This session engaged with the themes of pastor, hip-hop artist, and author Jonathan Brooks’ book Church Forsaken, including a profound exploration of a ‘theology of place,’ which unpacks the vocational implications of Jon Fuller’s claim that “there are no God-forsaken places, just church-forsaken places.” We explored insights from life in Christ in the neighborhoods of Chicago, Richmond, Grand Rapids, and more. The session that weaved together the prophetic exhortation, inspirational narratives of God’s work, and practical suggestions for fruitful ministry, including questions you can bring home to probe what an even more robust life in Christ could look like in your neighborhood.
Recent Media Resources
Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford on the Shape and Shaping of the Psalter
Old Testament scholar Nancy deClaissé-Walford has spent her career studying the ordering of the Psalter. Most of the psalms, she says, are not tied to a particular situation, allowing us to sing and pray them honestly in our own contexts.
Andrew Wilkes on Doing the Work of Liberation and Justice with the Psalms as Our Guide
Pastor-scholar Andrew Wilkes shares how his worshiping community, Double Love Experience Church, prayed and sang the psalms during the troubling times of 2020. The psalms gave them language and support for praise and lament, and Wilkes asserts that lament is the evidence of faith because we are bringing our troubles to God.
W. David O. Taylor on the Psalms and Praying the Unedited Life
Author and pastor-scholar David Taylor shares how he came to appreciate the psalms and how he encourages people to bring their full, unedited selves to God in prayer and experience a richer and more honest life of faith.
Nancy L. deClaissé-Walford on the Shape and Shaping of the Psalter
Old Testament scholar Nancy deClaissé-Walford has spent her career studying the ordering of the Psalter. Most of the psalms, she says, are not tied to a particular situation, allowing us to sing and pray them honestly in our own contexts.
Andrew Wilkes on Doing the Work of Liberation and Justice with the Psalms as Our Guide
Pastor-scholar Andrew Wilkes shares how his worshiping community, Double Love Experience Church, prayed and sang the psalms during the troubling times of 2020. The psalms gave them language and support for praise and lament, and Wilkes asserts that lament is the evidence of faith because we are bringing our troubles to God.
W. David O. Taylor on the Psalms and Praying the Unedited Life
Author and pastor-scholar David Taylor shares how he came to appreciate the psalms and how he encourages people to bring their full, unedited selves to God in prayer and experience a richer and more honest life of faith.
Preaching the Prayer Book of Jesus
A Psalm Talk by Jared E. Alcántara recorded at the 2026 Psalms 150 conference, with a visual prayer and embodied response from artist Dea Jenkins.