Episode 113
Reflecting on President Biden's Decision with Bishop Julius 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/
- Episode - 113 To Be Encouraged
- Welcome to a profound episode of *To Be Encouraged* where Rev. Dr. Brad Miller hosts the esteemed Bishop Julius C. Trimble in a compelling discussion encompassing faith, politics, and the true essence of leadership within the church and society. Bishop Trimble eloquently navigates through the multifaceted challenges faced by church communities today, framing these issues within the wider context of President Biden’s recent decision not to seek re-election and how church leadership can respond to evolving societal dynamics. Here are three key takeaways from this enriching conversation:
- ### Takeaway 1: Embracing Leadership with Love, Grace, and Humility
- Bishop Julius C. Trimble highlights the crucial role of love, grace, and understanding in leadership, especially within the church. Drawing parallels to the behaviors of Jesus Christ, Bishop Trimble underscores the importance of humility and servant leadership in today's politically charged climate. The conversation encourages leaders to approach their roles with compassion, actively listen to individuals' stories, and engage with their communities by prioritizing common good over political differences. This takeaway sheds light on how church leaders can navigate the complexities of modern leadership by fostering an environment of inclusivity, respect, and mutual understanding.
- ### Takeaway 2: Political Involvement Rooted in Gospel Imperative
- The discussion broadens to include the imperative need for political involvement grounded in the principles of the gospel. Bishop Trimble passionately advocates for justice, the care of vulnerable populations, and addressing societal issues such as homelessness and climate change. He stresses that political and charitable actions should not be mutually exclusive but rather complementary avenues to fulfill the church's mission. This takeaway highlights the responsibility of church communities to engage actively in societal issues, upholding gospel values of love and justice in the face of evolving political landscapes.
- ### Takeaway 3: Transition and the Significance of Vice President Kamala Harris's Role
- As the episode transitions to the implications of the upcoming presidential election and Vice President Kamala Harris, Bishop Trimble and Rev. Dr. Brad Miller delve into the historical and societal significance of her role. They acknowledge the challenges and biases she faces as the first female person of color to hold the position. This segment emphasizes recognizing and respecting the qualifications and leadership capabilities of individuals, despite existing societal barriers like sexism and racism. It calls for the church and its followers to champion dignity and respect in political discourse.
- This episode of *To Be Encouraged* concludes with a heartfelt prayer and reflection from Psalm 16, as Bishop Trimble and Rev. Dr. Brad Miller remind us of the enduring power of faith, community, and the teachings of Jesus Christ in navigating contemporary issues. Join us for a thought-provoking discussion that inspires and challenges leaders to lead with love, grace, and unwavering commitment to justice.
- Thank you for tuning in to *To Be Encouraged*. Be sure to subscribe, share, and follow us for more insightful episodes centered on faith, leadership, and community.
Transcript
Hello again, good people, and welcome to To Be Encouraged
Speaker:to Bishop Julius C. Trimble. This is the
Speaker:podcast where we look to offer an encouraging word to an
Speaker:often discouraged world. I'm your co host, reverend doctor Brad
Speaker:Miller. Bishop, welcome to the podcast. Let's talk a little bit about current
Speaker:events. Well, it's a great day, Brad, and it's a
Speaker:a great opportunity to really pay attention to our world
Speaker:where we experience so much rapid change. You can go to bed at
Speaker:night, and one person is the president. And the next day,
Speaker:that that person says that he's no longer gonna run
Speaker:for reelection. So a lot can happen in 24 hours.
Speaker:Indeed. Indeed. So we're talking about, of
Speaker:course, president Biden's choice to
Speaker:no longer run for president and, vice and his endorsement
Speaker:then of vice president Kamala Harris to be the on the
Speaker:democratic ticket for, for president. But
Speaker:for the prior episode of to be encouraged, we talked a little bit about a
Speaker:personal meeting that you had with president Biden, a little bit of how
Speaker:your son, Cameron, has worked for president Biden in the past. So this may have
Speaker:had a little bit of a a personal thing for you. Tell
Speaker:us a bit about your reaction, just personally, kind of a gut level
Speaker:reaction if you will, to what when you heard the news about president
Speaker:Biden deciding to step down for the race? Well, honestly, Brad,
Speaker:I I was driving to the airport in Indianapolis
Speaker:to pick up my wife, and, I pulled over
Speaker:because I really got emotional
Speaker:because I really felt, you know, this was, some certainly had to
Speaker:be a hard decision for him to make. He is a president that I have
Speaker:actually personally met and had a chance to visit
Speaker:with briefly in the in the oval office with my family.
