This Is Black Reality
A black mom drove her son to church today for a youth event because she was too afraid to let him walk (as he usually does).
this is black reality
I gave her a huge hug and lamented with her over… Read More
Posts Tagged: "racism"
We Gotta Pay Attention
It’s hard to pay attention to something (or someone) you’re not close to. Closeness invites attention.
God is the creator of all human beings, with all their differences, their colors, their races, their religions. Be attentive: Every time you draw nearer to your neighbor, you draw nearer to God. Be attentive: Every time you go farther from your neighbor, you go farther from God.
—Saint Dorotheos of Gaza
Wow.
This is particularly convicting in our day because we have become so damn gifted at villainizing the other side. Whether it’s the other political party, the other faith, the other quarterback, the other skin color, the other sexual orientation, the other…
It’s as if we’ve become so hyped-up on detailing all the reasons why the other is our enemy that we completely forgot Jesus’ command to love our enemies. And neighbors. And brothers. Everyone, really. The command is to love.
“Our life is love, and peace, and tenderness;
and bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, and not laying accusations one against another;
but praying one for another, and helping one another up with a tender hand.” —Isaac Pennington
We gotta pay attention.
Tom Berlin said, “Being church means moving from the fortified position of… Read More
Racism: Why Whites Have Trouble “Getting It”
by Greg Boyd
Greg is an internationally recognized theologian, preacher, teacher, apologist, and author. He has been featured in the New York Times and on The Charlie Rose Show, CNN, National Public Radio, the BBC, and numerous other television and radio venues. This article was originally published on the ReKnew website in January, 2007.
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I’m a member of a special task group on racial reconciliation that consists of a dozen or so pastors from around the Twin Cities. We’ve been meeting periodically for the past year or so in order to strategize how to help the Church of the Twin Cities as a whole move forward in racial reconciliation. The other day we were discussing what we thought was the main obstacle(s) to the Church becoming a reconciled, diverse, community—one that manifests the truth that Jesus died to “tear down the walls of hostility” between people groups (Eph 2:14-15). I shared with the group my conviction, which is that the main obstacle to reconciliation in the Church in America is that the majority of white people don’t “get it.” What’s worse, the majority of what people don’t know that they don’t “get it.”
Worst of all, the majority of white people don’t really know that there’s anything to “get.”
Most white people I know sincerely believe they live in a country that is, for the most part, a land of… Read More
The Good Stuff
This is the good stuff – what I read online this week… and read again. So I’m sharing:
1. We Are Made In The Image Of God And We Are Women by Nish Weiseth. Here’s my favorite line(s): “We are given the same commandments and the same marching orders, to love God, love others and fulfill the great commission. We are working to advance the same Kingdom that worships the same Jesus.”
And you cannot understand or comprehend the fullness of the image of God without us.
2. Who’s The Racist? by Carlos Rodriguez. Here’s my favorite line(s): ”
For me it looks like cooking a Puerto Rican meal for my African-American neighbor while we talk about British culture. For us, it’s the combination of hundreds of little acts of love. We could spend days talking about what the white police, or the black community or the latino leaders… Read More
Tribalism: Seeing Others As Not Fully Human
Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for He is going to say, “I came as a guest, and you received me.” —Rule of St Benedict
I squirm whenever I hear someone talking about “The gays…” or “The Muslims…” or “The illegal immigrants…” or ”The Catholics…” or “The whatevers.” Sure, it probably has something to do with the sweeping generalizations, labeling, stereotyping. But I’m realizing it’s more than that.
When we speak about “The whatevers,” we are identifying “them” as separate from “us.” It’s tribalism, and tribalism is all about who’s in and and who’s out. According to Professor Richard Beck, “Ingroup members are considered to be fully human. Outgroup members are infrahumans” (less than fully human).
As the famous anthropologist Levi-Strauss said, “Humankind ceases at the border of the tribe.”
Belgium psychologist Jacques-Philippe Leyens first coined the term INFRAHUMANIZATION to describe the belief that one’s ingroup is more human than those outside it. A classic case of infrahumanization is found in the US Constitution (Article 1. Section 2. Paragraph 3) where… Read More
Yes. This Is Still An Issue Today. (Segregation In The Church)
The headline of an article I read last week shocked me. It announced:
Sunday Morning in America Still Segregated – and That’s OK With Worshipers
It was the findings of a study conducted by LifeWay Research – and here’s what they had to say…
- Sunday morning remains one of the most segregated hours in American life, with more than 8 in 10 congregations (86%) made up of one predominant racial group. And most worshipers like it that way.
- Two-thirds of American churchgoers (67 percent) say their church has done enough to become racially diverse. Less than half think their church should become more diverse.
- Researchers also found churchgoers who oppose more diversity do so with gusto. A third (33 percent) strongly disagree… Read More
Racism & Reconciliation In The Church
Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day – and with that theme in mind, here are two posts I think are worth your time…
This post, Everything I Know About Racism I Learned in the Church by Christena Cleveland. The opening paragraph reveals one of Christena’s earliest memories of church:
Exasperated, she yelled at the top of her lungs, “Get in here, niggers!!” Being six and all, I had no idea what the word nigger meant; I just knew that it referred to me and… Read More
14 Good & Bad Stains 2014 Left On Me
*note: The picture above was taken through the window of my room at the Los Angeles Dream Center from our recent trip with a crew from NWLife – serving for a week there.
I’m so ready for 2015.
This year—while it wasn’t all bad—certainly had more than it’s fair share of bad news. I’ve felt like 2014 has refused to go out quietly or peacefully. It all reminds me of the opening lines from Jesus Walks by Kanye West…
Yo, we at war. We at war with terrorism, racism, and most of all we at war with ourselves.
As I reflect on 2014, I’m struck by a number of things that left their mark on me. So here they are: 14 Good & Bad Stains 2014 Left On Me… Read More
Longing For A More Colorful Table (Not A Colorblind One)
*note: image above – Introduced on July 31, 1968, Franklin was the first African American to be included in the Peanuts comic strip. I don’t know why he’s all alone on that side of the table, but I’m glad he was invited.
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Last week, I received a letter from my national church leadership asking me and all the other pastors of our 12,792 churches in the U.S. to observe #BlackLivesMatter Sunday (you can read that letter here). The request was to acknowledge the day and pray. So I did that.
I’ve been surprised at the amount of pushback I’ve received. Some of it has been thoughtful and kind and caring. Some of it has been harsh and judgmental. Quite honestly, in 22 years of full-time ministry, I’ve never ruffled this many feathers.
Ruffling feathers isn’t something I live for. I don’t get energized by offending people.
Right now I’m in the process of listening and evaluating. I’m hearing what people are saying. I’m searching my heart for… Read More
Why #BlackLivesMatter Makes You Uncomfortable
*note: image above – harassment during a civil rights sit-in at the Cherrydale Drug Fair in Arlington, VA June 10, 1960.
On Sunday at NWLife Church, we stood in solidarity with our brothers and sisters – declaring #BlackLivesMatter.
We prayed for justice and reconciliation and healing and comfort. We mourned the loss of life. We affirmed that all black lives matter.
This wasn’t the first time we’ve prayed for the black community. Recognizing #BlackLivesMatter on Sunday, December 14 was done at the prompting of the National leadership of the Assemblies of God and the Church of God in Christ (our heritage is with these movements).
I know this makes some folks uncomfortable. I know because I have received feedback. Of course, I don’t have the oratory chops of Bishop… Read More