Black love has had to exist within the context of racial trauma. From the streets of daily life to corporate, academic institutions, religious spaces, and political platforms, Black people have had to live and manage their inner rage.
Reflection Roundup: Crisis Prioritizes Care
How might we feel sorry in ways that reveal the flood-to-cross character of God, and reflect this to the world around us?
“Believing Is Seeing” by Errol Morris
Seeing is believing, right? If you can’t trust a photograph, what can you trust? By the end of this book you’ll be rethinking that. (Nonfiction)
Faith Development and Women
Considering differences in learning and faith development between genders adds another layer of understanding that will hopefully lead to greater effectiveness in teaching and ministry.
Religious Services in the Age of COVID-19: Results From a Recent Survey (Part 2)
A follow-up piece reporting data and takeaways from an October 2020 survey of churchgoers about how the pandemic has impacted them and their congregations.
Reflection Roundup: We Really Are Better Together
We, the people of this common space of earth, were created by a communal God. Who do we think we are, so often going it alone?
“GraceLand” by Chris Abani
The literary voices coming from all over Africa are incredibly diverse, and as more and more men and women share their stories, they turn out to be very compelling indeed. (Fiction)
A Lesson in Hermeneutics
Readers of Scripture are inherently also interpreters of Scripture, and if we are not careful with our interpretation, or if we are ignorant of how we interpret, then we can dangerously warp and misuse Scripture.
Three Things You Cannot Do When Your Church Splits
At some point your church will split. It may not be official, but it will happen. Leaders decide not to change certain things and people leave. Or you decide to change things and people leave.
Reflection Roundup: Where’s the Learning Here?
Do our biggest challenges lie in relation to one another? This week let us fasten our truth-belts and remember our “enemy is not flesh and blood” (Eph. 6:12).
“These Truths” by Jill Lepore
In the media age where politics tend to be formed in the last 15 minutes, this book goes a long way toward giving us the context we need. (Nonfiction)
Own It
Speaking to an audience can be a conspicuous and vulnerable place, just like being a female minister.
Reflection Roundup: A New Offering From the Siburt Institute
This week’s offering represents a concerted effort to facilitate agility in taking on others’ perspectives as the current crises continue.
“The Noise of Time” by Julian Barnes
The book makes you wonder how you would do in those moments when life itself might be at stake. How far would you be willing to compromise on your convictions to protect yourself and your family? (Fiction)
Four Fears and a Christian Response
These four fears stifle creativity and appear so commonly in congregations that I want to share them with you and offer a theological response.
The Emptiness of Outrage and the Possibilities of Humility
Too many Christians today are trying to be like traditional fishermen, more obsessed with killing than with catching people alive.
Breathing Lessons
Although the app I was using intended this breath practice to inspire self confidence, it triggered my memory of the practice of breath prayers.
“How Pleasure Works” by Paul Bloom
Why is it that I find freshly baked chocolate chip cookies almost irresistible and the much better for me Brussels sprouts almost intolerable? (Nonfiction)
Leadership Requires Listening
As we talk about taking initiative – getting things done quickly, efficiently, and innovatively – the reminder at the end is stark: learn to listen!
What Will it Take for the Next Revival?
I have often said that I think we are on the verge of the next big evangelistic revival. Here are the five things that will help it to happen.