This is the third episode in a series of three talking about Christianity and the Church today. The hope for this series is to go beyond denomination and institution. The purpose is to dive into hard topics that come up as challenges for Christians and Church culture today; and simply talk about it with Christian leaders.

In this episode, Pastor Ben Wikner brings years of experience and great thought about Christianity today. The church has some work to do, and we talk all about it! What do followers of Jesus look like? Can we get uncomfortable with church? What about politics and patriarchy? Well, we are diving into these topics and more! Hang on to the end, Pastor Ben is sending you an invite!

Ben K. Wikner the founding pastor of Cross Community Church, located in Gaithersburg, MD and the founder and Executive Director of the non-profit, Cross Community, Inc., which operates The Equity Center, a family support and community development organization that works to empower the marginalized and vulnerable.

Ben has served as a local church pastor for the past 24 years, wherein he has established himself as an innovator in the faith community, an effective community activist, and a thought leader. He is an advocate and activist for human dignity, early childhood development, and social equity.

Ben obtained his Masters of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary in California in 1999 and is a graduate of the 2020 CORE class of Leadership Montgomery.

Ben and his wife Erin have been married for nearly 30 years and are the parents of seven children and the grandparents of one highly energetic granddaughter.

To reach out to Pastor Ben Wikner, email him at: bwik2010@gmail.com

I'd love to hear from you, send me an email at info@kariprimozic.com. Follow me on IG at: Kari, Courageous Living (@karicourageousliving) | Instagram or FB at: (2) Courageous Living | Facebook

This is the second episode in a series of three talking about Christianity and the Church today. The hope for this series is to go beyond denomination and institution. The purpose is to dive into hard topics that come up as challenges for Christians and Church culture today; and simply talk about it with Christian leaders.

This deep dive, is with Reverend Megan Blanchard. She is bringing deep thought, reflection and a real passion for the topic. The conversation ended and I felt like going to church, because Rev. Megan shines a joyful light on church even in challenging times. We talk about the hypocrisy of Christianity today, the church and community connection and the need for trust, and there seems to be a theme of exploring: What is it that Christians are called to do?

Rev. Megan Blanchard is a “Carolina Girl” from the small town of Midland, NC. She graduated from Davidson College with a BA of Spanish and BA of Political Science. Post graduation she worked in finance and operations in corporate America for over five years before sensing a call to ministry. Upon discerning her call, she relocated to the Washington, D.C. area in 2013 to pursue a dual Masters in Theological Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary and International Development from American University.

Rev. Blanchard is an ordained Deacon of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church. Her call and passion are to serve in ministry areas that connect the church and the world, protect the vulnerable, and serve the marginalized. She currently does this through her ministry as an English teacher at Epworth’s Ana A. Brito Foundation in Gaithersburg, MD and local church ministry at Fairhaven UMC in Darnestown, MD.

When she is not serving in these places you can most likely find her having fun with her family: her husband – Trey, her two young daughters – Susannah and Emma, and their dog – Layla.

I'd love to hear from you, send me an email at info@kariprimozic.com. Follow me on IG at: Kari, Courageous Living (@karicourageousliving) | Instagram or FB at: (2) Courageous Living | Facebook

This is the first episode in a series of three talking about Christianity and the Church today. The hope for this series is to go beyond denomination and institution. The purpose is to dive into hard topics that come up as challenges for Christians and Church culture today; and simply talk about it with Christian leaders.

In this episode, Reverend Timothy B. Warner is sharing his wisdom, insight and experience as a Church Leader with us. We are talking about the demands of discipleship, church hypocrisy, and can we Christians really be Jesus like? (And so much more!)

Reverend Timothy B. Warner was called to the gospel ministry while serving as a Deacon at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church of Rockville, MD in 1996. He was licensed to preach in 1998 and ordained to pastoral ministry after he completed his Master of Divinity degree at Wesley Theological Seminary in 2003. Reverend Warner was trained as a bacterial geneticist and enjoyed a productive career in pharmaceutical research and development, where he held various scientific and executive leadership positions for over 18 years before committing to full-time ministry.

He has served as the Associate Council Director for Community and Economic Development in the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, on the staff of the Montgomery County Executive in his Office of Community Partnerships as the Community Liaison for the African American and Faith Communities, and as Chief Engagement and Partnership Officer for Montgomery County Public Schools. He is a frequent lecturer in community engagement for several graduate schools, and has received Wesley Theological Seminary’s Urban Ministry Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Rev. Warner is proud to have served for the last 9 years as Senior Pastor of the Emory Grove United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg, MD, where he is a co-founder of the Racial Justice Coalition. Most recently, he has founded The Heritage Emory Grove Community Development Corporation which is leading in a partnership to redevelop the historical Emory Grove community and restore a sense of authentic community. He also serves as the Director for Faith Relations at Habitat for Humanity of Metro Maryland where he helps to engage faith communities in the justice ministry of affordable housing in Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties.

He believes in the power of prayer, and attributes whatever success that has been ascribed to his ministry to the great many conversations so many have had with God on his behalf. Rev. Warner shares an extreme sense of pride in the family God has given him with his wife, Paula, of nearly 4 decades.

I would love to hear from you! Leave me a message via Anchor at: https://anchor.fm/momcourage/message or send me an email at info@kariprmozic.com. Check out my website to learn more about courageous conversations: ⁠Courageous Conversations | Courageousliving (kariprimozic.com)