United We Pray Loading and Newsletter Logo
Loading ...

Deep Demons: Race & The Church (w/ Ray Ortlund)

by | Oct 18, 2017

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7

Episode Overview:

Join Trillia Newbell, Isaac Adams, and Ray Ortlund as they discuss racial strife and the church. While recording this episode, Ray made an apt analogy. He compared the evil of racism to the demon possessing the boy in Mark 9:14-29. Jesus said about that demon: “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” Reflecting on racism in the church, Ray said, “that demon is deep, baby; it’s deep!” And so we pray.

We pray, as Trillia mentioned, that we wouldn’t be smiling racists. We confess our weakness. And we do so because, as Ray said, “If we’re really going to make a difference regarding ethnic strife and unity, prayer must be at the foundation of everything.”

 

Hosts: 

Isaac Adams & Trillia Newbell

 

Guest: 

Ray Ortlund

 

Links & Show Notes:

  1. Black Lives Matter and Racial Tension in America Here’s an article breaking down the statistics of racial divisions in American churches in light of the racial strife from the last few years.
  2. Divided by Faith A fuller-treatment that analyzes, from a sociological perspective, the differences in worldviews of different evangelicals and how that leads to racial divisions.
  3. UWP Podcast Recorded and produced by Karl Magnuson. Graphic design by Rob Alvey.

To learn more about United? We Pray, follow us on Twitter and keep exploring our website. Please consider rating the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe using your favorite podcast client to hear more!

Recent POdcasts

Life in a Hispanic Church with Ivan Gonzalez

Life in a Hispanic Church with Ivan Gonzalez

 Police Reform Ivan Gonzalez serves at Christos Para Las Naciones Church in Penson, Alabama, which is a Hispanic Church primarily serving immigrant families. Ivan joined Austin to talk about what life is like for Christians in Hispanic churches in 2025. We really...

read more
Rethinking the Police with Dan Reinhardt

Rethinking the Police with Dan Reinhardt

 Police Reform Dr. Daniel Rienhardt is a 24 year veteran of the police force. He is the author of Rethinking the Police: An Officer's Confession and the Pathway to Reform (IVP, 2023). This book is a refreshing change from most conversations about police reform....

read more
Gritty and Graceful with Caryn Rivadeneira

Gritty and Graceful with Caryn Rivadeneira

Gritty and Graceful Caryn Rivadeneira is the author of several books for both children and adults. Her latest book, Gritty and Graceful (Beaming Books) is one we would recommend to all of our listeners. Caryn managed to give a Biblical survey of the work of women in...

read more

Upcoming Events

Isaac-Adams-United-We-Pray-speaking-at-an-event

Click Here to View Now

Recent Articles

My Education in the American South

My Education in the American South

I didn’t learn how to read until I was in second grade. Growing up in a large Black family in Birmingham, Alabama, in the early 90s, I learned to survive by blending in. I was one of a bunch (a Southern measurement term) of grandchildren and didn’t, at first glance,...

read more
Seven Things to Know After the Last Election

Seven Things to Know After the Last Election

Lessons from our summer series on politics.  This past summer on our podcast, we did something we’ve never done before. We did a focused series on Christianity and politics. This summer series was an effort to equip our listeners to be agents of unity in their...

read more

Author

  • United? We Pray is a ministry to help Christians pray and think about racial strife. We want to encourage Christians amid the strife to rely upon God in prayer. So our prayers can be informed, we strive to learn and write about race, racism and its effects, and theology. We aim to be biblical, beneficial, and clear in all our efforts. While we’re burdened for all racial strife, we focus on racial strife between Christians because of the unique privilege and stewardship God has given his people: to bear witness to Him and to love all people, especially one another (Gal. 6:10).

    View all posts

All Podcast Episodes

Stay Connected