By Andy Hale
This week on the CBF Podcast Conversation, we welcome the Rev. Dr. Steve Bezner, senior pastor of Houston Northwest Church, to discuss his new book, Your Jesus Is Too American. In this insightful conversation, Bezner challenges the deep entanglement of Christianity with American culture, inviting us to reclaim the values of the Kingdom over the ideals of the American dream. He examines how Western Christianity’s alignment with power, consumerism, and individualism has reshaped the church’s identity, causing it to lose its distinctiveness. Rather than discipling people into the way of Jesus, the church has too often conformed to cultural expectations, conflating faith with nationalism, capitalism, and political influence. Bezner argues that the real crisis facing the church isn’t just secularism or moral relativism—it’s the church’s own willingness to trade Kingdom identity for cultural dominance.
In this conversation, Bezner also takes a hard look at race, power, and privilege within American Christianity, acknowledging how Western faith traditions have long been shaped by whiteness. He explores how the Protestant work ethic has reinforced structures of control, leaving little room for the communal and countercultural vision of the Kingdom. If the church in the West is to thrive, he suggests, it must embrace its call to be different—to reject the pursuit of power, to prioritize collective flourishing over individual gain, and to embody the self-denial of Jesus rather than the self-interest of empire. Despite the challenges ahead, Bezner remains hopeful that the church can rediscover its true calling. Don’t miss this compelling conversation as we wrestle with what it means to follow Jesus in a way that is faithful—not just American.
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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.
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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.