Speaker:Our oldest son formerly worked in the for the White
Speaker:House staff in digital communications, digital
Speaker:and engagement. And, so we had an opportunity
Speaker:a year and a half ago to take a picture in the White House
Speaker:Oval Office with the president president Joe Biden. At the time,
Speaker:the in the couple of minutes of conversation I had with him, I really
Speaker:thanked him and and promised to continue to pray for him. I pray for all
Speaker:of our elected leaders with whoever the president is from
Speaker:whatever party. But I also advocated for
Speaker:him to continue to work to ban assault weapons.
Speaker:And, of course, just to connect the connect the peep
Speaker:piece of current history and current events, an
Speaker:assault weapon was utilized by a very young
Speaker:man who attempted to assassinate former president Trump.
Speaker:So my I pulled over and and and for a
Speaker:moment was felt a sense of gratitude.
Speaker:Well, I think he's been a very good president in terms of
Speaker:keeping the government going and maintaining the the
Speaker:wheels of of democracy. And though he's
Speaker:not no per no leader is perfect, I think he he put in
Speaker:the work, as they say. There's old saying, put in the work. And I think
Speaker:president Joe Biden put in the work as as our president.
Speaker:Yeah. Why don't you kind of make of the whole change of fortunes there? A
Speaker:few weeks ago prior to the debate, there was a lot of positive
Speaker:feeling about president Biden. The debate didn't go so well.
Speaker:Things kinda changed and turned. And I I'm
Speaker:just interested in your take on how things can
Speaker:change quickly for all of us, can't they? You know, whatever they are, whether it's
Speaker:age related or health related or circumstances in a
Speaker:local church or anything else like that. And about how
Speaker:president Biden handled that whole situation. Just your observation
Speaker:how fortunes can change quickly and then the
Speaker:dynamic changes moving forward. I think approval
Speaker:rating of leadership across the board is is is
Speaker:at an all time low, and particularly elected
Speaker:leadership is at an all time low. And and president Biden's
Speaker:approval rating has been low even though there are many
Speaker:data points that say the, you know, unemployment is low and
Speaker:the the stock market is high and and, you
Speaker:know, new jobs are being created. But people, I
Speaker:think, are experiencing still pain and and struggle,
Speaker:and they direct that to to the president of the United
Speaker:States. And I think to a certain degree, maybe rightfully so. But
Speaker:I think president Biden has demonstrated
Speaker:at least his a commitment to
Speaker:embracing the diversity of America and also
Speaker:attempting to work across the aisle in bipartisan
Speaker:ways to to pass legislation that, for the most part,
Speaker:really advances the well-being of the whole nation.
Speaker:So, you know, I I I I'm sure there are many
Speaker:things that people can find to criticize, and I know with the
Speaker:high cost of health care and and
Speaker:many other things, some people are not able to find affordable
Speaker:housing, the the high interest rates. So a lot of things we kind
Speaker:of we we kinda tribute to or blame the president
Speaker:for. But I think part of what we are
Speaker:experiencing, Brad, is there is kind of a low
Speaker:trust level in leadership in all levels, particularly
Speaker:in government. We've seen some of the low
Speaker:approval ratings of the Supreme Court, which used to be very unusual.
Speaker:Usually, the Supreme Court had a high approval rating.
Speaker:And so people have a high degree of distrust
Speaker:and a a high degree of skepticism. And I think
Speaker:part of that has to do with the so many different ways we receive
Speaker:information now, the different platforms that we receive information
Speaker:now. And part of it has to do with, I think, people are
Speaker:not settled in their own spiritual well-being. So I
Speaker:think this this is really a a message to the church
Speaker:for how we can help people live lives with hope and a
Speaker:sense of of security and not maybe put too
Speaker:much hope in elected officials.
