I used to, as a young preacher, think my job was to convert people to something.
And the only conversion project I'm in is to convert people to love.
My guest today, the Rev.
Doctor Jackie Lewis, is an author, activist and public theologian, the first woman and first black senior minister at Middle Collegiate Church, which is a multiracial, incredibly welcoming and inclusive congregation in the lower east side of New York City, which dates back to 1628.
So growing up in church in the south side of Chicago, the assassination of Doctor Martin Luther King Junior when she was nine, it incited what would become a lifelong devotion to activism and social justice, eventually graduating school and then spending a decade working in the corporate world.
She felt called to redefine how she would step into her own exploration of faith, attending Princeton Theological Seminary and then devoting herself to urban ministry with the intention of reimagining what faith and church and community could be, eventually becoming a leader in middle church.
Rev.
Lewis has been instrumental in bringing together what she calls a multiethnic rainbow coalition of love, justice and worship that rocks her soul and has remained a leading voice in activism, with her work being featured on Today Show, MSNBC, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and so many other places.
She's the creator of the MSNBC online show Just Faith and the PBS show Faith and justice, where she led important conversations about culture and current events.
Her podcast, Love Period, is produced by the center for Action and Contemplation, and her new book, Fierce Love, is this deep exploration of faith, race, justice, transformation, bundled with exercises that really invite you into a path of personal growth and activism and collective elevation.
So excited to share this conversation with you.
I'm Jonathan Fields, and this is good life project.
Excited to dive in, explore.
Thank you.
I know you're in New York.
I am in Boulder, Colorado right now after spending my entire life in New York City.
We came out here last year in September.
How do you feel about that?
You like it?
We're trying to figure it out, to be honest.