Life + God Podcast

Seeking Identity

Amy Parsons shares how she tried to find her identity and self-worth from external sources as a child and teenager. In part 1 of her story, she experiences bullying, her first glimpse of codependency, and a sexual assault. When she went to college, she decided to choose her own identity and it made all the difference in the world.

Claiming My Story

Rev. Dr. Nick McRae shares how starting to see the gray areas and complexities in the world actually helped him achieve clarity about his faith. He grew closer to God, realizing that he doesn't have to have all the answers.
Nick, for the first time, was able to claim his faith story as his own and not as a tradition that was passed on to him. Claim your story at TMUMC.ORG/mystory.

Embracing Complexity

Rev. Dr. Nick McRae shares his faith journey and how his relationship with God changed once he started asking questions. After a near fatal car accident at the age of 16, the simple understanding of God and the Bible Nick always knew started to make him feel uncomfortable.
He knew there was more to the presence of God and needed to explore for himself who God is and how he fits in to this world. Enjoy Nick's story, and tune in next week for Part 2.

Honest Allyship

Rev. Rachel Griffin (formerly Baughman) and Alyssa Robinson discuss how to become better allies to our African American siblings. We need to step away from performative allyship and be honest with ourselves and others. As white people, we need to take a step back from the spotlight and practice internal reflection to better understand our role in eradicating racism.
You can catch all previous episodes on racial justice at TMUMC.ORG/justice.

Examining History to Change the Future

Rev. Rachel Griffin (formerly Baughman) and Alyssa Robinson look at the history of racism and exclusion in our churches and culture as a whole. The only way that we can change the future is to understand how we got here and, as a result, continue to feed into racism because of our lack of understanding.
Rachel shares advice for having difficult conversations about race and how to handle ourselves when we realize we're getting it wrong. The first step to ending racism is looking inside ourselves and educating ourselves on where we've made mistakes.

Anger | Fear | Sadness

Chipo Makwakwa shares the emotions that she has been feeling for the past few months and how she is seeing positive growth within herself and her family.
As an African immigrant with two US born children, Chipo faces racism regularly and fears for the future of her children, especially her 16-year-old son. She honestly admits to her own prejudices and how she believes it is her role to educate others on her culture.
Tune in to previous episodes on race at TMUMC.ORG/justice.

Broken Expectations

Chipo Makwakwa is an immigrant from Zimbabwe who moved to the United States looking for a better future for her family. Growing up in a segregated country, she expected America to be free of racism because of the way the US was portrayed in the media.
She expected her black children to be treated with respect and have more opportunities than they would be granted in Africa. But she learned that systems and people in the US did not expect much from her as an African woman.
Listen to Chipo's story and try to imagine what life may be like for a black immigrant in the United States. You can catch up on previous conversations on race at TMUMC.ORG/justice.

Black Lives Matter

Rev. Daniel Humbert shares the deep pain and sorrow that he has been feeling with the murders of George Floyd, Amaud Arbery, Bothem Jean, Breona Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and so many more.
He talks about our responsibility as people of faith to fight for those who are oppressed, marginalized, and persecuted. He recognizes that as a white person, it is his responsibility to recognize the privileges that have been afforded to him because of a corrupt system.
We as a church have to stand against injustice. It is included in the United Methodist baptismal vow:
"I vow to renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness,reject the evil powers of this world,and repent of my sin.
I accept the freedom and power God gives meto resist evil, injustice, and oppressionin whatever forms they present themselves."
 
 

End Racism. Start Relationship.

Rev. Daniel Humbert is the Senior Pastor of Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church in Flower Mound, TX and father of two African American children.
He and Alyssa Robinson have a deep conversation in which they acknowledge and admit to benefiting from white privilege as Daniel walks through experiences of racism that have been directed toward his children.
The bottom line is that it is our responsibility to be in relationship with people who are different from us. The only way to end racism is to build friendships with people of different ethnicity, cultures, races, faiths, and traditions so that we can begin seeing each other with God's love.
 
 

Uncomfortable Conversations (Part 2)

Michelle Rae and Alyssa Robinson continue their conversation about racism and racial justice. Michelle is a strong black woman with two kids, Tori and Caleb, and a huge heart. She is an attorney, small business owner, activist, and member of Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church.
Michelle shares how racism has impacted her relationship with God, where she sees white privilege at play, and how white people can love and support people of color. She allows Alyssa to ask her what Alyssa has dubbed "white people questions." These are some of the questions that white people tend to ask without realizing that they are insensitive.
Join us in continuing the conversation by signing up for our community discussion on race happening on July 14 at 7pm via a Zoom meeting. You can learn more and register at TMUMC.ORG/justice.