Justin and Stephen talk with Pastor Soriba Joseph Camara, President of the Evangelical Protestant Church of Mali. Reflecting on the Malian church’s experience with political turmoil Pastor Joseph shares recommendations for American Christians navigating the tumultuous start to the year.

Pastor Joseph also discusses the witness and reputation of the church in Mali, where Christians are estimated to be between 2% and 7% of the population. Together, they reflect on questions of contextualization and the maturing of the church in Mali as it wrestles with the mixed legacies of missionaries.

Pastor Joseph shares what he finds encouraging as he thinks about the global church, and his recommendations for Christians today.

Justin and Stephen also discuss the inauguration, civil religion, and cars, as they talk through their highlights, lowlights, and insights for the week.

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Resources from this episode:

Resources from Justin and Stephen’s conversation:

Amanda Gorman’s Poem: The Hill We Climb (video)

Stephen’s short stories

Switchback Coffee Roasters

Resources related to the conversation with Soriba Joseph Camara:

Mali Church Legacy project (includes an opportunity to give)

AGEMPEM Association of evangelicals in Mali

Pastor Joseph’s church (facebook)

A message (in French) by Pastor Joseph (facebook video)

About Soriba Joseph Camara

Soriba Joseph Camara is a pastor and has served as President of the Evangelical Protestant Church of Mali since 2012. He has a regular television broadcast on national television and a popular call-in radio program in Bamako. He was a long-time director of Reed Bible Institute, Bougouni. Pastor Joseph studied Biology at University in Mali before studying pastoral ministry at Grace University in Omaha, NE, and a Masters of Divinity at Calvary Seminary in Kansas City. Together with Dr. Yousef Dembele and Mama Josias Sako, Pastor Joseph hosted and taught more than 30 US students through Grace University’s six month EDGE program between 2007 and 2012. Pastor Joseph’s family includes Marthe, his wife of 33 years, and three adult children.

Credits: Regular Theme Music by Josiah Enns.

This episode was recorded on the land of the Wahpekute, Anishinabewaki, and the Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux).

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