Editor’s note: In October 2017, Freddy Haynes of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas wrote an open letter to Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas, asking his cooperation in fighting racism in America. Haynes is a nationally known figure…
In Louisville, learning as a white witness in Black space
Last Saturday, June 27, a paramilitary outfit of white nationalists threatened on social media to “take back” our city from the racial justice protesters occupying Injustice Park in downtown Louisville. They predicted that the encampment of largely peaceful protesters would be cleared by nightfall.
Dallas CBF pastor stands with black clergy protesting police shooting of African-American man
A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pastor in Dallas criticized white churches for not speaking up alongside blacks demanding justice in the killing of an African-American man in his own apartment by a white police officer. On Sunday George Mason, senior pastor…
Seasoned saints: Stand down and take direction from the youth on gun control
The Son of Man called on society then and, I believe, does so now, to “change and become like children.” Literally, we must humble ourselves enough to put aside what we deem as comforting and correct based on experience and age, power and privilege, and commit to living in a world where the first shall be last and the last shall be first.
How Trump, Kaepernick and NFL inspire venom — and prophetic witness
When Texas pastor Freddy Haynes joined other ministers over the summer calling for a boycott of the NFL, it was to protest the league’s treatment of embattled quarterback Colin Kaepernick. But Donald Trump has pushed the debate, and the proposed…
Who is the Good Samaritan now?
Another day, another police officer-involved shooting. These national tragedies are happening with frightening regularity. So much so that we don’t need narration; we know the end from the beginning: “He had a gun.” “I felt that my life was in…
Study: evangelicals at odds with rest of nation on police and racial bias
Unlike most Americans, evangelical Christians do not believe that law enforcement treats minorities unfairly, new research by The Barna Group has found. “Overall, only 29 percent of evangelicals believe police unfairly target people of color,” the Christian research organization said…
It’s hard to sleep
It is hard to sleep. Tonight, I struggle to reach the land of the sandman because I kept wondering if another scenario like the one at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina was taking place elsewhere in…
Jesus and our restrictive pools
It’s happened again. Fortunately, this time no one was shot or killed, so we can breathe a collective sigh of relief. That is, relief in the sense that innocent black children were “only” traumatized, their lives were “only” threatened and…