Forefront Podcast
500 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsThe latest messages, interviews, and updates from Forefront Church based in Brooklyn, NY, but accessible from anywhere. Learn more at www.forefrontnyc.com.
Forefront Church is a fully inclusive, affirming-of-everyone-community based on the deeds of Christ not the religion and bureaucracy that followed. Our vision is to build a just and generous expression of the Christian faith. We are more interested in good questions than good answers.
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Episodes
WORK & CAPITALISM | WEEK 1 ”BOSSES”
August 16, 2020 15:00 - 24 minutes - 33.4 MBDealing with tyranny in the workplace Sarah Ngu starts off our "Work and Capitalism" Series with a deep dive into the power of "bosses" in organizations. The workplace in general is structurally set up as a tyranny where one person has the power to greatly determine the economic livelihood of another, and if you have a good boss, that’s nice but you’re lucky because that’s basically the equivalent of a benevolent dictatorship. The only leverage that workers have is that we have power in nu...
Forefront Conversations with Kerry Connelly
August 13, 2020 15:02 - 59 minutes - 109 MBKerry Connelly believes that equity and restorative justice are possible, but first we must deconstruct the dominant identities that are a part of us and rely on the Divine because our ways of living have been so tied up in insidious systems of power and oppression. In this conversation, she talks about how white supremacy is "soul murder," which homogenizes and flattens the soul, and how white American identity needs to be explored with more imagination and then deconstructed because of how ...
POWERS AND PRINCIPALITIES | Week 6 ”Justice”
August 09, 2020 15:00 - 40 minutes - 55.9 MBIn this Sermon, we are excited to present a first: a Panel Sermon with members of Forefront Church. In this conversation, Keli Young, Denia Perez and lead pastor Jonathan Williams, bring light to the many examples that show us that a life following Jesus is also a life working actively for social justice. They examine how Jesus calls us to literally proclaim freedom for people who are imprisoned; set oppressed people free.
POWERS AND PRINCIPALITIES | Week 5 ”Rest”
August 02, 2020 15:00 - 18 minutes - 25.8 MBRest because we haven't finished yet. Rest is a critical but often ignored part of social and spiritual movements. Listen to guest preacher, Alicia T. Crosby, as she explores how Matthew 14 highlights the role rest played in helping people move on after being profiled and losing their beloved to state sanctioned violence. Alicia T. Crosby (she/hers) is a justice educator, activist, and minister whose work addresses the spiritual, systemic, and interpersonal harm people experience. Visit ali...
Forefront Conversations with Drew Hart
July 27, 2020 16:00 - 55 minutes - 102 MBDrew Hart grew up and went to school in areas with a largely white population, but it wasn't until he started attending a Christian college that he really started feeling like people viewed him as an other. It's his experience with white supremacy brought into sharp focus through the lens of the Church that he writes about in his book, Trouble I've Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism. In this interview, he talks about the historical and cultural oppression brought on by the prolife...
POWERS AND PRINCIPALITIES | Week 4 ”Supremacy”
July 26, 2020 15:00 - 27 minutes - 37.4 MBChristian supremacy, anti-semitism, and the origins of racism. Sarah Ngu explores how white supremacy is intertwined with Christian supremacy and how this is a key example of power and principality. This sermon focusses on how the church's treatment of Jews in the middle ages paved the way for its treatment of Africans and the creation of "race" as we know it today.
POWERS AND PRINCIPALITIES | Week 3 ”Family”
July 19, 2020 15:00 - 30 minutes - 42.3 MBThe sins of our ancestors. In this 3rd Sermon in our Series, Powers & Principalities, Jubi Williams explores racism and family history. Referencing her family history having immigrated from Kerala, India, Jubi reminds us of the complex racial injustice from that country. She shares her personal journey by unpacking race in her culture, family and shines the light on how we can confront our family history to clear unhealthy racist beliefs and liberate ourselves.
POWERS AND PRINCIPALITIES | Week 2 ”Spirit”
July 12, 2020 15:00 - 30 minutes - 41.4 MBThe Spirit is the ultimate disrupter. The foundation of our country is built on a hierarchy of Humanity. White folks have 12.5 times the wealth of Black folks. Asian Americans are statistically less likely to be approved for home ownership. The mortality rate for Black infants is double that of white infants. The list goes on. The Book of Acts speaks to these inequities and calls on the power of the Holy Spirit to be the great "disruptor." Listen to Jonathan's sermon as he shows us how the ...
POWERS AND PRINCIPALITIES | Week 1 ”Shame”
July 05, 2020 15:00 - 26 minutes - 35.7 MBShame is a lie. In this first sermon in our series, Powers and Principalities, Jonathan explains how we can be immobilized by the notion we are not valued by God. In order to bring about change to the Powers and Principalities that embrace unjust views and systems, we need to release our shame. We are loved, all are loved, no matter who we are or what we've done. When we can fully accept the never-ending, pure love of God and realize that our shame is a lie, we are able to convince others o...
