Instagram Posts from the Week of Sept. 8, 2019

Podcast Rec. - Sept. 10, 2019

Past Listen - Almost Heretical: Episode 30: Jesus Ended Hierarchy (Released July 16, 2018)

“What happens naturally is people get power. And if your version of religion, Christianity or otherwise, is not explicitly subversive to that ascent to power, to hierarchy itself, if your version of Christianity isn’t anti-hierarchical, you will just naturally default to climbing the ladder. You will use whatever gifts, skills, talents, energy you have to persistently, subtly climb the social ladder. That’s why Jesus commands that what you have to do is not just not climb the ladder, not just not lord over others like the Gentiles rulers do... you have to race to the bottom. So the church is supposed to be the community of people in the world where everybody is racing in the opposite direction as the culture to become like slaves rather than become like rulers and leaders and people in charge.” - Tim Ritter

This is the first full episode in the Almost Heretical Gender Series. The foundation is laid for the remaining episodes, with Tim rooting the topic of gender in the teaching of Jesus from Matthew 20:25-28: “Jesus called them over and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” If you begin with episode 29 and listen through 38, you can explore the full Gender Series while seeing how each of the ideas presented build on one another and learn more about the cultural context in which some of the most controversial biblical passages were written.

What podcasts have you listened to recently?

#natehanson #timritter #almostheretical #podcast #podcastrecommendation #podcastrec #jesusendedhierarchy #lovingthebibleagain #loveyourneighbor #equality #genderequality #deconstruction #reconstruction #evolvingfaith #broadeningthenarrative



Account to Follow - Sept. 11, 2019

In the bio for The Lakota People’s Law Project on Instagram, you can see “Protectors of the children and the earth. #OurChildrenAreSacred #NoDAPL #NoMorePipelines” The Lakota People’s Law Project website states, “We partner with the Lakota to help renew Indigenous culture and secure Native autonomy and self-determination.”

The posts shared by The Lakota People’s Law Project are informative and many provide necessary steps we can take to show up to fight for justice. 

Follow @lakotalaw, and support the work of The Lakota People’s Law Project.

#lakotalaw #accounttofollow #lakotapeopleslawproject #noDAPL #nomorepipelines #protectorsofthechildrenandtheearth #socialjustice #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #peopleoverpolitics #peopleoverprofit #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative

Book Rec. - Sept. 14, 2019

Current Read - Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions by Rachel Held Evans

“The problem with fundamentalism is that it can’t adapt to change. When you count each one of your beliefs as absolutely essential, change is never an option. When change is never an option, you have to hope that the world stays exactly as it is so as not to mess with your view of it...For fundamentalists, Christianity sits perpetually on the precipice of doom, one scientific discovery or cultural shift or difficult theological question away from extinction. So fearful of losing their grip on faith, they squeeze the life out of it” (Evans, 2010, p.18).

“I’m not sure when it happened, but sometime in my late teens or early twenties, it was as if Jesus packed his bags and moved from my heart into my head. He became an idea, a sort of theological mechanism by which salvation was attained…He was something I agreed to, not someone I followed...But Jesus rarely framed discipleship in terms of intellectual assent to a set of propositional statements...To Jesus, ‘by faith alone’ did not mean ‘by belief alone.’ To Jesus, faith was invariably linked to obedience” (Evans, 2010, p.105).

“Sometimes I wonder who really had the most biblical support back in the 1800s, Christians who used Ephesians 6 to support the institution of slavery, or Christians who used Galatians 3 to support abolition. Both sides had perfectly legitimate verses to back up their positions, but in hindsight, only one side seems even remotely justifiable on a moral level. On the surface, the Bible would seem to condone slavery. But somehow, as a church, we managed to work our way around those passages because of a shared sense of right and wrong, some kind of community agreement. Maybe God left us with all this discontinuity and conflict within Scripture so that we would have to pick and choose for the right reasons...He wanted us to make the right decisions as we went along, together. Maybe God wants us to have these discussions because faith isn’t just about being right; it’s about being a part of a community” (Evans, 2010, pp.193-194).