Speaker:Our best hope was that they would do their jobs and do it fairly
Speaker:and and that we would not disadvantage certain
Speaker:neighbors over the advantage given to a small
Speaker:group of people, often those who are the wealthiest in
Speaker:our society. And Biden's been given a lot of credit and a lot of
Speaker:affirmation for doing something that's kind of unusual, especially
Speaker:in politics and in positions of power. That is he
Speaker:seems to have acted in his assessment of the best interest of the
Speaker:country and did so with some
Speaker:humility, with lack of hubris. And that's
Speaker:not always the case with leaders in any realm, including the local
Speaker:church. We probably are both aware of a pastor who didn't really want
Speaker:to let go of leadership, but maybe it was time for a leadership to be
Speaker:let go of, for instance. And, certainly, you're
Speaker:in a transition period now as you leave the Episcopal proceeding, go into some
Speaker:other things here. Tell me a little bit about I just like your take on
Speaker:kinda leadership and humility, hubris,
Speaker:all that type of thing, how that kinda went into, into play here, your
Speaker:observations about that in this in this scenario? I
Speaker:think, a number of experts on leadership, Lencioni and
Speaker:others, I think I've heard say, I don't know who who originated this comment, but
Speaker:the only true authentic leadership is servant leadership.
Speaker:Yes. And I think the model for me you
Speaker:know, model for me and you, Brad, you know, come Jesus. You
Speaker:know? The the the one who is greatest is the one who who
Speaker:presents themselves to be served to be a servant. So to me,
Speaker:I what's been most disappointing, I think, was
Speaker:when president Biden announced that he was not
Speaker:running for gonna run for reelection. He was suspending
Speaker:his campaign. That from some
Speaker:leaders, there was immediate there were immediate
Speaker:insults, you know, put posted on social media platforms.
Speaker:You know? Well, he, he never should have been in the office. If he's not
Speaker:well enough, she should just resign from being the president
Speaker:as opposed to saying thank you, president Biden,
Speaker:for your service. You know, I hope you get over COVID, and you
Speaker:can serve out the rest of the the several months that are left
Speaker:and do your job. Humility has its place.
Speaker:And one of the thing we cannot say about Jesus Christ
Speaker:was that he was arrogant or
Speaker:narcissistic in the sense that we know
Speaker:even as he encourages us to pray for our
Speaker:enemies and to pay attention to our neighbors,
Speaker:that there's a certain blessing that comes, I think,
Speaker:from bringing humility to the table as a leader.
Speaker:I don't think we need to have false humility. Sure. And then
Speaker:No. Doesn't mean you shouldn't be confident. I have a
Speaker:certain amount of confidence that I have a healthy ego, Brad.
Speaker:Sure. Of course. I don't think we should starve our ego, but I don't
Speaker:think we should become a glutton to feed feeding our
Speaker:ego as if it's all about us or all about
Speaker:you know? Like so I I think humility is something that
Speaker:really maybe we should, you know, do more writing about that,
Speaker:and it it it often is a good partner with
Speaker:compassion. Yeah. Passion. The guy the guy who wrote good
Speaker:to good to great has a passage about, you
Speaker:know, the best leaders are the ones who have
Speaker:incredible passion and vision and
Speaker:humbleness. Yeah. Those ones and those are the ones who rise to the
Speaker:top. Those who have passion and drive and
Speaker:hubris eventually crash and burn. They may
Speaker:rise, but they crash and burn because they are
Speaker:not truly servant leaders and those who really rise
Speaker:according to, Peterson, author of good good to great. That's how that
Speaker:works. And I I have taken that to heart. You know? That just means you
Speaker:can't be confident in what you're doing. And what do you want people who are
Speaker:confident and even, you know, just a little
Speaker:bit, you know, just
Speaker:driven, I should should say, to get the job done. You gotta have some drive
Speaker:and ambition is another word I'm I'm I'm looking for, and so that that's
Speaker:a good thing. Well, we then I don't think ambition ambition is not
Speaker:a bad word. Yeah. Of course not. Most of us could not have arrived at
Speaker:wherever we are and whatever level of leadership we have if we
Speaker:didn't have some measure of and this envision
Speaker:some desire some desire to to arrive at a
Speaker:certain place in life, in a certain location, if
Speaker:you will, whether it's a a clear call into a
Speaker:career or vocation or an educational
Speaker:pursuit or relationship satisfaction and
Speaker:so forth. Sure. At some point, you know, I couldn't just keep
Speaker:dating my wife. It became
Speaker:it it was something that one of the guys who wrote the wrote the book
Speaker:More Than A Fan, the DTR defined
Speaker:the relationship. At some point, you have to have that DTR conversation.
