Here, your belonging is not in question.
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A Confession of Sin
As I confessed in the past blog post tagged here, The Sin of Overprotection, my biggest soon is overprotection. I know that this might sound benign. But, in my experience, it does me as much harm as other people’s professed sins, It has cost me relationships, it has caused me needless suffering, and in many…
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Do the INR (Individual Narrative Responsibility) Work
How often do you reflect on how much the stories you tell yourself impact your life? Personally, I think about it everyday. Because since I was a child, I have always been keenly aware of narrative dynamics. Consciously or unconsciously we all perceive ourselves as characters in a narrative. And how we locate ourselves in…
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Trusting What Can’t Be Trusted
Humans are designed to radically Trust. From our first cry, we call out to be held and comforted and above all, we call out to be loved. It is as if love is our breath. It is our Life. Can we truly live without it? It is almost maddening and definitely saddening in the moments…
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Race Doesn’t Divide, Racism Does
After I shared my piece on whether or not Jesus’s skin color matters, I had someone suggest that what I write about race is divisive. I, of course disagree. I look at it as more of an intervention because I love everyone and I would like for us to get to a place where we…
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Does Jesus’ Skin Color Matter?
So, I watched this YouTube video where this Conservative Christian Black dude was trying to call out the hosts of the View for bringing up to the star of The Chosen—a series about the ministries of Jesus and the Disciples—that they were appreciative that in the show Jesus Christ was not blonde haired and blue…
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Stepping into the Mystery
Are you willing to step into the Mystery? “I don’t know” is a viable answer to any question if “not knowing” is the truth. Two years ago, when I listened to the “Voice” that called me into pastoral ministry saying that it was time to leave the pulpit and the building and go out into…
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Using Words to Listen to Silence
I’m currently reading this book, Ki-Asana Zen, written by my uncle, Vernon Kitabu Turner. Reading it, I am reminded how blessed I am for having mentors and that God is always looking out for me on my journey—mind, body, and soul. On my spiritual journey, I have never pursued anyone or anything apart from the…
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In the Shadow of Bullies and Hypocrites
Grief Will Make You Take Stock and Clean House Over the past few weeks, I have been doing a lot of reflection on my personal history in the Church and my relationship to my fellow human beings. A lot of it is in light of how the church treated Carlton Pearson. Ever since I went…
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A Black Santa for White Christmas
Picture this. It is Christmas 1977. My mom and dad are arguing. I am 2. Somehow I know that I shouldn’t understand what is happening. But, yet I do. The final threads in the fabric of our family are snapping. My father is leaving. As he heads for the door, I feel an invisible tether…
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Is Jesus Made Up?
Yes. Jesus is made up. Haha made you look. 😂 I’m talking about the name “Jesus” (Jeezuss) In response to a Facebook post I did someone said they wondered why some cultures (aka Latin influenced) feel comfortable naming their sons Jesus and others don’t. Here is my long answer. It is worth reading if you’re…
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The Roofless Church 