99. A Church that Shines, with Tara Beth Leach, author of Radiant Church

Spiritual Life and Leadership

Radiant Church, by Tara Beth Leach, is an invitation to the church to restore "the credibility of our witness."
It's no secret that the church in the West has been in decline for decades. Why is that? Could it be because the world no longer sees a radiant body of Christ, but rather a people who are angry, judgmental and self-centered?
This conversation with Tara Beth Leach explores what the church has lost in terms of our witness—our radiance in the world—and how we might be able to reclaim it.
THIS EPISODE'S HIGLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• Tara Beth Leach is the author of Radiant Church and Pastor of Missional Living at Christ Church in Oak Brook, Illinois.
• Tara Beth shares about her transition from Los Angeles back to Chicago.
• Tara Beth talks about why she wrote Radiant Church.
• Radiant Church is written as a critique of white evangelicalism. Tara Beth hopes to lead the church into a healthy deconstruction.
• Tara Beth asks, “What if we’re in a post-Christian church?”
• “Our call throughout the entire narrative of scripture is to be a holy, radiant, counter-cultural community.”
• The church should live in such a way that the world would be drawn to us. Unfortunately, we seem to have done the opposite.
• White pastors in particular need to listen.
• Tara Beth Leach shares a story in which she told a black classmate that racism didn’t exist anymore. But she learned differently and discovered she needed to listen more.
• Tara Beth recalls a story she tells in Radiant Church where she cancelled an annual choir concert in order to call the church to pray for racial healing at an event at Pasadena city hall.

RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:

• Books mentioned:
  • Radiant Church, by Tara Beth Leach
  • Jesus and John Wayne, by Kristin Kobes du Mez
  • Canoeing the Mountains, by Tod Bolsinger
  • Tempered Resiliance, by Tod Bolsinger
• Related Episodes:
  • Episode 28: Empowering Women in Ministry, with Tara Beth Leach
• Church Leadership Institute

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