Speaker:Yeah. That is true with our relationship with God and Jesus
Speaker:Christ. At some point, we cannot just be fans of,
Speaker:oh, wow. How great a man, the son of God
Speaker:was. We have to be well, therefore, what does that
Speaker:mean for our witness in our lives? No. Gotta get into the
Speaker:arena. You gotta be part of the part of the game, and that that's good.
Speaker:Well, pardon speaking of getting into the arena, part of the game, and kinda getting
Speaker:involved, of course, the transition and and
Speaker:and president Biden certainly ushered this in was to basically
Speaker:hand things off to vice president Kamala Harris. And so
Speaker:give me your reaction to what it seems to be happening as we record
Speaker:this. A lot of affirmation of the Democratic
Speaker:party and a lot of funds rolling in and a lot of good vibes
Speaker:about, what she's doing and what that's all
Speaker:about. Give me your reaction to that and, also, maybe look
Speaker:forward to what challenges lie ahead for her and and the
Speaker:dynamics that are going on there. Well, I think, you know, the word
Speaker:serendipity, as I understand, it means an unexpected
Speaker:blessing. Interesting. Yes. Yeah. Believe it or not, just I
Speaker:wanna say maybe it was not even 2 weeks ago, on
Speaker:Netflix, I watched a Netflix
Speaker:movie film entitled Shirley. K. And it was
Speaker:based on Shirley Chisholm. Oh, yes. I
Speaker:remember her. Yes. Okay. Please please go on. I just had to had to make
Speaker:connections. I was gonna fill in the gaps. Don't worry. Okay. Thank you, sir.
Speaker:Yeah. Shirley Chisholm was a congresswoman
Speaker:from New York. I think it was Brooklyn or Bronx
Speaker:who ran for president, and she was an African
Speaker:American woman. From, like, 50 years ago, aren't we?
Speaker:Something in that neighborhood. Yeah. Yeah. She's Shirley Shirley Chisholm.
Speaker:And so this notion that
Speaker:here we are now with president
Speaker:Biden choosing not to continue to run for a
Speaker:second term. And then less than 24 hours
Speaker:after not well, within hours after that
Speaker:announcement, endorsing his vice president
Speaker:as the the person who would assume
Speaker:the Democratic nomination was,
Speaker:to me, a moment in history that we should remember.
Speaker:Because she represent she is the first
Speaker:female vice president. Mhmm. The first
Speaker:person of color who's a vice president. She has Asian
Speaker:back she has Asian and African American,
Speaker:lineage. So she's she she represents
Speaker:a first already in her role as vice president. I
Speaker:always believed and assumed that if a person was serving
Speaker:as vice president, that inherently meant
Speaker:that they were qualified and would be prepared. Because if something
Speaker:happens to the president, the vice president should be able to step
Speaker:in. A heart a heartbeat away is what they always say. Yeah. They say a
Speaker:heartbeat away. So I don't think there should be any debate or discussion about
Speaker:Kamala Harris's qualification because
Speaker:she's the vice president and has been for three and a half years.
Speaker:And prior to that, she has a 20 year career as an
Speaker:as an elected and public servant, both as an
Speaker:attorney general, a district attorney, a a
Speaker:United States senator from the state of California.
