On July 26, 1838, Maria (Ma-rye-ah) Fearing was born a slave near Gainesville, Alabama. As a house servant, she spent much of her time with her mistress and the other children. Though her owners taught their slaves the Presbyterian catechism, told them Bible stories and tales of missionaries in Africa, they refused to voluntarily free her. After […]
Recently I was asked by my friends at CRU’s Creating Options Together Conference to share my thoughts on “How to Keep Going When Ministry is Hard.” As I work with the Persevering Church, this is something we deal with daily – it’s always hard. Actually, “hard” becomes the norm… They asked me to speak to their […]
Recently, I sat down with Canadian human rights journalist Geoffrey Johnston with Toronto’s Kingston Whig Standard newspaper to talk about the intersections between African American Christians, US Church history, and the persecuted Church. That conversation evolved into this article, “Learn from African Americans.” It became the first part in his series for the Whig Standard on persecution in Pakistan. For […]
When I first met Deborah*, the word that came to my mind was “firebrand.” Deborah lives among an unreached people group. Long ago, they were stripped of their dignity, identity and God-given purpose in life. Grave injustices have brought this entire population to a place where is no electricity or water. There are very few economic opportunities, and […]
The government of Saudi Arabia says with absolute assurance that there are no Saudi Christians in the kingdom of Saud. But some nationals quietly worshiping inside the kingdom say otherwise; Christ is no respecter of earthly borders. No Separation of Mosque and State There is no separation of mosque and state in Saudi Arabia. The government follows a […]
One of the most destructive lies of American chattel slavery was that “if we were good and obedient slaves, we would be greatly rewarded in heaven.” In the twenty-first century, this distortion of Scripture is morphing into something equally as insidious. This aberrant teaching has so deeply affected African American Christian consciousness that we’ve swung the […]
“I know exactly what I’m doing!” So said a young Iranian calling in during a live broadcast on Iranian television. The on the air host advised him to be cautious with his decision, to which he responded: “Would you keep me from the truth about life in Christ? The state can kill me for this, […]
I appreciate the ministry of Jackie Hill Perry on many different levels. This spoken word performance of hers caught my eye and ear, and challenged my heart. From her site: “Comparing the struggle of American believers to our counterparts in other parts of world, Jackie envisions that any form of “American Persecution” isn’t one of […]
In September 2015, I was honored to present my perspective on activism in the global context at one of my favorite events, the Leadership, Development and Resources Conference (LDR). The conference theme was Orthodox Activism, and I was given an hour to contrast an approach to activism based on God’s character reflected through Scripture, and the approaches of […]
Lately I feel a strong pull to define myself by today’s ideologies and movements – or, in some cases, define myself solely by rejecting those with which I disagree. World events and social media issue hourly siren calls for re-definitions and personal declarations. I am tempted also to define the Church by my personal associations and preferences. When […]
Endurance. 