Holy Friends Bridge Deep Divides

Overview

The guests in this episode became friends through a common commitment to activism and social justice. Dr. Cleeve V. Tinsley IV and Rev. Dr. Matt Russell became best friends both by cultivating their common ground and exploring the very real differences between their perspectives and experiences. They share how their friendship has profoundly shaped their work, their personal growth, and their lives as Christian men. Their conversation, very real and full of laughter, feels like an experience of the holy, showing us how sanctified friendships are a work of the Spirit bringing us together, especially for such a time as this. It’s well worth just taking the time to be fully immersed in this wonderful conversation.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

Matt and Cleve discuss how they met and became friends through their shared passion for social justice and activism. (5:27)

The importance of building friendships across divides and the challenges of understanding different experiences and perspectives. (26:01)

The speakers discuss how their friendship changed them and impacted their personal growth, creativity, and ability to thrive. (33:30)

Exploring the challenges and importance of forming meaningful friendships between Christian men. (41:33)

Exploring the concept of holiness and the need for the church to redefine it, emphasizing the importance of relational and shared resourcing. (49:18)

Find the poem from the podcast here.

About

Rev. Dr. Matt Russell is an academic, activist, pastor, professor, and teacher. He is on staff at Chapelwood United Methodist Church in Houston and is co-founder and co-managing director of Project Curate, which works with religious, academic, and community organizations by curating and bringing together different voices and traditions to realize a radical vision of a more just and equitable world. He is also co-founder and executive director of Iconoclast Artists, a program that empowers young artists throughout the community.

Dr. Cleve V. Tinsley IV is assistant professor of history and political science in the School of Arts and Sciences at Virginia Union University (VUU), where he has also been appointed the inaugural executive director of the Center for African-American History and Culture (CAAHC).

Dr. Tinsley is quickly emerging as a noted interpreter of religion and Black freedom movements, recently commenting on the role of religion in light of recent uprisings for Black lives for the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University. He is the co-author of Embodiment and Black Religion: Rethinking the Body in African-American Religious Experience and is working on his first monograph, tentatively entitled Making Black Lives Matter: Religion and Race in the Struggle for African-American Identity.

Quotations
"Matt enables me to be creative because he's one of the few persons in the world who would understand my decisions and commitment to my integrity of conscience."
- Dr. Cleve V. Tinsley IV