Bridges Over Walls The Bridge of Respect: Tolerance in Community w/ Mayor Travis Stovall
May 22, 2025
27:42
If you’ve caught even a little bit of national news this year - let me first say I’m sorry for what you’ve been through. The kind of Christianity I often see as I scroll through my social media feeds can be really devastating - and I often find myself wondering how two people can read the same Bible and come to such different conclusions about what it says, especially when it comes to society and politics.
We aren’t the first people to wrestle with this. Since the very beginning days of this country, Christians in the United States have struggled to separate their national identity and all its cultural norms from the kind of faith and lifestyle Jesus called us to. In the New Testament we find a Jesus that drew people to him - especially people who had been beaten down and hurt by both their government and their religious leadership. We find a Jesus that put His love for people above all religious laws and traditions, and even the laws of the land. It can be tough to reconcile our faith with our politics, and when Christians find themselves in positions of leadership they will always be faced with a question: “How will my faith influence how I lead?”
Travis Stovall has served as the mayor of Gresham, Oregon since 2021, and made history as the first Black mayor of any major city in the Portland Metro area and across the state of Oregon. As an involved member of his community and a lifelong Christian, Mayor Stovall has had to navigate how he chooses to allow his faith to show up in how he leads the city of Gresham - and it might not be exactly how you think. We’ll have him share those experiences himself as we explore all that and more in this episode of Bridges Over Walls.
We aren’t the first people to wrestle with this. Since the very beginning days of this country, Christians in the United States have struggled to separate their national identity and all its cultural norms from the kind of faith and lifestyle Jesus called us to. In the New Testament we find a Jesus that drew people to him - especially people who had been beaten down and hurt by both their government and their religious leadership. We find a Jesus that put His love for people above all religious laws and traditions, and even the laws of the land. It can be tough to reconcile our faith with our politics, and when Christians find themselves in positions of leadership they will always be faced with a question: “How will my faith influence how I lead?”
Travis Stovall has served as the mayor of Gresham, Oregon since 2021, and made history as the first Black mayor of any major city in the Portland Metro area and across the state of Oregon. As an involved member of his community and a lifelong Christian, Mayor Stovall has had to navigate how he chooses to allow his faith to show up in how he leads the city of Gresham - and it might not be exactly how you think. We’ll have him share those experiences himself as we explore all that and more in this episode of Bridges Over Walls.