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Charlottesville One Year Later: A Call for the Church to Unify
*Just over a year ago, the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA resulted in death and division, showcasing the deep tensions surrounding race relations in our country. Today, most Americans feel the divide has only increased. The reminders below are a call for the global church to highlight the unity and dignity of all human beings. Like many of you, I watched in disbelief as white supremacists spouted bigotry, violence, and KKK rhetoric last weekend at a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA. For a brief summary of the weekend’s events and aftermath, see:https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/13/us/charlottesville-virginia-overview.html I’ve noted two common responses to the persistent racial and political divide in our…
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WHO DOES GOD WANT TO TRAIN OUR CHILDREN?
I was encouraged, by a dear friend, to read the article, “Five Reasons Why the Children’s Minister Is the Staff Position in Greatest Demand.” Here is the link to the article: http://thomrainer.com/2018/02/five-reasons-childrens-minister-staff-position-greatest-demand/ Most of the comments were from people concerned about who they thought should be teaching our children about God. I was left with the question in my own heart: Just who is God holding responsible to teach our children and what does it mean to meet that responsibility? There are very few easy answers when it comes to raising children. Take schooling for instance… Children are schooled in public, private, and boarding schools; while still others homeschool. We…
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Three Responses to Charlottesville
Like many of you, I watched in disbelief as white supremacists spouted bigotry, violence, and KKK rhetoric last weekend at a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA. For a brief summary of the weekend’s events and aftermath, see: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/13/us/charlottesville-virginia-overview.html I’ve noted two common responses to the persistent racial and political divide in our country: 1) Us vs. Them. Whether it’s Democrat vs. Republican, black vs. white, black vs. blue, male vs. female, gays vs. straights, or Cowboys vs. Redskins, a “vs.” in the middle necessarily puts one group in complete opposition to another. Dividing ourselves into ideological categories is a natural way of expressing our identity, heritage, and values.…
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Six Ways to Grow in Unity
I’ve been disturbed by the trend to disagree without unity within the body of Christ, not only in this putrid political climate but also within churches. Belittling Christians who don’t agree with us or treating them as enemies is undermining our unity, which Jesus clearly identified as the way the world would see the reality of who he is (John 17:20-23). So it’s no small thing! We are divided by our backgrounds, life experiences, the biases of the teaching and preaching that we hear, and the people we hang with. (And yes, we all have biases because of pride and the preconceived ideas that we fail to recognize.) Is it…
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The Deep South: How Culture Hinders Unity
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Christian Parenting Mistakes- #1 Rules versus Relationship
When teaching a group of missionaries’ children about our identity in Christ. I talked about God as our Father. I read to them the verses in Hebrews 12:5-11 NET Bible "And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons? ‘My son, do not scorn the Lord’s discipline or give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts. . .’ I talked about how God as creator is the expert about what is best for us. He says that for a parent to love their children well they must both train them in the ways…
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Married and Single: A United Church
This week I'm happy to feature guest columnist Angela Cirocco, a full-time seminary student who works as the nurse manager at Southwest Pregnancy Center in Duncanville, Texas. The men and women of Katie’s small group met separately most weeks. As the only single person in a group of couples, she felt less awkward with this arrangement. But Sarah, the group leader, announced that the next week they would all meet together. Because two new couples were joining, Sarah explained, “We don’t want them to walk in alone to the gender-separate groups. That may make them uncomfortable.” Katie sank low in her chair. She thought, why don’t you notice that I…
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The Velveteen Christian
Our world is made up of a constant cacophony of voices. Truth, lies, myths, imaginations, and opinions fill our world with dissidence and confusion. We have information overload. It is difficult to discern who can be trusted because of the spin, the agendas, the omitted facts or the inserted insinuations that twist and distort. When I think of celebrating “Easter” once again after over fifty years, my heart is moved to get it right this time. To REALLY celebrate! As I have been praying about this, the Lord reminded me of my favorite story, the Velveteen Rabbit. I reflected on the conversation between Horse and Rabbit about becoming real. "What…
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Bottling Civility: Talking Tough Topics with Your Church Family
As iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens his friend. Prov. 27:17 (NET) When I first posted this blog in 2017, I had no idea how much more polarization could impact our culture. So, I am posting an updated version in hopes that you and your church family can communicate in a God-honoring way. I have frequently found myself in conversations where I disagreed with members of my church family. To my surprise and theirs, even when presented with the same issue or topic, we have come to different conclusions. I believe the ingredients to talking respectfully with your church family are similar to the ones that foster civility in…
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Teaching Children to Respect Another’s Culture: A Look into Islam
Media coverage and conversations are everywhere about the President’s order to suspend visa entry into the U.S. from seven countries that have predominately Muslim populations. Our children are watching and listening. Unless we are proactive they will become afraid. Fear is one of Satan’s greatest tools for chaos. Throughout the Bible we are command to “fear not.” Fear of the unknown drives many to act in unwise and unkind ways. Knowledge based on facts can help us trust God and free us to treat others with kindness. As parents/teachers/Christian leaders we need to be examples. Let's teach our children to respect all people. Let's alleviate fear by teaching respectfully about…