”Faith, Justice, and Mercy: Connecting the Dots with Bishop Kenneth Carter the Author of Unrelenting Grace" (Part 2 of 2)

Be Encouraged with Bishop Julius C. Trimble

Bishop Julius C. Trimble is the Resident Bishop of the Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church.

Bishop Trimble has the personal mission to encourage all people with the love of Jesus Christ to rise to their highest potential. It is his commitment to his personal mission that led Bishop Trimble to create the “To Be Encouraged” Podcast along with co-host Rev.Dr. Brad Miller.

Bishop Trimble says, “I am compelled by Jesus to share with you an encouraging word or two about Jesus, theology, the Bible, the pandemic, the environment, racism, voting rights, human sexuality, and the state of the United Methodist Church.”

To Be Encouraged with Bishop Julius C. Trimble is to be published weekly and is available at www.tobeencouraged.com and all the podcast directories.

https://www.inumc.org/bishop/office-of-the-bishop/

On episode 062 of To Be Encouraged, Bishop Julius C. Trimble and Rev. Dr. Brad Miller continued a conversation with Bishop Kenneth Carter that was begun on Episode 061. https://tobeencouraged.com/episode/061

Kenneth H. Carter, Jr. is the resident bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. Along with the Cabinet, he gives pastoral and administrative leadership to over 1000 congregations, fresh expressions of church, campus ministries, and outreach initiatives

Bishop Carter’s great hope for the church is that she will rediscover an orthodox Christian faith that offers the radically inclusive grace of God to all people, and at the same time calls every follower of Jesus to inner holiness, missional compassion, justice rooted in the gospel and a hopeful story of transformation.

This Episode 062 covered different topics such as grace, connection, humility, antiracism, holiness, and forgiveness.

Below are five key takeaways from the conversation:

1. Grace, Connection, and Holiness Lead to Healing

The Bishops emphasized that grace, connection, and holiness are pathways to healing. The church community can experience healing by exhibiting these three virtues. Grace, for example, can help people to forgive and heal from past hurts. Connection, on the other hand, can help people to feel supported and loved by others. Lastly, holiness can help people to live in a way that pleases God and improves their well-being. These concepts are intertwined and complement each other, such that practicing one leads to multiple benefits.

2. Humility is Essential for the Church

They also discussed the importance of humility in the church community. They acknowledged that it can be easy to exhibit religious arrogance, especially when one feels that they have attained a certain degree of knowledge about faith. However, they emphasized the need for cultural and theological humility, which can be learned by following the example of Jesus Christ. According to them, humility in the church can help to create a more inclusive community that welcomes everyone.

3. Responding to Racism and Working Towards Inclusion of LGBTQ Persons

Bishop Trimble and Bishop Carter also acknowledged that the church community has a long way to go in terms of responding to racism and working towards the inclusion of LGBTQ persons. They recognized that it can be easy to avoid these difficult conversations in favor of more comfortable topics. However, they emphasized the importance of taking on the work that has been avoided for a long time, namely, responding to racism and working towards inclusion of LGBTQ persons. They believe that this work is necessary for a healthy church, and everyone should be committed to it.

4. Justice, Love, and Mercy

The speakers emphasized that justice, love, and mercy go together. They believe that mercy and justice are necessary for each other and cannot exist in isolation. According to them, Christians should strive to promote justice and love as they work towards the transformation of the world. The concept of love should guide our actions towards others, while the concept of justice should address those who suffer from oppression and injustice.

5. Encouragement Through Transformation

The To Be Encouraged podcast aims to offer encouragement to a discouraging world. All three of the speakers believe that transformation is the blueprint to achieve this aim. Christians should work towards transforming the world by being countercultural, breaking decorum and committing to social justice. Wesley’s example was mentioned as a good role model to follow. Social holiness through preaching and teaching social principles was identified as another strong means to achieve transformation.

Conclusion

The conversation between Bishop Julius C. Trimble and Bishop Kenneth Carter was informative and enlightening. The conversation reflected on different aspects of faith and shared their views on how Christians can become better people. Grace, connection, humility, social justice, and inclusion of others were emphasized, all as key elements through which Christians can transform the world towards better social outcomes. This podcast aims to offer encouragement and hope to people in a discouraged world, and it did just that by shedding light on the importance of faith, healing, and transformation. Overall, the episode sought to remind listeners that we all need healing in some way and that God wants us to heal, connect, and become holier in the process.

This Episode (062) was Part 2 of a two part episode with Bishop Kenneth Carter regarding his book "Unrelenting Grace." Part 1 is available at this link: https://tobeencouraged.com/episode/061

Bishop Kenneth Carter https://www.wnccumc.org/bishop-carter

Get the book "Unrelenting Grace: A United Methodist Way of Life" from Cokesbury.com