By Andy Hale
What happens when a rabbi, a priest, a Muslim woman and a Baptist pastor walk into a podcast?
In this special Learning Lab episode of the CBF Podcast, recorded live at the General Assembly in St. Louis, we discover that interfaith cooperation is not a punchline—it’s a powerful witness. Host Andy Hale moderates a courageous conversation with six interfaith leaders—including Rabbi Karen Kriger Bogard, Pastor Rodrick Burton, Dr. Shima Rostami, Dr. Javier Orozco, Jack Sisk and Cynthia Holmes—who are not just talking across traditions, but embodying what it means to work together for justice, dignity and belonging.
St. Louis is no stranger to layered injustice—racial segregation, economic disparity and the enduring trauma of Ferguson. Yet these leaders are planting seeds of hope and action in the cracks of that brokenness. From calling out performative allyship in interfaith spaces to reclaiming “religious liberty” for inclusion and public good, this panel doesn’t shy away from the hard questions. “Real cooperation disrupts,” the group insists. “It costs something.” This is a conversation for anyone who’s tired of sanitized dialogue and ready to engage in the beautiful, risky and deeply human work of public theology and shared resistance. Listen to the podcast here.
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Sponsorship
This podcast is presented by:
- Baylor’s Garland School of Social Work: Social workers can be found addressing the full scope of the human experience in churches, schools, prisons, government agencies, senior living centers, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies.
- Baptist Seminary of Kentucky: BSK equips leaders through their Homegrown Initiative, offering ministry leaders training and growth that fits into their busy schedules.
- The Gardner-Webb School of Divinity: The Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity aims to equip, nurture, encourage, and support men and women for their very best service in the Kingdom of God.
- The Center for Congregational Health: Strengthening congregations through consulting, leadership coaching, and intentional ministry.
- The Baptist House of Studies at Union Presbyterian Seminary: Exists by God’s grace to educate, inspire, and support generations of bold, faithful servant leaders as they seek actively to participate in God’s mission in the world.
- Community Transformation Center: Through educational opportunities, community conversations, and research initiatives in collaboration with universities and local leaders, PBACTC is at the forefront of integrating spiritual care into holistic community development.
- Creation Justice Ministries: Creation Justice Ministries equips churches to turn conviction into faithful action with Scripture-based resources, worship guides, and community support to pursue environmental justice and care for God’s creation.
- Dawnings: Through prayerful discernment, storytelling, and collaborative visioning, Dawnings helps churches rediscover their calling and imagine their next chapter—guided by trained facilitators and grounded in God’s ongoing story.
- Congregational Ministries Team of CBF Global: Through coaching, resources, and collaborative support, CBF’s Congregational Ministries Team helps churches and ministers cultivate the five traits of thriving—Rooted Relationships, Compelling Clarity, Holy Tenacity, Strategic Agility, and Dynamic Collaboration—for faithful and flourishing ministry.
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Andy Hale is the creator and host of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Podcast. Hale is the Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina. He’s also served as CBF’s Church Start Specialist, the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton, and the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. Follow on Twitter @haleandy.