(NOT YOUR) CHILDREN’S BIBLE | Week 4 ”Dismantle”
June 28, 2020 15:00 - 22 minutes - 31 MBWhat the David and Goliath story tells us about dismantling empire systems.
(NOT YOUR) CHILDREN’S BIBLE | Week 3 ”Reimagine”
June 21, 2020 15:00 - 21 minutes - 29.1 MBHow God asks us to radically reimagine the way life can look.
(NOT YOUR) CHILDREN’S BIBLE | Week 2 ”Failure”
June 14, 2020 15:00 - 20 minutes - 28.1 MBWhy telling the truth about our failures brings restorative justice.
(NOT YOUR) CHILDREN’S BIBLE | Week 1 ”Honor”
June 07, 2020 15:00 - 21 minutes - 29.2 MBHow can we honor our parents when we deeply disagree with them?
CLARITY IN CRISIS | Week 7 ”Jubilee”
May 31, 2020 15:00 - 22 minutes - 31 MBWhat is Jubilee? Uprising and protest that brings equity, ends hierarchy.
CLARITY IN CRISIS | Week 6 ”Miracle of Grief”
May 24, 2020 09:45 - 25 minutes - 29.3 MBHow can your grief become a miracle?
CLARITY IN CRISIS | Week 5 ”Connect in Distance”
May 17, 2020 06:45 - 22 minutes - 20.8 MBWhat does spirituality look like when you can't go to church?
CLARITY IN CRISIS | Week 4 ”Outrage”
May 10, 2020 07:15 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBHow do we move beyond outrage?
CLARITY IN CRISIS | Week 3 ”Interdependence”
May 03, 2020 08:00 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBHow do you live out interdependence?
Forefront Conversations with Sumbul Ali-Karamali
April 30, 2020 05:00 - 1 hour - 95 MBMedia depictions would have you believe that Christianity and Islam are vastly more different than they are similar, that the Qur'an is an intolerant text, and that Islam is a violent religion. Sumbul Ali-Karamali vehemently disagrees. At first, her book, The Muslim Next Door: The Qur'an, the Media, and that Veil Thing, reads as a primer on the tenets and traditions of Islam, but the truth that exists in the context of its pages is that the rich and ancient religion is so much more similar to...
EPISODE 34: SUMBUL ALI-KARAMALI
April 30, 2020 02:54 - 1 hour - 95 MBEPISODE OVERVIEW Media depictions would have you believe that Christianity and Islam are vastly more different than they are similar, that the Qur'an is an intolerant text, and that Islam is a violent religion. Sumbul Ali-Karamali vehemently disagrees. At first, her book, The Muslim Next Door: The Qur'an, the Media, and that Veil Thing, reads as a primer on the tenets and traditions of Islam, but the truth that exists in the context of its pages is that the rich and ancient religion is so m...
CLARITY IN CRISIS | Week 2 ”Why?”
April 26, 2020 07:15 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBDoes Everything Happen for a Reason?
CLARITY IN CRISIS | Week 1 ”Gideon”
April 19, 2020 09:00 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBDo you believe you are a mighty warrior?
EPISODE 33: LINDA KAY KLEIN
April 14, 2020 16:12 - 57 minutes - 78.9 MBEPISODE OVERVIEW For many of us raised in the Evangelical tradition, we're familiar with what the term "purity culture" means on the surface: teaching children to save their first time having sex until they're married to that one person with whom God had always intended them to be. However, as time went by and the scars began to manifest, we realized what it entailed deeper down: sexual shame, sexual silence, and social and structural hierarchies that overwhelmingly subjugated and victimize...
Forefront Conversations with Linda Kay Klein
April 14, 2020 05:00 - 57 minutes - 78.9 MBFor many of us raised in the Evangelical tradition, we're familiar with what the term "purity culture" means on the surface: teaching children to save their first time having sex until they're married to that one person with whom God had always intended them to be. However, as time went by and the scars began to manifest, we realized what it entailed deeper down: sexual shame, sexual silence, and social and structural hierarchies that overwhelmingly subjugated and victimized young women. In h...
EASTER SUNDAY | “A Communal Resurrection”
April 12, 2020 09:15 - 20 minutes - 19 MBJonathan shares his Easter message.
LENT | Week 6 ”Palm Sunday”
April 05, 2020 07:00 - 19 minutes - 17.6 MBJonathan shares his unorthodox Palm Sunday message.
