personal way.
The latest episode of the Christian Civics Podcast features pastor Chris Sicks of Alexandria Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, VA. Chris shares stories and insights from years of shepherding a congregation that accidentally incubated a robust community of refugees and asylum-seekers, and accidentally witnessed to their town and the world in the process.
00:00-01:07  Intro
01:07-04:35 Personal reflection
04:38-07:33 Why we aren't usually newsy
07:33-12:21 Interview Takeaways
12:26-34:04 Interview
34:09-36:04 Prayer
36:06-38:07 Closing/Notes
Shownotes and more at christiancivics.org

Ep. 15: Practicing for Heaven (Dr. Curt Thompson, Part Three)

The third and final part of our conversation with Dr. Curt Thompson.
In the first two parts of our conversation with Dr. Curt Thompson, we discussed why it is important to have "embodied encounters" with our civic systems and our political opponents, and what Good Friday can teach us about dealing with the challenges those encounters present. In this third part of our interview, Dr. Thompson gets into what Christian eschatology means for our attempts to deal with political diversity in the church. 
The Christian Civics Podcast explores how the gospel empowers us to think, speak and act differently in the public square. 
Contents
00:00–03:15 Introduction
03:15–23:09 Interview
23:10–25:53 Practicing for heaven
25:54–27:20 Light to the World
27:29–29:15 Prayer
29:15–31:49 Further reading, upcoming episodes, bonus episode
For more information on Dr. Thompson and his work, visit beingknown.com. His books Anatomy of the Soul and The Soul of Shame are both available online.

Ep. 14: Good Friday, Families, Hospitality (Curt Thompson, Part 2)

We continue our conversation with Dr. Curt Thompson, exploring what Good Friday has to do with hard conversations about politics in the church, and why our reaction to our political opponents often has as much to do with our relationship to our families as it does to our parties.

Ep. 13: Embodied Encounters (Dr. Curt Thompson, Part One)

The Christian Civics Podcast returns with an interview with psychiatrist and ministry leader Dr. Curt Thompson. In this episode, Dr. Thompson discusses why it's important for Christians to have face-to-face, real-life conversations with our political opponents, and how we can get better at those kinds of conversations by understanding how God has made our brains to work.
Contents
00:00–03:59 Introduction
04:04–23:40 Interview
23:43–29:28 Assessing our desires, practicing, and sports.
29:30–31:28 Prayer
31:30–35:27 End Notes
Shownotes, including links to Dr. Thompson's books and more information on his work, can be found at christiancivics.org.

Ep. 12: Interrupting the Rhythms Of Our Lives

Chelsea Geyer, executive director of DC 127, stops by to talk about foster care and what it can teach us about demonstrating our faith in the public square. Then Center for Christian Civics executive director Rick Barry connects those ideas to the Advent season and leads us in prayer.
00:14 Introduction
06:03 Interview
25:34 Restoration is coming
27:18 It's okay to be weird
30:14 Letting yourself be inconvenienced
33:27 Prayer
36:07 Further reading

Ep. 11: How do we endure? with guest Steve Park

This autumn has pummeled us with so much bad news that just thinking about what our responsibilities might be to the wider world has to feel intimidating and exhausting.
This week, we welcome Steve Park, head of Little Lights Urban Ministries, to talk about how he's managed to stay active and motivated to do some very hard, dispiriting work for over twenty years.
Then we will call specific attention to a few ideas that came up during the interview before we get led in prayer by Rev. Charles Drew.
00:00 - Intro, a season of endless bad news
04:35 - Interview with Steve Park
27:30 - Burnout
32:13 - Spiritual disciplines
34:58 - Scripture reading and prayer
42:26 - Endnotes
BONUS CONTENT
We just ran two blog posts following up on aspects of Steve's interview that we couldn't get into in the podcast:
https://www.christiancivics.org/blog/2017/11/14/does-your-faith-make-you-distinct-podcast-interview-follow-up
https://www.christiancivics.org/blog/2017/11/14/aspiring-to-humility
HEAR MORE FROM STEVE
We'll be sending out the complete interview with Steve to all of our partners and supporters later this month. If you want to hear more from him about the work Little Lights has done and what it's like to lead a faith-based organization using space provided by the government, visit christiancivics.org and make a donation to our work today.

Ep. 10: Q Commons Highlights: Living Locally; Responding to Injustice

If you couldn't join us for Q Commons in Washington, DC, last week, we want to share some of the highlights with you. This episode features two presentations recorded at last week's event, along with commentary and prayer from Center for Christian Civics executive director Rick Barry.
Shownotes will be available at christiancivics.org later this week.

Ep. 9: Is Citizenship Biblical? Can It Be Christian?

We share excerpts from one of our workshops, translate those ideas into prayer, and let our DC-area friends know about a major upcoming event!