Hi, my name is Pete Scazzara. I want to welcome you today to the emotionally healthy leader podcast. It's just great to be with you.

And today's the first of two parts series called Breaking Racial and Cultural Barriers in your church.

Breaking racial and cultural barriers in the church. And today's going to be a part one.

It's really a very exciting season and time and history to talk about this because, well,

for a number of reasons.

One, the millennials and Generation Z, those 15 to 22-year-olds, very passionate for this

happening in the church and in the world.

The world we're living in is going through massive changes.

There's a mass movement of people going on around the world.

Some would say and argue that it's the largest mass movement of people in the world

that's ever happened in history.

And they're including migrants, internally displaced people,

refugees, asylum seekers, etc. And so it's a very large issue and it's been a life work for me.

I think my particular contribution to this discussion of bridging barriers comes out of course

my own history here in New York City and

trying to think theologically and practically about it over the last 30 to 40 years. And I believe

firmly that emotionally healthy discipleship has something very important to say about this topic

because it was actually birthed partially

out of the struggle of bridging racial and cultural and class barriers right here in our

midst as I was becoming increasingly aware in my early days how our present formation,

discipleship models were not changing people deep enough to actually enable

us to live in community across racial class cultural barriers. So in some ways, our life

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