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Contextual Criticism For The African American Church |
Current Essays 2000-2010 Legacy Holla! At Neil Brown Keeping It Real w/Dr. Henry Johnson
“We must decide together why God
has drawn us to each other. We must live out that cause and live
it like our lives depend upon it. Who are we called to reach?
What are we called to do? How can we return our community to the
dream of God, the perfect plan for the people he made? This is
the mission we must be on. It isn’t a statement, it isn’t a
slogan, or a program, or a ministry. It is our mission and God
is the powerful gust that will propel us and drive us as we
listen daily to his stirring within us.”
Eric C. Mason, Lead Pastor, New Tribe Community
The church should never have a routine, but should always have a
purpose. The two are rarely congruent and almost never
interchangeable. In routine we find comfort and reassurance in
the structure of ritual. In purpose we find the anxiety of the
unknown and the reward of the unexpected. The unexpected gifts
of unexpected people.
Navigating The Complex Lattice of Family Relationships
I would think there should be some class, some group therapy, to prepare families for big reunions and holidays. Some basic training on how to conduct ourselves. Only family can push our buttons: chronically self-absorbed aunts rifling through our kitchen cabinets, parents making hostile, passive-aggressive comments at the dinner table, asking leading questions, browbeating us—politely—all evening long. Most of these people have either no awareness or no consciousness of how much their visit is dreaded. Not because we don’t love them but because we do.
This Foolishness With Vampires
The Lasting Damage of A Mythologized Christianity
Films like Breaking Dawn earn millions by constructing their stories off of the classic tension of Christian mythology. A more accurate view of Christian theology would not sustain the dramatic narrative of this Twilight series. It is, therefore, the Lie, this Christian Myth, that is startling in its global pervasiveness. The audience has to already embrace the God vs. Devil nonsense before the lights dim or none of these films work. Without even mentioning God or the Devil, the film series relies on both to forward their main conceit: the sexual allure of evil incarnate.
Christianity Without Christ
When asked, people just make God up because they have never taken the question seriously. It is not an informed decision and it is not a serious commitment. When you believe something, in lives in you. It seeps out of your pores. It defines you. It liberates you. It restricts you. It demands things of you. God is a banana? Fine. I’m not here to argue with your belief system. I’m just asking you to stop wasting my time with your made-up philosophy. The fact is, most people don’t believe anything, Christians least of all.
The Lessons of John The Baptist
Purpose is what makes a life worth living. Our task is to discover ours and to invest in our purpose faithfully, regardless of consequence. John’s quixotic Rogue Priest act epitomizes that ideal even as his less-than-perfect persecution of his calling enables us to identify more closely with him. To Herod, John wasn’t Billy Graham, he was bin Laden, likely viewed initially as a whacky rabble-rouser, John likely came to be thought of as a religious extremist and a terrorist. This led to a less-than-ideal ending to John's story, the reward for his years of service and sacrifice being exiled to a lonely tower and beheaded at the whim of a school girl. Between points A and B, however, are important lessons for all believers.
Our Struggle Between Emotion And Reason
It has been the rare woman I have met who engages her intellect on par with her emotion: who make a fair fight of it. Most women I have known, including highly educated women, can be derailed from efficient pursuit of their goals by rushes of emotion: love, anger, disappointment, elation. We are creatures endowed with the qualities of our Maker, divinely blessed to experience emotion over a wide range. But we should not be a slave, in bondage to our emotions. We are charged to be disciplined, to subjugate our emotion to our intellect. To allow compassion to influence our choices but to make those choices prayerfully, soberly and with deliberation and focus.
The Message of The Ten
There is story after story of the shocking impact of terrible economic times. The loudest and most consistent voices in public discourse are conservative ones running around screaming, “The sky is falling!” which, in turn, causes the sky to fall. The president is perceived, even by his friends, as a man ignoring a ringing phone. A man we dearly love but who seems to be inexplicably distant from the great trouble confounding the nation. What we need, what the world needs, are the remaining two spies—Joshua and Caleb—a calming and rational voice to articulate vision and direction in strong, steady and even tones. Not the wild gesticulations of the conservative fringe, but a grown up. The country, the world, is in desperate need of a grown-up. of someone who will give a good report.
