Our Bibles, Ourselves

This week Blessing discusses women, faith and leadership with Pastor Sarah Omakwu. Pastor Sarah Omakwu is the senior pastor and president of Family Worship Center and President of Family Ministries. She calls herself God's errand girl and  also happens to be Blessing’s mom.  In this episode the mother-daughter duo cover a range of topics including:  Why women leaders struggle with compliments Grandmother Theology  Resilience in difficult times Tips for being a Christian woman leader Ordaining women pastors And much more! Find Blessing on social media @BlessingOmakwu and Pastor Sarah Omakwu @sarahomakwu

In this episode, Blessing continues a deep dive discussion on sex, purity culture and the Bible with Linda Kay Klein. Linda Kay Klein (she/her) is an award-winning author, a purity culture recovery ⁠coach⁠, and the founder and president ⁠Break Free Together⁠, a not-for-profit organization serving individuals recovering from gender- and sexuality-based religious trauma. Her work has been featured by over 150 outlets, including the ⁠New York Times⁠, ⁠NPR⁠, ⁠CBS⁠, ⁠NBC⁠, and ⁠Elle Magazine⁠. This work was born out of Linda’s 16 years of research for her award-winning book, ⁠PURE: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free⁠. Find Blessing on social media @BlessingOmakwu and Linda at @LindaKayKlein. Purchase Linda’s book, PURE here:  https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1501124811?tag=simonsayscom

In this intimate episode, Blessing shares  personal stories, provides a brief Biblical analysis of premarital sex, and outlines her raw thoughts on purity culture. Find Blessing on social media @BlessingOmakwu Submit your anonymous question for the podcast here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1I318RqMnlHS2tFWhRAZR85kpVHZyI3xPGrYDc72SiVU/edit The book Blessing reads from on this episode is PURE: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free by Linda Kay Klein. You can purchase it here: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1501124811?tag=simonsayscom

In this episode of the podcast, Blessing asks Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce, some of her hard questions at the intersection race, gender and the Bible. They discuss a range of topics including: What is a Black Jesus? How does one reconcile the story of Jesus and the Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15 What is the difference between Jesus and the Christ? Does Jesus require us to sacrifice our happiness for our holiness? What does it mean for Black women to be humble like Christ? What could a Christianity that makes space for Black ancestors look like? Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce is the Dean of Vanderbilt University’s School of Divinity. She was previously the Dean of Howard University’s School of Divinity (the first Black Woman to serve as Dean in its 150 year history). Find Blessing on social media @BlessingOmakwu and Yolanda at @YNPierce. Purchase Yolanda’s latest book, In My Grandmother’s House: Black Women, Faith and the Stories We Inherit here: https://yolandapierce.com/in-my-grandmothers-house-dr-yolanda-pierce

In this episode, Blessing chats with Dr. Beth Allison Barr about the history of patriarchy in the church. Dr. Beth Allison Barr is a Professor of History and an Associate Dean at Baylor University in Texas, where she specializes in medieval history, women's history, and church history. She is also the author of The Making of Biblical Womanhood, How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. Blessing and Beth discuss: How patriarchy got rebranded as complementarianism in the church How patriarchy got written into the Bible through manuscript translations and transmission How “Biblical womanhood” was conceptualized by a group of men in the 1980s What a church that truly reflects Christ could look like Find Blessing on social media @BlessingOmakwu and Beth at @BethAllisonBarr. Purchase Beth’s Book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood here: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Biblical-Womanhood-Subjugation-Became/dp/1587434709

This episode is a crossover between the Our Bibles, Ourselves podcast (Hosted by Blessing Omakwu) and the Legally Clueless podcast hosted by Adelle Onyango, the Legally Clueless podcast is dedicated to telling African stories. In this episode, Adelle interviews Blessing, who shares her journey to become a Christian feminist, and her goals for the Our Bibles, Ourselves podcast. They discuss: How her father’s death made Blessing revisit Biblical literalism How the process of getting married made Blessing revisit what that Bible says about women How religion and the Bible  is sometimes misused across the African continent and beyond Christianity’s role in slavery and colonialism and its potential to dismantle patriarchy   Practicing faith as modern Black + African women Find Blessing on social media @BlessingOmakwu and Adelle at @adelleonyango

Welcome to the Our Bibles, Ourselves podcast: a podcast that deconstructs what the Bible says, especially about women, towards liberation. In this trailer, Blessing Omakwu shares why she is launching this podcast, and  what to expect!  Host: Blessing Omakwu Find Blessing on social media @BlessingOmakwu