(Editor’s note: The following has been adapted from a panel discussion, “Faith and the Justice System,” a part of Missio Seminary’s Courageous Conversations, which took place on November 18, 2021, at the Bible Way Baptist Church in West Philadelphia. YouTube recording of the panel discussion is found here.) I was born and raised literally about …
Every story has a beginning. Mine starts in Philadelphia, PA, in the Kensington and Allegheny section of the city. There I grew up in a rowhome with my mother, brother and sister where I learned the importance of strength, survival and self-reliance. Those were great values but we missed out on what a loving father …
My first church was Northside Chapel in Paterson, NJ. I spent two years there, and then the Lord moved me back to Grand Rapids, MI, which we in the Christian Reformed Church tend to view as “the Holy City.” I ended up at a church that was a merger between two churches. One was a …
Photo: Tom Marvel At this moment I am reminded of a text message that I received a little over 6 years ago. As I was hanging out with some of my girlfriends, my phone lit up to indicate that I had received a notification. When I opened the text message there was a request that …
You know the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). An expert in religious law asks Jesus what it takes to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks what he thinks, so he quotes the Scriptures about “love God” and “love your neighbor,” which Jesus affirms is correct. The text then says the man sought to justify …
(This piece was adapted from an earlier essay published by The Center for Social Concerns at The University of Notre Dame. https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/department-blogs/cst) “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.”1 These words of Dr. King are some of his most often quoted and elicit inspiration, both …
Prophetic Resilience and the Work of Justice: Reflecting on Dr. King Read More »
COVID-19 is affecting everybody. But like most catastrophes, the majority of us are inconvenienced, yet for the most vulnerable it becomes yet another life and death experience. There has been lots of lively debate recently about releasing nonviolent offenders from jails, prisons and juvenile detention facilities. But what has been missing for me in the …
How Those Incarcerated Suffer Most in the COVID-19 Pandemic Read More »
I’m not a single-issue person. I’m not even really an issue person. I’m doing my best to love God and love people… and to be a champion for life. I believe every person is a child of God, made in the image of God… and I believe that no one is beyond redemption. No one. …
Some claim that Ferguson and Staten Island demonstrate the existence of racist structures that permeate our society. Others claim that these killings resulted from criminal behavior or “a lack of personal responsibility.” While both positions point to contributing factors, they both continue to ignore culture – a factor that dwarfs the previous two.
The national conversation in the wake of Ferguson cannot ignore the voice of a crucial subject matter expert, the urban disciple maker. What does the urban disciple maker see that simplistic analyses from outsider pundits can’t? How does she lead the way forward through the treacherous gauntlet of nihilistic culture, organized crime, pulpit pimps, sexual and familial confusion, prison industrial complex, race hustlers, destructive public policy, government-funded dependency, etc.?
Even with knowing God and knowing I am loved by others, I still choose to look for love elsewhere. I have been shown unimaginable grace in my own sin. How dare I fail to show these women the same grace?
The gentri-church, rising on the new wave of young urbanites, is the brightest hope the city has seen in more than a half century. Will it be up to the challenge?
The hope of most urban missionaries is to see people living in urban poverty become leaders in their own community. Once equipped with education and opportunity, instead of moving out of town, we encourage them to stay and make a difference. However, these leaders are often considered a failure by their own community if they don’t relocate. Incarnational ministers receive accolades for their “sacrifice” of living in urban poverty, but community leaders do not.
Mercy is not enough. Justice is also required. Mercy is a doorway to more: just and healed relationships, a society of peace, and a wholeness for both the recipients and the givers of mercy.
A journal committed to the advancement of Christ’s church and kingdom in cities throughout the world.
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