Intersections with Phil Allen, Jr.    

Episode: 016 “When 2021 Looks Like 2020: Self Care, Healing, Activism, & the Voice of God”

Airdate: January 25, 2021

Length: 30:37

Guests: N/A

It seems as if 2021 is looking and feeling like 2020. The viruses—Covid-19 and racism—haven’t disappeared. Food insecurities are still an issue across the country because jobs are still unavailable as we battle this virus. An insurrection at the Capitol has caused much trauma across the nation. What are we to do with all this?

The inauguration gave us much to celebrate. We watched for the first time in history an African American and South Asian woman stand before us as Madam Vice President. A phenomenal young African American poet shows off Black Girl Magic. The stage filled with the multiethnicity we’ve missed for four years along with a strong representation of women.

The change in personality, delivery of speech, and demeanor leads us into a season where we ought to slow down and pause. We must take the time to pay attention to what is going on with our bodies, our minds, our emotions, and those around us. We must care for ourselves and heal from the previous four years (for many people) of overwhelming stress. As was the case when God encountered Elijah, God is not always in the drama (strong winds, earthquakes, fire), but sometimes God is in the small whisper. But we must be in a place to discern God in the whisper. This year is a year to pause. This year God may be whispering.

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Phil Allen, Jr. is a Los Angeles-based pastor, social justice activist, filmmaker and author. Allen’s book Open Wounds explores the murder of Nate Allen—Phil Allen’s grandfather—in the Jim Crow era of South Carolina and how that traumatic event resonated through generations of his family. Open Wounds – which is based on the Allen-produced documentary of the same name – will be published February 9, 2021. Allen is a Ph.D. student studying Christian ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA.