Love Is Stronger Than Fear with Amy Julia Becker

What does thriving, interdependent community look like? Rev. Dr. Matt Floding talks with Amy Julia about Friendship House, a sustainable housing model where graduate students and adults with intellectual disabilities live in interdependent communities. They focus on the beautiful work that is possible when communities refuse to believe in scarcity and fear and rather trust in the abundant love and provision of God. SHOW NOTES Rev. Dr. Matthew Floding is the director of ministerial...

Is diversity or discipleship the answer to segregation within the American church? David Swanson, pastor and author of Rediscipling the White Church, talks with Amy Julia about the segregated American church, the white church’s discipleship problem, and how rethinking discipleship can grow communities of welcome that break down barriers. (Scroll down for book giveaway details!) Show Notes: “David W. Swanson is the pastor of New Community Covenant Church, a multicultural congregation in...

What is the role of art in bringing hope and healing to the fractures of our world? Makoto Fujimura, a leading contemporary artist and the author of Art+Faith, talks with Amy Julia about creating beauty through brokenness, the art of waiting and making, and how the theology of God’s new creation transforms communities of Christ. Show Notes: Makoto Fujimura is the author of Art+Faith: A Theology of Making, and his “art has been featured widely in galleries and museums around the world, and...

How should Christians care for immigrants and respond to the divisiveness surrounding immigration policies in the United States? Briana Stensrud, director of Women of Welcome, talks with Amy Julia about her journey from working in the pro-life movement to working with immigrants, biblical hospitality, and what extending welcome to immigrants could look like today. SHOW NOTES: Briana Stensrud is a human dignity advocate and the Director of Women of Welcome. Connect...

How do we respond with courageous love in order to bridge the divisions facing our country? Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, Raymond Chang, and Amy Julia Becker reflect on racial injustice, unity, discipleship, and ways to courageously love our neighbors. Show Notes: Natasha Sistrunk Robinson is an author, speaker, former US Marine Corps captain, Naval Academy Graduate, and founder of Leadership LINKS, Inc. Raymond Chang is the president of the Asian American Christian Collaborative (AACC), a...

Is healing possible for women coming out of abuse, addiction, sex trafficking, and prostitution? Thistle Farms ambassador, Dorris Walker-Taylor, tells her story of loss, drugs, life on the street, and the healing power of love that she found at Thistle Farms. SHOW NOTES: Dorris Walker-Taylor is an ambassador for Thistle Farms. Follow Thistle Farms online: thistlefarms.org@ThistleFarms@ThistleFarms@ThistleFarmsOn the podcast: productsvideosBecca Stevens“You can’t tell me that love is not...

Marxism is often mentioned when talking about progressive views of justice, but what are the secular concepts that shape conservative views of justice? Are they biblical? Corey Widmer, lead pastor of Third Church in Richmond, VA, tells his story of moving into, and out of, a neighborhood in the inner city of Richmond, and he talks with Amy Julia about race, white evangelicalism, faith, and biblical justice. Connect Online: thirdrva.org@thirdrva@ThirdRVA@coreywidmer@ThirdRVAOn the...

Erin and David Leaverton sold their house, loaded their three, young children into an RV, and traveled the country for a year. Their family’s journey is part of the documentary The Reunited States. Erin Leaverton talks with Amy Julia about their search for what divides our nation, the false hierarchy of human value, and the durable power of God’s love to heal division. SHOW NOTES: Erin Leaverton is a wife, a mom to three children, an interior designer, and a blogger. Her family’s...

Can acknowledging the wounds of white evangelicalism actually bring healing? Kristin Du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne, talks with Amy Julia about the harm of militant masculinity and Christian nationalism found within white evangelicalism and the hope for healing by exposing and addressing those wounds. SHOW NOTES: Kristin Kobes Du Mez is professor of History and Gender Studies at Calvin University and the author of Jesus and John Wayne. She holds a PhD from the University of Notre...

How do spiritual practices equip us to participate in God’s healing work in the world? Rich Villodas, pastor and author of The Deeply Formed Life, talks with Amy Julia about social divisions, the relationship between inner spiritual formation and outward actions, and God’s healing work within individuals and communities. SHOW NOTES: “Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large, multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in...

