I have a dream of one day making a change and impacting the world as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did. I first learned about Dr. King in elementary school while learning to speak English. I was too young to … Continue reading Mi Cultura and the Dream: Reclaiming Justice Beyond Politics
Over 50% of prisoners have been diagnosed with either bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. It is obvious to me that the greater good is better served by helping the vulnerable become stronger and the ill become healthy. My son is one of those people who ended up in the system because of trauma-triggered mental illness and lack of appropriate, timely intervention by medical staff who should have seen the signs of addiction. Continue reading Unmasking The Trauma Of Mental Healthcare
Change is hard for many people, both individually and collectively. As a pastor, one of my roles is to help people amid significant life changes: weddings, funerals, illnesses, and job changes, to name a few. People look to the church … Continue reading Attending to the Past, Dreaming of the Future
Seeing the Church primarily as an “Enterprise” assumes that gatherings, sermons, and creatively designed programs that advance the ideas of the Bible and faith are the exclusive ways to engage people and encourage participation. This assumption prioritizes organizational efficiencies such … Continue reading Is the Church an Enterprise or an Entity?
Our cultures are taught, ingrained, and punished into us well before we come to meet the loving Savior or encounter the gentleness that only deep healing and redemption can produce. Continue reading Whose Law & Whose Order?
The only African-American member of our small church died this year. My entire family grieves his loss. When I told my ten-year-old son that Loy had passed away, my son cried out with a pang of sorrow, “But he was … Continue reading The Only Black Person in the Sanctuary
“We accept you as a person who needs us to help you and who can help us meet our diversity (image) goals, but don’t make us uncomfortable. . . Don’t expect to be deeply cared about by us, because we do not want to hear about, see, or learn about your life, your culture, or your experiences that differ from ours. We have our story (about you) and we are sticking to it. . . Continue reading Don’t Play This At Church
Three-Fifths 