How does a church live out its mission amid a changing culture?
"A Second Language" from Good Faith Media is a six-part narrative podcast about Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas, and how its location and leadership have shaped its witness.
Founded in 1884, the church grew as a hub for powerful religious and political personalities on local, state and national levels. Its influence touched on major issues of the day, including alcohol and race.
A turning point for the church occurred in 1957 during the city's integration crisis, when the church's Rev. Dale Cowling and Congressman Brooks Hays were seen as too soft on the race issue.
The church continued to evolve, leading on some critical issues while avoiding others, all in the context of rapid cultural change.
The podcast is a story about a mostly white Baptist church in the South and what its experience can teach us about life and death, hypocrisy and honesty, faith and fear – the risk and reward -- of talking about hard things.
"A Second Language" includes interviews with church leaders and members, historians, interfaith friends and community leaders, as well as archival material.