Real Talk

Peace and blessings,

Below are some examples of modes of thinking that I think provide a positive alternative to many stereotypes that seek to label and confine us. Also, links to these websites have added to the right. What do think of the idea behind the book? The websites? Take care, have a blessed day, and speekonit...





1) Info on the recently released book

More Than Entertainers,

which seeks to provide black youth with an overview of the many different careers that we as black people have, and to encourage them to think about as well as seeing themselves being successful. The book can be purchased through

Black Career Book

2) A

new website

created by a black woman, for women in the ministry.

3) A

website

aimed at altering the common stereotypes of black males.

4) A

website

by a black male who offers information, tips, and resources for black entrepreneurs.

Labels: black, blackout, book, business, careers, entrepreneurs, ministry, More Than Enternainers, news, positive alternatives, sterotypes, thinking outside the box, youth

Peace and blessings,

Before I begin, I would like to preface this introduction by saying that I am more of a humanities and social sciences person than a hard sciences person, therefore I apologize if my description of this medical instrument does not do the instrument justice, lol.

When people are unable to take care of themselves, they often need something to assist them in initiating and facilitating internal bodily processes such as eating and blood flow. A major medical instrument that provides this assistance is an IV. A person who is seriously ill, for instance, may need to use an IV to pump blood in his or her body. Without this IV, his or her condition will get worse. Under more severe circumstances, the presence or absence of an IV can mean the difference between life and death.

Prior to starting my first semester at a major university, I knew that one of the most important things I needed to do was build upon my relationship with God. For me, that meant that I needed to find a church home. The first day of new student move –ins, I was greeted by a member of Black Campus Ministries (BCM), who invited me to bible study. While attending the bible studies, I found out that BCM was only one part of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), a campus ministry organization that serves students of all ethnicities. For example, like BCM, there are ethnic-specific ministries for Chicano/Latino students, and Asian/Pacific Islander/Philippino students.

Despite being aware of and around this diversity, I primarily viewed BCM and Intervarsity as a ministry to help me in my individual, highly personal walk with God. After reading B. McNeil and R. Richardson’s “The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change,” however, I realized that Intervarsity was about much more. In addition to providing me with spiritual resources to strengthen my personal walk with Christ, Intervarsity also provided opportunities and spiritual resources to acknowledge, appreciate, and strengthen my cultural and social walk with Jesus.

On a cultural level, Intervarsity is grounded in the belief that racial/ethnic unification and reconciliation are not just worthy goals to achieve in themselves: the call to achieve these goals is evident throughout the Old and New Testament. To illustrate the importance of these goals, McNeil and Richardson cite various scriptures, including God’s spreading out of cultures via different languages for the people of Babel and Paul’s emphasis on eliminating cultural barriers to show that Christ’s love extends to Gentiles as well as Jews, to name a few. On a social level, Intervarsity helped me realize that any form of injustice is a sin. Therefore for Christians, having a heart for and actively engaging in a relationship with Christ means doing the same for the oppressed and marginalized. Using Paul’s declaration in Ephesians 6:12 that the battle is not with people per se, but with (spiritual) powers and principalities as a framework, McNeil and Richardson urges us to denounce and oppose sins of racism and all forms of discrimination and oppression. Through Christ, we not only have the spiritual power to denounce and oppose these powers and principalities: we also have the victory over these things through our faith in and obedience to Christ.

So in a nutshell, McNeil and Richardson’s “The Heart of Racial Justice” has given me a newfound appreciation for the ministry Intervarsity provides to college students through their focus on personal, cultural, and social growth in Christ. What does this have to do with the example you gave in the opening paragraph? Here’s the connection: Just as an IV in the medical sense is used to preserve and save lives, my view of what it meant to be a Christian prior to getting involved with Intervarsity was limited thus was suffering. Like the physical lives of people who cannot do for themselves, my spiritual life was in need of an IV to “feed” me some different, more encompassing ways of viewing my relationship with Christ and His kingdom, and through the grace of God I was introduced to these new and diverse perspectives through Intervarsity, my spiritual IV.


What do you think? If you have been or are currently a part of Intervarsity, what have you learned since your involvement that you were unaware of prior? If you are not familiar with Intervarsity or have not been involved with the organization, any general thoughts/reactions to this piece? Take care and speekonit…

Labels: Black Campus Ministries, God, Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, IV, Jesus, ministry, New Testament, resources, spiritual, students

Peace and blessings,

Now i'm not really an insect person, but the Gadfly is a particularly interesting insect, given 1) its characteristic behavior and 2) who this behavior affects. A Gadfly is a type of fly that annoys livestock. Yeah that's right, all they do is basically agitate livestock. Even more interesting, however, is

the social implication of this concept of a Gadfly.

In a nutshell, the term "Gadfly" has been used thoughout history and in contemprary society to describe someone or something that agitates in the name of "waking people up" in a sense.

While at a Christian leadership conference last November, one of the speakers said something that resonated deeply with me. He said that as Christians, EVERY (social) situation that we find ourselves in (e.g. a meeting, an event, a discussion, an organization, etc...) should be different (changed) simply because we are in it. This is not to say that it is something about us that people should pay attention to, because first and foremost it is not us but God through us, and we are called to be humble. What it is saying is that when people see and interact with us, they should see that God lives in and works through us. This idea of the Gadlfy was also expressed by

LPG, a southern California Christian hip-hop group.

