Do Justice, Season 9: Justice in Community

Micah 6:8 explains that what God most wants from his followers is for them to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with him. But what does that look like in the complicated contexts in which we find ourselves today? That’s the idea behind the Christian Reformed Church’s Do Justice podcast. 

The podcast started in 2020 and is now in its ninth season. According to the Do Justice website, each episode is intended to be a “conversation starter for those wishing to pursue justice in and through the Christian church.” The goal is to help listeners find new ideas and perspectives, discover better ways to engage in justice work, remember their motivation, and grow in faith.

"At the end of the year we get data analytics from Spotify. It's a great opportunity for us to see what is resonating with listeners," said Do Justice producer Victoria Veenstra. "This year we learned that we reached people in 10 different countries and have a five-star rating. I believe this is because we're having conversations that people in churches are interested in having."

In the most recent episode, released this week, the podcast explores how we as individuals and as congregations can provide hospitality to LGBTQ people among us while also living within the confessions of the Christian Reformed Church and the boundaries set by recent synods. To delve into this topic, Do Justice host and World Renew staff member Chris Orme heard from Syd Hielema, Gary Brouwers, and Phyllis Alberts-Meijers, all of whom participated in a nine-church, 10-month learning cohort on this topic. 

Brouwers is a pastor at Peace CRC in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “After Synods 2022 and 2023 I just found myself kind of burned out from the debate in our denomination about the biblical understanding of homosexuality,” he said. “It was an important debate; we needed to have it. I just felt the need to move on from the theory and the theology of the debate and to start trying to do a better job of creating space in the church for people in the LGBTQ+ community. So I was looking for a place where I could learn from other people how to do this better.” 

“The cohort was a total blessing,” added Alberts-Meijers, who attends First CRC in Barrie, Ont., where the idea for the cohort originated. “Some of the ideas and the way people participated showed that it is very possible for us to be in community and motivated by love, inclusion, and care regardless of our position on [human sexuality]. So many of the participants in the cohort come from different theological perspectives, but we did not have any difference when it came to our mandate to love and care and to be Christlike in relationship with all people.”

Hielema, who coled the cohort, added, “One distinction we made was that this is not about position; this is about posture. A position is an abstract statement on a piece of paper that people sign on to; a posture is a manner of engagement, a manner of relationship. We also noted the heart of the gospel as Jesus summarized it: Love the Lord your God with your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself [see Mark 12:28-31]. We wanted that central gospel directive to be the center of this cohort.”

Several other Do Justice episodes in this season also focus on how we can pursue justice as part of a community. “Life on the journey to biblical justice is better when we don’t go it alone,” said Orme about this theme. “Cohorts connect churches to explore a specific aspect of ministry together. This way of learning and walking alongside one another has been found to be one of the most effective and encouraging ways to develop a particular area of church ministry.” 

In addition, this series of Do Justice podcasts explores accessibility for persons with disabilities, seeking reconciliation with Indigenous neighbors, and being a multicultural church.

Previous seasons of Do Justice have also tackled the messiness of living justly, how to avoid common pitfalls, how to heal rifts in relationships, and how to approach “long obedience in the same direction” (inspired by a Eugene Peterson book). 

Listen to the Do Justice podcast online, or download it from Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast content.