Ruby Bridges Tells Me Her Story….

As part of my awakening to my own complicity in the systemic racism in our country, I have made a commitment to educate myself about things in Black History that I did not know about. In order to do this, I have been compiling a list of resources to help me get better educated. This is a commitment that I have made to myself, to God and also to my friends and colleagues of color. I am doing this, not only for the month of February, (Black History Month), but as an ongoing process that I imagine will probably not end during my lifetime. Each time I read a new book, or watch a new film, or participate in an anti-racism discussion, I come to the realization of how much I do not know and how much I still need to learn. Thankfully, I have friends and colleagues who are very patient with me and who continue to teach me and guide me along the way. I have met almost 100% of these friends and colleagues through the American Baptist Churches, because we are a diverse and interconnected body of believers.

Central to my philosophy of mission, is the prayer that Jesus taught us. In the prayer that many of us recite every Sunday during our church services, Jesus reminded us to pray that things on “earth would be as things in heaven”. It is upon that prayer that I hang my entire theology of mission. That is part of what we do as leaders, believers, and followers of Jesus- to bring the light of heaven with us here —…