Reverend Adam Hamilton is the founding Senior Pastor of the Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City, the largest Methodist church in the U.S. Adam grew up in the Kansas City area, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from Oral Roberts University and a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Methodist University. He is the author of numerous books, served as a presidential appointee in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and frequently speaks on leadership across the US.

In this episode, we discuss our collaborative work to promote kindness and depolarize America through initiatives like the Campaign for Kindness and Braver Angels. Adam shares insights on his church's growth, guiding principles, and the importance of fostering intellectual and spiritual discourse within diverse congregations. We also explore how faith communities can model respectful political dialogue and embody Christ's teachings to create a more just and equitable world.

Cathy Bien, director of community and media relationships at Church of the Resurrection, also joins to discuss their collaborative projects and campaigns to encourage kindness and empathy in advance of the 2024 election.

• Adam's Website & Books (adamhamilton.com/books)
• Facebook (@PastorAdamHamilton)
• X / Twitter (@RevAdamHamilton)
• Instagram (@RevAdamHamilton)
• Campaign for Kindness (campaignforkindness.com)
• Resurrection, A United Methodist Church (resurrection.church)
• Sermons on YouTube

Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz joins me to discuss his journey towards becoming a rabbi, the challenges faced in his role, and his deep involvement in interfaith work. The discussion also covers the Hebrew concept of machloket (disagreeing without rancor), its relevance in the current crisis between Israel and Gaza, and the importance of interfaith dialogue both for religious leaders and the wider community.

Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz began his tenure as the Senior Rabbi of Temple B’nai Jeshurun in July 2006. Previously he served as Senior Associate Rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Sholom.

A strong advocate of social justice, Rabbi Gewirtz was a founding executive committee member of the Newark Coalition for Hope and Peace, an interfaith organization of Jews, Christians and Muslims that was committed to ending gang violence in Newark from 2007-2017. Rabbi Gewirtz currently serves at the President of the Coalition of Religious Leaders for the State of New Jersey.

A regular contributor to numerous professional publications, including the CCAR Journal, The American Rabbi and The Wisdom Daily. He is the author of “The Gift of Grief: Finding Peace, Transformation and Renewed Life after Great Sorrow” (Random House). His second book, “To Build a Brave Space: The Making of a Spiritual First Responder” came out in November, 2022 (Post Hill Press).

Rabbi Gewirtz is a Fellow at the National Jewish Think Tank CLAL. He appears as a commentator on religion on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and CNN’s State of the Union. He was a tri-anchor of PBS’s (NJTV), A Matter of Faith with an Imam, Bishop and Rabbi from 2016-2020 along with Imam W. Deen Shariff and myself.

Rabbi Gewirtz is married to Lauren Rutkin, a philanthropy advisor. They are the proud parents of Jake, Natalia and Sadie. Rabbi Gewirtz is also an ardent fan of baseball (NY Mets) and football (NY Jets).

• X / Twitter (@rabbimat)
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RabbiMatt
• Website: https://rabbimattgewirtz.com

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines.

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.

Guest Dr. Matthew D. Taylor shares his faith journey and we discuss his involvement in religious pluralism and extensive research on the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement in America. Dr. Taylor shares insights into his background in and transition from evangelical fundamentalism, his interfaith dialogues, and the threats posed by NAR's radical Christian nationalism, which advocates for Christian supremacy and has influenced political events like the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The episode delves into the implications of this movement, the need for intra-Christian dialogue, and the challenge of addressing radicalization within American Christianity.

Matthew D. Taylor, Ph.D., is a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore. He specializes in Muslim-Christian dialogue, Evangelical and Pentecostal movements, religious politics in the U.S., and American Islam. Prior to coming to ICJS, he served on the faculty of Georgetown University and George Washington University. His first book, Scripture People: Salafi Muslims in Evangelical Christians’ America, offers an introduction to the often misunderstood Salafi movement in the U.S. by way of comparison with American Evangelicalism. He is also the creator of the award-winning audio-documentary series “Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation,” which details how networks of extremist Christian leaders helped instigate the January 6th Insurrection. His next book, The Violent Take It By Force: The Christian movement that is threatening our democracy, will be published in September 2024.

Guest Links:

• X / Twitter (@TaylorMatthewD)
• "Spiritual Warriors: Decoding the Christian Nationalism at the Capitol Riot" (a 25-minute video documentary)
• "Charismatic Revival Fury: The New Apostolic Reformation" (an audio-documentary podcast series)
• The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy (book available for preorder)

If you enjoy this podcast and would like to find more content like this, please visit my website at www.markbeckwith.net, where you can listen to more episodes (and read episode transcripts), read my blog, and sign up to get weekly reflections in your inbox. I also explore the themes of this podcast further in my book, Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines.

This episode of the Reconciliation Roundtable podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by Luke Overstreet.