“Not once after graduating from Bryan was I asked to make a case for the scientific feasibility of miracles, but often I was asked why Christians aren’t more like Jesus...People didn’t argue with me about the problem of evil; they argued about why Christians aren’t doing more to alleviate human suffering, support the poor, and oppose violence and war. Most weren’t looking for a faith that provided all the answers; they were looking for one in which they were free to ask questions” (Evans, 2010, pp.203-204).

“Of course, we all carry around false fundamentals. We all have unexamined assumptions and lists of rules, both spoken and unspoken, that weigh down our faith. We’ve all got little measuring sticks that help us determine who’s ‘in’ and who’s ‘out,’ and we’ve all got truths we don’t want to face because we’re afraid that our faith can’t withstand any change...In a way, we’re all fundamentalists. We all have pet theological systems, political positions, and standards of morality that are not essential to the gospel but that we cling to so tightly that we leave fingernail marks on the palms of our hands” (Evans, 2010, pp.208-209).

“Love. It’s that simple and that profound. It’s that easy and that hard. Taking on the yoke of Jesus is not about signing a doctrinal statement or making an intellectual commitment to a set of propositions. It isn’t about being right or getting our facts straight. It is about loving God and loving other people...Whether we like it or not, love is available to all people everywhere to be interpreted differently, applied differently, screwed up differently, and manifest differently. Love in bigger than faith, and it’s bigger than works, for it inhabits and transcends both” (Evans, 2010, pp.209-210).

“Doubt is a difficult animal to master because it requires that we learn the difference between doubting God and doubting what we believe about God. The former has the potential to destroy faith; the latter has the power to enrich and refine it. The former is a vice; the latter a virtue” (Evans, 2010, p.219).

Rachel Held Evans’ first book, Evolving in Monkey Town, was re-released in 2014 as Faith Unraveled. I laughed, cried, thought deeply, and was changed by this book. Suzanne Stabile suggested reading books, in order based on year of publication, by an author who identifies with your Enneagram number. As an Enneagram 3, I decided to read each book written by Rachel Held Evans. The books I recommend the next few weeks will be books by RHE. My heart still hurts when I think about the compassion, wisdom, and humor Rachel exuded, which are evident in all of her books.

Has anyone else read this book?

#currentread #evolvinginmonkeytown #faithunraveled #bookrecommendation #bookrec #rachelheldevans #becauseofrhe #rememberingrhe #eshetchayil #womanofvalor #evolvingfaith #reading #learning #doubting #loving #growing #love #lovegod #loveneighbor #everyneighbor #broadeningthenarrative

Instagram Posts from the Week of Sept. 1, 2019

Podcast Rec. - Sept. 3, 2019

Current Listen - You Have Permission to Think Seriously About (Biblical) Patriarchy (#9) (Released February 18, 2019)

“Even though the patriarchal cultural norms are a part of the story, there is this shift going on and there is this movement going on…God hasn’t given up on the vision (from Genesis 1 and 2), and that’s why Jesus has come. His Kingdom is not of this world…If you go to Genesis and your goal is to establish the authority of a man over his wife, then you’ve broken up what God says in Genesis 1 when He gives them both the same identity and calling. It’s the same. He is not saying that the men are to rule and subdue and the women are to be fruitful and multiply.” - Carolyn Custis James

In the episode of YHPT, Dan Koch talked with author Carolyn Custis James to discuss questions such as: Does the Bible teach a soft, ‘kind’ version of patriarchy, or was patriarchy the unquestioned cultural backdrop of the Biblical text?; Does God prescribe a loving patriarchal system, or is God against it?; What does God call his daughters to be and do in the world?

I started exploring Egalitarian theology last year and experienced every emotion as I processed, questioned, and doubted. If I am honest, it is currently difficult for me to talk with people who ardently defend Complementarianism without getting angry, even though it wasn't that long ago I identified as Complementarian. Pride is real, and it's a struggle over here. But hearing Carolyn Custis James graciously expound on her positions filled me with hope for future conversations. I may never figure it all out, but I want to walk in humility with others, even if we disagree.

