On this MLK Day, we are reminded how badly we leaders of moral character and wisdom. This generation of well-meaning protesters filling the streets of my city lack the training in non-violent resistance that MLK taught and embodied. If we don’t hear words like following these days coming from our political leaders, maybe we should be turning our ears again to preachers like MLK. … More Our Need for MLK
Jemar Tisby helps us understand the origins and meaning of the federal holiday of Juneteenth, established in 2021. On June 19th, 1865, more than two years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, Major General Gordon Granger, proclaimed freedom for slaves in Texas in a statement in Galveston. … More Freedom Day
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. … More MLK’s Dream
Today I read MLK’s Letter from a Birmingham jail alongside the letters to the seven churches of Revelation. John and Patmos, and King in a jail cell–what great prophetic company! … More MLK and the Seven Churches in Revelation
Give thanks today for MLK’s legacy. Watch these with your kids, teach them our history, celebrate our progress and lament our continued struggles. Keep our eyes lifted toward the mountaintop. … More Martin Luther King’s Last Speech
Many today are deconstructing their faith, the faith of their parents, the faith of their church, the faith of public evangelicalism. I have observed what I will call here three “phases” of this deconstruction. … More Beyond Deconstructing Faith
Join Christianity Today’s Russell Moore and a diverse panel of evangelical leaders as they explore the facts, falsehoods, and theological implications of critical race theory. … More Christians and Critical Race Theory Webinar
The fact that I as an Evangelical pastor cannot advocate for social or racial justice with the Bible in one hand and the example of Jesus in the other without being labeled a woke liberal or cultural Marxist should reveal the extent of the deep sickness that has taken root in many Evangelical circles. … More Reparations & Racial Justice
A few words in response to the Derek Chauvin trial verdict by myself and NWC Superintendent Mark Stromberg. … More A Word on the Chauvin Trial Verdict
One of the most remarkable things about the Bible is that in it we find the narrative told from the perspective of the poor, the oppressed, the enslaved, the conquered, the occupied, the defeated. This is what makes it prophetic. We know that history is written by the winners. This is true — except in the case of the Bible it’s the opposite! … More My Problem with the Bible (Brian Zahnd)
This week’s service honors Father’s Day, Keri’s birthday and Conversation #3 on Racial Righteousness with a message by Pastor Jon Tyson of Church of the City, New York, on Jesus, power and privilege. … More Conversation #3: What About White Privilege?
There is no shame in being privileged or being white; it’s whether or not we’re aware of this privilege, understand that privilege often comes at another’s expense, and, most importantly, what we decide to do with our privilege. … More Jesus, Power, and Privilege
When I have been confronted with claims of racial injustice, white privilege, and racism as a ‘social issue’, I was taught to dismiss such thinking as a concoction of liberals and certain black leaders who are still living in the past. … More Confessions of a Responsible, Hardworking White Guy Who Earned His Own Way (cough)
Proverbs 31:8-9 says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly: defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Yet, in this moment, white Christians should also heed Jesus’ brother’s advice: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak … More Conversation #2: Being Black in America
Phil Vischer (Veggie Tales) and his law professor brother Rob taught a class that touched on the Black Lives Matter movement, asking and attempting to answer the question, “Why so angry? Isn’t racism over?” … More Conversation #1: History of Post-Civil War Racism
When someone’s name is taken away, that person is dehumanized. In a very real way, our name is our identity. No one has the right to take it away or change it. … More What’s in a Name?
This is a “kairos moment” for the white church and America that I pray doesn’t pass us by leaving us unchanged. … More Pastoral Letter: A ‘Kairos’ Moment for the American Church
My worst fear — and it is well-founded — is that the white church will continue to be influenced and shaped more by partisan political rhetoric than by the God-ordained, Biblically drenched, Jesus-centered pastors and prophetic Christian voices God has placed in our lives for such a time as this. … More Pastors & Prophets, or Political Pundits?
It’s time for the Body of Christ to grow up. Like a refrigerated teething ring given to an infant cutting her teeth, I have offered Paul’s ‘Body Metaphor’ for the church to chew on as we seek to become One Unified Body of Many Ethnic Parts. … More It’s Time to Grow Up
Today we hear a raw and impassioned message by Pastor Greg Boyd challenging the white church to wake up to our nation’s Original Sin of racism. … More Sunday Service – June 7, 2020 – “Enough Is Enough: Toward Racial Justice”
The “Love Poem” in 1 Corinthians 13 is often pulled out of context and read at weddings. When applied to racial division and ethnic differences in the local church, its doubly explosive! … More Seek the Greater Gift of Racial Sensibility
I’m watching America burn, and watching fingers point in all directions. Of course, I’m not a racist. I’ve never kneeled on anyone’s neck or denied housing to anyone. So I’m clean. Right? … More Racial Injustice has Benefited Me
This is the task of the church today: for Christians of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to receive those of different backgrounds as a gift to broaden our perspective and deepen our love as we learn to not only understand each other’s experiences, but enter into each other’s pain and, God willing, to learn how to suffer in solidarity with them. … More Giving Greater Honor to Minorities
Paul emphasizes our mutual interdependence in the Body which, when applied to race/ethnicity, offers some of the following revolutionary and far-reaching principles for racial healing and cooperation in the church. … More An Intoxicatingly Beautiful Unity-in-Diversity
Let us revisit Paul’s ‘One Body, Many Parts’ metaphor and draw out key insights for more nurturing more harmonious multiethnic relations. … More One Body, Many Ethnic Parts
Jeremy L. Berg 