Speaker:So she came to the job as vice president with, you
Speaker:know, 20 years of experience as, you know, as an
Speaker:attorney and as a public servant that had been elected
Speaker:by by the citizens in the state. All all that all that you're
Speaker:saying is very true and undisputable in many ways, and
Speaker:yet we both know there are many people who already are
Speaker:and will will dispute all that in terms of her qualifications
Speaker:and so on and that her her her right to be the
Speaker:president and some of that's based on some pretty unhealthy
Speaker:stuff, sexism and racism and other things as well. What do you make of
Speaker:that when people respond? I think I think it's to be anticipated,
Speaker:but just because people said something doesn't make it true. I
Speaker:just I just gave the facts about her her experience
Speaker:and her her, obviously, her educational background,
Speaker:I think she well, I know she's graduate of Howard University, and I think
Speaker:also Stanford, possibly as well. So so
Speaker:she she's imminently qualified, and that the
Speaker:anyone who brings that that brings that up, you that
Speaker:that conversation should be shut down immediately. And if they
Speaker:continue, then you know, typically, it's probably baked
Speaker:and bathe baked and bathe in racism and sexism.
Speaker:She is a woman, and she is a a person of color. She
Speaker:is an she identifies as African American, African American, and
Speaker:Asian of African American, Asian descent. So
Speaker:so it's probably you know, we we we haven't
Speaker:had we've had we've had men as presidents and men
Speaker:as vice presidents. But, that we're one
Speaker:of the few major major industrial nations that haven't already
Speaker:had a woman who has been president or prime minister
Speaker:or head of state. So we're kind of I would say, Brad,
Speaker:actually, when you look around globally, we're a little bit behind the
Speaker:times. Oh, I I agree with that, totally.
Speaker:And, yeah, I just think it's gonna be a really interesting time. There's a lot
Speaker:of, you know, there was a lot of momentum on
Speaker:the Republican side after the assassination attempt and so on,
Speaker:and now there seems to be a lot of momentum on the Democratic side and
Speaker:a lot of people responded to it and that I just hate to see what
Speaker:things responded to without dignity and respect. And, of course,
Speaker:there's some of that and then some of that unfortunately comes from church
Speaker:circles as well. And we spoke a little bit about this. I really like to
Speaker:speak to it. I don't know a whole lot about it, but other than
Speaker:the the facts of the matter is a Southern Baptist official was fired from their
Speaker:position for complimenting president Biden for
Speaker:making the humble move to step
Speaker:aside. And I don't know. That that didn't feel
Speaker:good to me. That didn't feel good to me to see that was done in
Speaker:a church hierarchical circle. You've lived at the church hierarchy
Speaker:for some time, and it's gonna be a reaction
Speaker:to when you heard that news and kinda what can
Speaker:we learn from that. What's going on there? It may you know, I it made
Speaker:me respond. Lord, have mercy. I'm not an expert, obviously, Brad,
Speaker:on Southern Baptist politics or or
Speaker:their educational or their or their organizational
Speaker:structure and hierarchy. My understanding, this is my
Speaker:it's an an an officer who was maybe their ethics
Speaker:an ethics officer with the Southern Baptist Convention
Speaker:and cop who complimented president Biden
Speaker:for putting the country first Yes. That was it. Yeah. And and
Speaker:and choosing not to run for
Speaker:reelection. In other words, setting aside his own ego
Speaker:and his own personal desire to be a 2 turner president. You know,
Speaker:one would think if you're an if you're an incumbent president
Speaker:and you should have the right and and expectation if you're
Speaker:physically able to run for a second term
Speaker:because the law allows that for president to serve 2 terms.
Speaker:So the to me, I thought it was a very respectful
Speaker:commentary and comment, and his
Speaker:utilizing his platform and voice to
Speaker:basically point towards humility, what we began talking
Speaker:about at the beginning of our podcast. You know, the role of
Speaker:humility of putting putting aside your own
Speaker:need to be affirmed and elevated
Speaker:in order for the best needs of the country to be put
Speaker:first. To me, that that that is nothing
Speaker:but compliment worthy. And I'm
Speaker:surprised and disappointed that this would result in
Speaker:a person losing their position or their job
Speaker:because they spoke the truth as they saw
Speaker:it. Yeah. But that does happen. Let's kinda I'd like to kinda take
Speaker:this up to you then to kinda pivot into the local church, into
Speaker:pastors and other leaders who deal with difficult times,
Speaker:politically and otherwise, and make hard decisions. It seems to
Speaker:me that this Southern Baptist official made a decision
Speaker:to say this may not knowing the consequences of what would happen to
Speaker:him, but sometimes that happens that doesn't. So what do you think are some
Speaker:lessons learned out of this kind of stunning transformation
Speaker:in our current events of our country. What are some
Speaker:lessons learned or what some things with that a local church pastor or local
Speaker:church leadership could call from this to apply in
Speaker:their situation about how to treat one another, how to make hard
Speaker:decisions, issues maybe of leadership, maybe issues
Speaker:of succession and handing off leadership. So give me
Speaker:some thoughts that may roll in your mind about how this applies to the church
Speaker:and the pastors. Well, I I think that if we really take
Speaker:Jesus seriously and and really pay attention to some of
Speaker:the New Testament messages, pen
Speaker:parables, including the parables. You know? And we say,
Speaker:listen. How do we apply this to our to our everyday lives? You
Speaker:know, you might be subject being accused of being woke.
