Deep Reckonings North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church

In this episode of Deep Reckonings, Rev. Ben Adams discusses his continuing journey of awareness of the racism surrounding us and our need to strive to work against it.

In this episode of of Deep Reckonings, Jason Villegas discusses navigating identity, power, and authority, by tracing his own journey of understanding and discovery.

In this episode, Dr. Margaret Brunson shares with us her experiences growing up to understand race at a young age and navigating being Black in the church, school, and workplace.Dr. Margaret Brunson is a transformative leader, luminary, entrepreneur, thought partner, and media personality. She considers brunch a verb, well-being a priority, dance floors sacred, and music & passport stamps two of life’s greatest treasures.After almost 20 years of leadership in the public and private sectors, Dr. Brunson transitioned into full-time entrepreneurship and founded Illumined Leadership Solutions, to guide people to authentic + transformative leadership through coaching, consulting, facilitation, and professional speaking.Throughout her life journey, she has learned the spiritual discipline of letting go & she regularly yields to the power of Love to cultivate authenticity, liberation, and joy. The process she calls TheLoveLife™.

In this episode, Rev. Justin Coleman talks about kinship—what unifies people and how it keeps them together.Justin grew up in Texas, and attended Southern Methodist University, graduating in 2000 with a major in religious studies. He, too, was very active in SMU’s Wesley Foundation and served as Associate Pastor at SMU’s Wesley Foundation from 2001 to 2003 as he began seminary studies at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology. Justin transferred to Duke Divinity School in 2003 and graduated with a Master of Divinity in 2005. Justin’s first clergy appointment was to University UMC, as an intern in 2004 and then as Associate Pastor from 2005 to 2007.In 2007, Justin was called back to the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, where he is an elder, and was appointed Associate Pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas. For six years from 2008 to 2014, Justin served as the Executive and Lead Pastor of the Gethsemane Campus of St. Luke’s Church and led it through a remarkable period of growth in ministry and service to its community.From 2014 to June 2017 Justin served as the Chief Ministry Officer of the United Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, Tennessee. During this time he has also continued to frequently offer lectures, sermons, and lead worship.Currently, Justin serves as the lead pastor of University UMC in Chapel Hill, where he lives with his family.Find Justin on social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/RevColemanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcoleman/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justin.coleman7

In this episode, Rev. Justin Coleman shares from his own experiences with relational proximity - how those who avoided it hurt him and how embracing that proximity makes us better citizens of the kin-dom of God.Justin grew up in Texas, and attended Southern Methodist University, graduating in 2000 with a major in religious studies. He, too, was very active in SMU’s Wesley Foundation and served as Associate Pastor at SMU’s Wesley Foundation from 2001 to 2003 as he began seminary studies at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology. Justin transferred to Duke Divinity School in 2003 and graduated with a Master of Divinity in 2005. Justin’s first clergy appointment was to University UMC, as an intern in 2004 and then as Associate Pastor from 2005 to 2007.In 2007, Justin was called back to the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, where he is an elder, and was appointed Associate Pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas. For six years from 2008 to 2014, Justin served as the Executive and Lead Pastor of the Gethsemane Campus of St. Luke’s Church and led it through a remarkable period of growth in ministry and service to its community.From 2014 to June 2017 Justin served as the Chief Ministry Officer of the United Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, Tennessee. During this time he has also continued to frequently offer lectures, sermons, and lead worship.Currently, Justin serves as the lead pastor of University UMC in Chapel Hill, where he lives with his family.Find Justin on social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/RevColemanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcoleman/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justin.coleman7

Angie Hong shares her story as a second-generation Korean-American worship leader, writer, and speaker.