Whereas many white evangelicals and former evangelicals are in a painful season of deconstructing their belief system… evangelicals and former evangelicals of color have an additional gargantuan task: decolonizing their faith.
Tag Archives: faith
Stay Curious
“How do you fight cynicism? Stay curious.” This is my third year teaching at a school in the Kansas City area. Each of the past two years we have begun back-to-school teacher training with a sermon from a local pastor, a message reminding us of our duty to mold the children and young men andContinue reading “Stay Curious”
He Knew How to Keep Christmas Well
…and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see theContinue reading “He Knew How to Keep Christmas Well”
“Waiting Is an Art”
“…And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that all our ideas are wrong, and that what we take to be evil and dark is really good and light because it comes from God. Our eyesContinue reading ““Waiting Is an Art””
Yes, You Can!
I really don’t like prosperity preachers (do we remember the private jet fundraising debacle?); the worldview they offer is so hollow and contradictory both to Scripture and basic human experience. The biblical narrative is pretty clear: God made all things perfect, the first humans fell from grace in an attempt to become divine themselves, God beganContinue reading “Yes, You Can!”
Rooted, Unrooted: Can I Settle in without Settling for the American Dream?
Ever since college, really, I have struggled with the tension of being rooted versus being unrooted (not uprooted per se). In college I was in a serious relationship, and when that relationship ended, I realized, looking back, that I was in it for all the wrong reasons. I wanted the perfect, idyllic life (as I saw it).Continue reading “Rooted, Unrooted: Can I Settle in without Settling for the American Dream?”
What I’m Missing Even When I Have It All
…contentment. I find contentment to be so elusive. It’s been that way nearly all my life. You know what? Since I flew to South America in 2014 for ten weeks in Ecuador and Peru, I have not lived in the same place for more than a year (until now). my story In 2014, despite myContinue reading “What I’m Missing Even When I Have It All”
Macbeth, the anti-David
Just the other day, my class was performing skits of various scenes in the life of David before becoming king of Israel (and the king of Israel’s brief Golden Age). As I was sharing a few personal thoughts to the end of one performance, I suddenly realized just how closely it paralleled the storyContinue reading “Macbeth, the anti-David”
Till We Have Faces: My Blog’s New Look
About a year and a half ago I began this blog primarily as a literary resource for students when I was teaching in El Salvador. I posted on the blog, but it was usually in a literary or educational capacity: a creative attempt to engage with my students. When I moved back to theContinue reading “Till We Have Faces: My Blog’s New Look”
Reflecting on Another Mass Shooting
4% of the town population was obliterated. Eight members of a single family were killed. The gunman’s grandmother-in-law could not avoid the destruction. Even the pastor’s daughter died yesterday. It was denounced as an act of evil. It was evil. I don’t know much about the shooter. No one does yet. It’s been barely 24 hoursContinue reading “Reflecting on Another Mass Shooting”
a great, real place 