This Easter, Remember Grace Is Greater Than Division
In this day and age of division, it’s not hard to feel lost. The news is full of people who are dead set on tearing each other apart, and all too often, so are our communities, churches and even families. Adding to the division is the violence of mass shootings and the horror of unjust…
Be Color-Blessed, Not Color-Blind
Affirmative Action has been a useful tool for over half a century in addressing injustices and advancing opportunities for marginalized people. Now the Supreme Court is poised to make two decisions on Affirmative Action that would remove consideration of race and ethnicity from college admissions. Regardless of their ruling, we cannot exclude race as an…
Is Social Justice Marxism?
Maybe you have heard some Christians discourage the term “social justice” because they disagree theologically with the adjective “social” before the word justice. It is true that justice in the biblical sense can and should stand alone according to the scriptures. We don’t need adjectives in front of the term “justice” if such a word…
Preparing for the Verdict
PREPARING ONESELF FOR THE PENDING VERDICT OF THE KILLING OF AHMAUD ARBERY By Gracism GlobalNovember 23, 2021 At 11:53 am, November 23, 2021, the jury in the trial for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery entered deliberations to determine their verdict on the nine criminal counts that Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William Bryan face. With…
The Kind of Demonstrations I’d Like to See
This weekend I’m off to Ferguson again to help build bridges in a community where the history between police and African American citizens are broken. The irony is that similar bridges are out in my own backyard. Over the last week there have been boiling over riots here in Baltimore. What is the difference between…
How to be a Bridge Builder When Racism Persists in the Public Square
When a flame throwing POTUS uses terms that trigger past racial hurts, what is a bridge builder to do? How does one seek to live out gracism amid a firestorm of racism? When political disagreements turn ugly, rife with name calling, doubling down and ratcheting up prejudicial language, how are we to respond, interact, referee,…
Extending Tangible Generosity
If you could take one possession of yours, sell it, and give the proceeds to the Lord’s work, what would it be? What earthly possession are you willing to part with? If you knew that if you sold your car that someone would get saved and secure their place in heaven, would you do it? …
Building Bridges of Gracism Through Refugee Relief
Isn’t it ironic that Christians are commanded to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them only to have such teachings dismissed when it comes to refugees? Or worse, Christians are taught to love their neighbors and yet many, not all, do the opposite when it comes to immigrants at their doorstep. What…
Why “Black Lives Matter” To Us All
Revolution usually comes through interruption. It is, by definition, an interruption of the status quo. While interrupting speeches and screaming one’s demands in public forums is not my desired style of influence, nor am I a fan rioting, protesting, or advocating for fairness with threats like “justice or else”, I must admit that even bridge…
Meet America’s Emerging Minority Group – Whites
While on a television program several years ago, I recounted a story about moving with my family into a new home in the suburbs of Washington. As a black family, we were welcomed to the neighborhood with a shocking sight. My mother and I looked out the kitchen window the morning after we moved in…