We live in a world of tremendous conflict and as Christians, we are called to welcome those that have been forced to flee violence in their communities. For those of us called into this space, how do we mobilize Christians and advocate to the government for compassionate responses to such crises? We have long-time friend of the podcast Dr. Krish Kandiah on the show today to share what this has looked for him and the spaces God has called him into in recent years. Krish is an author, advocate and the Director of Sanctuary Foundation in the UK. We bounce around from Hong Kong and Ukraine to Sudan and Gaza to pursue God's justice for these global neighbors.
The Spiritual Practice of Starting Something with Bryan Halferty
Being an active follower of Christ will always lead us to find things that are incongruent with God's Kingdom and we'll want to do something about it. To do justice, we have to address injustice and that might require us to start something (and our community is full of people that start things). Starting something is hard though so we've invited author and pastor Bryan Halferty to walk us through the spirit and the tenacity it takes to undertake a new Kingdom venture. Bryan also shares about his upcoming book "Terrible Beauty" which is a memoir of his own journey towards starting a church in the most unchurched metropolitan area of the country.
Linking Justice with Righteousness, Update on Haiti and Sweeping Executive Actions
In our end of January episode, Brandon Stiver is walking through a few current issues as well as a Bible word study that offers a more robust understanding of what it means to do justice and how looking at the word in the Septuagint underscores the inextricable connection to to righteousness. Brandon welcomes Spencer Reeves to the show to share what the team at Child Hope International is seeing in the midst of the conflict within Haiti which has displaced more people than at any other point in the country's history. Lastly, we revisit a conversation we had with Medard Ngueita earlier this month and how to understand the sweeping executive actions by President Trump that has suspended refugee resettlement, canceled legal asylum seeking and pausing USAID support globally.
The Underbelly of Anti-Trafficking and Orphan Care Work with Erin Foley
There are so many needs within the work of anti-trafficking and orphan care, but what happens when people that are engaging as helpers are actually doing harm. Ego, poor practice and a desire for appearances can corrupt organizations that purport to be doing good. As a practitioner and journalist working in Southeast Asia, Erin Foley has been around the block working in organizations and comes onto the show today to share some of what she's seen and learned doing missions and nonprofit work over the years. She also shares about some of the great organizations she's worked with and about her most recent project, the recently published book "Where They Belong" which chronicles the movement of family care in Cambodia.
Refugee Resettlement in the Age of Trump with Medard Ngueita
As we anticipate the inauguration of President-Elect Trump later this month, we take a moment to consider how some of his public comments and proposed policies will affect global neighbors that are fleeing violence and seeking refuge in the US. To guide us through this conversation, we have Medard Ngueita on the show. Medard is the Executive Director at World Relief Western Washington. He has a vast knowledge on refugee resettlement not only as a long time team member at World Relief, but also because he was once an asylum seeker himself. Medard talks with Brandon Stiver about the ramifications of the first Trump administration on refugee resettlement and how organizations are preparing for the prospective policies that will be enacted in the upcoming administration.
End of 2024 Family Meeting with Phil Darke and Brandon Stiver
Happy New Year's Eve! We have so much to be thankful for as we reflect on the last year of nonprofit ministry, podcasting, family and everything else! In this end of 2024 episode, Brandon and Phil will catch up our listeners on what is happening in their personal lives and ministry. Most importantly to you, dear listener, we share about the state of the podcast, how it's been since we did some rebrand/rescope and what the future of the podcast is. This is an episode for those listeners that want a peek behind the curtain and are looking for more ways to go deeper with Think Global, Do Justice.
Water Access as a Key to Making Disciples with Christopher Beth
The gospel is to be proclaimed and word and deed. Sometimes global practitioners easily step into the demonstration of justice and development work, but how do we make meaningful strides towards sharing the gospel's message with those we reach with critical life-saving services. Christopher Beth from The Bucket Ministry joins the show today to share with Brandon Stiver and Phil Darke about the simple work that their ministry undertakes in fifteen countries to both provide water access and share the good news.
God’s Mercy on a Floating Hospital with Raeanne Newquist
Mercy comes in all shapes and sizes and in order to reach the 5 billion people without access to safe surgery, we need a litany of different models. Since 1978, Mercy Ships has been working to increase access to life changing surgeries in underserved areas of the world and Raeanne Newquist from their team joins the show to share about what it looks like to live and serve on a floating city. Raeanne talks with Brandon Stiver about what it's like to serve alongside your kids, collaborating with nationals and stepping out of our comfort zones to see God move in the lives of others.
Change Management and Community Transformation with Dr. Casey Duthiers
The common adage "when you know better, you do better" makes sense. It also indicates that there is a need to transform what it is that we've been doing. When nonprofits around the world, including those working in Christian development and justice, recognize the need for organizational shifts, they may undertake the years-long process of change management. Perhaps your organization has gone through this (or perhaps it needs to!) To help us understand what change management looks like and what it says for organizations pursuing transformational development models, we have Dr. Casey Duthiers joining the show. Casey is the Director of Training and Development at Resilient Communities Center where their team supports practitioners around the world to improve their practice and increase their impact through intentional, Christ-centered professional development for development practitioners. She talks with Brandon Stiver about change management, short term missions and what it looks like to follow Jesus to the margins. Glad to have you join!
What Scripture and Science Say About Resilience with Dr. Nicole Wilke
Trauma has the potential to cripple individuals that have experienced adversity, poverty and exclusion. There isn't an area where this is more clear than in global orphan care and there isn't a better person to walk us through what building resilience looks like than our guest today. Dr. Nicole Wilke is the Director at the CAFO Research Center where she leads a team focused on making research applicable to everyday practitioners in global child welfare. On the show, Nicole talks with Brandon Stiver and Phil Darke about what she's learned both from living in Peru as well as through the research that she has conducted in promoting better practice for orphaned and vulnerable children. We close our conversation with diving into the new book that she co-wrote with Dr. Amanda Howard called Overcoming which is out now. There's something in this conversation for everyone, so jump in with us!
Canopy International 