Tag: Identity

In honor of International Day for People of African Descent, which is observed internationally on August 31 each year, ELCA Racial Justice Ministries invited ELCA Director for Innovation and Ideas to share some thoughts about being a person of African descent. For more information on International Day for People of African Descent, visit International Day for People of African Descent – EN | United Nations. Names carry immense significance. They are a marker of identity, heritage and personal history. Because I am of African descent, my name is a reflection of and connection to my ancestral roots and cultural identity….

Since this “dissertation” and PhD by Publication isn’t going to see the light of day now, I thought I would share the introduction chapter that I presented for said dissertation. Part of it includes my contribution to the introduction to our second volume Evangelical Calvinism book that I co-wrote with Myk Habets. The part I appropriate for that, in this current iteration (as introduction to my “dissertation”), is, of course, the part I wrote. And then, much of that has been augmented by further writing, as you will see. But I think it underscores some needed orientation, particularly as “Reformed…

In his Daily Meditation of February 6 on 1 Corinthians 12, Rev. Richard Rohr writes “Humanity consistently has to face the problem of unity and diversity. We’re not very good at understanding it. We habitually choose our smaller groups, because we don’t know how to belong to a larger group. That demands too much letting go.” He notes that Paul’s doctrine of the Body of Christ “isn’t easy for Westerners to understand, because we are deeply trained in cultural individualism. So much so, we don’t even recognize our lack.” It seems impossible that anyone with eyes and ears open could…