so i know politicians have been bending the truth for centuries but if bush claims to be a follower of the triune God and says he is born again isn't there some obligation for him to fulfill that call on his life by not bending the truth for political gain. why can't we have a leader who actually lives out what he claims to believe, kerry is no better. what happened to just telling people what you will do and not bashing your opponent. actually we are just as complicit as the candidates because we eat the stuff up like candy, you know the lies, rather than demanding a truthful rhetoric, maybe i am too idealistic, what would it be like if a political campaign at any level was run with honesty, respect for others and integrity, oh well
::..:: gathering my way ::..::
September 25, 2004
|September 20, 2004
my last post resulted in some intersting comments. my first thought about issues like race is that we just don't know how to talk about them. none of us want to admit we are racist or arrogant or self-centered. it is as if we think we have to admit we might be wrong and need to change, or that someone else is wrong and we need to forgive them and thus change again.
having 6 kids who are black africans and two who are biracial and five white has given me the ability to see the world differently. we get people looking at us as if we are freaks, well guess what we are. isn't each one who chooses to follow the triune God to be a freak? aren't we called to confront the tough questions of our time? how do we regain our ablility to have honest open thoughtful and compassionate discussions about things like racism? can we? are we willing? because it is a painful journey to self awareness and then breaking through to healing and change. maybe the emerging church isn't racist, but it is irrelevant to many people.
if we spend all our time discussing form when do we serve others, not with cool gatherings and cool books and websites but with street level compassion and interest in what others need and can we with all this noise about being emergent or postmodern listen to the ones trying to tell us they need our attention. can we stop creating another structure of hiearchy and create new structures where all have a voice? maybe thats impossible but i think we need to try
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having 6 kids who are black africans and two who are biracial and five white has given me the ability to see the world differently. we get people looking at us as if we are freaks, well guess what we are. isn't each one who chooses to follow the triune God to be a freak? aren't we called to confront the tough questions of our time? how do we regain our ablility to have honest open thoughtful and compassionate discussions about things like racism? can we? are we willing? because it is a painful journey to self awareness and then breaking through to healing and change. maybe the emerging church isn't racist, but it is irrelevant to many people.
if we spend all our time discussing form when do we serve others, not with cool gatherings and cool books and websites but with street level compassion and interest in what others need and can we with all this noise about being emergent or postmodern listen to the ones trying to tell us they need our attention. can we stop creating another structure of hiearchy and create new structures where all have a voice? maybe thats impossible but i think we need to try
September 06, 2004
is the emerging church racist?
thats a question i have been pondering for awhile and for that matter is christianity in north america racist? it seems every event/gathering i attend is overwhelmingly populated by white males, most affluent. rarely does a women speak in a roll of authority, rarely, no never have i heard a person of color speak, well i did attend a workshop at the 2001 soularize lead by karen ward. anyway why is it that the emerging church is so white and so male. is there an undercurrent of domination that needs to be dealt with? why aren't there more people of color involved in this new "church" is it a matter of style? or is it truly deeper than that. if we are racist do we have the courage to confront it?
i was trained to be racist as i grew up, no one sat me down and layed it out but it was clear, i was better than others. it wasnt until i became a follower of the triune God and meet a man from south africa, read james cone, and finished our first adoption, who was biracial that God destroyed my ideas of being better, it was painful and gut wrenching and at times i ran and hid but God prevailed and i can now say i am a recovering racist. the seeds will always be there sown years ago but i have a greater power now to overcome it. my prayer is that instead of all this rhetoric about what/how church is we would start a dialogue that is open and honest about the sins of our past and the hope of creating a new world together because thats what it needs to be a new world not a remodeled version of our old world, but a new dwelling built together with all God's people planning and building. then we may begin to heal and embrace each other again.
can we truly have community without diversity, (racial and economic), please lets begin this discussion before we build another system that seperates and destroys.
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thats a question i have been pondering for awhile and for that matter is christianity in north america racist? it seems every event/gathering i attend is overwhelmingly populated by white males, most affluent. rarely does a women speak in a roll of authority, rarely, no never have i heard a person of color speak, well i did attend a workshop at the 2001 soularize lead by karen ward. anyway why is it that the emerging church is so white and so male. is there an undercurrent of domination that needs to be dealt with? why aren't there more people of color involved in this new "church" is it a matter of style? or is it truly deeper than that. if we are racist do we have the courage to confront it?
i was trained to be racist as i grew up, no one sat me down and layed it out but it was clear, i was better than others. it wasnt until i became a follower of the triune God and meet a man from south africa, read james cone, and finished our first adoption, who was biracial that God destroyed my ideas of being better, it was painful and gut wrenching and at times i ran and hid but God prevailed and i can now say i am a recovering racist. the seeds will always be there sown years ago but i have a greater power now to overcome it. my prayer is that instead of all this rhetoric about what/how church is we would start a dialogue that is open and honest about the sins of our past and the hope of creating a new world together because thats what it needs to be a new world not a remodeled version of our old world, but a new dwelling built together with all God's people planning and building. then we may begin to heal and embrace each other again.
can we truly have community without diversity, (racial and economic), please lets begin this discussion before we build another system that seperates and destroys.
September 03, 2004
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