Category: Belief
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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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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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My 6 y/o’s Song for the World – Questions of Life
My little one is a force. Yesterday she decided that she wanted to make a song for the world and that I needed to “put it all over the internet today!” Being in a sensitive and tender space right now grieving my friend, I am trying to be mindful about not wasting opportunities to do…
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Grief is a Midwife
Grief is a midwife, giving birth to who we’d never be without loss’ seed.Realizing that you’ll never again be who you used to be makes room for who you are becomingSo let yourself weep. Be emptied of who you’ve beenBecause someone wiser, more capable, and more honest is waiting to emergeEverything you held back, waiting…
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The Case for Living Loveward (Full Sermon)
There’s something about the illusion of the better and easier and more predictable yesterday that often keeps us from going toward the unpredictable but more liberating future that awaits us just on the other side of doing something different. And it is toward this that I believe is the call of living Loveward.
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You Don’t Owe Jack, But Love!
Love for One Another Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor…
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A Box as Big as the Universe
My uncle, Vernon Kitabu Turner, can’t be put in a box. And it is time that I thank God for him. He just loves God and has ceaselessly sought to understand the Spirit that he has witnessed as active his entire life by any means necessary. When I was younger, people told me that I…
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Ending Racism: How to Change the World in One Generation
The other morning I was feeling the weight of trying to articulate possibilities in the face of polarities. I prayed for some guidance on how to reimagine some of the conversations we’re having on race. Next thing you know, I get this email from my new friend Justin Michael Williams inviting me to preview an…
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State of Confusion 2020
Sometimes I feel actual physical discomfort when I think about the decisions that are before our world over the next generation or so. I’m the type of person who will choose to try and see where other people are coming from almost to the degree of great emotional risk. I have listened to people of…
The Roofless Church 