I only learned about this a few weeks ago. For most people, you’re probably like, “I don’t even know what a missionary is, so what if the first one was black?” But when you’re a missionary kid like me who grew up in church hearing stories of missionaries all the time, the fact that thisContinue reading “The first American missionary was black”
Category Archives: Kingdom
“Not in my name”: How injustice inhibits evangelism
In Christian communities (churches, missionary groups etc) there often springs up this debate about whether we should be putting funds and resources towards social justice issues or towards evangelism. Here’s how the debate goes, for those of you who aren’t privy to Christian internal disputes.
The Gospel as an antidote to white fragility
When it comes to talking about race, white people often feel defensive, angry, and afraid. White people can completely shut down because conversations about race or privilege are so uncomfortable. A researcher named Robin DeAngelo calls this “white fragility“. In a conversation with Sam Adler-Bell, she describes why white people completely shut down: For white people,Continue reading “The Gospel as an antidote to white fragility”
Common Good
What we see in Acts and the writings of Paul is that our material possessions are a barometer of our hearts: “What we do or do not do with our material possessions is an indicator of the Spirit’s presence of absence”. There is not a confiscation of private property. There is also not a commandContinue reading “Common Good”
Neither Poverty nor Riches (book Summary)
In part one, I gave a picture of how stuff is distributed in our world. I wanted to do that because after reading this book, the biggest take away is as people who follow Jesus we should be very concerned about economic inequality. In the book (aptly titled Neither Poverty Nor Riches, by Craig Blomberg )Continue reading “Neither Poverty nor Riches (book Summary)”
That Saved a Wretch Like Me
We’re heading into the bloodiness of Holy Week in just a little while. Good Friday looms at the end of Lent, this horrible black, silent day where we actually contemplate the slow suffocation of a Palestinian Jew on a cross. Uh, depressing. I’d much rather skip it and get to the chocolate Easter eggs onContinue reading “That Saved a Wretch Like Me”
An Uprooting
But we can’t receive that grace if we don’t think we need it. For reconciliation and restoration to occur, we have to acknowledge there’s a problem… The question is not, “What is Jesus telling black people in this moment?” The question is, “What is Jesus telling me in this moment? Me, a white person?”
Nation Building: Our country, not “this country”
I’ve been out of the loop on the #Zumamustfall campaigns that spread across South Africa at the end of last year calling for the removal of our corrupt president (protestors are pointing to things like Nkandla, the mansion Zuma built with tax payer money- protest chant is simply “Pay back the money!”) I’ve been out ofContinue reading “Nation Building: Our country, not “this country””
On Corporate Confession: A Prayer for Black History Month
Over Christmas break, I was drinking coffee with two of my favorite people in the world (who actually had never met each other). We only had an hour, so there was zero small talk and we went straight to the good stuff like the role of women in the church and diversity and reconciliation and theseContinue reading “On Corporate Confession: A Prayer for Black History Month”
Advent songs for Ferguson
I’ve been reading “Radical Reconciliation“, and one of the things the authors talk about is that mega-churches are now some of the most diverse churches in America. (“Diverse” means that there’s at least 25% people who aren’t white who attend…the percentage might actually be smaller than that, I don’t remember. And it doesn’t refer toContinue reading “Advent songs for Ferguson”
Stephanie Ebert 