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Season two of The (Im)partial Church will be available on February 6, 2023. The (Im)partial Church is a hopeful podcast about race, culture, diversity, and the Christian faith. We understand the Church is far from perfect but we believe we should strive to serve as an example to the world on how to handle these challenging issues with grace. Join us as we explore relevant issues surrounding how Christians empathetically relate to one another across cultural divides and strive to become a truly impartial church.
Gerard Bolling and Janine Bolling, a brother-sister pair, host LHM's podcast, The (Im)partial Church. Growing up as African Americans in New York, the Bollings share how life and relationships have shaped them as they live out their Christian faith in a diverse world. Rev. Dr. Gerard Bolling serves as pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in St. Louis, and as an assistant professor at Concordia University in Texas. Deaconess Janine Bolling is executive director of Our Saviour Lutheran School in New York.
Helping the Bollings in season two will be subject-area experts who speak to various issues. Also in the mix will be relevant findings from Barna Group—the research powerhouse that has partnered with LHM in creating several ministry resources in the last few years, the most recent being Gifted for More. While there will be personal stories from the Bollings' life and ministry, there will also be data from a Barna study called Beyond Diversity on racial dynamics, which features expert interviews, wide input from focus groups, and two large surveys.
The Bollings give listeners powerful insights on cross-cultural friendships, prejudice, the power of language, forgiveness, being an outsider, what a good neighbor is, and how we're all members of a multi-ethnic family. Their spirited conversations are full of colorful details drawn from family life—both past and present. Assisting the Bollings behind the scenes in telling this story is LHM's Creative Producer Jonathan Christopher: "Producing this podcast has been extremely rewarding. I view each episode as an individual story arc that informs the greater idea of unity in the kingdom of God."
"What I hope to take away from this season is just really understanding ... the character of God—who we think God is, and who God shows us who He actually is," Professor Janine Bolling said. To that, Dr. Gerard Bolling added, "I'm also excited to take some of our old vocabulary ... and then apply it over and against this topic ... the SOS that we've learned in Sunday school: how God sees our sin, but He also shows our Savior."
Throughout season two, these ideas will be carried forward. As the Bollings navigate The (Im)partial Church through turbulent cultural and societal issues, they show us that hope is on the horizon. With the characteristic love of Christ that flavors their conversations with humor and grace, they help us see that in Jesus, though the work may be hard, greater reconciliation is possible.
You can find The (Im)partial Church podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. All LHM podcasts can also be found at lhm.org/podcasts.