Thursdays at the Table

In this episode, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling explores the “yin and yang” partnership and world-changing ministry with Rudy and Juanita Rasmus, the founding pastors of St. John’s Downtown United Methodist Church in Houston, TX. Together, they explore what it means for the church to have a heart for service, how to find balance and wholeness amid woundedness, what it means to build the church God intends, and how to become a manifest...

Bishops Marianne Budde of the Episcopal Chuch, and Leila Ortiz of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, join Bishop LaTrelle Easterling as the first women to serve as episcopal leaders in their judicatories. In this lively conversation, the three share the joys, challenges and lessons of leadership they’ve been experiencing and how each of their distinct identities shape the way they’re living out their call. 

Guest Bios

Bish...

If you are longing to enter more fully into the uniquely bold and joyful power of transformation, don’t miss this interview with Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries. During this conversation with Bishop Easterling, he shares his wisdom from 30 years working – heart and soul –  in a community in Los Angeles that was the poorest neighborhood in the diocese which had two different pain points. At first it was primarily ...

During the Next Level Speaker Series in October 2022, Bishop Easterling had a conversation on fierce love with the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, who shared stories filled with mother-wit, growth, setting boundaries, making bold choices, and opting to live and love outloud. Together, the pair illuminated what it means to love – God, the world and ourselves – with ferocity and grace. Guest Bio

The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, the author of Fierce Lo...

In this lively conversation be prepared to be challenged as some fundamentals and foundational aspects of church may be different than what we are practicing. That our church to be the church of Jesus Christ that we must shift from programs to partnership from charity to ch and from if we believe this stuff, we have to change. How a Bio Janet Wolf has worked as a poverty rights organizer, United Methodist pastor with urban and r...

With Rev. Dr. Willie Jennings

When Bishop Easterling started talking with the Rev. Willie Jennings about some of the deepest things they know, the conversation was so rich that it couldn’t be contained in one episode. Part 1 explored how the church thinks about God, the reasons why people read hierarchies of worth into God’s creation, the potential of us working together and the powerful gifts of understanding what we receive fro...

When Bishop Easterlings started talking with the Rev. Willie Jennings about some of the deepest things they know, the conversation was so rich that it couldn’t be contained in one episode. In order for you to hear it all, it’s been divided into two parts. The first segment explores how the church thinks about God, the reasons why people read hierarchies of worth into God’s creation, the potential of us working together and the powe...

Drawing on the works of philosophers who shaped this nation, Joel Goza, the author of America’s Unholy Ghosts,  provides insights into how the United States was built on intentional and destructive systems designed to promote white supremacy. He and Bishop Easterling engage in conversation on how these devastating foundations can be reversed and the role that church and people of faith might play in creating equity and justice...

Discipleship, it has been said, is learned on the inside of the church and lived on the outside. Deacons are a special order of ministry in The United Methodist Church that lives out this life of service and compassion beyond the pews and pulpits in ways that make the church relevant and meaningful. Join Bishop LaTrelle Easterling as she talks to two well-storied Deacons, the Revs. Leo Yates and Stephanie Moore Hand, as they explor...

This special episode of Thursdays at the Table was recorded on October 20, 2022 during Next Level with Tod Bolsinger.  After his plenary address, Bishop Easterling and he sat down for some real talk around his book, Tempered Resilience: How Leaders Are Formed in the Crucible of Change.  Learn more about the day.

On March 8 at Severna Park UMC in Severna Park, Md., Bishop Easterling will h...

In this episode of Thursdays At the Table, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling explores the importance of a variety of theological perspectives with guests the Rev. Drs. Shively Smith, an Assistant Professor at Boston University School of Theology, and Theresa Thames, Associate Dean of Religious Life and the Chapel at Princeton University. Theology or “God-talk” is not situated in one culture, people or time. Rather, all of creation extols ...

In this episode of At the Table, three white men, all leaders in The United Methodist Church, talk about racism and the realities of white supremacy. They share stories with Bishop LaTrelle Easterling of bearing witness to lynchings, confronting how racism was woven into their own histories, and how their privilege affects the ways they are learning use their voices to advocate for justice.

In a candid and courageous conversation, ...