In this episode of our Clergy Burnout series, we’re joined by Lisa Sharon Harper, founder and president of Freedom Road, which helps organizations in multiple sectors do justice. She's a speaker, writer, and most recently the author of Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World. She also hosts the Freedom Road podcast and co-hosts The FOUR podcast.
Co-hosted by Kate Rae Davis, MDiv, and Rose Madrid Swetman, this episode digs into the systemic and cultural norms that have influenced the roles of our pastors. Lisa begins by defining the role of a pastor, which she says is to “not only to help us to connect with God on a personal level, but to help us all to understand our relationship with God and how that needs to impact our relationship with each other and the rest of creation.” If our pastors can truly focus on protecting the image of God, particularly in the “least of these” in our communities - and if we, as congregants, will support them in doing so - then many of the pressures that lead to burnout could be abated.
In this conversation, Lisa invites us to consider the impacts of a Western version of Christianity and reimagine what the Kingdom of God truly looks like, starting with honoring and defending the image of God in all humans.
Each episode, we’re asking our guest to highlight an organization that is doing good work. This week, Lisa calls our attention to several organizations:
Christians for Social Action *
