'The Christian Left' Conversation With Bishop Talbert Swan

Reflection Questions:Bishop Swan says that progressive Christianity has “failed to confront the concept of whiteness, of power, of empire, and it has not confronted them with the boldness of the prophets that we read about.” Do you agree with him? If so, why do you believe this is the case? Where do you see that confrontation happening?When you hear Bishop Swan say that Christianity is “a sacrificial walk,” that “there are some things we're going to have to be willing to give up, and here's a level of comfort that we're going to have to be willing to give up", where does your mind go? What kinds of sacrifices do you believe he’s alluding to?Bishop Swan says that in order to confront Christian nationalism, we as progressive believers “have got to stop apologizing for our faith,” that many leaders “are afraid to be too religious, are afraid to be labeled as being too woke, are afraid to be labeled as teaching CRT. But the reality is the Bible has always been a liberation document when it's read rightly.” What are some concrete ways that, as an individual and as part of a collective, you can work for the liberation of marginalized, oppressed, vulnerable people?As we close our conversation, Bishop Swan references a Government separating families, deporting people, abolishing history, and taking health care away from the poor, and reminds us that “none of this shows forth the love of Christ.” He says that “if Jesus’ teachings are going to offer a blueprint for anything, we've got to have a revolution against the things that are happening right now, and we've got to be brave enough to do it.” How can you model that courage in the space of your everyday life? What does bravery look like?Connect with Bishop Swan:Facebook X (Twitter)InstagramThe Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnpavlovitz.substack.com/subscribe