Viral Faith

“ The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭5:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “ God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:6-7‬ ‭NLT ‬‬ “However, the Scriptures are clear that care for our neighbors includes prophetic calls to end injustice; resistance to religious, social and political systems of oppression; and identification with the poor and marginalized in society” —Elizabeth Gerhardt in The Cross and Gendercide In western Protestant Christianity, there is a proclivity toward reducing expressions of faith to private and personal interactions.  Yet, for the most part, the Scriptures in which we base our convictions upon, are largely looking community appr...

“Leadership is not about the conference room or the boardroom; it is all about the battlefield. Leadership is always about verbs, action. It is not about the safety of ideas (as important as that might be), but about implementation and movement in the face of opposition. And that takes courage.” — Crawford Loritts in Leadership As An Identity “ The descendants of Joseph responded, “It’s true that the hill country is not large enough for us. But all the Canaanites in the lowlands have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shan and its surrounding settlements and those in the valley of Jezreel. They are too strong for us.”” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭17:16‬ ‭NLT ‬‬ I have been studying the book of Joshua which details the ancient Israelite community’s move into to present day Palestine and the stories of their journey.  The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for much of the previous 450 years when, God told their leader Joshua (name literally means God saves) that He was literally taking the p...

“The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12:37‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “Typically, many white people search for the one black person who holds the same positions and perspectives as they do, and then prop that person up as verification of their own beliefs. Taking a riskier and more teachable posture—allowing an entire community to speak into their lives—would ultimately result in changing their operating definitions.” — Drew Hart in The Trouble I've Seen I have been blessed to be part of movements and institutions that seek peace and the wholeness of all.     I was born in the height of the civil rights movement and remember the toil and sacrifices that were made by so many, to achieve opportunities to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.  From my perspective, the civil rights movement is the most patriotic movement of all time as it sacrificially demanded fulfillment of the American creed, that was written in the founding of the nation, but never fu...

“Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:26‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “Dignity is God’s signature written on the soul of every human being.” — Crawford Loritts in Leadership As An Identity This weekend, the world was shocked to see white supremacist and hate groups gathering in Charlottesville Virginia.  It was shocking, not just because of the size and scope of the protest, but because of the depth of the hatred expressed by these groups.  Naturally, hate spills into violence.  Article after article now confirms that the violence was not just a "protest gone awry" but a staged, well organized plan of violence . In the aftermath of this violence which resulted in death and many injuries, was a dagger plunged into the collective soul of America.  It's not fatal, but it ...

“Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side— leaders whose decrees permit injustice? They gang up against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭94:20-21‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “For I believe the crisis in the U.S. church has almost nothing to do with being liberal or conservative; it has everything to do with giving up on the faith and discipline of our Christian baptism and settling for a common, generic U.S. identity that is part patriotism, part consumerism, part violence, and part affluence.” — Walter Brueggeman in A Way Other Than Our Own The last year has revealed some very interesting things about the institutional church and the theological tribe within Christianity known as evangelicals.  Evangelicalism, which was known as a theological distinction within Protestantism,  now is known more for the political ideologies in which it has become associated with over the past 30 years.  So, those outside of Evangelicalism, understand its affiliatio...

" Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced " --James Baldwin " I could no longer sit around in Paris discussing America.  I had to come and pay my dues ." --James Baldwin For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not  first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?  (Luke 14:28) I had the privilege to watch the documentary  "I am not your negro"  that chronicled the perspective and the works of James Baldwin.  James Baldwin was an African American novelist, intellectual, and social critic who wrote and spoke for the African American experience in an nearly unparalleled manner for over 30 years from the 1950's to the 1980's.  His writing and speaking style combines the richness of many streams of literature and applied them to the tragedy of the African American experience resulting in work that is as elegant as it is provocative in nature. In the documen...

It is important to remember that there has never been a conservative prophet.  Prophets were never made to conserve social order that stratified inequities of power, prestige, and wealth.  Prophets were always called to change them so all would have the fullest access to the best fruits of life. --Obrey M Hendrick in "The Universe Bends Towards Justice" One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that should always pray and never give up...Learn a lesson form the unjust judge.  Even he rendered a just decision in the end.  So don't you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night?  Will he keep putting them off?  I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the Earth who have faith? --Luke 18:1, 7-8 (NLT) The first 6 weeks of 2017 have been remarkable in almost every sense.  The election of Donald Trump to President of the United Stat...