February 2026 | LISLE, IL— InterVarsity Press (IVP) is pleased to announce the release of Honest Conversations: Seeing Race, Speaking Truth, an eight-session streaming video series that invites Christians into courageous conversations about race, justice, and reconciliation.
IVP publisher Terumi Echols said, “The gospel invites us into honest, faithful engagement with the realities of our world. Honest Conversations creates space for that work, helping Christians see more clearly, listen more carefully, and speak truth with humility and courage.”
Hosted by pastor and author Travis Collins, and featuring a diverse group of pastors, scholars, and ministry leaders, the series blends biblical teaching, personal storytelling, and practical wisdom to address some of the most pressing questions about race and reconciliation facing the church today. Each episode explores a different dimension of racial justice and unity—moving from history to hope, from lament to action, and from individual good intentions to structural change.
“Over the past few years, I’ve learned a great deal—and that learning continues. The guest mentors I had the privilege of interviewing graciously opened my eyes to so many important truths,” Collins said. “I long for all of us to better understand what fairness truly looks like and what genuine unity really means, regardless of the hue of our skin or the accent of our tongues. And I invite you to join me on this meaningful pilgrimage of learning and growth.”
The eight streaming sessions and featured authors are:
Why this hard conversation?
Irwyn L. Ince Jr. is the interim lead pastor at Grace Mosaic Church in Washington, DC. He also serves as Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology for Reformed Theological Seminary. He is the author of The Beautiful Community and Hope Ain’t a Hustle.
We don’t know what we don’t know
David Swanson is the pastor of New Community Covenant Church, a multicultural congregation in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. He helps lead New Community Outreach, a nonprofit that collaborates with the community to reduce sources of trauma, and he speaks around the country on the topics of racial justice and reconciliation. He is the author of Rediscipling the White Church and Plundered.
Good feelings and bad structures
Soong-Chan Rah (ThD, Duke Divinity School) joined Fuller Theological Seminary’s faculty in 2021 as the Robert Boyd Munger Professor of Evangelism. Prior to his appointment at Fuller, Rah served as the Milton B. Engebretson Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary. His books include The Next Evangelicalism, Unsettling Truths, and Prophetic Lament.
Informed by yesterday
Walter R. Strickland II (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is associate professor of systematic and contextual theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has coauthored or contributed to several books, including For God So Loved the World and the two Swing Low volumes on the history of Black Christianity in the United States. He is a host of the White Horse Inn podcast and founder of Cultural Engagement and Aptree Learning.
The Bible and making things right
Christina Edmondson (PhD, Tennessee State University) is a higher education instructor, organizational consultant, and cohost of Get in The Word with Truth’s Table and the Truth’s Table podcasts. She is the coauthor, with Chad Brennan, of Faithful Antiracism and has served in a variety of roles including as the dean for intercultural student development at Calvin University. She is also a certified cultural intelligence facilitator, public speaker, mental health therapist, and a consultant in the areas of ethics, equity, and Christian leadership development.
Lamenting and repenting
Mariah Humphries is a citizen of the Mvskoke Nation, writer, lecturer, and speaker whose work explores the intersections of spiritual formation and justice. Drawing from her lived experience navigating both Native and White American contexts, Mariah invites audiences to consider how faith can confront inequity and embody justice.
Pastors and politics
Chris Butler is the senior leader of the Chicago Embassy Church Network and has been involved in several efforts to improve educational equity in Chicago. He serves as the founder and executive director of Parent Power Chicago as well as the founder of the Chicago Peace Campaign, which organizes churches and other faith-based institutions to build peacemaking networks in local communities. He is the coauthor, with Justin Giboney and Michael Wear, of Compassion (&) Conviction.
Justin Giboney (JD, Vanderbilt University) is the cofounder and president of the AND Campaign, a Christian civic organization focused on raising civic literacy, promoting civic pluralism, and equipping Christians to engage politics with the love and truth of Jesus Christ. An ordained minister, attorney, and political strategist, Giboney has been featured in publications such as the New York Times and Christianity Today and is the author of Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around.
Caveat and hope
Jamaal Williams (DEdMin) serves as lead pastor of Sojourn Church Midtown in Louisville, Kentucky, and as president of the Harbor Network. In addition, he regularly consults churches on leadership matters and issues related to building healthy multiethnic churches. He is the coauthor, with Timothy Paul Jones, of In Church as It Is in Heaven.
Echols said, “I am deeply grateful to Travis Collins and his guest teachers for shaping this thoughtful path forward for individuals and communities who want to address race with theological depth, grace, and hope rooted in the reconciling work of Christ at a time when there is a deep and urgent need for healing and restoration within the church. We are grateful for the opportunity to share this resource in this moment.”
Honest Conversations is available for purchase through Seminary Now. Learn more at ivpress.com.
Contact: Krista Clayton, kclayton@ivpress.com
