Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)

Alex Zakaras, author of FREEDOM FOR ALL - Episode 601 - Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast)
 
Today on Voices in My Head, we’re diving into some big questions about freedom, democracy, and the future of liberal society. My guest is Alex Zakaras, professor of political science at the University of Vermont and author of several works on American political thought, including his brand-new book, Freedom for All: What a Liberal Society Could Be, releasing on October 28th from Yale University Press, is both a defense and a reimagining of liberalism—what Zakaras calls a “radical liberalism.”
In this work, he argues that the idea of freedom, once central to the liberal tradition, has been co-opted and corrupted, turned into something that benefits the powerful at the expense of working families. He challenges us to see how profound inequalities in wealth, power, and status have broken America’s social contract, fueling division and resentment. But he also offers a bold vision of renewal: building countervailing power, revitalizing unions, reimagining corporations, and even rethinking how we approach climate change and media in a truly democratic society.
Get the book: https://a.co/d/4FFY0Uh
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Get the Audiobook, Out of the Depths: A Songwriter’s Journey Through the Psalms by your host, Rick Lee James, on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0F45G6KWH?qid=1744142727&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=KEDVV78ASDMS52WQFD7W&plink=3YmaWg4y0HJ0Cjfc&pageLoadId=IaamycyuJR519uYD&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1%20

Episode 600 Celebration! guest host Charles Christian
Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast)
 
This week is a special episode where we celebrate 600 episodes. My guest-host tonight is Charles Christian, a Pastor, a Newscaster, a musician, and an amazing author. Charles represents everything this podcast is about, and I am so glad to have him with me on this week's show.
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Get the Audiobook, Out of the Depths: A Songwriter’s Journey Through the Psalms by your host, Rick Lee James, on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0F45G6KWH?qid=1744142727&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=KEDVV78ASDMS52WQFD7W&plink=3YmaWg4y0HJ0Cjfc&pageLoadId=IaamycyuJR519uYD&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1%20

What Is Christian Nationalism? - Episode 599 - Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast)
Whenever Christians fuse the cross with the flag, we lose our prophetic voice that allows us to call the nation(s) to repentance and justice. This fusion of the church with an idolatrous ideology makes the body of Christ captive to political powers and parties. In doing so, the church abdicates its true allegiance to Jesus and surrenders its freedom to serve him as Lord. The Church cannot serve two masters.
I have been posting often about the dangers of Christian nationalism because it is so different from the way of Jesus and it is not a fringe ideology anymore. Jesus invited people into the kingdom through table fellowship, accepting invitations and offering his own. He never forced belief or grasped for power. The kingdom of God is never advanced by violence toward others, but through self-giving, radical love, even to the point of suffering, so that no harm is done to another. At the heart of his teaching is love for enemies, not domination over them.
Some people respond to posts like this by saying they have never met a Christian nationalist. The reality is that Christian nationalism often shows itself less in individuals wearing a label and more in movements, policies, and rhetoric. One example is the Seven Mountain Theory, which teaches that Christians should dominate areas like government, education, media, and the arts. In our own time, we see this vision advanced through proposals like Project 2025, through leaders such as Russell Vought and Lance Wallnau, and in public policies that aim to insert compulsory religious content into schools or reshape government around explicitly Christian norms.
This is not the way of Christ. His kingdom is built not on control but on love, welcome, mercy, and even love for those who oppose us. And even while I write about these things, it is important to say that Christian nationalists themselves are not the enemy. They are my baptized brothers and sisters. But even if they were the enemy, which I do not consider them to be, the call of Jesus is to love our enemies and live a better way.
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Get the Audiobook, Out of the Depths: A Songwriter’s Journey Through the Psalms by your host, Rick Lee James, on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0F45G6KWH?qid=1744142727&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=KEDVV78ASDMS52WQFD7W&plink=3YmaWg4y0HJ0Cjfc&pageLoadId=IaamycyuJR519uYD&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1%20

