When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? Psalm 56:3-4, ESV Children are easy to scare. It doesn’t take much. They’re afraid of the dark. They’re afraid of strangers. They’re even afraid […]
In Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Tim Keller recently described Western Christianity’s inability to make meaning out of suffering. However, the African American church tradition represents a notable exception to the general inability of American Christianity to suffer well. Redemptive suffering is a widespread and deeply cherished belief within the Black church tradition, […]
Monday’s Meditation The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22, ESV) New Years is one of the most fascinating times of the year in regards to the human heart. We all anxiously look forward to a new beginning. It’s a […]
Editor’s Note: This is the beginning of a new weekly series entitled Meditation Monday, a weekly devotional that aims to make much of God in the lives of our readers through sound biblical exposition. We produce these for God’s glory and your joy. Join us every Monday. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and […]
Leaving a black church and entering into the world of a predominately white reformed church is a hard transition as a black person. Pride, bitterness and loneliness can consume one in such an environment where you might be challenged, misunderstood and alienated, often times unintentionally. To help prevent this, we must remind others going through […]
I am ignorant. I have a confession to make. Until a few months ago, I was almost entirely ignorant of the issues addressed here on RAAN. My view of racism was tremendously truncated. I was not aware of the subdominant and dominant culture group dynamics and had not given much thought to the problem of […]
The holidays are here. It’s an exciting time of the year. Imagining gifts, food, friends and family; it’s a great time for many people. Many families have different traditions that involve some type of service to the poor. As well many churches and ministries have programs that are centralized on giving freely to the poor. […]
With a history spanning several hundred years, the Roman Empire was one of the most powerful empires in the history of humankind. In the First Century, Augustus became its first emperor and ruled from roughly 27 BC to 14 AD. He is credited with helping achieve 40 years of internal peace and prosperity in the […]
I was outside not too long ago with my boys enjoying that one tried and true memory that every childhood must possess – blowing bubbles! I had the honor of blowing the bubbles and my boys had the happy yet empty privilege of catching the bubbles. I use “empty” because the task is one in […]
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 […]
It’s happened to all of us. If you are a writer, public speaker, teacher, or communicator of any kind, you have felt misunderstood. You work long and hard to make a particular point about yourself or an idea. You try to live your life in a way that honors the Lord and loves your neighbor. […]
If there is one thing that humans all have in common it is the desire to make meaning out of life and to do so in a community that gives us a sense that we matter to others. We long for connection, love, and validation. We want to know that our life matters now and […]
It is absolutely impossible to go through life without any affection for anything. Many of us have experienced these affections in relationships or family, in the first car we received, in the new pair of shoes we just bought, or fill in the blank. Whether we like it or not, there are people that we […]
Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. Proverbs 11:14 Proverbs 11:14 speaks volumes in the context of the black community. It is no secret that African American communities tend to be plagued with poor school systems, poor medical access, high incarceration rates, broken families, and of […]
Every now and then I run across a series of studies that makes me wonder if white progressives are among the most narcissistic cohort of professionals in America. There seems to be this pervasive myth that simply being around white people adds value to the flourishing of blacks in America. This myth often extends to interpreting data […]
In one of my favorite scenes in The Return of the King, Gandalf and Pippin are defending Minas Tirith. The battle rages all around them. In a stolen moment of calm before the next onslaught of the enemy—with the thudding of a monstrous troll breaking down the door in the background—Pippin says, “I didn’t think […]
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 […]
Editor’s Note: This is an unofficial addition to a much needed conversation taking place at christenacleveland.com entitled “Black to School: African-American Voices at Christian University”, a 7-part series that aims “to affirm and give voice to the long-silenced stories of black students.” As an alumnus of a Christian University, I thought it might be helpful to […]
Smoke & Mirrors As an avid sports fan, I tend to keep current with the events of the sporting world. From baseball to football, hockey to English Premier League Soccer, I try to catch it all. Even with all of that, my favorite sport is and forever will be basketball. I love the highs and […]
Today, my daughter Amber broke her glasses. It was not something she had intended to experience, or even thought would be possible. It just happened. Immediately, she began to cry and ran to me to comfort her. She did not try to fix her glasses, blame someone, or hide what happened. Amber just ran to […]
