God, Racism, and our World: A Multi-Layered Diagnostic for Racial Justice

Last updated on: October 28, 2020 at 7:07 pm By Guest Contributor

“If you’re White, please don’t @ or email me.” I shared this attempted line of cautionary humor some years ago during a sermon on structural racism one Sunday morning. I sought to make a clear distinction between the ideology of white supremacy and white people—hence the cautionary word to white people in my congregation. White supremacy—I explained—was a destructive ideology that inhabits all kinds of people in different ways. But in my flippancy, much seemed to be lost in translation. This... Read more

PRO-life is more than ANTI-abortion

Last updated on: October 18, 2020 at 2:07 pm By Guest Contributor

Written by Sid Jansma, Jr. The number 1 question I’ve been asked since declaring my support for Biden for President is how can I, in good conscience, vote for a pro-choice Democrat? I’ve heard the question in a wide variety of not-always-repeatable forms, all variations on, “How can you vote for a baby-killer?!” or “The Dems are the party of death!” Let me state my positions on pro-life and politics and religion very clearly: I am a lifelong Republican. I... Read more

Good Democrat or Bad Republican?

Last updated on: September 30, 2020 at 8:47 pm By _Guest

Guest Post Written By Sid Jansma, Jr. Early on in my oil and gas exploration career, my father and I invested every dime we had and then some into exploratory wells. Oil exploration is neither cheap nor assured so we had to dig deep into our pockets before digging deep into the possibly unyielding ground. We were partnering with Gus, an elderly Swedish immigrant, who had vastly more capital than my father and I combined. In reality, Gus graciously partnered with... Read more

Relational Violence: Change in the Ruins

Last updated on: September 23, 2020 at 4:05 pm By _Guest

My first look into the eyes of racism was in 1977 when I was a freshman in college. I attended Bob Jones University—an institution I now know was built, both historically and theologically, on a foundation of racism.[1] My student job was an administrative assistant to the university president’s executive assistant. One of my assignments was a memo to the staff asking them to clean up after themselves in the faculty bathroom, because it looked like a bunch of n***s... Read more

5 Ways to Find Common Ground this Election Season

Last updated on: September 15, 2020 at 6:04 pm By Guest Contributor

It happens from time to time—often unexpectedly. I call it “The Phil Situation.” You’re at a neighborhood Labor Day barbeque, or a company Holiday party, or a family reunion with distant kin from Enid you didn’t know you had—when, all at once, Phil sidles up to you. Phil the Pill from Apartment A12. Phil the accountant from Purchasing. Second Uncle Phil from Enid. Drink in hand, Phil offers a random, unsolicited comment about Antifa anarchists inciting violence in Portland, or... Read more

It’s Time for Justice

Last updated on: June 29, 2020 at 4:59 pm By Guest Contributor

Racism and its ugly root system of white supremacy is being exposed and called out and named and known in a way that could liberate us all from its evil grip if we embrace this moment and this good news. And it’s such good news. One catalytic moment sparked a fire that has set America ablaze, and the world is catching its flame. A cell phone captured graphic footage of the tragic and brutal murder of George Floyd. That moment... Read more

The Subtle and Corrosive Power of Bias

Last updated on: June 11, 2020 at 12:33 pm By Guest Contributor

The day after the weekend of protests in response to the summary and public police execution of George Floyd, a thoughtful, Christian Republican friend wrote on Facebook: Quick question to some of my fellow conservative friends: Have you ever taken the time and read anything on systematic oppression/racism? If not, perhaps take some time in the next couple of days and get familiar with the literature. I’m sure it will create more understanding and more productive conversations. I have long... Read more

Memorial Day, COVID-19, and a Call to Repentance

Last updated on: May 22, 2020 at 10:11 pm By Guest Contributor

With Memorial Day just a few days away, I’ve been reflecting on a conversation I had with a now-deceased parishioner who, along with more than 150,000 other soldiers, had stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. While he lived to tell about it, he often jokingly acknowledged that he might have been killed had it not been for his short stature. “The bullets flew right over my head,” he confessed. “It was the only time in my life... Read more

Love in a Time of Pandemic

Last updated on: May 21, 2020 at 8:40 pm By Guest Contributor

When I was a little boy, in the early 60s, my father directed The Community School at Lincoln Elementary School in Kalamazoo. Lincoln School was in Kalamazoo’s predominantly black north side, literally just over the tracks from Kalamazoo’s predominantly white south side. My brother and I spent a lot of time at Lincoln school—every weekday in the summer and, during the school year, at least one evening a week and most Saturdays. We played basketball, raced around, took swimming lessons,... Read more

No One Calls For Justice: Perspective on Ahmaud Arbery

Last updated on: May 14, 2020 at 6:43 pm By Guest Contributor

The prophet Isaiah depicts the dreadful and startling condition of humanity in chapter 59, verses nine to sixteen. Although he wrote this over 700 hundred years ago, its an accurate portrayal of our current society. “No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but... Read more

Why was Moses placed in a basket in the Nile?