Shifting Culture - Ep. 270 Malcolm Foley - The Anti-Greed Gospel

Ep. 270 Malcolm Foley - The Anti-Greed Gospel

02/11/25 • 48 min

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Malcolm Foley has written a book that addresses some of the deepest and most intractable problems in American life - racism, violence, and greed. But his diagnosis is not what you might expect. Foley argues that the root of these evils is not just racial animus or a lust for power, but something far more fundamental - the worship of Mammon, the love of money and material wealth. In this conversation, Foley takes us on a sweeping journey, from the history of lynching in America to the cosmic battle between God and the idolatry of riches. He shows how greed has fueled the construction of race, the cycles of violence, and the unjust structures that continue to oppress the vulnerable. But he also offers a radical vision of how the church can model an alternative way of living - one defined by economic solidarity, creative nonviolence, and prophetic truth-telling. This is a conversation that addresses some of the most pressing moral and spiritual challenges of our time. Foley's insights are both unsettling and profoundly hopeful, pointing the way towards the redemption and reconciliation of all things. So join us and discover the anti-greed gospel.

Malcolm Foley is Pastor at Mosaic Waco, Special advisor to the President for Equity and Campus Engagement at Baylor University and author of The Anti-Greed Gospel. Malcom received his MDiv at Yale Divinity School and his PhD in Religion at Baylor.

Malcolm's Book:

The Anti-Greed Gospel

Malcom's Recommendations:

Households of Faith

The Black Tax

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Malcolm's Book:

The Anti-Greed Gospel

Malcom's Recommendations:

Households of Faith

The Black Tax

Email [email protected], so we can get your creative project off the ground!

Support the show

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Ep. 269 Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch - The Faith of Leap

1 Recommendations

This is a conversation with Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost that gets to the heart of what the church is called to be - a community of adventure, risk, and mission. Alan and Mike have revised and re-released their book "The Faith of Leap" that challenges the church to shed its obsession with safety and security, and instead embrace the risky, liminal spaces where the kingdom of God breaks through. We'll explore how the church has become too inwardly focused, too preoccupied with maintaining its own institutions, when it should be a sent people, a missional movement unleashed into the world. Alan and Michael will share powerful stories of ordinary believers taking courageous leaps of faith, and how their example can inspire us all. This is a conversation about rediscovering the church's essential calling - to be a community that encounters the living God, and then boldly steps out in response, ready to see the reign of God extended in our neighborhoods and cities. It's a call to adventure, to risk, to the kind of faith that changes everything. This conversation will challenge our assumptions about what the church is supposed to be. Too often, we've allowed the church to become a place of comfort and security, when it's meant to be a launching pad for mission and transformation. Alan and Michael are inviting us to rethink everything, to let the call of the kingdom reshape our understanding of ecclesiology. This is a conversation that I believe has profound implications, not just for the church, but for the way we engage the world around us. So join us and recover the faith of leap.

Michael and Alan's Book:

The Faith of Leap

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Ep. 271 Skye Jethani Returns - What If Jesus Was Serious About Justice?

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I’m excited to have Skye Jethani back on the podcast. When we talk about justice, we often think in binary terms - judgment or mercy, punishment or forgiveness. But as Skye argues, the biblical vision of justice is far more nuanced and holistic. At its core, justice is about the proper ordering of relationships - between humanity and God, as well as between individuals and communities. It's not just about retribution, but about restoring the shalom, the wholeness and flourishing, that God intended for his creation. This understanding upends many of our assumptions about justice, both in the church and in society. He challenges the popular American Christian idea that justice is something the government does, not the church. And he unpacks how this bifurcation between the "vertical" and "horizontal" dimensions of justice has deeply distorted our theology and our engagement with the world. But Skye also offers a compelling alternative - a vision of justice that holds together judgment and mercy, individual transformation and systemic change. It's a vision rooted in the cosmic victory of Christ on the cross, where the powers of evil were defeated and a new order was established. This is a conversation that spans creation, Christology, and the church's role in pursuing righteousness. Skye draws on Scripture, church history, and his own experience to paint a rich, nuanced portrait of justice that challenges us to rethink our assumptions and expand our imaginations. So join us as we reckon with justice.

Skye Jethani is an award-winning author, speaker, and co-host of the Holy Post Podcast and co-founder of Holy Post Media. Skye has written more than a dozen books and served as an editor and executive at Christianity Today for more than a decade. Raised in a religiously and ethnically diverse family, his curiosity about faith led him to study comparative religion before entering seminary and pastoral ministry. With a unique ability to connect Christian thought and contemporary culture, his voice has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post, and he’s spoken to audiences throughout the world as diverse as the U.S. Naval Academy, The Chautauqua Institution, and the Lausanne Movement.

Skye's Book:

What If Jesus Was Serious About Justice?

Skye's Recommendations:

How Far to the Promised Land

The Ballot and the Bible

Email [email protected], so we can get your creative project off the ground!

Faith That Challenges. Conversations that Matter. Laughs included. Subscribe Now!
Breaking down faith, culture & big questions - a mix of humor with real spiritual growth.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Support the show

Shifting Culture - Ep. 270 Malcolm Foley - The Anti-Greed Gospel

Transcript

Malcolm Foley00:00:00.000

I want people to encourage their pastors to preach about greed more, because it's all over the Bible. It's idolatry, but it's also, I think it's the most insidious sin that we face, and so part of it is just like encouraging people to ask themselves the question like, am I greedy and what does repentance of my greed look like? Because I don't want to be a Mammon worshiper. I want to be a worshiper of the Triune God, if you dig deep enough the