New Reality in Belonging

Facing the Violence: Embracing Weakness with Thurman & Guided Breath Prayer No. 108

What do we do with the agony? Where do we go for help?

For all those who feel deeply
For all those who are confused
For all those who feel helpless
For all those who are angry
For all those who are hiding and are shut down
For all those who have no voice
For all those who are prayerless
For all those who are sleepless
For all those who are exhausted

How are you staying sane and safe?

In this audio meditation, Josh offers a meditation to consider how our response to the pain surrounding us reveals our false understanding of power. Can we become more honest and open to God by considering our immediate violence in the context of our long addiction to power? After moving through this difficult discernment, Josh offers simple guided breath work to further open to God’s help.

[0:00] Welcome
America’s struggle with power, and situates this episode within the broader A New Reality in Belonging conversation.

[3:00] An Audio-Only Meditation
A prayerful, contemplative meditation—especially amid exhaustion, violence, and polarization.

[6:54] Discernment on Power, Weakness, and America
Our self-consumed society is collapsing, with insights from Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited.

[29:25] Guided Breath Prayer
A simple, embodied breath practice (4 counts in, 4 counts out) to calm the nervous system and open the heart to God.

[40:46] Staying Open to God in the Midst of Pain
Finding help without bypassing suffering.



Please share your experience of this episode with me. I’d love to know if and how breath work is helpful. Email me: josh at theinvitationcenter dot org.

For more information visit: www.theinvitationcenter.org

For information about the pending DMin cohort at Western Theological Seminary, visit: https://www.westernsem.edu/admissions/

#contemplation #justice #subversivehope #subversivelove #prayer #meditation

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A New Reality in Belonging Series - Robert Caldwell & Keith Reynolds Pt III No. 107

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What if justice begins with listening?

What if we don’t bring Jesus to others—but discover Jesus already among them?

In this final conversation with Keith Reynolds and Robert Caldwell, we explore contemplation, Black perseverance, cruciform leadership, and the sacramental presence of God revealed through our neighbors. A call to move beyond saviorism, recover communal wisdom, and practice a faith shaped by deep listening, shared life, and hope.

0:51 – Neighbors as Sacrament
Opening the conversation on symbiotic relationship, not saviorism
3:14 – Encountering God Through the Other
How we meet Christ in and through our neighbors
5:48 – NT Wright on the Church as New Creation
A unified, multi-ethnic body as a living sign of God’s kingdom
9:47 – Black Genius, Suffering, and Imagination
How suffering forms vision, creativity, and spiritual resilience
14:51 – Family Stories of Perseverance
Robert’s ancestral story of survival, migration, and hope
21:00 – Going to Celebrate, Not Just Serve
A corrective to paternalism: discovering Jesus already present
25:27 – Contemplation as Formation for Justice
Richard Rohr, inner quiet, and faithful presence
28:57 – Inner Life and World-Mindedness
Howard Thurman on the inseparable bond between contemplation and social responsibility

For more information visit: www.theinvitationcenter.org
For information about the pending DMin cohort at Western Theological Seminary, visit: www.westernsem.edu/admissions/

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VIDEO

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A New Reality in Belonging Series - Robert Caldwell & Keith Reynolds Pt II No. 106

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In Part II of this ongoing conversation, Josh continues his dialogue with Robert Caldwell and Keith Reynolds, deepening the exploration of surrender, obedience, and belonging.

Set in the season of Advent, this episode reflects on waiting, disorientation, and unfinishedness as sacred spaces where faith is formed. Drawing on Scripture and lived experience, the conversation challenges self-sufficient models of Christianity and imagines a more honest, dependent way of following God—one shaped by suffering, humility, and spiritual friendship.

Together, the hosts wrestle with the future of the church, the limits of institutional models, and the hope that emerges when control is relinquished and life is received as gift rather than project.

At its heart, this episode affirms that asking the question is itself an act of hope, and that new light often comes not through certainty, but through surrender.

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VIDEO

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A New Reality in Belonging Series - Robert Caldwell & Keith Reynolds Pt I No. 105

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In this episode podcaster and spiritual director, Josh Banner with Keith Reynolds, and Robert Caldwell explores how the church can embody creative, justice-oriented responses to today’s social realities by centering marginalized communities and reimagining spiritual formation as social transformation.

 

Guests:

  • Keith Reynolds (Western Theological Seminary)

  • Robert Caldwell (Answer Poverty)

Key Topics:

  • Church and social justice

  • Community development

  • Faith in action

  • Racial equity

  • Creative ministry models

 

00:00 – Introduction

  • Opening thoughts on not being anxious about current events and the call for the church to focus on supporting marginalized people.

00:32 – Organizing for Impact

  • Discussion on how resources are used to meet material needs in the community.

00:47 – New Wine, Old Wineskins

  • Reflection on the need for new approaches in faith and community work.

01:03 – Suffering and Imagination

  • The idea that suffering requires imagination and leads to collective genius, especially in the Black community.

01:25 – Robert Caldwell’s Influence

  • Robert’s non-reactionary approach and the wisdom gained from elders.

01:51 – Episode Overview

  • Host Josh introduces guests Keith Reynolds and Robert Caldwell, and outlines the themes of the episode: church planting, justice, and hope.

02:36 – Orientation and Vision

  • Robert shares his story; Keith discusses his vision for a new kind of church.

04:20 – Turning to Hope

  • Encouragement to focus on good news and practice hope despite a difficult news cycle.

05:40 – Love and Justice

  • Exploring the connection between loving God, neighbor, and self; justice as love in action.

09:00 – Personal Journeys

  • Keith and Robert share their backgrounds, vocational journeys, and the importance of mentorship and legacy.

16:36 – Church Planting and Community

  • Keith describes the influence of Robert on his approach to church and community development.

36:14 – Closing Reflections

  • The episode closes with thoughts on witness, legacy, and the ongoing journey of faith and justice.

  

For more information visit: www.theinvitationcenter.org

For information about the pending DMin cohort at Western Theological Seminary, visit: https://www.westernsem.edu/admissions/