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The Bridge Builders Forum

The Bridge Builders Forum

By: Ryan Lambert
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The Bridge Builders Forum Podcast helps Jews and Christians better understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.


Each episode features individuals and perspectives that foster mutual enrichment and the goodness we can bring to our communities and the world when there is a bridge, rather than a gulf, between Jews and Christians.

© 2026 The Bridge Builders Forum
Christianity Judaism Spirituality
Episodes
  • Challenging Replacement Theology: Olive Tree Affirmations 1 & 2
    Jan 27 2026

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    What does it really mean for Christians to stand against antisemitism and stand with the Jewish people—in a way that is deeply biblical and faithful to the New Testament?

    In this Bridge Builders Forum episode, you’ll hear an excerpt from Session One of the Olive Tree Pilot Course, a live Zoom teaching that introduces the Olive Tree Campaign and explores Olive Tree Affirmations 1 and 2.

    Drawing on the Apostle Paul’s olive tree imagery in Romans 11, this session directly challenges Replacement Theology and addresses the widespread confusion many Christians feel about Israel, the Jewish people, and the Church.

    In this episode, we explore:

    Why Replacement Theology—often unintentionally—still shapes Christian teaching

    How “fulfillment” and “expansion” language can obscure Israel’s ongoing covenant

    Why Romans 9:6 has been widely misunderstood

    How Paul’s olive tree vision affirms God’s enduring covenant with the Jewish people

    Why Christian faith was never meant to exist apart from a positive relationship with Jews and Judaism

    The Olive Tree Campaign is a Bridge Builders Forum initiative designed to give Christians clear language, biblical grounding, and theological confidence to articulate why standing with the Jewish people is an essential expression of Christian faithfulness.

    Download the Olive Tree Affirmations at https://bridgebuildersforum.com/olivetree

    Bridge Builders Forum
    An educational entity dedicated to helping Jews and Christians understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.

    Bridge Builders Forum Email News and Updates

    Download the free PDF "Recovering the Jewish Paul: Three Keys to Understanding the Apostle and Building Bridges Between Jews and Christians"

    The Weird Apostle
    Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

    Make a tax deductible donation to the Bridge Builders Forum



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    1 hr
  • Esther, the Media, and the Rise of Modern Antisemitism with Tricia Miller from CAMERA
    Jan 20 2026

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    Antisemitism is being talked about more than ever—but understanding it clearly remains a challenge.

    Narratives move quickly. Headlines simplify complex realities. And ancient ideas often resurface in modern forms without being recognized for what they are. In this episode of the Bridge Builders Forum podcast, we explore how those dynamics shape attitudes toward Jews today—and why biblical interpretation and media narratives matter more than we often realize.

    I’m joined by Tricia Miller, Director of the Partnership of Christians and Jews at CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis). Together, we examine the Book of Esther as a powerful lens for understanding how antisemitism forms, spreads, and is sustained—both in Scripture and in the modern media environment.

    Our conversation explores:

    How media narratives shape public perception of Jews—and sometimes Christians as well

    Why Esther remains one of the most important and misunderstood biblical texts for understanding antisemitism

    How misreadings of Esther have reinforced harmful ideas about Jews and Jewish power

    The work of CAMERA’s Partnership of Christians and Jews in responding constructively to distorted narratives

    What courage and responsibility look like today when confronting antisemitism thoughtfully and honestly

    This episode invites listeners into a deeper, more careful conversation about Scripture, storytelling, and the responsibility we all share in responding to antisemitism with clarity, integrity, and courage.

    Visit CAMERA's website at https://www.camera.org/

    Visit CAMERA's partnership of Christians and Jews website at https://www.cameraspartnership.org/

    Bridge Builders Forum
    An educational entity dedicated to helping Jews and Christians understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.

    Bridge Builders Forum Email News and Updates

    Download the free PDF "Recovering the Jewish Paul: Three Keys to Understanding the Apostle and Building Bridges Between Jews and Christians"

    The Weird Apostle
    Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

    Make a tax deductible donation to the Bridge Builders Forum



    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • The Olive Tree Campaign: What Does It Mean to Be a Christian Who Stands With the Jewish People?
    Jan 6 2026

    Send us a text

    Many Christians want to stand clearly against antisemitism and with the Jewish people—but often struggle to explain why doing so is a deeply biblical expression of Christian faithfulness.

    In this special episode, Ryan Lambert introduces the Olive Tree Campaign, a new initiative from Bridge Builders Forum designed to help Christians develop clear, responsible, and biblically grounded language for supporting the Jewish people—without erasing Judaism, repeating harmful assumptions, or relying on inherited theological frameworks that strain Jewish–Christian trust.

    Drawing on the Apostle Paul’s olive tree imagery in Romans 11, Ryan explores how Scripture envisions Jews and Gentiles not in rivalry or replacement, but as distinct companions sustained by the same covenant-keeping God. The Olive Tree Campaign centers on the Olive Tree Affirmations—ten biblical commitments rooted in Romans 9–11 that articulate what it looks like when God’s enduring covenant with the Jewish people is taken seriously.

    This episode also introduces the Olive Tree Course, a four-week guided learning experience designed to help Christians move beyond abstract affirmations and into thoughtful teaching, conversation, and lived practice.

    Beginning Wednesday, January 14, Bridge Builders Forum will host a free, four-week Pilot of the Olive Tree Course, meeting Wednesday evenings at 7:30 PM Eastern Time. The course includes focused teaching and guided discussion in a shared learning environment—designed not as a lecture series, but as a space for clarity, better questions, and faithful language.

    To learn more or register for the Pilot Course, visit
    www.bridgebuildersforum.com/olivetree and click “Join the Pilot Course.”

    If you care about strengthening Jewish–Christian relationships and helping shape a better theological path forward, we invite you to walk with us in the Olive Tree Campaign.

    Bridge Builders Forum
    An educational entity dedicated to helping Jews and Christians understand their faith, the Bible, and each other.

    Bridge Builders Forum Email News and Updates

    Download the free PDF "Recovering the Jewish Paul: Three Keys to Understanding the Apostle and Building Bridges Between Jews and Christians"

    The Weird Apostle
    Ryan's book places the Apostle Paul in his Jewish and Greco-Roman context.

    Make a tax deductible donation to the Bridge Builders Forum



    Show More Show Less
    5 mins
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