Speaker:Oh my goodness. I didn't really I didn't really fully understand that,
Speaker:but I I said, well, what's the what's the, alternative
Speaker:to being woke? I can Yeah. Sleep. Asleep. Just
Speaker:come on. So so I think, you know, what I would say is
Speaker:that, you know, loving God and loving neighbor really
Speaker:has to translate into relational engagement.
Speaker:So we can't just talk about loving God in the abstract, loving
Speaker:neighbor in the abstract, because we are we all are neighbors,
Speaker:and we all have neighbors. And our understanding of
Speaker:neighbor really cannot be so
Speaker:constricted that it leaves out people who are not like
Speaker:us, maybe not of our same race or our same
Speaker:sexual orientation or our same location or our same
Speaker:social location or economic place in society.
Speaker:And that's a big challenge, I think. And churches have a big
Speaker:challenge. Some of our churches are having big challenges now because the
Speaker:communities where their church was built is not the
Speaker:same community that it was a 100 years
Speaker:ago. Sure. We celebrate our 100th anniversary, a 100 and 50th
Speaker:anniversary, a 200th anniversary. Our neighbors, our
Speaker:geographically close neighbors, may not be those same neighbors that
Speaker:that were there when we sure sure baptized in the church.
Speaker:So that is that's kind of an ongoing challenge and
Speaker:opportunity, I would say, for us to continue
Speaker:to constantly ask to answer the question, who is my neighbor,
Speaker:and what does it mean for me to love God and neighbor in a way
Speaker:that really provides opportunity for relationships. Yeah. Seems
Speaker:to me this might be a great place to really focus on the application,
Speaker:the practical application of grace, you know, to really just
Speaker:embrace the grace in terms of when we you know, I
Speaker:was in a meeting with a person the other day and he was wearing his
Speaker:MAGA hat and things like that, and it it made me cringe a little bit.
Speaker:And maybe some things I said made him cringe a little bit too. But we
Speaker:gotta find some way to find a bridge there, find a way to
Speaker:understand and love one another, whatever our circumstances are,
Speaker:in order to move forward. So do you have any thoughts
Speaker:or kind of final concluding thoughts about this whole scenario here? Anything you wanna
Speaker:share? Well, I think right now, we're in an exciting
Speaker:age and an this is an exciting opportunity for us
Speaker:to really ask ask ourselves the question. Okay. So what
Speaker:as a Christian who's I happen to be a
Speaker:United Methodist. What does that mean for me to
Speaker:to engage the world in a positive way,
Speaker:particularly in in given the fact that our society is so
Speaker:politically divided. Our involvement in political
Speaker:systems is rooted in the gospel, but it's
Speaker:rooted in the gospel imperative, Brad, to love. So
Speaker:we never really divorce ourselves from the
Speaker:commandment that we are to love, to love our neighbors. But, also, in in the
Speaker:United Methodist tradition, includes to
Speaker:do justice and to care for the vulnerable.
