The Four

By: Otis Moss III Jacqui Lewis Michael-Ray Mathews Lisa Sharon Harper
  • Summary

  • Welcome to The FOUR: A fearsome faith foursome talkin’ about Black Life, Love, Power & Joy. YOUR HOSTS: Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, Lisa Sharon Harper, Rev. Michael Ray Mathews, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis Four of America’s most gifted, prophetic Black leaders are also four of the funniest, most irreverent, soulful and justice-rooted friends around. For the first time, they’ll join their public voices in a special podcast series as freewheeling as the barbershop and beauty salon, and as dynamic and deep as the books, films, television, speeches and sermons they’ve created, and protests they’ve led. People of all races and faiths are invited into this unapologetically African-American Gen X circle where smart, sophisticated and nuanced interviews with diverse guests meet wit and laughter among friends: Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, senior pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ was named one of the “12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World” by Baylor University. A creator of award-winning “sermonic films”, he founded the Unashamed Media Group, committed to producing and curating stories to inspire the heart and challenge the mind. His filmwork has been featured by Oprah Winfrey. Pastor Moss is highly-influenced by the works of Zora Neale Hurston, August Wilson, Howard Thurman, Jazz and Hip-Hop, just some of the reasons he is a popular speaker at college campuses, conferences and churches worldwide. He is a proud graduate of Morehouse College, with a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from Chicago Theological Seminary. He is ordained in the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the United Church of Christ (UCC). Lisa Sharon Harper is president of Freedom Road LLC and host of the Freedom Road Podcast. A spoken word artist, she is a fiery storyteller who breathes life into words to mesmerizing effect. As a leading Black progressive evangelical woman in a white male world, Ms. Harper is not afraid to take on the old guard and is uniquely engaged with white evangelical women. Her latest book, Fortune: My Journey to Understand How Race Broke My Family and The World and How to Repair it All (Brazos Press, February 2022), follows on the heels of her critically acclaimed bestseller, The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong can be Made Right. Ms. Harper has a Masters in human rights from Columbia University and Masters of Fine Arts in Playwriting from the University of Southern California. She lives in South Philadelphia with her dog, Babe, who makes frequent appearances on The Four. Rev. Michael-Ray Mathews is a senior pastor, psalmist, singer and leading national community organizer as Deputy Director & Chief Faith Officer of Faith in Action. He hosts the Prophetic Resistance Podcast where he engages multi-faith leaders about sacred resistance to injustice and cultivating communities of belonging. Rev. Mathews is also president of the Alliance of Baptists, a progressive movement for justice and healing in the Baptist tradition; visiting professor of public theology at Berkeley School of Theology in Berkeley, CA; and co-founder and public theologian-in-residence with Sympara, a multifaith and interspiritual community repurposing spiritual practice for the common good. And his soulful singing will make you weep. Rev. Mathews is ordained in the American Baptist. He lives in San Jose. The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis is senior minister of the multi-race, multi-cultural and affirming Middle Collegiate Church in New York City. Dr. Lewis is the first woman and first African American to serve as Senior Minister in the nation’s oldest continuous church, which dates to 1628. This dynamic womanist preacher, teacher, speaker, writer and activist promotes a public ethic of love. Her latest book is Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World (November 2021 Harmony/Penguin Random House). She created two national television programs, Just Faith for MSNBC.com, and Chapter and Verse for PBS featuring unorthodox conversations about culture and current events through the lens of progressive faith and spirituality. She hosts the podcast Love.Period. and co-hosts Learning How to See, with leading Christian author Brian McLaren and legendary Fransciscan friar Richard Rohr (Center for Action and Contemplation.) Dr. Lewis is ordained in the Presbyterian Church USA. and has a Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion.
    2022
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Episodes
  • MOURNERS' BENCH: BLACK JOY & HEALING
    Aug 24 2022

    LEAD HOST: Rev. Michael-Ray Mathews

    GUESTS: Reverends Rudy & Juanita Rasmus

     

    Seeing Big Ma on the Mothers’ pew of the church, crying her heart out in grief, gratitude and joy, left an indelible mark on me…as a child I knew something powerful and transformative was happening in the front of the church, on “the Mothers Bench.” -MRM 

     

    Conflating the Mother’s & Mourner’s bench as a child, Rev. Mathews has since envisioned ideas of grief, conquering fear, healing, joy and liberation that enflesh theology and hold much-needed space for trauma healing and transformation—not just in body, or mind or the abstracted spirit or soul— but the whole Black Body. The FOUR are joined by Rudy and Juanita Rasmus for a deeply personal and compelling conversation. They are pastors, authors and humanitarians with a passion for healing. Including their own.

     

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    Once lost himself, (in his words, he owned “borderline bordello”), today Pastor Rudy co-leads St. John’s Downtown Houston with his wife, Juanita, of 32 years. 

    From nine members in 1992, the church has grown to the thousands where people of every social and economic background share the pew. Pastor Rudy attributes success to tearing down the walls of classism, sexism, and racism, and building compassionate bridges of unconditional love, universal recovery, and unprecedented hope. 

    With generous support from government agencies and Beyoncé, Tina and Solange Knowles, St. John’s offers permanent housing to formerly unhoused women and men; employment services, youth empowerment activities; and is one of few faith communities in the U.S. providing HIV/AIDS testing to churchgoers on Sundays. They also lead domestic and global anti-hunger initiatives in conjunction with Beyoncé’s concert tours and distribute over nine tons of fresh produce weekly to hungry families in Houston.

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    51 mins
  • RECLAIMING THE WHOLENESS OF OUR STORIES
    Aug 10 2022

    LEAD HOST: Rev. Michael-Ray Mathews
    GUEST: Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Roshi

    Black contemplation and spirituality are a wellspring for the work of individual and social transformation. Drawing from his engagement with Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Roshi’s seminal best-seller, Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, Rev. Mathews leads The FOUR as they explore with their good friend how the spiritual ways of Black folk are reshaping practice for Buddhists and others committed to liberation.  
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    48 mins
  • SHOUTIN’ IN THE FIRE & FINDING FIERCE LOVE
    Jun 20 2022

    SHOUTIN’ IN THE FIRE & FINDING FIERCE LOVE

    LEAD HOST: Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis

    GUEST: Dante Stewart

     

    Best-selling author and new voice, Dante Stewart, stormed the scene with his personal story. In 2016, he was a rising leader at his predominantly white evangelical church. But then came Donald Trump and Dante quickly found himself isolated amid a people unraveled. He needed to leave his god box and Dr. Lewis challenges us to do the same.

     

    Shoutin’ In The Fire: An American Epistle, Dante’s coming of age in a time of terror, calls us to reclaim and reimagine spiritual virtues like rage, resilience, and remembrance. Similarly, Dr. Lewis, in her new memoir, Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World, says we need to bravely disengage from the old image of God and leave the confined god box of the Black space. Both agree: We need faith that speaks truth to pain and trauma, and pursues a truer love than the kind we’re taught. 

     

    Featured on CNN, The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Sojourners and more, Dante joins The FOUR to explore how these virtues might function against an unjust, unloving world. 

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    46 mins

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