What podcasts have you listened to recently?

#dankoch #carolyncustisjames #youhavepermissionto #podcast #podcastrecommendation #patriarchy #egalitarian #hermeneutics #theology #loveyourneighbor #broadeningthenarrative



Account to Follow - Sept. 4, 2019

I recently discovered the Sincerely, Lettie Instagram page. As you can see, Lettie is a historian and social justice advocate. She also hosts the Sincerely, Lettie podcast. As someone who is learning to connect historical events to current realities, I appreciate Lettie’s discussions that explain how the past is intertwined with the present.

Like Lettie, I didn’t like history growing up, but her Instagram posts and podcast episodes demonstrate why history matters. We need to know a more comprehensive historical account than the white-washed history we are often taught, and Lettie is an essential voice stepping in to broaden the narrative.

Follow @sincerely.lettie, and support her as she educates and advocates.

#sincerelylettie #accounttofollow #historian #socialjusticeadvocate #socialjustice #podcasthost #educator #avidreader #blacklivesmatter #supportblackwomen #antiracism #antiracist #antiracismwork #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #seekjustice #restorativejustice #reconciliation #lovemercy #walkhumbly #facethepast #healthefuture #broadeningthenarrative



Additional Rec. - Sept. 5, 2019

On Aug. 16, 2018, an article by Rachel Cargle was featured in Harper's Bazaar. The title is “When Feminism is White Supremacy in Heels.” Rachel Cargle wrote about the backlash of white feminists when called on to stand in solidarity with women of color. She explained several strategies utilized by white feminists from “The Toxic White Feminism Playbook,” which include tone policing, spiritual bypassing, white savior complex, and centering. I have included several quotes below and urge you to read the full article.

“If there is not the intentional and action-based inclusion of women of color, then feminism is simply white supremacy in heels.”

“As these things play out over and over again, it is made painfully obvious that many white women believe that the worst thing that can happen to them is to be called a racist. Let me be clear, it is not. Seeing your child gunned down in the street by the police unjustly is much worse, being turned away for medical care due to race and underlying biases by medical staff, resulting in death, is much worse, being harassed by authorities only to be charged yourself instead is much worse.”

“Racism is as American as pie. In order for the feminist movement to truly be progressive and intersectional, white women must face this fact and begin to take on their load of work. We are long overdue to dismantle this system, which, if it is not intentionally and aggressively addressed, will defeat us all in the end.”

I am thankful for black, Indigenous, and women of color for holding me accountable. White women, let’s encourage one another to not get defensive when our actions or intentions are confronted by women of color. Let us humbly receive instruction and correction, ask for forgiveness, and thank the women of color in our lives who challenge us.

#rachelcargle #whenfeminismiswhitesupremacyinheels #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #antiracism #antiracist #feminism #feminist #progressive #intersectional #equality #learning #socialjustice #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #repent #repair #loveyourneighbor #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative



Book Rec. - Sept. 7, 2019

Past Read - We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates

“It is not so much that I logically reasoned out that Obama’s election would author a post-racist age. But it now seemed possible that white supremacy, the scourge of American history, might well be banished in my lifetime. In those days I imagined racism as a tumor that could be isolated and removed from the body of America, not as a pervasive system both native and essential to that body” (Coates, 2017, p.37).

“There were direct advantages to black atheism, to a disbelief in dreams and moral appeal. First, it removed the weight of believing that ‘white people,’ en masse, were interested listeners. ‘White people,’ en masse, are not. They are - like any other people - mostly self-interested, which is why mass appeals to conscience, minus some compelling, existential threat, generally end in disappointment. But I was armed against disappointment because, in defiance, I had no expectations of white people at all” (Coates, 2017, p.113).

“Imagining the smallness of my own life span against the span of American history, and thinking how many lifetimes went in to the creation of the problem of white supremacy, meant that any solutions I gave would likely require the work of generations. Moreover, my solution might seem crazy in the moment - much as abolition seemed ‘crazy’ for decades, right up until it happened - but must be considered anyway” (Coates, 2017, p.152).

