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 […]
To my brothers and sisters, we must weep with those who weep. In the wake of this election, I am not primarily concerned with the well-being of our country. America is my home-in-exile, but the Church is my country and family. My primary concern is for the Church. She is deeply divided, and, to be […]
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 […]
If you’ve looked at my bio, you may have noticed something about me: I’m white. And I’m not urban white. I’m folk-music-and-chewing-tobacco white. Yet I live in the inner city and pastor at an inner city church. Lately, there’s been some talk regarding white inner city church planters and pastors like myself. There aren’t many […]
In this piece, Chris Ann highlights the undue weight placed on home ownership, and argues against it being wielded as a symbol of status, success, good investment and identity, especially in the black Christian community. Our identity is in Christ alone, not in acquiring a property. We should look forward to our Heavenly home and seek daily to find our identity in Christ alone.
This article first appeared on The Twelve blog. It has been re-posted with permission. Christina Edmondson is the Dean of Intercultural Student Development at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. You can find the original and more great content by clicking here. The Jesus of the Bible was a deeply connected, culturally credible Hebrew son. There is […]
Some of my comments on an episode of Pass The Mic have invited scrutiny and strong disagreement. In general, I accept this as part of the task of racial reconciliation and a positive sign of tackling the right topics. Due to distorted interpretations, however, I do sense the need to clarify those statements and extend their application. What […]
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 […]
One of the greatest relationships I have had has been one with a brother who was a Jewish believer. I recall when we sat down and talked about the Holocaust tragedy. The Holocaust was a tragic event, where millions of lives were lost and left a permanent scar on the World. What has been most valuable […]
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27) Everything that follows in this article hinges on the above Scripture. In order to confront racism and sexism, you have to believe in your bones that anything tearing down a man or […]
We Persevere Roundup – Foreign Policy Edition We Persevere is a roundup of items of interest concerning religious freedom at home and abroad. It is curated for RAANetwork by K.A. Ellis, Ambassador for International Christian Response. The policies that the US government enacts, the relationships it fosters and the initiatives it supports all often have […]
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 article was originally posted on Muta’s personal blog. You can find the original and more great content here. — It’s 2:55am as I’ve begun to type this. The room is dark and somber like many of the hearts of millions across America. Donald J. Trump has just won the highest office in the land, […]
Election Day is Tuesday, November 8. The International Day(s) of Prayer for the Persecuted Church are on November 6 and 13. With so many American Christians understandably anxious about the results of the election, I cannot think of a better way to frame the Election than with prayerful remembrance of faithful, marginalized Christians. Learning from […]
The genealogies of Scripture reveal the sovereign grace of God. He uses imperfect people to accomplish his perfect will.
75% of world’s population now lives without religious freedom, & the numbers continue to rise. – Pew Research Center WE PERSEVERE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 4, 2016 MIDDLE EAST: If you don’t want your concept of church planting challenged, or have your tidy sociological categories called into question, don’t watch this movie. INDONESIA: Tens of thousands […]
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 […]
Narratives, whether self-curated or imposed upon us, are strong influencing factors in creating our identities and defining the shape of our lives. For instance, Alexander Hamilton in the musical Hamilton desperately and obsessively seeks to create a narrative that is different from the one he was born into so that his identity is his own. […]
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). […]
Jesus didn’t (and doesn’t) fit neatly into any political party. His kingdom is “not of this world.” Therefore, we should expect the values and priorities of that “alien kingdom” both to transect and to transcend the political categories of the world. Jesus is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. OK. But, practically speaking, what does […]
