Culture is a lot like language. Most of us grow up as native speakers of one language. A few blessed people are bilingual or become fluent in even more languages. Any of us can learn an additional language, but it takes intense study, constant practice, and it gets more difficult as you get older. Most […]
Thirty years ago Dr. Carl Ellis expressed his hope for an “indigenous Reformed movement in the African American community.”I’ve often tried to picture what this movement might look like. Will it be like the Civil Rights Movement or the Arab Spring—masses of people united for a cause and affecting sweeping social and cultural changes in […]
One question I consistently hear is, “Are we in the midst of a Reformed Black Movement?” I think what people are asking is whether we are seeing a broad-based, multi-pronged, ongoing shift of theological direction in African American communities. This question is understandable when we consider the rise of Christian hip-hop, the proliferation of […]
Quick! What comes to mind when you think of the book of Numbers? Census statistics. Ritual laws. History. Whatever comes to mind it’s probably not a stirring exposition of Scripture that points to Christ and leaves grown men literally weeping. But that’s exactly what Reformed Theological Seminary Chancellor and RAAN Advisory Board Member, Ligon Duncan, […]
“Why doesn’t someone plant a church in a mobile home park?” One noted theologian (https://twitter.com/drantbradley) has often made this challenge to evangelical leaders and denominations that tend to focus their attention on the inner-city and “reaching” blacks. But we found a church planter who started a church in a low-income white community–a mobile home park–in […]
I never heard the term “church planting” growing up in Black churches. It wasn’t until I got involved in White evangelical circles that I heard the phrase and it took on meaning. This doesn’t imply that African American churches weren’t or aren’t thinking about multiplication. I remember numerous conversations around evangelism and growing the church […]
All Christians are involved in foreign missions. You are either a “goer” or a “sender”. At the inaugural Cross Conference in Louisville, Kentucky on December 27-30, the presenters labored to make the case for missions. They called for hundreds of young men and women to take to the mission field in places around the world. The […]
On December 30, 2013 at the conclusion of the Cross Conference hundreds of students stood up to indicate their commitment to return home and tell their churches that they desire to be sent as missionaries across the globe. A Holy Moment Thabiti Anyabwile used the term “holy moment” in a prayer afterwards and that’s a fitting […]
Not only are the arts at the forefront of a Reformed Black movement, they are essential to it. The Arts on Display The critical value of the arts in a Reformed African American context was impressed upon me at the Legacy Conference. This past year was my second time attending and I noticed anew the […]
History is alive. And in the United States that history is racial. I recently watched the PBS special, “The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross” with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. It is a multi-part series detailing centuries of African American history. The latest episode tells the story of the Civil Rights Movement. The Ruby Bridges Story […]
The Bible declares, “seek peace and pursue it” (Ps. 34:14; 1 Pt. 3:11). This phrase has implications for all areas of life, especially multi-ethnic ministry. Live in Peace We know that we as believers have been reconciled to God through our Savior (Rm. 5:1). But this reconciliation extends not just vertically between God and humankind […]
Dr. Carl Ellis, Jr. has been teaching principles of contextualized ministry for decades. Now he distills his vast knowledge into a three-day intensive course offered at RTS Jackson on January 22-24, 2014. I’ve been a fan of Dr. Ellis ever since a) I found out we were in the same denomination and b) I read his paradigm-shifting […]
It’s every person’s dream. Imagine taking your hobby and moving it from the margins of your life to the center. Making your pastime your profession. That’s what seminary is for me. Ever since I became a Christian I knew I would go to seminary. It’s odd. I don’t know how it came about. Seminary certainly […]
It has happened to nearly every African American I know, and it continues happening to this day. “Shopping while Black”. If you’re unfamiliar with this terminology, let me explain. Imagine you walk into a store–you could be alone or with friends, with people of your same race or others–and you begin to browse. You may […]
Happy RAANiversary! One year ago today we launched the RAANetwork website. The date was deliberate. October 31st is Reformation Day–a fitting anniversary to commemorate the Reformed African American Network (RAAN) because of why we exist. RAAN exists to fuel modern reformation in the African American community with a multi-ethnic mindset. We fuel that reformation by […]
Many scholars, pastors, and church leaders teach that the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation is all about God’s plan to save humankind from their sins. But if the whole Bible is about how God rescues human beings, doesn’t that make it all about us? [Tweet “If the whole Bible is about how God rescues […]
The University of Alabama usually makes national headlines for winning football championships, but this week’s news brought more humbling attention to the institution. The U of A Greek system has remained a “bastion of segregation” throughout the university’s history until the present day. A story broke in the campus newspaper, Crimson and White, detailing the denial of an […]
Trillia Newbell is a name you should know. This woman of God is a prolific blogger, a burgeoning conference speaker, and now she’s an author. Her forthcoming book, United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity, combines Trillia’s touching personal story with timeless biblical truth. In it she conveys her heart for a more racially and ethnically diverse […]
While many people look to the Reformed African American Network (RAAN) to represent the unified opinion of Reformed Blacks, RAAN is not the voice, it’s a microphone. Reformed Blacks Are Not Monolithic It would be a mistake–though perhaps an understandable one–to read a post on RAAN and suppose, “This is what all Reformed Blacks think […]
The biggest risk facing young, Reformed Black men is being thrust into ministry too soon. The acute need for the unique blend of theological and cultural gifts these young men offer sometimes causes churches to send them out before they’re ready. Sincere and Sincerely Misguided The landscape is littered with the crushed hopes of churches […]
