When you take a nearly 90% African American student population and you willfully ignore their culture while subjecting them to a European-American educational setting you set them up for psychological enslavement. The African student population is not permitted to engage in the process of knowing themselves, the story of their people on the map...
This past Sunday in my sermon I couldn’t resist raising for my congregation’s consideration, the public “resignation” of Anne Rice from Christianity. The best-selling author of many vampire tales announced on her Facebook page last week that she was done with the Faith. She said: “Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I...
One of the highlights of my journey to Palestine/Israel centered on the home-stays. We lodged at hotels or hostels for much of our time in Palestine, but there were two nights where we were guests in the homes of Palestinian families. Our first stay was in the Palestinian Christian town of Beit Sahour –...
In C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence Mamiya’s classic work on the Black Church, they rightly describe the character and nature of the “Black sacred cosmos.” Much more than just casual weekend activity or flippant denominational recognition; Christianity for practicing African Americans is so interwoven into personal and social identity that it’s hard just to...
As I continue exploring alternative ways of being in this world, I’m excited by people and groups who have moved past theoretical olympics or revolutionary diatribes against what is and into practical applications of what can be. I’m less concerned if these practitioners are perfect in the execution of their ideas. I’m more focused...
As I type this, I’m sitting on the roof of a hostel in the breeze of a cool Jerusalem night. My group has recently retired for the evening after a long two days of travel. I’m here in East Jerusalem with a delegation from Interfaith Peace Builders - an organization that focuses on education...
As I continue on this journey of simple living, I’ve been encouraged by way of documentaries and books to ask the question, “Where does my food come from?” I mean really. Whose hands are responsible for killing, cleaning, arranging, and bagging what I just ordered off of the menu and am about to put...
This past Monday was a phenomenal day. I usually have about two of these types of days per week and I’m always blown away as to how God orchestrates them. Monday is usually my day of rest. After preaching, praying, visiting the sick, and generally trying to encourage people during a long Sunday; Mondays...
One of the first things that I was told when it was known that I would become a pastor was to read the church bylaws. Second to scripture (and in some churches more importantly than the Holy Scriptures) the church bylaws provide information as to how a particular community of Faith chooses to organize...
What the Arizona Public School System’s ban of ethnic studies does is expose crucial questions about authority and autonomy as it relates to the public education system. The crucial question is: Who should control the educational direction, content, and implementation of education? Who should be trusted to mold the minds of today’s students? That...
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