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The Russell Moore Show

Sho Baraka on Matters of the Soul Post-2020

The Russell Moore Show

Russell Moore

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today we put the “Sho” in the Russell Moore Show with Sho Baraka, Christianity Today’s director of the Big Tent Initiative. Five years after the murder of George Floyd, many wondered if the United States—and the church—was headed toward lasting change. Talk of a “racial reckoning” filled headlines, pulpits, and boardrooms. But where do things stand now, in 2025? Sho joins Russell to reflect on the promises and disappointments of the past half-decade. The child of a Black Panther, Sho shares thoughts about race and reconciliation but also the deeper struggles of spiritual disillusionment, even in his own life. Sho speaks candidly about his own journey through spiritual dryness over the last 5-7 years as he navigated attitudes of cynicism which gave way to a time of terrible decisions that left his life in freefall. He and Russell explore what repentance and renewal can look like—not only for individuals, but for communities and institutions that have lost their way. Together, they discuss why conversations about racial justice often stall, how and why multi-ethnic churches struggle, and how Moses is an example of endurance in radically changing a broken institution. Plus: hear which book of the Bible Sho would take with him to a desert island that no other guest has chosen before. This is a thoughtful, vulnerable conversation about failure, repentance, and the possibility of restoration—for leaders, for churches, and for the witness of the gospel. — Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at questions@russellmoore.com  Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find

0:07.5

clear answers to tough questions about Christianity. Learn to explain your faith with courage and

0:13.3

compassion. Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail del Rosario at apologeticsky.com.

0:22.7

There's one thing that I know that will save my life, and at least that is the

0:27.2

fellowship of the saints. I'd rather be in a church that's messy than in the desert

0:33.7

wandering by myself.

0:37.1

Hello, this is Russell Moore, and this is the Russell Moore show, brought to you by Christianity

0:41.8

today.

0:42.6

Here, we look for signposts in a strange time by standing fast to what really matters, kingdom

0:49.5

over culture wars, truth over tribalism, pilgrimage over partisanship, sanity over cynicism,

0:56.1

witness over winning, and Christ over everything. Today we have a conversation to do just that.

1:07.3

It's time to put the show in the Russell Moore show, and that's why today I invited my colleague,

1:13.9

Show Baraka, to come on to talk about all kinds of things.

1:18.5

The initial reason I wanted to talk to show now,

1:21.8

as the director of our Big Tent initiative here at Christianity today,

1:26.9

I wanted to get his sense of kind of where

1:30.9

we are five years after the summer of the murder of George Floyd in terms of the quest for racial

1:38.1

justice, in terms of racial unity within the church, the backlash to any sort of pursuit of justice and reconciliation,

1:47.6

all of those kinds of questions. But I also wanted to ask him more generally about, you know,

1:56.1

we've had quite a five years, all of us. I mean, we've been through a global pandemic. We've been

2:02.4

through political disruption. We've been through global instability, all kinds of things,

2:08.7

and what he's learned over the past five years. And so we're going to talk about how we go

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