Podcast Summary: Consider This from NPR

Episode Title: Faith leaders in Memphis support Afghan refugees, and each other
Air Date: February 1, 2026
Host: Sarah McCammon

Overview

This episode delves into how two Memphis faith leaders—Pastor Stephen Cook of Second Baptist Church and Pastor Lateef Saller of Christ Community Afghan Church—are joining forces to support Afghan refugees in their city. In the context of tightened U.S. immigration policy following a tragic National Guard shooting, and a presidential halt on asylum for Afghans, these pastors model interfaith solidarity and advocate for their vulnerable congregants. The episode touches on the emotional and practical challenges facing local Afghan Christians and highlights the power of community, compassion, and cross-cultural fellowship.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Plight of Afghan Refugees in Memphis

• Recent Detentions: A number of Afghan Christian refugees in Memphis, including family members of Pastor Saller, have been detained by federal immigration agents after the new ban on Afghan asylum seekers.
  • “They came and took my brother in law with all his family and two kids, 9 years and 5 years old. … If they go back, the penalty is dead.” —Lateef Saller [03:43]
• Persecution if Deported: Deportation would put these individuals at extreme risk due to their Christian faith, both from authorities and potentially their own families.
  • “If the deportation happen, they will die. … They will be in danger from their own family.” —Lateef Saller [06:23]

Congregational Fears and Trauma

• Community Anxiety: Afghan children and adults live in fear—traumatized by detentions, fearing both for themselves and their loved ones.
  • “My kids like, see that their cousins are took by ICE and they heard that. Now they are scared and I have my neighbor, my neighbor are scared.” —Lateef Saller [03:43]
• Psychological Toll:
  • “They feel depression, get trauma and they scare. They worry about their future.” —Lateef Saller [04:23]

Faith-Based Response & Inter-Church Support

• Advocacy & Action:
  • Pastor Cook’s church has been proactive, contacting officials at every level and publicizing family separations and injustices.
    • “We have reached out to elected officials at every level of government, … tried to tell the story. … This has not been a matter of political party alignment so much as it has been a matter of conscience and a sense of calling.” —Stephen Cook [04:53]
• Day-to-Day Help:
  • Second Baptist and others provide practical aid, like rides and financial help, especially as many refugees cannot work.
    • “Few of the Afghan family, they still need help to drive them to the grocery and also they need help to support them financially because some of them, they cannot work here and that's why they depend on the other believers.” —Lateef Saller [07:04]
• Regular Collaboration:
  • “I stay in regular contact with Pastor Saller and from other organizations in our community who are trying to coalesce around ways that we can speak up and raise awareness of what is happening.” —Stephen Cook [07:21]

Building Fellowship and Bridging Cultures

• Community Meals & Learning:
  • Joint gatherings feature shared meals and cultural exchange, helping Afghans adapt to American life while deepening inter-church bonds.
    • “It is a beautiful sight to have our Afghan friends join us at Second Baptist and to share meals together where they will bring food that is not common to most of our American households and where we can help share food with them.” —Stephen Cook [07:46]
    • “Afghan learn a lot about American culture … because we want to adjust to this country.” —Lateef Saller [08:41]
  • Spiritual solidarity is modeled in “sitting down” and “standing up for” one another, inspired by Jesus’ example.

Responses to Wider National Events

• Reaction to Violence in Minneapolis:
  • The pastors lament recent violence against demonstrators and call it a moral failing.
    • “This is a moment where as a nation, we have to be attentive to the fact that we cannot go without naming this is a grave moral failure on our part, that this is where we have come to be collectively.” —Stephen Cook [09:31]
• Local Youth Engagement:
  • Second Baptist’s youth dedicated fundraiser proceeds to refugees’ legal costs, a practical example of solidarity and care.
    • “They took a portion of the proceeds from that in order to pay for the legal expenses for one of the detained Afghans. … very encouraging.” —Stephen Cook [10:02]

Hopes, Gratitude, and Respect

• Gratitude for America & Hope for Its Future:
  • Saller expresses deep appreciation for America’s freedoms and prays for the nation’s continued role as a refuge.
    • “Many American people do not see that because we came from … persecution life that we arrived here praying for this country … that people can see the hands of God here.” —Lateef Saller [11:07]
• Affirmations of Each Other’s Leadership:
  • Saller on Cook:
    • “He have like a fatherly heart and we can see Jesus live in him … how much he have love for the lost.” —Lateef Saller [11:49]
  • Cook on Saller:
    • “He is a man who loves God and he loves his people. … when I see the way that he so humbly and faithfully tends to and cares for and protects the people … I see the kind of pastor that I would love to be when I grow up.” —Stephen Cook [12:11]

Notable Quotes

• “It is wrong, it is cruel for a family where a father is taking his sons to school on a December morning for him to be surrounded by and apprehended by ICE agents, for his children to be taken into custody and then for him to be told that if his wife would come … that she could take the children home with her, only for her not to be given the children, but instead for her to be taken into custody.” —Stephen Cook [04:53]
• “If the deportation happen, they will die. … They will be in danger from their own family.” —Lateef Saller [06:23]
• “This has not been a matter of political party alignment so much as it has been a matter of conscience and a sense of calling and conviction that these are vulnerable neighbors.” —Stephen Cook [04:53]
• “Afghan learn a lot about American culture … because we want to adjust to this country.” —Lateef Saller [08:41]
• “We can see Jesus live in him and the way he smile and the way he act. … Every Afghan knows how much he have love for the lost.” —Lateef Saller [11:49]
• “When I see the way that he so humbly and faithfully tends to and cares for and protects the people who are in his congregation, I see the kind of pastor that I would love to be when I grow up.” —Stephen Cook [12:11]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Episode Context and Introduction: [00:05–01:49]
• Personal Stories & Recent Events: [03:04–04:23]
• Practical Impacts on Families: [04:53–07:21]
• Joint Community Fellowship: [07:39–08:41]
• Broader National Violence & Local Responses: [09:18–10:49]
• Reflections, Hopes, and Affirmations: [11:00–12:54]

Tone and Language

Warm, compassionate, deeply personal, and imbued with faith and moral conviction. The conversation is honest, often somber, but also hopeful—centering on empathy, resilience, and the shared calling to serve the vulnerable.

Summary for New Listeners

If you haven’t listened, this episode is a moving portrait of two faith leaders who refuse to let fear or division define their community. In the face of harsh policy and real danger, Pastors Cook and Saller hold fast to the conviction of loving—and acting for—their neighbors. Their story is both unique to Memphis and reflective of challenges felt nationwide, offering a model of solidarity, advocacy, and hope.