108: John Blake explores the world-changing power of relationships

Compass Podcast: Finding the spirituality in the day-to-day

We’re talking diversity, inclusion, integration, hope, the church and divine intervention with John Blake. John has some interesting stories to tell about family and relationships… including his relationship with the church.

John Blake is an award-winning journalist for CNN.com. His 2020 essay, “There’s One Epidemic We May Never Find a Cure For: Fear of Black Men in Public Spaces,” was recently selected by Bustle Digital Group as one of the 11 best essays on racism and police violence. He is a Baltimore native living in Atlanta… and his book that just hit the proverbial shelves is “More Than I Imagined” which prompted our conversation with John.

In this episode:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:39) Why John Blake is sharing his story now
(06:08) At what point did you “choose” church?
(07:54) What does real church diversity look like?
(09:47) Building a radically integrated church
(19:59) Hope for the future of the church
(22:44) Joy in relationships
(24:03) When the spirit intervenes
(29:20) “Imposter Christianity”
(32:21) Learning from Monster Culture!

The Compass podcast is a production of United Methodist Communications. For episode notes or more episodes of Compass, visit: www.umc.org/compass