“The sins of slavery did not stop with slavery. On the contrary, slavery was but the initial crime in a long tradition of crimes, of plunder even, that could be traced into the present day” (Coates, 2017, p.158).

 We Were Eight Years in Power is a compilation of eight essays written by Ta-Nehisi Coates during President Obama’s years in office. Each essay is preceded by notes from years one through eight. “The Case for Reparations” resulted in a major paradigm shift for me, providing voice, experience, and history to the plunder Coates described in detail. I am deeply grateful for the brilliant mind and writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Has anyone else read this book?

#pastread #wewereeightyearsinpower #anamericantragedy #bookrecommendation #bookrec #tanehisicoates #reading #learning #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #antiracism #antiracist #thecaseforreparations #reparations #reparationsnow #broadeningthenarrative 

Instagram Posts from the Week of August 25, 2019

Podcast Rec - Aug. 27, 2019

Past Listen - The Liturgists Podcast: Episode 34: Black and White: Racism in America (Released March 28, 2016)

“There was this period of white progress on the issue of race, but the response, instead of fully adjusting for these enduring economic disparities, was to roughly integrate schools but still associating school funding with property taxes, which is a form of economic segregation and violence and then you have an intentional effort to create a post-racial America by telling school children, white and black school children, the narrative in which, ‘No, we’re all equal, and we all get along now.’ So then you have this generation of people all over the country who believe they exist in a post-racial society. White kids bought the story because white kids in school districts that had enough property taxes for a new school all their black friends were affluent, so they knew affluent black children who reinforced their idea that they lived in a post-racial America. And that’s what happened during the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s... Then we get to today, and a couple things are happening. One, a continually soft economy that is disproportionately benefiting the wealthiest Americans has created a sense of unease and panic among low-income and middle-income white people. So their station is legitimately getting worse, and so, for example, the data would tell us that the only population group in America who is experiencing a decline in life expectancy is low-income whites. So there’s a real problem there. And so they’re panicked. But at the same time, you’re seeing the whirlwind be reaped of longstanding racist policies in America, especially in terms of incarceration, drug crime, police brutality for black America, so you have this dissolving of the post-racial facade. So people entrench in one of two ways. They become fragile with white fragility, white fragility is what happens when a white person believes themselves to be basically good is confronted by the idea that they are part of supremacist systems and it frightens them and it either paralyzes them or puts them in a state of denial, or some demagogue comes along and tells them, ‘The reason your factory jobs are gone is because of these Mexicans and these angry black people,’ and so you have this legitimate angry response in the form of movements like Black Lives Matter, that become a way to demonize a good movement by people who are afraid and trying to drive this wedge into the country, and that’s the cauldron and the tempest we’re sitting in.” - Science Mike

“That same group of people that received this money from a G.I. Bill two generations later is looking at a young black man, complaining about welfare and wanting help from the government and is saying, ‘You work hard, and you get what you gotta get. You don’t need no government handouts. Y’all are just all so lazy, looking for a handout.’ Time out. You know how you got to the suburbs? It was the G.I. Bill. It was a government handout. And I’m gonna take them a step further and say how y’all had the family farm was the Homestead Act. So when we bought the Louisiana Purchase and we needed people to fill that place, the government was handing out monies for families to move there and if you didn’t know how to farm, ‘No problem, we will pay for you to learn how to farm.’ That’s a government program... So when you tell me that my family has not attained wealth, and I’m just looking for the government to help me out, I’m like, ‘Time out, young buck. That’s exactly how you developed wealth. It just happened two centuries ago.’” - Propaganda 

In this episode of The Liturgists, Michael Gungor and Science Mike talked with Propaganda and William Matthews. The topics of race, racism, and white supremacy in the United States were discussed. My dear friend Danielle recommended this to me, and it was the very first podcast I listened to on these topics. It was pivotal for putting me on the journey to broadening the narrative I had previously been taught regarding race.

