Jarvis Williams highlights the plight of women in churches and addresses how they could often be forgotten figures in the quest for racial reconciliation.
Author: Jarvis Williams
Jarvis J. Williams is an associate professor of New Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He’s is the author of numerous books, including a Galatians commentary (Cascade, 2020). He also serves as a teaching pastor at Sojourn Community Church Midtown in Louisville. You can follow him on Twitter @drjjwilliams.
Another controversy has erupted in the US government regarding gender, race, and white male domination. Senator Elizabeth Warren (a white woman from Massachusetts) was silenced by Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (a white man from Kentucky) in the US Senate for reading a letter from a black civil rights icon Coretta Scott King, opposing Jeff […]
One of the puzzling things about the synoptic gospels is the baptism of Jesus. John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). And Jesus was baptized by John (Mark 1:9). The question is why? Was Jesus a sinner in need of repentance? The emphatic answer is no! What’s […]
Jarvis Williams explains why the Trump administration’s idea of alternative facts can be harmful to minorities and the marginalized.
Racial reconciliation can be a lonely path for the black and brown (and especially Reformed) Christian. This piece highlights a few reasons why. American Evangelical Movement Predominately White Black and brown evangelical Christians are the minority in the American evangelical movement. In fact, white privilege and racism are closely connected with the historical origins of […]
A new year brings new expectations, challenges, hopes, and dreams. This particular new year of 2017 will soon bring a new president. We’re days away from the inauguration of President-elect Trump. And this brings fear to some and jubilation to others. But in this new year filled with so many uncertainties and expectations, Christians should […]
Jarvis Williams details what Obama’s presidency has meant to him and his family, and how he will miss him though he didn’t agree with some of Obama’s politics.
The primary focus of Matthew 18-20 teaches on the kingdom of heaven. In previous verses, Jesus answers the question who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He answers that everyone who faithfully follows him is the greatest in the kingdom. Matthew 18:15-35 teaches on the responsibility of kingdom-citizens to exercise church discipline when necessary, […]
The US has historically privileged Christianity. This privilege allowed folks in the culture to believe that American identity is equivalent to Christian identity. There are those who identify vaguely with certain ideas of the Christian faith without actually demonstrating a clear commitment to the teachings of Jesus. But Jesus teaches us that God will judge […]
When you hear the phrase “white supremacy,” you might naturally associate it with violent, white hate groups that assaulted, harassed, and murdered people of color in the 1900s to create and preserve a white society. In my view, this is a narrow understanding of white supremacy. Certainly, the above definition is an example of white […]
The holiday season is my favorite time of the year. It kicks off with Thanksgiving. On this Thanksgiving Day, there are many things for which Christians should be thankful. Perhaps the two most important are Jesus’ substitutionary death for our sins and his bodily resurrection from the dead, without which there is no salvation (1 […]
Many Christians of color are stunned by the support the president-elect received from white evangelicals. They’re not only stunned, but many have expressed feelings of deception and betrayal by their white brothers and sisters (and black and brown brothers and sisters) in Christ who voted for the president-elect despite his racist and offensive rhetoric against […]
The presidential election is finally over! But the results are shocking! Trump won the presidency by an enormous landslide. His victory has brought joy to many, but grief and fear into the lives of others. Minorities, immigrants, and Muslims are especially anxious by Trump’s victory due to the many statements that he made during his […]
This election season has brought out the worst in many. During the primaries, candidates slandered, mocked, and publicly shamed their opponents. We’ve seen power abused to advance campaigns. During the general election, we’ve seen both candidates lie and Trump dishonor women and ethnic minorities. But this election season has also brought out the worst in […]
Jesus is a friend of “all” kinds of sinners from different backgrounds. We see this in Mark 7. Here he confronts some Pharisees and scribes (religious people who rejected him), heals a Gentile woman’s daughter (a woman with a different ethnicity from his), and healed a deaf and mute man (a person with special needs). […]
The doctrine of justification by faith was a central belief of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformers believed the church had forgotten this doctrine, and they believed that to lose this doctrine was to lose the gospel. In this October anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, we Protestants would do well to meditate on justification by faith. […]
By now, everyone in the U.S. should be well aware of the Access Hollywood tape recording Donald Trump and Billy Bush making lewd comments about women. On the tape, they also laugh about how Trump’s celebrity status grants him the privilege and the right to do whatever he wants to women. In light of this […]
In spite of numerous racial tensions in the U.S. in recent months, there are still Christians who choose to remain silent about reconciliation and justice. They continue to remain steadfast in the belief that the gospel of Jesus Christ has nothing to do with rectifying the racial divide. In fact, a prominent white evangelical celebrity […]
Against challenging odds, many African-Americans have been able to achieve tremendous accomplishments in their American experience. In an age in which there are still many challenges plaguing certain African-American communities (e.g. broken families, violence, poverty, etc.), we as African-Americans must remind ourselves of our many amazing achievements in U.S. history. Especially since African-Americans had to […]
A shooting involving the police and Keith Lamont Scott has once again sparked outrage in our country. Currently, Charlotte, NC is experiencing much unrest due to this police shooting and the response of some protesters in the aftermath. The frustration and the violent protests in Charlotte on Wednesday night were not altered by the fact […]