Speaker:So when people ask me, so then how do you manage and navigate,
Speaker:you know, political conundrums, I
Speaker:said, well, I'm I don't have to apologize
Speaker:for advocating for justice for all people and
Speaker:particularly care for the vulnerable. So I denounce
Speaker:the decision that their Supreme Court recently made around
Speaker:basically criminalizing homelessness. Yes. And I
Speaker:understand this was brought because, you know, cities wanna be able to move people
Speaker:out of their beautiful once we redo our downtowns, we don't want
Speaker:homeless people all over the place. So with but but to
Speaker:criminalize homelessness, basically, is saying we can arrest
Speaker:and imprison and jail folks, not just move them to
Speaker:shelters. Or or, Brad, I say so we say,
Speaker:let's address the issue of affordable housing Yeah. And mental
Speaker:health support and shelters and
Speaker:and halfway houses and transitional housing and help
Speaker:for our veterans. You know, some say 20% of the people out
Speaker:are, you know, are are veterans who who have not been able to find a
Speaker:permit. It seems like there should be a way that we could find a way
Speaker:to house the unhoused given the influence of our country and so on.
Speaker:And we could It does. Yeah. Just and that, that's what we We acknowledge
Speaker:that. But, see, here's the thing. Here's the bridge. We
Speaker:acknowledge that love requires act political
Speaker:action and policy action as well as acts of
Speaker:charity and mercy. Yes. So as I
Speaker:said a few weeks ago, you know, we should be serving
Speaker:hot meals, but we should also be listening to the
Speaker:stories of people that have to come to get hot meals
Speaker:and asking, you know, not what's wrong with you, but maybe what
Speaker:happened to you. And what is your story? What is your hope? And how can
Speaker:I be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in your lie in your
Speaker:lie? So I am opposed to politicians
Speaker:who are not consented as I am to
Speaker:feeding the hungry and reducing homelessness
Speaker:or persons who deny that climate change is real
Speaker:when each every week we're being, you know,
Speaker:told that unusual weather patterns are continuing to be
Speaker:irregular. What was unusual has now become
Speaker:become unusual. So that's where that's where, you know,
Speaker:it's it's tempting to just jump out and and endorse
Speaker:candidates. I don't typically do that. But I do
Speaker:endorse policies, and I denounce policies, for example,
Speaker:or ideologies, Brad, like, quote, unquote,
Speaker:Christian nationalism or the things that say
Speaker:that, you know, there's divine appointment of persons to
Speaker:be elected office. I don't believe in that.
Speaker:I think we should do the right thing for the common good.
Speaker:I do believe that our constitution can certainly be
Speaker:critiqued, but it provides us a framework for us to really have
Speaker:a democracy where the minority does not
Speaker:abuse the majority and the minority the majority does
Speaker:not neglect the the minority in the party. So
Speaker:Kinda sounds like this, you know, this biblical thing of love your
Speaker:neighbor is something we really can't apply. Maybe this Jesus stuff
Speaker:might really work. You never know. Love I I heard somebody
Speaker:heard somebody say You ought to try it and see what happens. I heard somebody
Speaker:preach a sermon about love rains not too long ago about, some of this kind
Speaker:of thing. Well, we appreciate your insights, and then you touched on an
Speaker:area we'll touch on another episode of to be encouraged as you transition
Speaker:into a role with the Board of Churches Society where we
Speaker:deals really directly with some of these social issues we touched on here. We kind
Speaker:of touched on it with a political framework. And I appreciate your insights
Speaker:and your compassion about how they're
Speaker:all interconnected, interrelated to the local church and to people's lives.
Speaker:So thank you for sharing that. Can you close us with a prayer, my friend?
Speaker:Absolutely. I'm looking at today from Psalm the
Speaker:Psalms and Psalm Psalm 14.
Speaker:Maybe maybe I'm I'm looking at the wrong okay. Yeah. Psalm 16.
Speaker:Protect me, oh god, for in you, I take refuge.
Speaker:I say to you, lord, you are my lord. I
Speaker:have no good apart from you.
Speaker:May the lord bless us and keep us and may we be reminded
Speaker:that the good that we can demonstrate for others
Speaker:is good that has already been granted us through the love of god
Speaker:that which we experience as grace. And grace allows
Speaker:us to not only bask in the love of God,
Speaker:but also to bathe and to share that love of
Speaker:God with so many others in our
Speaker:world. May we may it be so. And may
Speaker:we pick up this mantle of sharing God's grace
Speaker:with all we come in contact with. Amen. Amen. And we thank
Speaker:you for joining us today on the 2 Be Encourage
Speaker:podcast with Bishop Julia c Tribble. This
Speaker:is the podcast where we love to offer an encouraging word to an
Speaker:often discouraged world.