What podcasts have you listened to recently?

#michaelgungor #sciencemike #propaganda #williammatthews #theliturgists #podcast #podcastrecommendation #race #racism #endracism #dismantlewhitesupremacy #listen #learn #empathy #equality #learning #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative

Account to Follow - Aug. 28, 2019

“Exploring shame, identity, & racial reconciliation.” These words in the bio and the content of the posts drew me to the Shameless Bibliophile page.

I have added numerous books to my only ever-growing list to read because of the recommendations given. I appreciate the diversity in content, characters, and genres, as well as each thoughtful synopsis and analysis. 

Follow @shamelessbibliophile, and get recommendations from someone who understands the value of representation, loves the books, and will talk Enneagram with you!

#shamelessbibliophile #accounttofollow #getbookrecommendations #bookrecommendations #bookrec #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #seekjustice #restorativejustice #reconciliation #lovemercy #walkhumbly #beautyindiversity #bettertogether #representationmatters #broadeningthenarrative

Additional Rec - Aug. 29, 2019

Learning the truth about the history of Indigenous people in the United States was one of the first steps in my journey broadening the narrative. Throughout my time in school, my textbooks, teachers, and those around me perpetuated stereotypes, whitewashed history, and painted Native Americans as a people of the past. I, too, am guilty of these actions. I am deeply grieved as I acknowledge my wrongdoing and want to join the work to be part of the solution. On March 5, 2019, Alia Wong wrote an article titled “The Schools That Tried—But Failed—to Make Native Americans Obsolete” for The Atlantic that I wanted to share today. A transcript is included from a conversation she had with novelist and historian David Treuer, who wrote The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America From 1890 to the Present. An excerpt from the article is below.

“The Civilization Fund Act of 1819... had the purported goal of infusing the country’s indigenous people with ‘good moral character’ and vocational skills. The law tasked Christian missions and the federal government with teaching young indigenous Americans subjects ranging from reading to math, eventually leading to a network of boarding schools designed to carry out this charge. The act was, in effect, an effort to stamp out America’s original cultural identity and replace it with one that Europeans had, not long before, imported to the continent. Over time, countless Native American children were taken from their families and homelands and placed in faraway boarding schools, a process that was often traumatic and degrading... It wasn’t until the late 1970s that Congress outlawed the forced removal of Native children from their families.”

Do you have additional resources or insights to share?

#indigenouspeoplearestillhere #indigineousexperiences #boardingschools #tellthetruth #thewholetruth #andnothingbutthetruth #beautyindiversity #bettertogether #empathy #equality #learning #history #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #repent #repair #loveyourneighbor #facethepast #healthefuture #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative

Book Rec - Aug. 31, 2019

Current Read - Boundaries Updated and Expanded: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend

“We are responsible to others and for ourselves. ‘Carry each other’s burdens,’ says Galatians 6:2… On the other hand, Galatians 6:5 says that ‘each one should carry their own load.’ Everyone has responsibilities that only he or she can carry… The Greek words for burden and load give us insight into the meaning of these texts. The Greek word for burden means ‘excess burdens,’ or burdens that are so heavy that they weigh us down. These burdens are like boulders. They can crush us. We shouldn’t be expected to carry a boulder by ourselves! It would break our backs. We need help with the boulders - those times of crisis and tragedy in our lives. In contrast, the Greek word for load means ‘cargo,’ or ‘the burden of daily toil.’ This word describes the everyday things we all need to do. These loads are like knapsacks. Knapsacks are possible to carry. We are expected to carry our own. We are expected to deal with our own feelings, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as the responsibilities God has given to each one of us, even though it takes effort. Problems arise when people act as if their ‘boulders’ are daily loads and refuse help, or as if their ‘daily loads’ are boulders they shouldn’t have to carry. The results of these two instances are either perpetual pain or irresponsibility.” (Cloud & Townsend, 2017, pp.32-33).

