Givers, Doers, & Thinkers—A Podcast on Philanthropy and Civil Society · Jeremy Beer

Amy Sherman & the biblical call for peace and prosperity

·49 min·3 clips

A Kansas City church built a gallery called Four Chapter Gallery around creation, fall, redemption, and consummation.

1. Givers, Doers, & Thinkers with Amy Sherman centers on faith, civil society, and the book Agents of Flourishing, Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society. 2. Jeremy Beer interviews Amy Sherman, Director of the Sagamore Institute's Center on Faith in Communities, whose work on Christian community development shapes the discussion. 3. The episode asks what Jeremiah 29:7 means for Christians who want to seek shalom for their neighbors rather than remain inward-focused. 4. Sherman says Jeremiah 29 is a letter to exiles in Babylon telling them to "seek the peace and the prosperity of the city." 5. She connects that command to God's larger mission in Genesis 1 and 2, the fall in Genesis 3, and restoration in the new heavens and new earth. 6. Sherman says many congregational leaders want to be "a Jeremiah 29 sort of church" but do not know what that looks like in practice. 7. She says the book responds to churches that are too inward-focused or too narrowly focused in their community life. 8. The conversation uses the phrase "human ecology framework" to describe six arenas of civilizational life. 9. Sherman names those arenas as the good, the true, the beautiful, the just and well ordered, the prosperous, and the sustainable. 10. She says the framework treats these realms as interdependent and says true flourishing depends on all six being strong. 11. Sherman defines shalom as peace with God, psychological wholeness, social peace, and peace with the created order. 12. She says biblical flourishing includes joy, beauty, truth, goodness, life, community, and sacrifice. 13. Sherman contrasts that view with secular flourishing that centers personal freedom and self-creation. 14. She says my flourishing is tied up with your flourishing, so the Christian view is not zero-sum. 15. In the realm of the good, she cites the early church's teaching on the Imago Dei and the dignity of women, widows, children, slaves, and non-Romans. 16. In the realm of the beautiful, she describes a Kansas City church and Four Chapter Gallery, where art is framed by creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. 17. In the realm of the just and well ordered, she describes a Grand Rapids congregation that has spent close to 30 years on restorative justice, prison ministry, and criminal justice reform. 18. The episode sounds like a long-form interview with frequent examples, reflective follow-ups, and sustained theological explanation. 19. Listeners interested in Christian public theology, church ministry, and community development would likely want this episode. 20. Listeners wanting light banter or a nonreligious discussion would probably skip it.

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