Become New with John Ortberg 50. Dr. Condoleezza Rice on Navigating Political Division
Apr 6, 2026
Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State and scholar, reflects on faith, leadership, and public life. She discusses how faith shapes responses to deep political division. She shares practical habits like pausing before replying, the role of prayer, family lessons from Birmingham, and the importance of friendship and compromise across lines.
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Invite Disagreement To Resist Tribalism
- Do invite and listen to people you disagree with to avoid tribalism and practice Christian charity.
- Condoleezza Rice says as a professor she forces herself to invite dissenting voices into her life and prays for the discipline to do so.
Count To Ten Before Responding
- Do pause before reacting in heated conversations to avoid saying cutting things you'll regret.
- Rice disciplines herself to count to ten because her tongue is quick and can produce effective but wrong responses.
Raised To Be Curious Across Divides
- Condoleezza Rice grew up with Presbyterian ministers who modeled curiosity toward others in Birmingham during the civil rights era.
- Her father socialized across a spectrum from Stokely Carmichael to Reverend Abernathy and took youth groups to synagogues.