“Compliant avoidants search for someone to repair. This keeps them saying yes and keeps them out of touch with their own needs. Who fits the bill better than a controlling nonresponsive? And controlling nonresponsives search for someone to keep them away from responsibility. Who better than a compliant avoidant?” (Cloud & Townsend, 2017, p.61).

As someone who is a compliant avoidant, this book brought me face to face with some of the hardest truths about myself. I have work ahead of me for sure, which I plan to do in safe community with people who still love me even when I say, “No.” I am also seeing how the Church often serves as a breeding ground for compliant avoidants to be taken advantage of by controlling nonresponsives. Here’s to putting boundaries in place while walking in restored dignity, valuing mental health, and healing after experiencing spiritual abuse.  

Full disclosure: I personally didn’t like how body size and food were handled on pages 17, 238-239, and 318 where they were mentioned.

Has anyone else read this book?

#currentread #boundaries #bookrecommendation #bookrec #reading #learning #mentalhealth #whentosayyes #howtosayno #takecontrolofyourlife #growing #changing #gettinghealthy #healing #churchtoo #restoreddignity #lifeafterspiritualabuse #broadeningthenarrative

Instagram Posts from the Week of August 18, 2019

Headlines and History - Aug. 18, 2019

It is time for another installment of Headlines and History.

In an article in the New York Times from April 25, 2019 titled “Flint’s Water Crisis Started 5 Years Ago. It’s Not Over,”  Mitch Smith, Julie Bosman, and Monica Davey wrote about the current conditions in Flint, Michigan after a five year ordeal that left many suffering due to high levels of lead in the community’s water. Though new pipes are being installed and the water has been declared safe, residents continue to drink bottled water and are wary in the aftermath of the adversity they have faced.

Environmental injustice against communities where the residents are people of color and/or poor is a part of the past and present in the United States. Privileged communities don’t have to worry about if the drinking water is safe for consumption. Renee Skelton and Vernice Miller for The Natural Resources Defense Council explained in “The Environmental Justice Movement” details of the roots of the Environmental Justice Movement, referencing the experiences of residents in Warren County, NC, California's San Joaquin valley, Houston, TX, and West Harlem, in New York City. The Environmental Protection Agency’s website has an Environmental Justice Timeline that begins with the Memphis Sanitation Strike in February 1968 and moves chronologically through events that demonstrate environmental injustice. Reading the progression from one event to the next allows us to see the connectedness of the past to the present.

Our past is intertwined with and informed by our past. We must face the past so we can heal the future.

*Edited to add: On June 17, 2020, I came across The Redemption Project with Van Jones for CNN. I read the words, “Face the past. Heal the future.” I will no longer use this phrase for my Headlines and History posts beginning in June 2020.

#environmentalinjustice #environmentalracism #systemicinjustice #systemicracism #flintwatercrisis #socialjustice #loveyourneighbor #seekjustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #lament #repent #repair #stewardship #creationcare #facethepast #healthefuture #headlines #history #headlinesandhistory #historyandheadlines #broadeningthenarrative



Podcast Rec - Aug. 20, 2019

It’s podcast rec day!

Current Listen - Another Name for Every Thing with Richard Rohr: Nonviolent Atonement (Released March 30, 2019)

“It’s not God who is violent. We are. And we want God to fit our definition… God doesn’t follow our tit for tat… Retribution is quid pro quo… Restorative justice is… 'I will love you even more.'” - Richard Rohr

In the past year, I have been humbled by the reality that I don’t know it all when it comes to theology. Truth be told, there isn’t much that I am sure of these days, and I am embarrassed by how confident I was before beginning this journey of learning from voices like that of Richard Rohr. He is kind, tender, and gracious in his speech and evokes images in my mind of Christ’s treatment of those who questioned Him, not in order to trap Him but in order to understand Him. I can tell you information about about a couple of different atonement theories, but don’t ask me what I believe about atonement theories right now. I’m still reading, listening, questioning, processing, and praying. One thing I can say, though, is that the way I parent my kids has shifted as I approach discipline looking through a restorative, rather than a retributive, lens. There is a whole world of Christian doctrine I have yet to explore. As I evolve, my goal in this life remains the same: love as Jesus loved. Here’s to becoming more like Jesus.

