On February 20, 2016 the historic happened – our first East Coast Live Show for Twelve Enough at the First Baptist Church of East Greenwich! Originally planned for mid January but was snowed out. Yet that would not stop this important event from happening. And here you have the recording of the amazing, the stunning live show!

There were some technical difficulties with the recording and the amplification, but hopefully you will be able to hear all of the important things. We also lost the last twenty minutes of the recording, but you get the gist of the conversation. Having said all that, I hope you enjoy the episode!

The panel includes:

Nikita McCalister – Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Pawtucket, RI and on staff with the American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island

Paul Robeson Ford – Pastor of Union Baptist Church in Cambridge, MA and the Director of the Boston Worker’s Alliance

Dan Bertwell – Graduate Program Coordinator with the History Department at Harvard and one of the hosts of the Near Mint Comic Show Podcast

Apparently all of the guests have to have at least two different responsibilities for their titles.

Riliage –

Dan is sick and tired of people complaining about young people these days. He traces this sentiment back to the following quote:

The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.

- Attributed to Socrates by Plato

Stop complaining about young people – they are the future, you were there once, etc.…

Paul is angry about pandering in politics and the ways in which things are dumbed down. Stop pandering and treating us like we are children (see the above riliage)

Nikita wants people to listen to the Black Lives Matter platform and really understand why it is that there is so much anger. And… don’t respond with a simple, pandering quote that is supposed to negate the whole anger and pain of a group of people.

The Deep Conversation

What is the secret of happiness? Oh if we only knew then we would have something that we could really sell! But maybe we do know…

Dan suggests that it is those intangible things that cannot be captured – things like time with family, Saturday morning fresh baked goods, and those types of things.

Paul carries on with Dan’s idea that those things that connect us with the eternal, like time with family and friends and especially cooking on his grill with Kingsford Charcoal.

Nikita looks to her faith in God as she know it through Jesus Christ. Especially in times of distress and pain that is a true source of hope and happiness and joy.

As the conversation continued, Nikita and Paul considered the role of faith in their happiness and pushed Dan a bit (a self-proclaimed agnostic). In essence, to be happy means to look beyond the physical, material things and instead towards relationships. They can be relationships with family, with the divine, but those positive relationships are the places where deep purpose and happiness can be found.

As always, thanks for listening. Check out the website: www.twelveenough.com Send your comments and questions to twelveenough@gmail.com, and don’t forget to rate the show on iTunes.

Next episode – Religion Professor Scott Paeth – on politics, religions, secularism, and other such things.