Category: Justice
The declaration we need
“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yea! we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there, they that carried us away captive, required of us a song; and they who wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.”
Continue reading “The declaration we need”We are called to work AND pray in the battle to overcome evil systems
I am working through one of my favorite chapters in the Bible: Acts 19. It has always drawn me and what I love about the study of Scripture is that each trip through a passage can yield new insights and nuances. This trip through has been no different.
Continue reading “We are called to work AND pray in the battle to overcome evil systems”The FOCUS of the disinherited
“… the child of the disinherited is like to live a heavy life. A ceiling is placed on his dreaming by the counsel of despair coming from his elders, whom experience has taught to expect little and to hope for less. If, on the other hand, the elders understand in their own experiences and lives the tremendous insight of Jesus, it is possible for them to share their enthusiasm with their children. This is the qualitative overtone springing from the depths of religious insight, and it is contagious. It will put into the hands of the child the key for unlocking the door of his hopes. It must never be forgotten that human beings can be conditioned in favor of the positive as well as the negative.” (Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited)
Dr. Tony Evans on social justice
Rioters and protestors and vandals… OH MY!
The language is already being changed… so here we go (again).
Everyone who wants nice clean lines to play and color in have ceased distinguishing between “rioters” and “protesters.” It’s so much easier with nice neat categories to say “rioters.” You know… looters… thugs… etc.
Stop.
Continue reading “Rioters and protestors and vandals… OH MY!”The slave girl and systemic oppression
I am walking through a study of Acts because our men’s Bible study is there. In working ahead, I am in Acts 16 and Paul at Philippi. This time through the story I was directed by the Spirit to look at the story through the view of the slave girl.
Continue reading “The slave girl and systemic oppression”A conversation between Bryan Stevenson and Tim Keller
Learning to live in grace, justice, and mercy. A marvelous conversation.
White folks, let’s keep learning
There is a lot to keep on being aware of in our lives and culture. This kairos moment is an opportunity for more folks to see what has been going on around us… and for a very long time.
I am a baseball guy so I love baseball movies. A classic for me is “Field of Dreams.” It’s the story of a guy in Iowa who plows up part of his cornfield to build a baseball field so Shoeless Joe Jackson can come and find some rest or reprieve in his soul after being banned from baseball decades before. It has the famous phrase: “If you build it, he will come.”
Continue reading “White folks, let’s keep learning”A HUGE call for justice from a “safe” place… and safe no more
I subscribe to Christianity Today and I’ve listened to CT Podcasts (Quick to Listen) for quite awhile. The last few months have seen a bold shift for them. This time it is a piece from the president of CT calling for a major step in justice: reparations. A loaded word that when people hear it they often just shut down.
Continue reading “A HUGE call for justice from a “safe” place… and safe no more”