Wendi Thomas on Lotto

This editorial from our local paper is interesting. Wendi Thomas always proves to spark a conversation.
She is probably correct that this is a mean-spirited way to antagonize the poor without really addressing the problem.It reminds me of a person whom I once heard say, “How can poor people have such a nice television and such [...]

Tony Campolo in Memphis

Ever since the passing of Proposition 8 in November, I have wanted to write something that would address some of the efforts that were, in my judgment, misguided. Since my partners in ministry are colored with many hues of the political spectrum, I never knew exactly how my words would come across.
Last night I went [...]

Invisible Man

I am in the middle of Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison. In the book, Ellison considers himself to be invisible. Sure, he is composed of flesh and blood. Yet, he is socially invisible because he is black and he lives in 20th century America. Therefore, people choose to see right past him, through him, and [...]

Just Generosity

I love Ronald Sider’s Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America. Here are a few statistics I found particularly interesting:

77% of stocks are owned by 10% of Americans.
In 1960, the average CEO made 41 times the average wage of a factory worker. Today, that same CEO makes 431 times the wage of [...]

Dreaming Justice with Dr. Martin Luther King

This is a reprint from early 2007.________
Yesterday, during the last song of worship, I opened up my notes and scanned the material for the Young Professionals class. The theme for the class was justice in Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1) and its relation to Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel. As I was reading these notes we [...]

Back from HUT

Surely you have noticed that I was a little behind on the posting of late. I spent the last two weeks at HUT (Harding University Tahkodah), a global village among other functions. And you can be sure that wi-fi isn’t too easy to find in Floral, Arkansas. Since I am totally lacking any expertise in [...]

Dreaming Justice

Yesterday, during the last song of worship, I opened up my notes and scanned the material for the Young Professionals class. The theme for the class was justice in Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1) and its relation to Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel. As I was reading these notes we sang the song Shine Jesus Shine. [...]

Does anyone really believe in the Pursuit of Happiness?

The House has been settled and the Senate awaits closure. America eagerly anticipates change, renewal, and the end of partisanship. The only thing I can say about the end of the election is: Did we really hate the commercials that much? Don’t you realize that all this means is that beginning today we will be [...]

1906

With this year being the anniversary of the official recognition of the split between Disciples and Churches of Christ, much ado has been made in attempt to unite the two bodies. Half way through this “epic year” I have mixed impressions.
1) My favorite thing of all is that we make the statement “we split off [...]

Autonomy versus Submission

I am doing some study in 1 Peter 2 on the subject of submission. Often we will discuss the way in which the ANE culture differed from our culture. One of the most significant of these differences is within the realm of mobility. The ANE had a rigid hierarchy which was not often bent. Beginning [...]