Loving Opposition
On Wednesday, two weeks prior to the election, our church began two weeks of prayer and fasting. For a template we are using a list of 10 commitments that...
Your vote matters less than you think. But also, way more.
No matter who wins the election, God is still sovereign! How many versions of this sentiment have you heard expressed during an election cycle? In my...
Local Countercultures of Reconciliation and Justice
I’ve recently been listening to “Motive”, a podcast produced by our local NPR station about the rise of of neo-Nazi skinheads in Chicago and beyond in the...
The Truth of the Protest
Why is it that you can know how terribly something will turn out and still be devastated when it does? This is what I was wondering on Wednesday afternoon...
Acknowledgment is better than ignorance. Confession is even better.
A quick appeal before getting to the rest of the newsletter: One of the hats I wear is that of CEO of New Community Outreach, a nonprofit launched by our...
New books about racial justice. Also, Bob the Tomato.
It's been nice to take a month-long breather from the newsletter but I've missed it and it's good to be back! There are a lot of good books related to race...
White Evangelical Reflexes
Our family is taking some time away this week so the newsletter is a bit spares, though I’ve linked to a few things below that I hope you’ll find helpful....
Justice and Joy
In the days after Rep. John Lewis passed away, among the many tributes and remembrances, I stumbled onto this short video of the congressman dancing. He’s...
White fragility is spiritual immaturity
Here's a confession: I haven't read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. Over the past couple of years, conversation partners have sometimes assumed that I've...
Why this time might be different.
I spent this week with my family in Wisconsin, mostly unplugged. One afternoon we visited a small bookshop in downtown Woodstock, IL, just across the border....
What do we celebrate today?
For this July 4th weekend I’m linking to four timely articles and one video. Given the events of the past couple of months, it’s appropriate to reflect on...
Can white Jesus be saved?
This week, in my little corner of the Internet, some people were wringing their hands about white Jesus. As statues and monuments to the Confederacy are...
The (un)importance of cross-racial friendships.
Before getting to this week's essay, I've got a request. This coming week is my birthday and I'm using it as an excuse to raise money for the non-profit I...
On living counter to this racist culture assisted by the saints, including one or two white ones.
What do you imagine when you hear racial segregation? I think many of us imagine the Civil Rights Movement. Maybe we think about a time when housing...
How brave will we be?
It's Saturday evening. It's been a hell of a week. A hellish week. From within a pandemic, the country has exploded, sparked by the murders of Ahmaud Arbery,...
Covering Our Nakedness With Lament
In his little book about race, The Hidden Wound, Wendell Berry grapples with his history as a member of a southern land-owning family and how his racial...
Reframing Race
A few months ago I began planning the book launch for Rediscipling the White Church. With help from some amazing church members, we'd planned on a...
In Defense of the Multiracial Church. Sort of.
It was so good talking with Jemar Tisby, author of the essential The Color of Compromise, last week. We covered a lot of ground in an hour but I was...
Our racist impact matters more than our good intentions.
One of the perennial challenges leveled against those who point out racist acts goes something like this: "But, how can you know that person's motivations?...
Counterintuitive Solidarity
Drew G. I. Hart: White American Christians in our society must do something seemingly absurd and unnatural, yet very Christian in orientation: they must move...
