RE-RELEASE Episode 33 - Miles McPherson
On the last episode of this podcast, we promised a special episode this week to celebrate three years of the Nothing Is Wasted Podcast. The world seemed different when we made those plans. In light of the killing of George Floyd last week and the civil unrest that has permeated our country over the last several days, we felt like that wasn’t the message that our community needed right now. Perhaps more importantly, we felt like we are not the first voices that you should be listening to in this moment.
Miles McPherson grew up as a black kid in a segregated world. Living in a predominantly black neighborhood and attending a predominantly white school, he was no stranger to racism even as a child. But as a young Miles found his calling on a football field, he also began to see what living united in a diverse environment looked like. Now, as a pastor, speaker, and author, Miles has made it his mission to spread the message that in a world that tries to force a choice of “us vs. them,” God offers us a third option.
It has perhaps not been clearer in any of our lifetimes that we need racial reconciliation. Racism is a disease that has been tearing this country apart for longer than any of us can remember, and we are seeing its effects on our streets today. In light of this, we wanted to re-broadcast Davey’s conversation with Miles McPherson from episode 33 of the podcast, originally recorded in September of 2018. We’ll still celebrate the podcast’s third birthday, just at a little later date. In the meantime, listen to this powerful conversation with Miles McPherson.
“If you deny the possibility of being offensive, you will deny the opportunity to be honoring.”
Miles McPherson has had enough of shying away from a major problem in America today: racial tension. It’s a topic that's widely recognized, yet rarely acknowledged. Sunday morning is the most segregated time in America today, and our preference for clinging to those who are like us leads to big problems in our country as a whole. Even Christians—who, if they claim to follow God, should be the people most outspoken against racism—fall short, and many of us feel obliged to choose sides. Us vs. them. Cops vs. protestors. Blacks vs. whites.
The Third Option is a plea on behalf of a brokenhearted God who, Scripture teaches, is frustrated with those of us who claim to believe in Him but are really “faking the faith.” McPherson argues that we must rise above the issues that divide us and be part of something bigger. The Third Option challenges both believers and seekers to fully embrace God’s goodness and power.