Digital, Toward Liberation Workshop: Christian Leaders Edition, 3 days, August 4-5 & 7, 2026, 9am-4pm

Toward Liberation: Building Shared Analysis to Transform (Christian) Institutions

Workshop Overview

The Public Religion Research Institute's 2025 American Values Atlas reveals a troubling pattern: the more regularly Americans attend religious services, pray, or read scripture, the more likely they are to hold Christian nationalist beliefs. Most striking are findings about communities of color — 34% of Black Americans qualify as Christian nationalism adherents or sympathizers, and Hispanic Protestants do so at nearly double the rate of Hispanic Catholics (57% vs. 26%). For those of us in Christian leadership — lay or ordained — this should be alarming. And activating. Why is the link between our faith and nationalism so hard to sever? What does it reveal about our worship services, liturgies, and sermons? About our members — and ourselves? And what will it take to break this pattern, which deepens authoritarian thinking and erodes democratic life? 

These are the questions we'll wrestle with together: 1) How do we interrogate narratives within our own traditions that legitimize nationalism and racial injustice rather than challenge them? 2) How do we practice the kind of personal transformation that equips us to dismantle the logics behind nationalism and racial animosity? 3) How do we find the path toward collective liberation? 

Workshop Outcomes

Toward Liberation is both a deepening and intensive workshop that builds on the foundation of Animating Antiracist Ways of Being. The workshop is designed to achieve the following outcomes:

• Build a shared understanding of history – Explore how systems that justify domination, inequality, and racism developed in the United States and continue to function today
• Analyze how these systems misshape power – Examine how structural racism and injustice influence the way power operates in our institutions and communities
• Reflect on how racism has misshaped our identities – Consider how these systems have formed and distorted our sense of self, enabling us to become more effective antiracist allies
• Develop skills for transformative action – Build practical skills to organize and transform institutions into spaces where everyone experiences justice, inclusion, and belonging

Forty years in pursuit of racial justice have taught Crossroads that:

• change starts with telling the truth about how our own institutions are part of the problem
• it takes deeply rooted spiritual practices to face our own complicity, honestly, without flinching
• this work requires intentional collaboration
• we will have to let go—of beloved programs, familiar stories, long-held assumptions, structures, and maybe even ourselves—so we can help build God's hope of liberation for all of creation, on earth as it is in heaven

Prerequisite Learning

This is a deepening workshop designed to examine how institutional systems perpetuate inequality, offering a focused exploration of specific justice topics—from analyzing dynamics of oppression to charting pathways toward reparation. While it is technically possible to join without meeting the prerequisites, we strongly advise against it, as the workshop builds directly on prior grounding in Crossroads' analysis of systemic racism. Participants are asked to have previous experience engaging with this analysis by having participated in one or more of the following workshops:

• Animating Antiracist Ways of Being workshop
• Introduction to Antiracism (2020 - 2023)
• Introduction to Systemic Racism workshop (pre-2020)
• The Values Gap: Moving from Symbolic Gestures to Lasting Transformation

If you'd like to attend but haven't completed any of the listed prerequisites, please contact us to discuss alternative options.

Workshop Fees

Are You Paying for Yourself?

We know cost can be a barrier, so we've set affordable rates for individuals covering their own costs. Choose the fee that works best for your situation. If you have the financial means, we encourage you to pay the full price to help keep our programs accessible to others.

• Minimum Fee: $100 — For individuals with modest resources

• Half-Price: $350 — For individuals with moderate resources

• Full-Price: $700 — For individuals able to cover all their costs

Is your Organization Covering your Registration?

If your employer or organization is covering your registration, select the rate based on your organization's annual budget.

• Equity Rate: $375 per person — Budget under $400K

• Sustainer Rate: $575 per person — Budget $400K to $2 million

• Supporter Rate: $775 per person — Budget $2 million to $16.5 million

• Builder Rate: $975 per person — Budget over $16.5 million

Why do we require registration?

To create a safe and confidential space for all participants, everyone must complete registration—even if you're selecting the $0 option. Please note: Previous attendance at Crossroads workshops doesn't automatically grant access to new digital workshops. Each workshop requires its own registration to protect the privacy of all participants.

What to Know Before Registering

Arrival & Attendance

• Arrive on time – You must join before we complete the creating our "Community Agreements" process (usually within the first 30 minutes). Late arrivals cannot be admitted to protect the group's confidentiality.
• Stay for the full workshop – We ask all participants to attend from beginning to end. Moving in and out of the workshop isn't permitted, as it disrupts the shared experience.
• Engaged Participation - We know technical hiccups and the challenges of remote work happen to everyone, and we're always glad to work with you through those moments. All we ask is that if something's going on, you let a facilitator know—that way we can support you rather than assume disengagement. Sessions may require participants to step away only if ongoing disengagement continues without any communication.

Breaks & Self-Care

• Workshops under 6 hours – Include regular stretch and self-care breaks 
• Workshops 6+ hours – Include regular stretch and self-care breaks as well as a 45-to-60-minute lunch break

Before the Workshop

• Review policies – Please read the complete workshop and cancellation policies at the bottom of the registration form and in your confirmation email
• Add to your calendar – Mark the date and time now

Digitally Accessing the Workshop

Digital Engagements are hosted on the Zoom platform. An invitation link will be sent to participants once their registration is confirmed.

Need Support?

• If you have questions about participating or need accommodations, contact us at registration@crossroadsantiracism.org.