Christians are not called to traffic in crowd-thinking. They are called to follow a lowly Galilean named Jesus, whom we claim as Lord in our baptismal vows. And following this Jesus requires faithfulness, which is antithetical to the ethos of crowds.
The movement to end mass incarceration is a bold and audacious undertaking. However, it is far past time for the body of Christ to step into this movement.
The voting power of African Americans will prevent any “Redemption” by white supremacists from ever being successful in this country.
What do we believe about ministry? What do we believe about our own capacities to be one human being without being taken down by the multiple demands (and persons) vying for our time? Is self-care something that comes when we have time for it, or should it be at the forefront of our daily schedule without fail?
Christian leaders can be too nice. We’ve internalized the message, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” However, sometimes leadership requires more than being nice. In fact, as far as I’m able to tell, the word “nice” does not appear in the Bible.
Remember the moral and prophetic foundations of the biblical call to care for the stranger and refugee, as children of God, rather than being feared and vilified for their race and poverty, and treated as if they are enemy. Somewhere, in our family histories, we have all been strangers and immigrants, and may be yet again in the future.