On August 16, 2021, on the one year memorial of his death, we gathered to remember Bishop John K. Yambasu.  To be honest, it still feels unbelievable that someone with so much life could be gone from us.  Today on what would have been his 65th birthday, I want to rerelease two things: the tribute I wrote to about him about two months after his death (https://postmodernmissionary.com/blog/2021/8/24/remembering-bishop-yambasu) and a 2018 podcast interview that I recorded with him.  

Bishop, you really were the best and I will always look up to you as one of the greatest leaders of your time.

Bishop Yambasu Memorial

Preview for Postmodern Missionary Podcast. Dropping July 31, 2019

Postmodern Missionary Podcast Preview

Katie opens her podcast with an introductory episode about who she is, her aim in starting a podcast, and what she means by the word "postmodern".

Episode 00A - What I Mean by Postmodern

Katie's missionary friend, Rev. Emily Everett, joins the podcast to discuss the word missionary.  With all its history and baggage, what does it mean now?  Is it a good thing?

OOB - Missionary?

Sierra Leone United Methodist Bishop discusses why he had a dream to build the United Methodist University (where Katie serves as Lecturer).

01 - Why a United Methodist University? Bishop John K. Yambasu

Cami Goble has served in the slums of Freetown for fifteen years.  Katie and Cami have a talk about what it has been like to be a stranger for so long and what she's learned in the process.

02 - Fifteen Years a Stranger - Cami Goble

Dr. Joseph Moiba is a man with two countries, six degrees, and a heart for his home of Sierra Leone.  He gave up a comfortable life in Norway to return home and serve his people.  This is a meaty conversation about one man's life and perspective gained from bridging two cultures.

03 - Two Countries and Six Degrees - Dr. Joseph Moiba Part 1

Part 2 of Dr. Joseph Moiba’s conversation with Katie does not disappoint!  Hear about Dr. Moiba’s bid for the Sierra Leone presidency, listen to his perspective about why Sierra Leoneans reacted to outsiders the way that they did, and soak up some more of his delightful perspective.  This was one of Katie’s favorite conversations.  Enjoy!

04 - Two Countries And Six Degrees - Dr. Joseph Moiba Part 2

Laura Kirkough had a great life teaching in the UK.  Over the course of 10 weeks, she found herself unexpectedly living in Sierra Leone as the head teacher of a school of disabled children.  Hear here inspiring story, get influenced by her courage, and learn a little more about education here in Salone.  Also, hang around to the end.  She’ll tell you how to ask to use the restroom in Welsh!

05 - Unexpectedly Head Teacher - Laura Kircough

Yasmine Ibrahim was born in the US to Sierra Leonean parents.  As a dual citizen raised in the US and living in Salone, Yasmine has a life and perspective that few experiences.  Hear about her work with girls in Sierra Leone, what it means to be both American and Sierra Leonean, and how she navigates life as part of the returned diaspora.

Find out more at https://postmodernmissionary.com/podcast/2019/8/21/06-girlup-yasmine-ibrahim

06 - GirlUp! - Yasmine Ibrahim

Rev. Dr. Professor George Carew is an author, philosopher, former Ambassador the the United States, and former missionary to Nigeria and Liberia. He now serves as the Vice Chancellor of the United Methodist University Sierra Leone. In this conversation, hear an academic's academic discuss philosophy, mission, politics, and family.

Episode web page: https://postmodernmissionary.com/podcast/2019/8/21/philosopher-ambassador-missionary-rev-dr-professor-george-carew-part-1

07 - Philosopher, Ambassador, Missionary - Rev. Dr. Professor George Carew Part 1

Don’t miss the second half of Katie’s conversation with Rev. Professor George Carew, former Sierra Leone Ambassador to the US and current Vice Chancellor of the UMU.  In this conversation, we get into the missionary endeavor, politics in Africa, and some more of his fascinating life.

08 - Philosopher, Ambassador, Missionary - Prof Carew Part 2

Season 2 is here! This was Katie's first recorded episode and returning to it a year and a half later taught Katie a BIG LESSON.  Check out Kristen Bacher's insane wisdom from having lived in Kroo Bay, a slum in Freetown, for a few years.  AND listen to Katie's learning as she eats a little humble pie.

