Steve & Tim Stewart: “The Church's Silence Has A Cost - Justice 13-1"

The gap between the world's rich and poor is wider today than at any point in recorded history — in any nation, at any time. So what does that have to do with the gospel? Season 13 of the Impact Nations Podcast launches with a new format and a new sense of urgency. Tim Stewart is joined each week this season by his father, Steve Stewart, Founder and President of Impact Nations, teaching from his home office as Tim responds in real time with the same questions you might be asking. Together they're beginning a season-long series on justice and peace, originally planned as "Peace and Justice" until Steve felt the Lord redirect him: justice has to come first, as the foundation everything else is built on. In this opening episode, Steve explains why he set aside a planned continuation of their Genesis series to address this topic with what he calls a greater sense of urgency than any series he's taught before. He walks through where we are: historic political polarization spreading across the U.S., Western Europe, Canada, and Australia; record economic inequality; and flashpoint issues like immigration and racial justice that dominate the news cycle. Steve and Tim compare this moment to the tumultuous 1960s, and Steve makes the case, twice, that "there is no such thing as a nonpolitical gospel or a nonpolitical Jesus" — while carefully distinguishing speaking prophetically about what Jesus cared about from aligning the church with any political party. The conversation covers what justice actually means biblically (over 2,000 verses touch on it), what peace meant to Jesus and the early church versus the "tame," privatized version many of us inherited, and a real-world picture of both sides of justice at once: Impact Nations' partners in Malawi, who intercept human traffickers at the border and also minister inside the prisons where offenders are held accountable, pursuing restoration for both survivor and perpetrator. Steve closes by previewing where the season is headed: the prophetic tradition from the Old Testament through Jesus and the early church, the "powers" behind systemic injustice, what the Bible says about immigration, Christian nationalism, Jesus and women, peacemaking, and just war theory. *In This Episode* • Why Steve set aside a planned Genesis series to teach on justice and peace with unusual urgency • Why he renamed the series from "Peace and Justice" to "Justice and Peace" • The historic scale of today's economic inequality and political polarization, by the numbers • How this moment compares to the polarization of the 1960s — and how it's different • Why Steve insists "there is no such thing as a nonpolitical gospel or a nonpolitical Jesus," without making Jesus a member of any party • What justice means biblically, and how Jesus's first public message was itself a justice declaration • How Impact Nations' partners in Malawi pursue both accountability and restoration in the fight against human trafficking • Why Steve distinguishes the "tame" gospel of inner peace from the gospel of peace Jesus and the early church actually preached • A look ahead at the rest of the season: the prophetic tradition, systemic "powers," immigration, Christian nationalism, Jesus and women, and just war theory This is a season Tim and Steve want to be a real conversation, not a lecture. If something here challenges you, encourages you, or makes you uncomfortable, they want to hear about it — leave a respectful, thoughtful comment on YouTube or send a note through your podcast app. And if you're new here, follow or subscribe so you don't miss the rest of the series. As always, this season will include real stories of Impact Nations partners participating in God's justice around the world. If you'd like to join that work, you can give at Impact Nations' website below. Featured Resources When Everything Changes: Healing, Justice & the Kingdom of God — Steve Stewart's earlier book, source of some of the material he references in this episode: https://www.amazon.com/When-Everythin... The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann — the book Steve draws on for the season's framing of "totalism" and prophetic imagination: https://www.fortresspress.com/store/p... Explore Impact Nations Website: https://www.impactnations.com Journeys of Compassion: https://www.impactnations.com/journey... All Impact Nations links: https://linktr.ee/impact.nations YouTube:    / @impactnations   Facebook:   / impactnationsministries   Instagram:   / impact.nations   LinkedIn:   / impact-nations-international-ministries-inc   TikTok:   / impact_nations   Give: https://www.impactnations.com/donate Hashtags #JusticeAndPeace #Season13 #ImpactNations #ChristianPodcast #BiblicalJustice #ChurchAndPolitics #PropheticVoice