Highest Power: Church + State Ep93: How White Congregations Can Listen to and Learn from Marginalized Communities, with Braxton Wade
Jan 19, 2026
In this discussion, Braxton Wade, a Clemens Fellow with Baptist News Global, shares his insights on race, justice, and faith. He opens up about the parallels between white church dynamics and national power structures. Wade highlights the impact of white supremacy within church life and shares positive examples of white congregations that actively listen and engage with marginalized voices. He emphasizes the importance of centering dignity and communal values while offering lessons from MLK on hope and storytelling, pushing back against tokenism in observances.
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Restaurant Moment That Revealed Othering
- Braxton Wade recounts being visibly othered at a Texas Roadhouse after a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship event in Lynchburg, Virginia.
- The executive coordinator apologized and promised to do better, showing a simple corrective moment can matter.
Church Social Clubs Mirror White Supremacy
- Braxton argues white supremacy and church social clubs have long paralleled each other, embedding racist systems into congregational life.
- He says churches often mimic governmental models, keeping racialized social hierarchies intact.
Church Removes Enslaver's Portrait After Listening
- Grace Baptist Church invited Braxton to lead a sermon series and then removed a portrait of a pastor who had enslaved people.
- That concrete action showed listening led to institutional change in that congregation.