Can God truly heal, redeem, and transform brokenness? Katherine Wolf, coauthor of Suffer Strong and cofounder of Hope Heals, talks with Amy Julia about the reality of disability and pain, redefining brokenness and healing, and the game-changing nature of community. (Keep scrolling for book giveaway!) “Katherine Wolf miraculously survived a catastrophic stroke caused by a congenital brain defect she never knew she had. After a sixteen-hour brain surgery, forty days in the ICU, a year in...

Liuan Huska, author of Hurting Yet Whole, talks with Amy Julia about chronic illness and pain, experiencing wholeness while living in suffering, and the relationship between community and healing for both the individual and society. (scroll to the end for book giveaway details!) A freelance writer and speaker, Liuan focuses on topics of embodiment and spirituality. Her writing, on everything from chronic pain to evangelical fertility trends, appears in publications including Christianity...

How do we fight racism? Is there reason to hope when history reveals the continuity of racism’s tactics and its multifaceted exploitation? Historian and author Jemar Tisby talks with Amy Julia about racial identity, Black Lives Matter, laboring for racial justice, and reasons to hope for racial healing. Jemar Tisby is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Color of Compromise, and the newly released book How to Fight Racism. He is the president and co-founder of The Witness: A...

Love is stronger than fear. I first wrote those words on the heels of Donald Trump’s election back in 2016, and they became a truth I returned to again and again in the social tumult of the past four years. They also became the title of my podcast, and I’m excited to announce that Season 4 of Love Is Stronger Than Fear starts today! It’s a short episode today, an introduction to the season ahead, including guests like Jemar Tisby, Liuan Huska, and Katherine Wolf who will help me consider...

Do we want to get well? Within the reality of the harm of privilege and ongoing division, Amy Julia concludes this season of the podcast by examining how healing begins when love is our home. She provides solutions of hope and reconciliation that begin and end with, and flow from, the abundant love of God. (Plus a sneak peek into Season 4 of Love is Stronger Than Fear!) SHOW NOTES: “If we just tackle these problems [of division] with policies, if we just tackle them with to-do steps and...

The presidential election does not change the church’s assignment. David Bailey, the executive director of Arrabon, talks with Amy Julia about the practices of reconciling communities, the divisions that result from misplaced hope in political power, and the foretaste of God’s kingdom that comes through loving our enemies. SHOW NOTES: David Bailey is the executive director of Arrabon, a ministry that helps churches become reconciling communities. Arrabon also includes Urban Doxology,...

As Americans vote in national and local elections, is there hope for power, politics, and privilege to foster human flourishing? Andy Crouch, author of Strong and Weak, talks with Amy Julia about the paradox of authority and vulnerability, how political leaders can use power and risk for the good of humanity, the distinction between blessing and privilege, and pragmatic ways to contribute to human flourishing. Show Notes: Andy Crouch is partner for theology and culture at Praxis, an...

Do we, as a society, truly think that every child can succeed in school? Nicole Baker Fulgham, president and founder of The Expectations Project, talks with Amy Julia about the societal expectations for children in schools, the inequity within public education, and how to mobilize the church to work towards education reform. SHOW NOTES: Nicole Baker Fulgham (PhD, UCLA) is the president and founder of The Expectations Project and author of Educating All God’s Children and Schools in...

What is normal? Normie, a coming-of-age film about a young woman with Down syndrome, examines this question. Today, Annemarie Carrigan, the lead cast member of Normie, and Kurt Neale, the director and producer of the film, talk with Amy Julia about the illusions and reality of “normal,” the truth that all humans are broken and beloved, and how the creation of Normie changed how they viewed themselves and others. SHOW NOTES: Stream Normie from October 20-31, 2020: Go to amyjuliabecker.com...

How does “the built world”—the chairs, rooms, and streets that guide our bodies every day— implicitly ascribe worth to human beings? How does the built world welcome or exclude individuals in public space? Sara Hendren, author of “What Can A Body Do? How We Meet the Built World,” talks with Amy Julia about disability and the built world, how disability is fundamental to our common humanity, and reimagining the built world in a way that gives dignity and worth to all human beings. SHOW...