Episode Details

🎙️  35. Ike Ndolo (Catholic, Singer-Songwriter) - God in the Rubble, Honest Hymns & Freedom Songs

Alexis Rice welcomes Ike Ndolo @ikendolo, a Nigerian-American Catholic worship leader and singer-songwriter whose voice refuses silence in the face of suffering. This episode is a powerful, honest conversation about faith with legs—faith that tells the truth, stands with the oppressed, and sings even when the world is on fire. Ike reflects on global Christianity, Catholic tradition, liberation theology, and the cost of speaking out—especially in this season.

We talk about God in the Rubble—a lament, protest, and prayer written in response to Gaza—and how worship can hold grief, rage, and hope at the same time. Ike also shares the stories behind Won’t He Do It, Sons and Daughters, City of God, and the heart of his forthcoming work Honest Hymns & Freedom Songs. Along the way, we explore music as resistance, salvation history as a living drama, and why collective liberation matters.

💡 Key Takeaways

• Why scripture read in full tells a story of liberation, not domination
• How Catholic liturgy resists cherry-picked theology
• Music as protest, prayer, and communal healing

👤 About Our Guest
Ike Ndolo has spent his entire adult life in ministry, leading worship across continents while writing songs rooted in justice, dignity, and radical welcome. His sound blends Americana, folk, and rock, influenced by Bob Marley, Ben Harper, Bob Dylan, and Marvin Gaye. His work invites listeners into faith that is honest, embodied, and alive.

🎶 Songs & Music Featured

• God in the Rubble — Ike Ndolo
• Won’t He Do It — Ike Ndolo
• Sons and Daughters — Ike Ndolo (co-written with Matt Maher @mattmahermusic) Featuring Emoni Wilkens @emoniwilkins
• City of God — Ike Ndolo
• Honest Hymns & Freedom Songs — upcoming record

🎙 Mentions & Influences

• James Talarico @jamestalarico on God’s cry for justice
• Inspirational singer-songwriters: Sara Groves @grovesroad, Derek Webb @derekwebb, Semler @gracebaldridge, Jon Guerra @iamjonguerra
  
  

🔗 Follow & Support Ike

• Music & videos (watch, listen, share): YouTube / Spotify / Apple Music — Ike Ndolo: https://www.youtube.com/@IkeNdolo
• Music lessons & creative mentorship: https://www.ikesmusicmakers.com/

#IkeNdolo #Catholic #LiberationTheology #WorshipMusic #Christianity #deconstruction #MusicAsResistance #FreePalestine #GodIsLove

Music used with permission from Ike Ndolo

Support the show

About The Sacred Slope
Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity.
Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion.

🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify
     LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere
     FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky)

🔗 Connect
🎧 Explore episodes & community: