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Good Friday — Judgment and Mercy
The cross of Christ is critical in the life of the believer. This year, it is a stark symbol for our time. We need to pay attention. The way of the Cross is the way of humiliation. Our God is not the vengeful, warrior God. He is not about “conquering” the way we think in current American conservative Christian practice.…
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Leaving Evangelical spaces does not mean you’re leaving whiteness
Too often we get our minds set for objection when we hear something like “whiteness.” We get arguments ready, like, “I can’t help being born white.” We don’t stop to think through terms and so we choose to be offended and cut off everything that follows.
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The image bearers and a broken creation
We are reading through Lisa Sharon Harper’s excellent book The Very Good Gospel in a small group at our church for Lent. It is a powerful book focusing on the broken relationships we see all around and the longing to restore shalom in the world. One example: When we deprive people of the ability to exercise dominion (agency) and then…
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Evangelical reckoning
Staying silent does me no good. It is long past time for white evangelicals to call out injustice, bigotry, violent rhetoric, disparaging language, racism, misogyny, abuse of power, and the idolatry of Christian nationalism in their own communities, even if doing so comes at a cost. The cost of not doing so is undeniable, and it is a cost largely…
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Atlanta, racism, misogyny, and evangelicals
Our long-running stubbornness to not stop and have some serious conversations is becoming so incredibly toxic… and exposed. As conservative American Christians we seriously need to stop and examine our lives. Instead, we make excuses, put up walls, and keep fortifying our crumbling positions.
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Mercy is not always received
Now say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem: This is what the Lord says: I am a potter preparing a disaster for you; I’m working out a plan against you. So each one of you, turn from your evil ways; reform your ways and your actions. But they said, “What’s the use! We will follow our…
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The Gospel and “Defund the Police”
One of the mantras conservative white Christians have decided to “debunk” so we can get back to our safety bunkers is “Defund the Police.” It really caught our attention after the murder of George Floyd.
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Incarnational ministry at the border
My wife and I have spent the week on the border of Texas and Mexico. The number one lesson I’ve learned when it comes to opinions about immigration: we all have opinions about immigration. Also, most opinions that get shared from either viewpoint (“pro” immigrant or “anti” immigrant) in a wider audience come from people not here. The immigration issue…
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“Being saved” and “getting to heaven”
When we have typically thought of the gospel in western evangelicalism, it has been around the questions like, “How are my sins forgiven?” and “How do I get to heaven?” N.T. Wright turns my thinking in a different direction:
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The reckoning we don’t recognize
Earlier this week, I gave some links to issues regarding black brothers and sisters leaving white evangelical spaces. Now, the Southern Baptists are losing Beth Moore. (I am sure many them think this is a GLAD moment for them.) Her departure is “tectonic in its reverberations,” said Jemar Tisby, the president of a Black Christian collective called the Witness. “Beth…
