Aug 1, 2020
Our human nature is to judge others within seconds of meeting them. Depending on the circumstances, we deem them a "good person" or a "bad person" based on how they look, their behavior, or their past actions. We ponder this question today as we see more and more hostility in the world, name calling, and inappropriate assumptions being made about people based on the color of their skin. And, what would (or should) be the Christian response to this question? Are Christians not held to a higher standard when it comes to how we view (and love) others?
Our guests in this episode tackle this question from two perspectives: (1) from the perspective of having lived a life of "judgement" and (2) from the perspective of a clergy person who teaches redemption and tries to lead by example.
Our Guests:
Rev. Joe Precht is the Associate Pastor for Worship, Witness, & Young Adults at Williamson's Chapel UMC. Joe has a B.A. in English from the University of Florida and an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School. Having served in a wide array of contexts––from the Democratic Republic of Congo to rural North Carolina––he is continually awed by the variety of God’s grace. In high school, kneeling at the Communion table, he received his call to pastoral ministry. His deepest desire is to bring others “to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.” Joe is married to Mackenzie. They have two young children, Lillian and James.
Duke Taylor was raised in the Catholic church and surrounded in the Baptist and Methodist culture. He's a gamecock from South Carolina and worked for a time with YMCA and in NC with the YMCA Camp Seafarer and Camp Seagull on the coast of NC. Today, Duke works as Sr. Proposal Manager in San Diego, CA California, after recently moving from Arlington, Virginia to take care of his dad who had a successful kidney transplant. He loves to volunteer in areas where Christians have an opportunity to generate peace and redemption in the world. Please take time to read reflections from Duke in the attached PDF.