This interview features a group discussion reflecting on a transformative retreat, hosted by New College Berkeley and Craig Wong, which focused on the relevance of the Barmen Declaration and its implications for contemporary Christianity. Some of the highlights include the importance of interdenominational dialogue, grappling with issues like Christian nationalism, faithfulness amidst political polarization, and the need for communal wisdom.
Here are the bios for our guests
Dr. Craig Wong is the Executive Director of New College Berkeley (NCB), a theological “third space” to help the Church discern and contextualize the gospel in the San Francisco Bay Area. He recently completed a DMin at Western Theological Seminary, Holland, MI, also having completed an MA at the same institution. Prior to NCB, Wong served on the staff of a Presbyterian church in San Francisco’s Mission District where he formed and led a congregation-based, community nonprofit that served immigrant families from Latin America and Asia. He also served for over 12 years on the board of the Christian Community Development Association and the corporate board of Dayspring Partners, a gospel-centered technology company in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco. He and his wife Tina have raised four children (now adults) in San Francisco’s Excelsior neighborhood.
Rebecca Hernandez (Mexican American and Mescalero/Warm Springs Apache) is the Community Archivist at UC Santa Cruz, where she partners with local stakeholders to promote the acquisition, preservation, and use of archival materials that document the history of Santa Cruz County. She served as Director of the UCSC American Indian Resource Center from 2014-2021, where she worked with the team to create collaborative programs across campus, including the UCSC Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Series. Rebecca graduated from the UCLA American Indian Studies MA Program and earned her PhD in American Studies at the University of New Mexico.
Michael Barram, Ph.D., is Professor of Theology & Religious Studies at Saint Mary’s College of California, where he teaches courses in biblical interpretation. A resident of Richmond, CA, he is a member of First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, and often teaches for both First Presbyterian and New College Berkeley. Barram is the author of both Mission and Moral Reflection in Paul (Lang, 2005) and MissionalEconomics: Biblical Justice and Christian Formation (Eerdmans, 2018), co-editor of Reparations and the Theological Disciplines (Lexington, 2023), and co-author (with John R. Franke) of Liberating Scripture: AnInvitation to Missional Hermeneutics (Cascade, 2024). Along with Franke, Barram serves as co-editor of the “Studies in Missional Hermeneutics, Theology, and Praxis” series published by Cascade Books.
Names mentioned in this interview:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth, Project 2025, The Beatitudes, John Frankie, David Brooks, Martin Luther King, Moral Majority, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, “Riverside Speech” (of MLK jr.).