09 - Living in Kroo Bay, Freetown's Slum - Kristen Bacher

I met Lorraine Charinda on my first day of missionary training in Atlanta.  Since then she has become one of my favorite people.  Serving as a missionary agriculturalist in the DRC, she is an absolute BOSS, a powerful leader, and a beautiful soul.  You will LOVE her.

10 - Farmer, Missionary, Boss - Lorraine Charinda

Charles and Ally Currie have been purposefully living racial reconciliation since before they were married.  Their journey has led them from Tennessee to Sierra Leone and back.  This is an important and timely conversation about what it looks like to fight racism and live into a new vision of community.  It is VERY practical in its approach.  Also, these are some of Katie’s favorite people: friends who have become family.  Hear their beautiful story and gain some wisdom from people who live anti-racism every day.  We believe you will find them to be capable and gentle teachers.  

Below you will find many of the definitions and resources referenced in today’s conversation.  

Definitions  

Culture The history, values and norms that are generally understood by a group of people, whether consciously or unconsciously  

Race A social construct, a group or lineage of people who share certain distinct physical traits  

Ethnicity A race of people sharing a common culture, history or values (black/Jamaican)  

Multiethnic To embody or include more than one ethnicity  

People of Color Anyone who is not white  

Prejudice A preconceived judgment or opinion, usually based on limited information  

Racism A system of advantage based on race; prejudice plus power (POC can be prejudiced, but don’t have power to be racist)  

White SupremacyA system of racism rooted in the superiority of whiteness  

White Privilege See  “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”,  Peggy McIntosh  

Racial Reconciliation  The act of members of differing racial and/or ethnic groups that were once at odds with one another confessing sin, repenting, forgiving and building a new normal together in Jesus Christ  

Books and Articles 

Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh  

Roadmap to Reconciliation: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness, and Justice by Brenda Salter McNeil

11 - Living Racial Reconciliation - Ally and Charles Currie

“Racial reconciliation is a gospel issue.”  Join the second half of our conversation with Charles and Ally Currie, who have been living purposeful and practical racial reconciliation for close to a decade now.  Katie and the Curries jump right into the deep end as we pick up where we left off this week.  In this conversation, they discuss why this work is still necessary, what reconciliation looks like from the perspective of people of color and from the perspective of white people, and how to incorporate this work no matter wherever you are. Don’t miss it! 

Below you will find many of the definitions and resources referenced in today’s conversation. 

Definitions
Culture
The history, values and norms that are generally understood by a group of people, whether consciously or unconsciously

Race
A social construct, a group or lineage of people who share certain distinct physical traits

Ethnicity
A race of people sharing a common culture, history or values (black/Jamaican)

Multiethnic
To embody or include more than one ethnicity

People of Color
Anyone who is not white

Prejudice
A preconceived judgment or opinion, usually based on limited information

Racism
A system of advantage based on race; prejudice plus power (POC can be prejudiced, but don’t have power to be racist) 

White Supremacy
A system of racism rooted in the superiority of whiteness

White Privilege
See  “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”,  Peggy McIntosh 

Racial Reconciliation 
The act of members of differing racial and/or ethnic groups that were once at odds with one another confessing sin, repenting, forgiving and building a new normal together in Jesus Christ

Books and Articles
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown 

We Need to Talk About Racism—In the Development Sector by George Jones 

Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh

Roadmap to Reconciliation: Moving Communities into Unity, Wholeness, and Justice by Brenda Salter McNeil 

Shalom Sistas: Living Wholeheartedly in a Broken Hearted World by Osheta Moore 

Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times by Soong-Chan Rah 

People to Follow
Austin Channing Brown (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) 

Ally Henny (Twitter, Instagram, Podcast, Facebook) 

Osheta Moore (Twitter, Instagram, Podcast, Facebook) 

Katie Meek - Postmodern Missionary (Twitter) 

(See postmodernmissionary.com for links)

12 - Living Racial Reconciliation Part 2 - Ally and Charles Currie

Welcome to a new format for the Postmodern Missionary Podcast.  Let me tell you about it!

Many have requested that I add a teaching component on here in addition to my interviews, which has been in the works for a while.  I had teachings on how to do mission well.  I had teachings on what Neo-colonialism looks like.