You Already Have a Relationship with God - Episode 598 - Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast)
 
A reflection on Psalm 15
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Get the Audiobook, Out of the Depths: A Songwriter’s Journey Through the Psalms by your host, Rick Lee James, on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0F45G6KWH?qid=1744142727&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=KEDVV78ASDMS52WQFD7W&plink=3YmaWg4y0HJ0Cjfc&pageLoadId=IaamycyuJR519uYD&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1%20

Jenn Chenoweth - Episode 597 - Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast)
 
 
Welcome back to Voices in My Head, the Rick Lee James Podcast. My guest today is Jenn Chenoweth, a singer-songwriter whose new EP Out To Get Me was just released. This project is both deeply personal and profoundly spiritual, born out of her own struggles with anxiety, depression, and even a medical condition that threatened her ability to sing. But what makes Jenn’s story so moving is how she reframed her understanding of God—from seeing Him as a taskmaster who was ‘out to get her,’ to discovering Him as a Shepherd who pursues with love and sets us free. Her songs, blending worship, synth-pop, and intimate ballads, invite us into that journey of surrender, healing, and identity in Christ.
Jenn's Instagram
 
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Get the Audiobook, Out of the Depths: A Songwriter’s Journey Through the Psalms by your host, Rick Lee James, on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0F45G6KWH?qid=1744142727&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=KEDVV78ASDMS52WQFD7W&plink=3YmaWg4y0HJ0Cjfc&pageLoadId=IaamycyuJR519uYD&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1%20

Jimmy Carter: More Than A President with Andrew Greer - Episode 596 - Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast)
 
On this episode of Voices in My Head: The Rick Lee James Podcast, I welcome Andrew Greer—author, editor, musician, and filmmaker—whose latest projects center on the faith and legacy of President Jimmy Carter. Andrew moved to Plains, Georgia, where he came to know Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter personally in their latter days. From that experience, he has edited More Than a President: Sundays with Jimmy Carter, a new book of Carter’s Sunday School lessons, and directed Plainspoken, the PBS documentary exploring the history and heart of Plains.
In our conversation, Andrew shares how his own faith journey led him to Plains, what he learned from the Carters’ witness, and how both the book and the film preserve a legacy of humility, service, and hope for future generations.
https://www.andrew-greer.com/more-than-a-president
 
 
https://www.andrew-greer.com/more-than-a-president 
 
 

Episode 595: - Gates - Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast) 
Today’s podcast is a look at the different gates we see in scripture; the Gates of Hell and the Gates of Heaven. 
 

Episode 594:
Dr. Will Willimon - The Church We Carry
Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast)
My guest today on Voices in My Head is one of the most recognized and influential voices in contemporary preaching and church leadership, Dr. William H. Willimon. A retired bishop in The United Methodist Church, Willimon has served as Dean of the Chapel at Duke University, authored more than 70 books, and inspired generations of pastors with his wit, candor, and deep theological insight.
 
His newest book, The Church We Carry: Loss, Leadership, and the Future of Our Church, is part memoir, part prophetic critique, and part call to action in the wake of the United Methodist Church’s massive wave of disaffiliations. In it, he revisits his own home congregation, Buncombe Street United Methodist Church, exploring the forces—cultural, theological, and personal—that led to its departure from the denomination. Along the way, he reflects on what it means to tell the truth about our past, to navigate conflict with integrity, and to imagine a faithful future for the church we bear forward.The Church We Carry https://a.co/d/1Q4j7ls can be purchased on Amazon.
 
 
 
 

Episode 593: -
“Whose Image, Whose Authority?”
- Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast)
 
Matthew 22: 17 - 21, Acts:5 27 - 29, Romans 13: 1 - 7
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Episode 592: - The Foolish Cross - Voices in my Head (the Rick Lee James Podcast)
 
A Chapel Sermon for Springfield Regional Medical Center pre-recorded 8-13-25
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