Dr. Esau McCaulley joined over 300 pastors and leaders in Portland in November of 2023 for two talks. This is the first talk, titled, "How to Tell a Story That Will Set Us Free: Finding God in the Midst of Racism, Poverty, and Family Trauma." Esau McCaulley is an associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in IL, and theologian in residence at Progressive Baptist Church, a historically black congregation in Chicago. He has written many books, including “Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope,” which won numerous awards including Christianity Today’s book of the year. He is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. His writings have also appeared in places such as The Atlantic, Washington Post, and Christianity Today.