What podcasts have you listened to recently?

#richardrohr #anothernameforeverything #podcast #podcastrecommendation #universalchrist #faith #hope #love #lovingthebibleagain #loveyourneighbor #nonviolentatonement #restorativejustice #broadeningthenarrative



Account to Follow - Aug. 21, 2019

It’s Wednesday, so I will highlight an account I follow.

I recently discovered the Crushing Colonialism Instagram page. As you can see on their website, “Crushing Colonialism tells the stories of Indigenous people to create a world that values and honors Indigeneity.”

During my journey broadening the narrative, and in some cases completely discarding the narrative I was taught, I have deeply appreciated those who allow me to learn from them. The thought-provoking posts shared on the Crushing Colonialism page are piercing and require action in my daily life, not from a place of white saviorism but from submitting myself to diverse leadership.

Follow @crushingcolonialism if you aren’t already, and financially support the work of Indigenous media makers.

#crushingcolonialism #accounttofollow #supportindigenousmediamakers #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #antiracism #antiracist #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #broadeningthenarrative



Additional Rec - Aug. 22, 2019

Since it is Thursday, this post will be about an additional recommendation I found beneficial on my journey in broadening the narrative.

I am blessed by deep and beautiful relationships with single women. I appreciate their vulnerability. They dispense wisdom, are patient with me, and trust me enough to teach me. For example, I learned to not refer to singleness as a season or a stage of life. One friend explained that she doesn’t know if her singleness is just a season. Another friend graciously offered advice for replacing this language with the phrase “life circumstances.” I don’t want my words to wound my single sisters, so I want to submit myself to them to learn from them and discover ways to better love them.

 Last year, I read an article from January 17, 2017 by Ekemini Uwan for Christianity Today titled “Singleness: My Only Companion.” Ekemini Uwan wrote about her experience as a single woman, the shame that has accompanied her singleness at times, and the God who sees. “I am amazed that the first recorded appearance of the angel of the Lord is in this encounter with Hagar who was not a Jew but a Gentile excluded from the covenant promises during this period in redemptive history. And I am struck that her cause was not disregarded nor forgotten by God. He took her shame and bestowed her with honor. The Lord is the lifter of Hagar’s head. He also lifts mine and others who have experienced the debilitating nature of shame.”

Dear single sisters, God sees you and values you. You are not second-class citizens but are vital members of the Body. I am sorry for the ways I have excluded you or hurt you. I want to do better and will strive to do better. Thank you for sharing your insights, knowledge, and experiences with me. I see you and value you. I am ministered to as you exercise your gifts and praise God for our friendship as my life is enriched by each of you.

#singlesisters #singlebrotherstoo #singleness #singleexperiencesinthechurch #ekeminiuwan #conversationsincommunity #community #bettertogether #empathy #equality #learning #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative



Book Rec - Aug. 24, 2019

It’s book post day!

Past Read- The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby

“Throughout this journey several themes dot the horizon of history. One notable theme is that white supremacy in the nation and the church was not inevitable. Things could have been different" (Tisby, 2019, p. 18).

“The forty-fifth president did not produce the racial and political divide between black and white Christians, but he exposed and extended longstanding differences while revealing the inadequacy of recent reconciliation efforts” (Tisby, 2019, p. 189).

“If the twenty-first century is to be different from the previous four centuries, then the American church must exercise even more creativity and effort to break down racial barriers than it took to erect them in the first place” (Tisby, 2019, p. 193).

I had the privilege of being part of the launch team for The Color of Compromise, and I wrote a review for the book after reading an advance copy. I am deeply grateful for the prophetic voice of Jemar Tisby and urge everyone to purchase a copy of this essential historical survey.

What are you reading? 

#pastread #thecolorofcompromise #jemartisby #essentialreading #bookrecommendation #highlyrecommend #reading #learning #history #churchhistory #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #loveyourneighbor #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative