Deconstruction is not simply a buzzword, but a reality that many Christians — especially young people and people of color — experience. Some deconstruct due to the dissonance they see between faith and how faith is lived out. For others, it is misunderstandings of theology or poor public witness.
In Today’s Conversation, Lisa Fields, founder of Jude 3 Project, shares how her own faith was challenged and how she is committed to helping Christians — particularly in the Black community — know what they believe and why.
Host Walter Kim, NAE president, and Lisa also discuss:
What is required to reconstruct faith;
How to develop a posture of humility and openness with people who hold different beliefs;
What apologetics topics are especially salient for Black Christians today; and
How Lisa thinks about renewal among Black Christians and the Church at large.
Read a Portion of the Transcript
Walter: This notion of contextualizing culturally was right from the get-go. Contextualizing culturally but also with respect to this idea of contending for the faith. What are the particular topics within the Black community more broadly that you are seeking to contextualize?
Lisa: I think this idea is Christianity for everyone, specifically is Christianity a white man’s religion. That is one of the questions we are wrestling with, does God care about black people, what is the problem of evil but it obviously takes different shapings in our context, in the Black context but I think the primary one that we constantly grapple with when we go to historically black colleges and universities when we talk to older and younger people is is Christianity for everyone, is it just a white Eurocentric religion.
…One of the major challenges is the history of this country and how slave owners use to use Scripture particularly Paul’s words and Peter’s words “slaves submit to your master” to oppress people. I think no other narrative comes to mind that better articulates this than when you read Howard Therman’s “Jesus and the Disinherited” and he tells the story of his grandmother who he would visit in Daytona Beach, Florida every summer and she would have him read Scripture to her. He noticed that she would have him read the Gospels, Psalms and he wanted to read Paul’s letters. He said “Grandma, why won’t you let me read Paul’s letters?” She said, “My slave master used Paul’s words against me and I vow to never read him again.”
Share the Love
If you enjoyed the program, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That will help us so much!
Today’s Conversation is brought to you by He Gets Us.
Share
Lisa Fields is founder of the Jude 3 Project. Through this organization Fields has hosted four Courageous Conversations conferences featuring prominent Black scholars from different theological perspectives, developed two apologetic curricula, curated a YouTube series addressing the pain points millennials have with the Church and curated a popular podcast covering everything from mental health to the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls. She’s helped produce and create two documentaries, Unspoken, an in-depth look into the Christian heritage of Africa and people of African descent, and Juneteenth: Faith and Freedom, through her partnership with Our Daily Bread. Fields attended undergraduate school at the University of Florida and pursued her Masters of Divinity at Liberty University.
Walter Kim became the president of the National Association of Evangelicals in January 2020. He previously served as a pastor at Boston’s historic Park Street Church and at churches in Vancouver, Canada and Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as a campus chaplain at Yale University. He preaches, writes and engages in collaborative leadership to connect the Bible to the intellectual and cultural issues of the day. He regularly teaches in conferences and classrooms; addresses faith concerns with elected officials and public institutions; and provides theological and cultural commentary to leading news outlets. He serves on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief and consults with a wide range of organizations. Kim received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his M.Div. from Regent College in Vancouver, and his B.A. from Northwestern University.
View All Podcasts 
