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IIn this episode of Deep Reckonings, Rev. Ben Adams discusses his continuing journey of awareness of the racism surrounding us and our need to strive to work against it.

Ben Adams is the Pastor of First on Chatham. Ben has a deep commitment to education and a love for young people as they navigate their faith and education. Prior to attending divinity school at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, he taught high school in Northampton County with Teach for America, managed Duke University’s admission process for first-generation college students, and served as the Director of Development and External Affairs for KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) Eastern North Carolina. Outside of his time in the church and the classroom, Ben loves to run, travel, and spend time with his wife, Gabby, and son Elliott.

Find Ben on social media: Facebook and Instagram

In this episode of Deep Reckonings, Rev. Jason Villegas discusses navigating identity, power, and authority, by tracing his own journey of understanding and discovery.

Jason Villegas is the current pastor of Murfreesboro United Methodist Church in Hertford County and served full-time in two other rural churches before then. Jason serves on the Hispanic/Latinx Committee of our Conference and has served on the Conference’s Missions Committee/Board of Missions, The Refugee and Immigration Committee, and led the Immigration Ministry Task Force. He graduated from Duke Divinity School in 2013 with a Masters of Divinity and a certificate in prison studies and Chowan University before that. He’s currently in the Rural Ministry Fellowship cohort of the Doctor of Ministry program at Duke Divinity School. As a racially mixed Caucasian-Latino-Native American, Jason intentionally inhabits the liminal space between. He’s particularly interested in reimagining how the American Church can both atone for the harm it’s caused and continue to be reborn in a way that seeks justice and freedom through love and grace. To this end, he thinks that our current moment of service to God and humanity, like the funeral service, is a “service of death and resurrection,” in which we are seeing the demise of the old and waiting for the birth of the new.

Find Jason on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

In this episode, Dr. Margaret Brunson shares with us her experiences growing up to understand race at a young age, and navigating being Black in church, school, and the workplace.

Dr. Margaret Brunson is a transformative leader, luminary, entrepreneur, thought partner, and media personality. She considers brunch a verb, well-being a priority, dance floors sacred, and music & passport stamps two of life’s greatest treasures. After almost 20 years of leadership in the public and private sectors, Dr. Brunson transitioned into full-time entrepreneurship and founded Illumined Leadership Solutions, to guide people to authentic + transformative leadership through coaching, consulting, facilitation, and professional speaking. Throughout her life journey, she has learned the spiritual discipline of letting go & she regularly yields to the power of Love to cultivate authenticity, liberation, and joy.

Find Margaret on the web at Illumined Leadership Solutions and on social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

In this episode, Rev. Justin Coleman talks about kinship—what unifies people and how it keeps them together.

Justin grew up in Texas, and attended Southern Methodist University, graduating in 2000 with a major in religious studies.  He, too, was very active in SMU’s Wesley Foundation and served as Associate Pastor at SMU’s Wesley Foundation from 2001 to 2003 as he began seminary studies at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology.  Justin transferred to Duke Divinity School in 2003 and graduated with a Master of Divinity in 2005.  Justin’s first clergy appointment was to University UMC, as an intern in 2004 and then as Associate Pastor from 2005 to 2007.

In 2007, Justin was called back to the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, where he is an elder, and was appointed Associate Pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas.  For six years from 2008 to 2014, Justin served as the Executive and Lead Pastor of the Gethsemane Campus of St. Luke’s Church and led it through a remarkable period of growth in ministry and service to its community.

From 2014 to June 2017 Justin served as the Chief Ministry Officer of the United Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, Tennessee.  During this time he has also continued to frequently offer lectures, sermons, and lead worship.

Currently, Justin serves as the lead pastor of University UMC in Chapel Hill, where he lives with his family.

Find Justin on social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook