Podcasts to the People!

Recently a brother tagged me in a tweet asking, “Where are all the African-American Christian podcasts and radio shows?” He was saddened by the relative lack of content driven by African Americans.

I understand the concern. For a couple of years, by God’s grace, Pure Church was ranked in the top 100 Christian blogs. Each year I scanned the list to see who was there. I could only count a handful of blogs whose primary writers were not white, the number of African Americans was even smaller.

I don’t know what the solution is since blogging and podcasting is among the most democratic and individual of exercises. People have to want to do it. But there are some good podcasts out there that I think everyone should know about and listen to. Here are a few that I find consistently edifying and helpful:

Kingdom Diversity Podcast

The Kingdom Diversity Initiative is an effort at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Initiative “strives to seek and equip students from every corner of the kingdom to serve in every context of the kingdom.” Amen. And they put their scholarship money where their theological mouth is. Walter Strickland (@w_strickland) and Maliek Blade (@MaliekBlade) host the “Kingdom Diversity Podcast,” which “highlights voices and addresses topics pertinent to God’s people in pursuit of the Great Commission.”

On Preaching

On Preaching is the regular podcast of Pastor H.B. Charles II (@HBCharlesjr) of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, FL. H.B. has been preaching since his teen years and is a faithful student of the craft. The podcast, as its name and book suggest, is dedicated to the topic of preaching—helping us “preach faithfully, clearly, and better.”

Pass the Mic

“Pass the Mic” is the podcast of The Reformed African American Network. The podcast and the Network exist to “address the core concerns of African Americans.” Join hosts Jemar Tisby (@JemarTisby) and Tyler Burns (@Burns23) each week for wide-ranging discussions from a biblical world and life view.

Remembering Tomorrow

Join jazz theologian and pastor, Robert Gelinas (@jazztheologian), as he thinks through “Black Christian Calling” on his podcast “Remembering Tomorrow.” A ministry of The Sankofa Experience, “Remembering Tomorrow” is “a place for Black minds to survey the needs of our people through a Christian lens to see the new ground to which God is calling us.”

Pastor and People

Though it feels like shameless self-promotion, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention “Pastor & People,” a podcast we host here at The Front Porch. “Pastor & People” takes its theme from 2 Corinthians 1:24: “Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.” That image of pastors working together with their people for the joy of the church—that’s what we’re about. Holla at us sometime!

Well, that’s my quick list. What did I miss? Do you know of other African-American Christian podcasts we should listen to?