How can Christians pursue justice, lead with integrity and stay spiritually grounded in a divided and demanding world? In this honest and theologically rich episode, Pastor Mike Kelsey of McLean Bible Church shares how staying rooted in the character of God helps him navigate polarization, burnout and the challenges of leadership. 

For Mike Kelsey, pursuing justice isn’t an optional add-on — it’s an essential expression of discipleship based on God’s character. In this conversation with NAE President Walter Kim, Mike offers an honest reflection on what it’s been like to pastor through the cultural upheaval of recent years, and about the pressure that comes from trying to meet countless expectations. True rest, he says, doesn’t come from striving or disengaging, but from being deeply centered on seeking God’s approval above all else. 

You’ll also hear Mike and Walter discuss: 

  • How practicing intentional Sabbath rhythms and setting boundaries with social media creates space for renewal and clarity; 
  • The influence of the Black Church tradition on Mike Kelsey’s understanding of justice;  
  • How McLean Bible Church is pursuing gospel-centered justice through foster care, disability ministry and racial equity; and 
  • Practical wisdom for navigating justice fatigue, ministry burnout and deep cultural division. 

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Resources

Today’s Conversation is brought to you by Tyndale’s Go Bible.

Read a Portion of the Transcript

Walter: One of the ways that I think we often find ourselves in tension is the gospel both as proclamation of faith in Christ that deals with forgiveness of our sins, but also a demonstration of that faith in transformational activity within the community, whether it's called justice or compassion ministry. How do you hold these two things together — that the gospel does require a proclamation, but it also requires a demonstration in works of justice?

Mike: Well, for me and to be quite frank, I do think this has been a bit of a blind spot in American evangelicalism. They are inextricably linked to me, organically connected. I see that from Genesis to Revelation. I think I see it probably most clearly in the gospels.

When we think about Jesus coming, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, that is also attended by works that reflect the power, the grace, the love, the accessibility of the kingdom. And so when Jesus healed, for example, he was doing it out of love for people who are in need, but he's also very explicit that when those things happen, when he's doing these works of service healings, that they are also tangible demonstrations of the end breaking of the kingdom. They are, in a sense, commercials for what the kingdom is like. And so I see evangelism and good works — justice included in that — in the same exact way that we get to embody the ethic of the kingdom as people who have been marked and transformed by the gospel of the kingdom.

Mike Kelsey

Mike Kelsey is a pastor, speaker and advocate who serves as the lead pastor at McLean Bible Church and a thought leader on issues of faith, culture and racial unity. Kelsey’s work centers on bridging divides through biblical justice, spiritual formation and community healing. Born into a strong lineage of Washington, D.C. pastors that includes both his father and grandfather, Mike has a passion to advance the gospel in multiethnic contexts and longs to see the emerging generation invest their lives for the glory of God. With a background in both theology and pastoral leadership, he brings a compassionate yet principled voice to pressing cultural issues. Kelsey holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Walter Kim

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.