Consider This Before You Address "The Church"
I’m tired of seeing articles about what the church is doing wrong, how the church needs to respond to this or that issue, that all fail to address a critical need in our current society. So … for all the white Christian authors, bloggers and/or thought leaders: If you expect to reach people in “the…
Read MoreWhy I Started an Internet Radio Station (and How it Could Shape a Better America)
I promise you, this title isn’t just clickbait. I really did start an internet radio station, and I really believe it can help make things better in these (barely) United States of America. But to explain how and why, I need to start at the beginning. First, for about as long as I…
Read MoreIf Police Kill Me, Don’t Let Them Change the Narrative
Okay, y’all. I wanted to avoid writing about this, because I’m tired of writing about black people killed by police. Seriously you all, I AM TIRED OF THIS. This is not my idea of a good time. I have a birthday coming up, and I’d rather be playing video games than dissecting the hypothetical scenarios…
Read MoreWhy I Can’t Educate You Further on Racial Issues
(Editor’s Note #1: My wife and I recently traveled to Quest Church in Seattle to hear a guided conversation with Austin Channing Brown, author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. It was an excellent conversation (as is the book, I’ve been listening to it on Audible), and I thoroughly enjoyed listening…
Read MoreAn Open Letter to Blockbuster Sermon Church
(Editor’s Note: This post is a response to an actual job listing for a pastoral position. I chose for the headline a nickname for the church (from a website they referenced and/or created) rather than the actual stated church name. I did this in the hopes that, should they abandon this particular branding experiment, my…
Read MoreLifting Up Jesus Isn’t Always What You Think It Is
Sometimes all it takes to properly contextualize a verse of Scripture is to read the next one. This is John 12:32 (NIV): “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” I grew up hearing preachers and worship leaders quote John 12:32, and the application was, “we…
Read MoreBlack Panther, Blackest Movie Ever, Is Ironically Quite Conservative
One of the great ironies surrounding the phenomenon of Marvel’s latest cultural behemoth Black Panther is that a lot of Bible-believing, white evangelicals would really love it, if not for the fact that its name is remarkably similar to the revolutionary socialist political party of the 1970s. (I’m guessing the Wikipedia Black Panther disambiguation page…
Read MoreWhat Traffic Cops Can Teach Us About NFL Protests
So yesterday, on the way to church, I received a citation for speeding. It happened while I was listening to a song from my middle school years, in a blast of nostalgia. The weather was nice, I was grooving along, and before I knew it, red and blues were flashing behind me. 75 in a…
Read MoreConservatives, Just Substitute Corporal Punishment for Protesting the Anthem And You'll Get Colin Kaepernick
<![CDATA[You probably already know this, but just in case you haven't been paying attention, here is a breakdown of the main facts surrounding Colin Kaepernick: Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick made headlines last summer and fall when he chose not to stand during the national anthem that precedes every NFL game. His quiet…
Read MoreToday's Racial Microaggression Courtesy of WinCo [UPDATED]
<![CDATA[ In case any of you doubt the existence of racial micro-aggressions: I was shopping at WinCo today, and when I went to pay for the $150 or so worth of food on the checkout counter, the young lady at the counter told me that “I’m sorry, it came up declined.” I was taken aback…
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