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Stand Fast: When the Race Conversation Turns Hostile
Guest post by Isaac Adams
I thank God for folks who speak biblically about race. Whether it’s a black mom teaching her children that they also bear God’s image, or a white sister writing a prophetic blog post—there are many brothers and sisters take up this worthwhile battle…
Race: A Topic Worth Speaking About
Editors are constantly encouraging me to develop a catchy introduction that captures readers’ attention right away to encourage further reading. And so when I was thinking through sharing thoughts about why writing on race and ethnicity can be difficult, I literally thought I’d just skip the introduction and get straight to the facts. Why do that? Because writing about race is so incredibly hard. Some even go so far as to question the need to read and process material about race.
The Monolithic Black Community and Frequently Asked Questions
A few weeks ago I tweeted: If you look at your Black friends, coworkers, writers etc. and think they can only contribute to race conversations, this is wrong and narrow…
Valuing the Lives of All Mankind
Note from Trillia: Over the next few posts, I’ll have a small number of guests at my site sharing their thoughts, concerns, and prayers for our nation and, more specifically, the American church as we think through the recent shootings and the state of our nation. Today I welcome Catherine Parks. Catherine was one of my first friends when I moved to the Nashville area. We went from online friends interacting on trivial things to, after one meeting, dear friends pouring out our hearts on all matters of subjects related to marriage, children, church, writing and race. At that point, I knew she’d be a treasure of a friend who would help sharpen my thinking and increase my love for my Savior. I hope you’ll listen in on what she has to share today…
Is Racial Harmony a Black Issue?
This past week found much of America mourning and grieving over the deaths of two Black men at the hands of police, both caught on video, and then the tragic death of five officers at the hands of a sniper. These shootings have left us asking the same questions I believe we’ve been asking over the past few years, but this time something has changed. What has typically been a discussion predominantly among African Americans has now found an increasing amount of white voices speaking out—it’s not enough, but it’s a start…
The Black Man’s Stereotype and a Jim Crow Photo
What I am about to write is more like a note to a friend than it is a fully developed article or post. I wanted to quickly highlight something I saw in a New York Timesarticle about the lady in a Jim Crow photo…
Why I think the Christian ought to care about race ‘issues’
This is straight from my heart to my keyboard to my site—right now. This won’t be carefully crafted, mulled-over for days words. I’ve been praying and so here is what I’ve been wondering. Why is the topic of racial injustice, discrimination, prejudice, hate, etc. still so polarizing in our country, especially among Christians?
Our Interracial Marriage and the Gospel
Earlier this week, the ERLC featured this video of my husband, Thern, and me discussing our marriage and the Lord’s faithfulness to us. We were honored to have the opportunity to document what the Lord has done and hope you’ll take a minute to watch. What God has brought together let no man separate…
Ferguson and My White-Looking Son
If you’ve been reading my work, you already know that I am a black woman married to a white man. I have two children, both of which are unique blends of the best of my husband and me. They are unique for biracial children, mostly because they could easily pass as white—only. My son has the most distinctively white features, namely his fair skin and bone-straight fine hair. On more than one occasion when we’ve been out together, I’ve been asked if I was the babysitter or the nanny. His ethnicity is undeniably difficult to pin down. And as I’ve watched the horror in Ferguson, MO unfold, I couldn’t help but wonder what it will be like for my son as he grows into a young man. My experience will be significantly different than his, simply because of the generation gap, but most definitely as well because of the color of his skin…
Pastors Pursuing Diversity: Interview with Dave Furman
Dave Furman moved to the Arabian Peninsula in 2008 to plant Redeemer Church of Dubai and help start a church planting movement. Dave serves as the Senior Pastor of Redeemer Church of Dubai—Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Pastors Pursuing Diversity: Interview with J.D. Greear
Pastors Pursuing Diversity: Interview with J.D. Greear
Pastors Pursuing Diversity: Interview with Wes Van Fleet
Wes Van Fleet is the Associate Pastor of Kaleo Church in El Cajon, Ca. He has served in various capacities for over 4 years and has been a pastor for a year.
Pastors Pursuing Diversity: Interview with Steve Henderson
Steve Henderson is the pastor of Munich International Community Church in Munich, Germnay. He has served that congregation since 1999.
Pastors Pursuing Diversity: An Interview with John Erickson
John Erickson is the Lead Pastor of Jubilee Community Church in Minneapolis, MN. He and his wife, along with one other couple, began Jubilee in 2009.
Pastors Pursuing Diversity: An Interview with Irwyn Ince
Irwyn Ince is the pastor of City of Hope Church in Columbia, MD. He helped start the church in 2007.
Pastors Pursuing Diversity: An Interview with Lance Lewis
Rev. Lance E. Lewis is theSenior Pastor of Soaring Oaks Presbyterian Churchin Elk Grove CA. He has been at Soaring Oak for six months but has served as a pastor for well over ten years.
Pastors Pursuing Diversity: An Interview with David E. Prince
David E. Prince is the Pastor of Preaching and Vision at Ashland Avenue Baptist Church and an Assistant Professor of Christian Preaching and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been a pastor at Ashland for ten years.
United and my pastor’s interest in me
I’ve been doing some reflecting as the release of Unitednears. I’ve been thinking about my old church and how United came to be. I never forced my opinion about the racial makeup of my old congregation. I was asked. My pastor sent me an email asking my thoughts about John Piper’s book Bloodlines. He asked me to read and review it. His interest wasn’t merely in the book; rather he wanted to know how he could serve his congregants better. This began a series of email exchanges where I shared more honestly about some of the struggles I experienced and that others may experience as one of the few African Americans at the time.
Pastors Pursuing Diversity: Interview with Jeff Noble
Over the next few months, I will be conducting interviews with pastors who are pursuing diversity in their congregations. You can read more about the series in the introduction.
The questions are geared to help pastors and congregations in the pursuit of diversity in the church and all of life. All of the views, opinions, and suggestions are that of the interviewee. The goal of the series is to provide a resource from a variety of pastors, and therefore opinions may also vary…
Pastors Pursuing Diversity Series Introduction
United explores the importance of pursuing diversity in the church by sharing my unique experiences growing up in the south and attending a predominately white church. I champion the theology of diversity throughout the book, looking at Scripture and providing compelling reasons to pursue diversity. I do this primarily by weaving in story describing my friendship with two women of different ethnicities…
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