J29 Coalition Podcast

Ambassadors of Another Kingdom: Discipling Through Polarization

In this compelling episode of the J29 Coalition Podcast, Pastor David Swanson and Pastor Michael Agapito offer rich and contrasting pastoral perspectives on navigating politics, polarization, and discipleship in deeply different ministry contexts—Chicago’s South Side and rural Southern Illinois. David, leading a multiracial congregation in a historically underrepresented neighborhood, shares how the Black church tradition has shaped a pragmatic, justice-oriented engagement with politics. Michael, serving in a historically sundown town, speaks vulnerably about pastoring a predominantly white congregation as a non-anxious presence and ambassador of the Kingdom of God. Together, they offer theological insights, pastoral strategies, and honest reflections on how Christian leaders can equip their communities to engage civic life faithfully, curiously, and with spiritual maturity.David W. Swanson is the founding pastor of New Community Covenant Church, a multiracial congregation located on the South Side of Chicago. He is also the founder of New Community Outreach, a nonprofit ministry focused on youth reconciliation and trauma healing. A graduate of North Park Theological Seminary, David serves within the Evangelical Covenant Church and is the author of Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity. With a heart for racial justice, holistic discipleship, and neighborhood-rooted ministry, David brings deep theological reflection and practical pastoral experience to today's most pressing cultural challenges.Michael Agapito is the lead pastor of Craneville Baptist Church in Southern Illinois. A thoughtful and mission-minded pastor, Michael ministers in a predominantly white, rural community with a complex racial history. Drawing from his American Baptist tradition and a personal commitment to cross-cultural discipleship, he approaches ministry with humility, curiosity, and courage. Michael frequently engages in public conversations about how the church can navigate partisan polarization and embody the love and justice of the Kingdom of God. Online, he’s known as “The Confessing Millennial,” where he offers nuanced reflections on politics, faith, and formation. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.j29coalition.com

Pastoring on the Fault Lines: Politics, Race, and the Kingdom of God

In this timely and honest episode of the J29 Coalition Podcast, pastors Vermon Pierre and Darryl Williamson reflect on the tensions of leading gospel-centered churches in an age of political hostility, racial division, and theological drift. Both members of The Gospel Coalition’s Council, Vermon and Darryl share from their experiences pastoring multiethnic churches in Phoenix and Tampa, offering insight into how Christian leaders can form people who are resilient, humble, and shaped more by the Kingdom of God than by partisan ideologies. With wisdom and clarity, they unpack themes like political discipleship, spiritual formation, pastoral courage, and the need for long-term, relational investment in shaping the imagination of the church. Vermon Pierre is the lead pastor of Roosevelt Community Church, a gospel-centered, multiethnic congregation in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. He is a Council member of The Gospel Coalition and a founding leader in the Surge Network, where he equips pastors and leaders for contextual, justice-oriented ministry. Vermon is widely respected for his theological clarity, missional heart, and commitment to helping the local church engage cultural and political realities with biblical wisdom and pastoral integrity. His book, Dearly Beloved: How God's Love for His Church Deepens Our Love for Each Other, is available wherever fine books are sold.Darryl Williamson serves as the lead pastor of Living Faith Bible Fellowship in Tampa, Florida, a diverse and disciple-making church committed to gospel proclamation and community transformation. As a Council member for The Gospel Coalition and a frequent national speaker, Darryl brings theological depth and pastoral experience to conversations about racial reconciliation, justice, and kingdom-centered discipleship. His leadership is marked by humility, clarity, and a deep trust in the power of the gospel to unify across division. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.j29coalition.com

From Cable News to Communion Tables

In this episode of the J29 Coalition Podcast, pastors Benji Bruneel and Ben Marsh unpack what it means to lead churches through political division, cultural formation, and communal discipleship in radically different contexts—Santa Barbara, California and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Together, they explore how service, incarnation, and relational ministry become powerful antidotes to politicized tribalism. From engaging refugee and immigrant communities to fostering disruptive unity across ideological lines, both pastors share how their churches are learning to foreground difference, embrace Spirit-led formation, and confront modern idols—including media addiction and cultural homogeneity. This conversation is a practical, wise, and at times hilarious roadmap for pastors navigating polarized times with courage and compassion.Benji Bruneel is one of the lead pastors at Santa Barbara Community Church, a non-denominational congregation with historic ties to the Baptist tradition. Serving on the Central Coast of California, Benji is passionate about forming a church that is “relentlessly relational,” rooted in the gospel, and responsive to the real needs of its immigrant-rich, economically diverse community.Ben Marsh is the lead pastor of First Alliance Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Ministering in the heart of the Bible Belt, Ben is known for his public theological writing, pastoral honesty, and prophetic commitment to justice, truth, and unity. He leads a small, vibrant congregation shaped by community outreach, refugee engagement, and discipleship that resists partisan conformity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.j29coalition.com

Politics, Identity, and the Church: A Conversation with Brad Edwards

In this episode of the J29 Coalition Podcast, Pastor Brad Edwards joins Caleb Campbell for a wide-ranging conversation on pastoring in a politically volatile and spiritually skeptical environment. Reflecting on his experience planting The Table in Boulder County, Colorado, Edwards explores the deep cultural suspicions toward institutional life—particularly the church—and argues for a renewed theological imagination that recovers the beauty, goodness, and formational power of the local church. Drawing from his book The Reason for Church, he discusses how institutions, when rightly understood, function as greenhouses for spiritual growth, identity, and meaning in a fragmented world. Edwards offers practical and pastoral insights for helping congregants move from consumer-driven religiosity and politically shaped theology to Christ-centered wisdom, communal discernment, and rooted spiritual maturity.About BradBrad Edwards is a pastor, church planter, and author serving in Boulder County, Colorado, where he leads The Table, a congregation deeply rooted in Reformed theology and passionate about engaging a secular, hyper-spiritual culture with the beauty of Jesus and His church. A graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary and a longtime admirer of Tim Keller, Brad brings a thoughtful, intellectually honest, and pastoral approach to ministry in a politically complex landscape. He is the author of The Reason for Church, a book that articulates a compelling case for the church as a vital institution for spiritual formation and human flourishing. Brad also co-hosts the Post Everything podcast, exploring faith, culture, and institutional renewal. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.j29coalition.com

Faithful Presence in a Fractured World

In this J29 Coalition Podcast episode, pastors Jackie Parks and Andy Littleton explore what it means to lead churches through cultural polarization, political tension, and spiritual formation in vastly different Arizona contexts. Jackie, who planted a trauma-informed, justice-driven congregation emerging from a homeless ministry, shares how missional life together can become a prophetic alternative to tribalism. Andy, serving a post-Christian, artistically inclined population in Tucson, reflects on how Scripture subtly but persistently forms a political imagination when preached with humility and curiosity. Together, they reflect on building trust, embracing discomfort, and leaving space for the Spirit to form people through lived experience and communal discernment. Their honest and hopeful conversation models how pastors can be both prophetic and pastoral without giving in to fear or false certainty.Jackie Parks is the founding pastor of South Scottsdale Presbyterian Church, a community born out of a long-standing ministry to people experiencing homelessness. Ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO), Jackie leads a church deeply shaped by justice, inclusion, and trauma-informed discipleship.Andy Littleton is the founding pastor of Mission Church in Tucson, Arizona, a congregation rooted in the heart of a post-Christian, creative, and justice-seeking neighborhood. He also writes and reflects on faith and culture through his online platform, A Little Mission. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.j29coalition.com