Episode 153 • 31st July 2025 • The Living Church
How can church leaders pursue justice with discernment and theological depth? Pastors often find themselves in a frustrating place when it comes to pursuing justice in their parishes and communities. There’s often a divide or at least a tension between two groups: those who do not want to overthink or “overtheologize” until the moment to act is past; and those who feel wary of action without substantial, theological, and contextual discernment pieces to help.
With respect to all the practical concerns here, this is a false divide. Hopefully, today’s conversation might help us start to find a way across.
We’ll talk about leadership, Christian freedom, and political will; challenging presuppositions about authority and building and empowering community bit by bit; various angles and ways of being strategic; and a bit about Catholic social teaching that might help Anglican and Episcopal leaders get “unstuck” from fixed religious and politcal categories to discern more holistic paths of faithful action.
Our guests are The Rev. Canon Natalie Arendse and Dr. Elisabeth Kincaid.
Natalie is currently chaplain to Whitsunday Anglican School in Mackay, Queensland, Australia. She is honorary Canon in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and former head of St. John’s Leadership Academy in Cape Town, a formation program for lay and ordained leaders.
Elisabeth is director of Baylor University’s Institute for Faith and Learning and Associate Professor of Ethics, Faith and Culture at George W. Truett Seminary. She’s also author of the new book, Law from Below: How the Thought of Francisco Suárez, SJ, Can Renew Contemporary Legal Engagements.
Now grab your thinking caps and your work boots as we discover a bit more about how prayer and politics, Bible studies and social justice, can (and do) go together.
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Amber D. Noel, M.Div., directs the public-facing programs of The Living Church, including the podcast, events, and the Partner program. Outside of work, she is a writer and enjoys life in Atlanta.