AAAAND then Corona happened.  My life and your life and every church and the whole world has been disrupted by the ‘rona.  So instead I decided to take the opportunity to see what certain episodes in history might teach us about how to handle this disruption…the Black Plague, for example.  So here we are with a four part series on Disruptions in Church History.  

Now, I few things you need to know:

One, each week we will look at one disruption in Church History.  We will wade through what the disruption was and then we’ll ask the question of how the church responded to it.  You will find that sometimes the church handled what they were facing in a really positive and constructive and gospel-centered way.  And sometimes…not so much.

Two, this is by no means an exhaustive list, only stuff that I’ve encountered that I find instructive and interesting.

Three, and this is important.  I decided to do this topic before the most recent uprisings against police brutality in the US and before we started this newest critical conversation about race for our generation.  Truthfully, it seems like now there are two disruptions going on.  HOWEVER, I think this topic has something to say about this conversation too.

Four, I personally am doing my own spiritual work toward becoming truly anti-racist, and I have been for a while now.  This work is CENTRAL to being a postmodern missionary that does not cause harm. But this podcast is not directly about that.  (Not directly about that.) My plan is to tell you how these disruptions were handled by sections of the church…for good or ill.   

I know that there will be parallels that can be drawn between the stories I tell here and what we’re facing together today.  Now, I’m not going to make those connections in this podcast.  Instead, I’m going to let you and the Holy Spirit and maybe some friends on your journey do that work together.  My firm belief and conviction is that the church must respond to the disruptions of today…. Even if we don’t respond, that is still a response.  Maybe looking back will help us to look forward. 

Number 5, and also very important, I think this is gonna be fun. I mean, like, nerdy fun.  But still fun. And I’m super glad you’re here!

References

Boer, Harry R. (1976) A Short History of the Early Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eardmans Publishing Company 

Gonzalez, Justo L. (2010) The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Reformation. Revised and Updated. New York: HarperCollins.

Noll, Mark A. (2012) Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. Third Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic.

13 - Disruptions In Church History 1 - Church And Empire

Week 2 of our 4-part series on Disruptions in Church History.  In case you missed it, here’s the description of what we’re doing…

Welcome to a new format for the Postmodern Missionary Podcast.  Let me tell you about it!

Many have requested that I add a teaching component on here in addition to my interviews, which has been in the works for a while.  I had teachings on how to do mission well.  I had teachings on what Neo-colonialism looks like.

AAAAND then Corona happened.  My life and your life and every church and the whole world has been disrupted by the ‘rona.  So instead I decided to take the opportunity to see what certain episodes in history might teach us about how to handle this disruption…the Black Plague, for example.  So here we are with a four part series on Disruptions in Church History.  

Now, I few things you need to know:

One, each week we will look at one disruption in Church History.  We will wade through what the disruption was and then we’ll ask the question of how the church responded to it.  You will find that sometimes the church handled what they were facing in a really positive and constructive and gospel-centered way.  And sometimes…not so much.

Two, this is by no means an exhaustive list, only stuff that I’ve encountered that I find instructive and interesting.

Three, and this is important.  I decided to do this topic before the most recent uprisings against police brutality in the US and before we started this newest critical conversation about race for our generation.  Truthfully, it seems like now there are two disruptions going on.  HOWEVER, I think this topic has something to say about this conversation too.

Four, I personally am doing my own spiritual work toward becoming truly anti-racist, and I have been for a while now.  This work is CENTRAL to being a postmodern missionary that does not cause harm. But this podcast is not directly about that.  (Not directly about that.) My plan is to tell you how these disruptions were handled by sections of the church…for good or ill.   

I know that there will be parallels that can be drawn between the stories I tell here and what we’re facing together today.  Now, I’m not going to make those connections in this podcast.  Instead, I’m going to let you and the Holy Spirit and maybe some friends on your journey do that work together.  My firm belief and conviction is that the church must respond to the disruptions of today…. Even if we don’t respond, that is still a response.  Maybe looking back will help us to look forward. 

Number 5, and also very important, I think this is gonna be fun. I mean, like, nerdy fun.  But still fun. And I’m super glad you’re here!

REFERENCES
Boer, Harry R. (1976) A Short History of the Early Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eardmans Publishing Company 

Hanson, R.P.C. (1972) The Reaction of the Church to the Collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the Fifth Century. Vigiliae Christianae 2. North Holland Publishing Company

Gonzalez, Justo L. (2010) The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Reformation. Revised and Updated. New York: HarperCollins.

