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Of Politics and Harry Potter: Loving in the “Gray”
Aug 28, 2024 An Author Interview My friend and colleague Dr. Craig Schill, Lead Pastor at the Grove Community Church in Rowlett, Texas, delivered a great presentation at the “GO Conference” in Burke, Virginia, several months ago. I found his content timely, well researched, and full of grace and truth. So I asked him to share some of his research with our readers. Craig wrote a book titled Gray Church you need to know about. Here’s how he answered some key questions about it: SG: What gave you the idea to write Gray Church? CS: When our kids were little, well-meaning Christians reprimanded my wife and me for letting them…
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United in Spirit
The world is looking for the proverbial “Home on the Range.” The place where never is heard a discouraging word. God has built the Church to be that Home.
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Post Election: Where Do We Go from Here?
At the time of this writing, the numbers say 74,939,396 US citizens voted one way and 70,636,322 voted the opposite. The final numbers will differ some. But regardless of what the final numbers are, that is a lot of difference. NBC broke down the race-based religious data. And they found this—which will come as no surprise: Among white Protestants, 73 percent voted for President Trump, and 26 percent voted for President-elect Biden. Pew Research paints a different picture for Blacks: 90 percent of Black Protestant registered voters backed Biden. Christianity Today reported, based on National Election Pool results, that nationally Trump took 40 percent of the Latino vote; Biden took 59 percent. …
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Homogeneity is Easy (But Unity’s Better)
Can I be frank with you? Homogeneity is easy. Whole cultures exist where people have common stories and experiences, surrounded by people who speak the same language (both literally and figuratively). Exhausted from the fractalization, Americans daydream of such utopia, like Camelot or Wakanda or maybe Finland. Meanwhile across our melting pot, we don’t share anything but angst. Is holding a door patriarchal or polite? Does our compliment show appreciation or reveal underlying racism? Requiring masks wise or a lack of faith? Is there any politician, educator, or mommy blogger who isn’t accused of being extreme and trying to ruin the country? Chasms cut and crosscut the nation, including…
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Racism: My Journey
Today I’m happy to host guest blogger Ver-lee Cheneweth. As a seminary student, I must complete two assignments to graduate—called an Agape Project—that blend biblical-theological learning with community service to cultivate growth in compassion. But I wondered what project I would do. Then on May 25, a 46-year-old Black man, George Floyd, died in police custody after allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes. The videos from bystanders showing the white policeman, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, even while Mr. Floyd repeatedly cried, “I can’t breathe!” horrified me. I felt the rage over Mr. Floyd’s death, but I didn’t understand the…
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un-cursory
Victoria Monet shares a poem relevant to many conversations about race on social media. In her poem "un-cursory," she highlights themes of humility and redemptive relationships in light of racial reconciliation.
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A Prayer for Unity
John 17:1–11 is part of the lectionary readings for the seventh Sunday of Easter, May 24th. Jesus’ petition is often called His high priestly prayer. In the Old Testament, the high priest had a special role in representing God’s people. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place in the temple to make atonement for the sins of the nation (Lev 16:5–17). Yet, the blood of bulls and goats was only a temporary, anticipative substitute for the spotless Lamb of God. At the divinely appointed time, He offered Himself as the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice of atonement for our sins (Rom 3:23–26; Heb…
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Christianity is a Team Sport
“I have a relationship with the Lord, I’m still a Christian I just don’t do CHURCH anymore.” This is the frequent cry of the wandering diaspora of detached believers. There are typically two things that contribute to the lone soldier syndrome in the Christian faith: intense cultural individuality, and what many people call “church hurt.” While both are genuinely felt by many yet neither are biblical excuses to neglect “meeting together.” (Hebrew 10:24-25) I used to quote the scripture above as the only biblical reference that points to the “togetherness” of the expression of our Christian faith. But it turns out that scripture is full of references that underline the…
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Is there anything too hard for God?
On Saturday I experienced quite possibly the most diverse moment of worship within the body of Christ that I have ever imagined. I can only describe this collective experience as a glimpse into what heavenly worship will look like. In an era where socio-political, racial, ethnic and national unrest seems to rule the day, there has never been a time when the church so desperately needs to move closer. The church must be an earthly representation of this heavenly reality—where every tribe and every nation stand in concert with each other before our God. (Revelation 7:9-10) Within the walls of enculturated bias, where you cringe to hear the measure…
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Enjoying Halloween??? – Culturally Acceptable and Spiritually Divisive
I did a definition search on the word “hallow.” The basic definition is, holy. I searched for the meaning of the suffix “een.” IIt is considered to be a contraction of the word “evening.” It seems to have in its definition the meaning of “not something” Evening is the time between day and night. It is neither. So what do Christians do with a holiday that is not holy but is between? October 31st has been dubbed Halloween. The name fits well. It is not truly holy, but it is not completely evil either, and considered by some even neutral. Some use this holiday to decorate in a fall theme,…
