In this episode, we welcome a very special guest, the dynamic and inspirational Bishop Michael Curry, 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church. Known worldwide for his passionate proclamation of "The Way of Love," Bishop Curry's ministry centers on the transformative power of God’s unconditional love to heal, unite, and renew.

With his charismatic preaching style and a heart devoted to justice, reconciliation, and inclusion, Bishop Curry rose to international prominence after delivering a moving sermon on the power of love at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Yet his legacy extends far beyond that moment, as he has consistently challenged the Church to follow Jesus by embracing love, confronting societal divisions, fighting injustice, and embodying hope in action.

Join us as Bishop Curry and our host, Bishop Mark Beckwith, discuss a vision for a more compassionate world and how we can all embrace love as a force for transformation in our own lives. This conversation will inspire and uplift anyone searching for deeper meaning, courage, and connection.

• The Way of Love Podcast
• Facebook (@PBMBCurry)
• X / Twitter (@BishopCurry)
• Instagram (@pb_curry)

• Love Is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times (2020)
• The Power of Love: Sermons, Reflections, and Wisdom to Uplift and Inspire (2018)
• Songs My Grandma Sang (2015)
• Following the Way of Jesus: Volume 6 (Church's Teachings for a Changing World) (2013)
• Crazy Christians: A Call to Follow Jesus (2013)

It's an honor to welcome new guest Curtis Chang to Reconciliation Roundtable to discuss his efforts to bridge partisan divides through his work on the The Good Faith Podcast and The After Party project. In this episode, we delve into the importance of addressing spiritual dysfunctions in the Church and fostering meaningful dialogues across differences. Curtis offers helpful insights into overcoming political polarization, the temptations of power, and finding hope and mission in local communities.

Curtis Chang is a consulting professor at Duke Divinity School and a Senior Fellow at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is also a former senior pastor of an Evangelical Covenant Church in San Jose, California. Curtis is the author of The Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry Is the Doorway to Your Best Self (2023) and co-author with Nancy French of The After Party: Toward Better Christian Politics (2024).

Curtis is the Executive Director of Redeeming Babel, home of The After Party faith & politics course. He's also the host of The Good Faith Podcast, where friends who follow Jesus gather each week for conversations that matter.

He founded Redeeming Babel in 2019 to address three underlying theological problems driving the chaos and confusion of our current world. These three problems damage Christians in their interior, institutional, and societal selves:

• a mistaken spirituality of anxiety (interior)
• a missing theology of organizations (institutional)
• a misshapen approach to politics (societal)

• Redeeming Babel
• The After Party: Toward Better Christian Politics
• The Good Faith Podcast
• Facebook (@CurtisChangOfficial)
• X / Twitter (@CurtisChangRB)

In this episode, I welcome new guest Dr. Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. He is the author or co-author of four books including The Nones, 20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America, and The Great Dechurching. He has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and POLITICO. He has also appeared on 60 Minutes, where Anderson Cooper called him, "one of the leading data analysts of religion and politics in the United States." He previously served as a pastor of an American Baptist Church for over seventeen years.

Together, we dive into Ryan's journey as a researcher, data analyst, and person of faith exploring the nuanced landscape of American religion and politics. Our conversation covers the growth of the religiously unaffiliated "nones" and "dones" and examines the broader implications of religious disaffiliation across America. We also discuss the intricate dynamics between faith communities, political identities, and the strong cultural markers that influence them. Ryan sheds light on the important role that empathy, service, and community engagement play in his work and life, and underscores the significance of faithful mission over perceived success.

• Website & Books (drburge.com/books)
• Substack (@ryanburge)
• Instagram (@graphsaboutreligion)
• X/Twitter (@ryanburge)