Noll, Mark A. (2012) Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. Third Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic.

Disruptions in Church History 2 - Fall Of Western Rome

Week 3 of our 4-part series on Disruptions in Church History.  This episode covers the Bubonic Plague.  This one is probably the most comparable to what we’re going through right now with COVID-19.  And the church’s response looks BLEAK.  Find the audio below.  But first, take a look at how the plague made its way across Europe to kill more than 30% of the population.

In case you missed it, here’s the description of what we’re doing…

Welcome to a new format for the Postmodern Missionary Podcast.  Let me tell you about it!

Many have requested that I add a teaching component on here in addition to my interviews, which has been in the works for a while.  I had teachings on how to do mission well.  I had teachings on what Neo-colonialism looks like.

AAAAND then Corona happened.  My life and your life and every church and the whole world has been disrupted by the ‘rona.  So instead I decided to take the opportunity to see what certain episodes in history might teach us about how to handle this disruption…the Black Plague, for example.  So here we are with a four part series on Disruptions in Church History.  

Now, I few things you need to know:

One, each week we will look at one disruption in Church History.  We will wade through what the disruption was and then we’ll ask the question of how the church responded to it.  You will find that sometimes the church handled what they were facing in a really positive and constructive and gospel-centered way.  And sometimes…not so much.

Two, this is by no means an exhaustive list, only stuff that I’ve encountered that I find instructive and interesting.

Three, and this is important.  I decided to do this topic before the most recent uprisings against police brutality in the US and before we started this newest critical conversation about race for our generation.  Truthfully, it seems like now there are two disruptions going on.  HOWEVER, I think this topic has something to say about this conversation too.

Four, I personally am doing my own spiritual work toward becoming truly anti-racist, and I have been for a while now.  This work is CENTRAL to being a postmodern missionary that does not cause harm. But this podcast is not directly about that.  (Not directly about that.) My plan is to tell you how these disruptions were handled by sections of the church…for good or ill.   

I know that there will be parallels that can be drawn between the stories I tell here and what we’re facing together today.  Now, I’m not going to make those connections in this podcast.  Instead, I’m going to let you and the Holy Spirit and maybe some friends on your journey do that work together.  My firm belief and conviction is that the church must respond to the disruptions of today…. Even if we don’t respond, that is still a response.  Maybe looking back will help us to look forward. 

Number 5, and also very important, I think this is gonna be fun. I mean, like, nerdy fun.  But still fun. And I’m super glad you’re here!

REFERENCES

Cantor, N.F. (2015) In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World it Made. Simon & Schuster.

Cohn, Samuel Jr. Plague violence and abandonment from the Black Death to the Early Modern Period.  https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_ADH_134_0039--plague-violence-and-abandonment-from.htm# Accessed 9 August 2020

Gonzalez, Justo L. (2010) The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Reformation. Revised and Updated. New York: HarperCollins.

Mark, Joshua J. (2020) Religious Responses to the Black Death. https://www.ancient.eu/article/1541/religious-responses-to-the-black-death/ Accessed 2 August 2020

Noll, Mark A. (2012) Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. Third Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic.

15 - Disruptions in Church History 3 - The Bubonic Plague

This is an episode of the series I didn’t expect to make.  I was planning to do the final episode right about now, but then my Bishop, Rev. Dr. John K Yambasu had a fatal accident and died on August 16.  And my own world turned upside down.  Disruption came to my house.

So instead of putting out our last installment this week, I decided to reflect on what it looks like to navigate the disruption when it comes to your doorstep.  So what I have are two truths and two untruths about disruption and grief.

Two Untruths: 

1. You can skip the grief. (You can’t.)

2. It’s not ok to questions. (It is.)

Two Truths:

1. What we need in grief is to worship.

2. God raises up new leaders for every time and every generation.

Farewell, Dear Bishop.  You were the real deal, one of the greatest men on the whole planet.  But most importantly, you were ours.  Thank you.

16 - Disruptions in Church History 4 - When Disruption Comes To Your House

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As the world is writing a new story of global kinship, Postmodern Missionary dives into what it means to be a missionary pushing against a heritage of colonialism. Join Rev. Katie Meek as she explores life and faith in Sierra Leone.

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