Forefront Conversations with Casey Tygrett
April 02, 2020 05:00 - 48 minutes - 66.9 MBWhat if our memories are like shells we gather on a beach? According to Casey Tygrett, how we carry and hold onto these memories - both good and bad - is a part of what forms us spiritually. In this interview, Casey discusses his new book, As I Recall: Discovering the Place of Memories in Our Spiritual Life, and explores how memory has shaped our experience with God and spirituality and how there are biblical texts and practices to guide us in bringing our memories back to God for spiritual t...
EPISODE 32: CASEY TYGRETT
April 02, 2020 01:28 - 48 minutes - 66.9 MBEPISODE OVERVIEW What if our memories are like shells we gather on a beach? According to Casey Tygrett, how we carry and hold onto these memories - both good and bad - is a part of what forms us spiritually. In this interview, Casey discusses his new book, As I Recall: Discovering the Place of Memories in Our Spiritual Life, and explores how memory has shaped our experience with God and spirituality and how there are biblical texts and practices to guide us in bringing our memories back to ...
LENT | Week 5 ”Corona”
March 29, 2020 11:30 - 21 minutes - 19.6 MBJonathan looks at Lent in the time of COVID-19.
LENT | Week 4 ”Prayer”
March 22, 2020 08:45 - 31 minutes - 29 MBAngela dives into prayer in her first sermon at Forefront.
LENT | Week 3 ”Prudence”
March 15, 2020 08:00 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBJonathan shows us how to discern with prudence.
LENT | Week 2 ”God’s Will”
March 08, 2020 07:45 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MBJonathan breaks down what God's Will really looks like.
LENT | Week 1 ”Origin Story”
March 01, 2020 07:15 - 23 minutes - 21.1 MBJonathan launches our Lent series.
BECOMING | Week 8 ”Quit Being An Ally”
February 23, 2020 11:30 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBSarah shows us what collective liberation looks like.
BECOMING | Week 7 ”Quit Being Charitable”
February 16, 2020 07:00 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MBJonathan shows us what giving could look like.
BECOMING | Week 6 ”Quit Being Inauthentic”
February 09, 2020 12:45 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBJonathan shows us that we have to come face to face with our fears.
BECOMING | Week 5 ”Quit Being In Control”
February 02, 2020 09:45 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBJonathan shares that lost is a place too.
BECOMING | Week 4 ”Quit Being Certain”
January 26, 2020 08:30 - 25 minutes - 23 MBJonathan looks at how being open to the unknown can be good for us.
BECOMING | Week 3 ”Quit Being Perfect”
January 19, 2020 07:15 - 28 minutes - 26.2 MBSarah looks at ways we should quit perfection and instead pursue action.
BECOMING | Week 2 ”Quit Being Good”
January 12, 2020 09:00 - 22 minutes - 20.6 MBJonathan reframes the idea of being good.
BECOMING | Week 1 ”Quit Blaming”
January 05, 2020 07:30 - 21 minutes - 20.1 MBJonathan shows us how blame strips us of our humanity.
ADVENT | Week 3 ”Glory of the Lord”
December 15, 2019 09:30 - 21 minutes - 19.6 MBJonathan looks at glory from a different perspective.
ADVENT | Week 2 ”Hills and Valleys”
December 08, 2019 07:45 - 25 minutes - 23 MBSarah shares with us a deeper meaning behind Isaiah 40.
ADVENT | Week 1 ”Comfort Ye Me People”
December 01, 2019 08:45 - 25 minutes - 23.3 MBMira visits us again to share news of comfort to kick off our Advent series.
Forefront Conversations with Pete Enns
November 25, 2019 05:00 - 1 hour - 86.1 MBThose who have gone through the process of spiritual deconstruction can attest to the shame and damage that come along with any system or authority that claims with absolute certainty that they speak the mind and will of God. Deconstruction often begins with an "uh oh" moment - a revelation, discovery, or even a simple conversation that leads one to question if everything they've been told is wrong. Pete Enns knows these moments all too well because he's had many of them throughout his decade...
EPISODE 31: PETE ENNS
November 25, 2019 02:53 - 1 hour - 86.1 MBEPISODE OVERVIEW Those who have gone through the process of spiritual deconstruction can attest to the shame and damage that come along with any system or authority that claims with absolute certainty that they speak the mind and will of God. Deconstruction often begins with an "uh oh" moment - a revelation, discovery, or even a simple conversation that leads one to question if everything they've been told is wrong. Pete Enns knows these moments all too well because he's had many of them th...
CALLING | ”Bring Peace”
November 24, 2019 12:15 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBJonathan reveals the calling that we all have from God.
TRANSFORMATION | Week 6 ”Mature”
November 17, 2019 11:00 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MBJonathan shows us how the spirit moves in our maturing and growing.
TRANSFORMATION | Week 5 ”Anger Pt. 2”
November 10, 2019 10:30 - 19 minutes - 17.8 MBJonathan continues his talk on holy and righteous anger.