Regarding this matter, Jesus proclaimed that

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality), how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house." (Matthew 5:13-15)

The conference speaker's statement, and its scriptural justification, deeply resonated with me on two levels. For one, the statement resonated with me because pragmatically, it makes sense. Since we have been saved by, and thus called to represent JC, then this representation should be evident through our daily actions. Again, this is not to say that we intentionally draw attention to ourselves as if we're saying "look at me, the super holier-than-thou Christian." This should never be our motivation for doing anything. On another level, the statement resonated with me because it causes me to constantly evaluate my life and ask the following questions: Am I letting my light shine in every situation that I find myself in? Am I decreasing so that God can increase and get the glory?

No what's the connection between what I've just mentioned and the ugly insect at the beginning of the post? The connection, at least in my opinion, will easily be seen once the Gadfly's actions are explained in further detail. As mentioned earlier, the Gadlfy is known for annoying livestock. Although the term "annoying" tends to have a negative connotation, there are times when being annoying can be a positive and loving thing. If the purspose of annoying someone or something is to preserve their life (e.g. it could very well be the case that if not agitated by the Gadfly, some livestock would die in their sleep through choking or through some other means), then such agitation is warranted. Similarly, I think that we as Christians have a similar calling, to agitate those persons, structures, and ideologies that seek oppress and destroy. Through LOVE, we should constantly be letting our light shine in a way that represents JC in a world that often tries to suppress Him. In terms of being a loving agitator, JC was the best to do it. During his ministry, he showed unconditional love for prostitutes, criminals, and sinners, while at the same time changing (spiritually, mentally, socially, and in some cases physically) every situation He was apart of. In Matthew 10:34-35 he says

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to part asunder a man from his father, and a daughter from her mother, and a newly married wife from her mother-in-law--"

What I take from this is that although JC loved us so much as to die for us and incur the burden for our sins, he also came to "shake things up" so that people can follow Him. Given that Jesus was a revolutionary (e.g. he challenged the oppressive structures and advocated for the marginalized) in addition to being our Savior and Redeemer, we are called to "shake things up" in our groups, organizations, communities, and sometimes even our families, so that God's light can be seen through us.

What do you think? What do you think it means to be a Gadfly? To let your light shine in all situations? Weigh in and speekonit...

Labels: agitate, Christians, communities, gadfly, God, humble, ideologies, JC, love, Matthew, mental, ministry, organizations, social, society, spiritual

Peace and blessings,

Out of the various churches i'ved visited or been apart of thus far, one thing is certain: Witnessing Jesus move in peoples' lives and hearing their testimony is something one must experience, because trying to use words to describe it does not do it justice. Hearing about the miracles Jesus performed and the lives he healed (e.g. mentally, emotionally, physically, etc...) is one thing, but to listen to the pastor or a member of the congregation speak about their personal encounters with Jesus is phenomenal. What's even more phenomenal, in my opinion, is when people encounter Jesus in settings outside of the church. If you have not read or heard about the story, let me introduce to you

Harmony Dust

...

As someone who was abused as a little girl and had a rocky relationship with her mother, her problems would increase as she got older. In the midst of financial problems and going to college (a combination in which too many are familiar), she decided to strip to make some extra money. What started as temporary became much more (e.g. she only planned to do it for a few months, but it turned into a few years), and her self-esteem started to feel the effects. In the midst of all of this, she started attending a church.


One night, she recall hearing a song that she had heard three years ago once she first started dancing, and took it as a sign that it was time for a change. After giving her life to Christ she left stripping. She now has a ministry called

Treasures out of darkness

. The purpose of the ministry is to reach out to women who are strippers, and to reveal Christ's love to them. Not only did she have the strength to leave and demand more for herself, she also was humble enough to reach out to others in a similar situation.

If you haven't already, make sure to check out her article and website(links provided below). These type of testimonies demonstrates the applicability of God's love to all areas of our lives, and the fact that He meets us wherever we are at. Furthermore, most of the women Jesus spent his time with were those who were social outcasts who probably had low self-esteem prior to encountering Jesus. Even though Jesus undoubtedly has the power to transform anyone's life, it does not excuse the personal responsibility to treat one another with love and encouragement, so that we do not contribute to situations that make it more likely for women to engage in that lifestyle. Who knows what would have happened if people reaffirmed Harmony from the beginning of her value and worth. Ahh, the power and love of Jesus. Until next time, speekonit...


http://www.glamour.com/news/articles/2006/12/stripper



http://www.iamatreasure.com/index2.html

Labels: Christ, churches, Harmony Dust, Jesus, ministry, strippers, Treasures Out of Darkness, women

Peace and Blessings,

I've been meaning to post this story for a few weeks now, but i'm just now getting to it. It is a story about Emmanuel, a man who, while going through Seminary training to work in ministry, found out that he had HIV. It's a compelling story. The link is below, and it is also in the "Christianity" news section. Take care and speekonit...


http://www.urbana.org/_articles.cfm?RecordId=1025

Labels: Christianity, faith, HIV, ministry, news, redemption, seminary

Peace and Blessings,

Lord willing, i'm going to try to post a bible scripture or two every week that I think speaks to a Christian perspective towards the issues discussed on this site as well as scriptures that I personally like. Feel free to comment to the post and include your favorite scriptures or those that you feel may apply to the issues discussed on the site. For this week (as well as next week because this post is at the end of the week), i'll start it off with Isaiah 61:1 which reads:
"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has annointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound."

Source: New King James Amplified

This is one of my favorite scriptures because it speaks to the revolutionary aspect of Christianity, where Christians are agents of social change and advocates of human rights. In an article I read this week for a class i'm taking on the New Testament, the author argues that to understand the plight of people of African descent in America( perceptions, resistance, understanding, etc...), we must understand the different ways in the Bible has functioned within Africans and people of African descent throughout history (especially during slavery). In addition, he argues that people of African descent manipulated the Bible to fit their social experiences during different periods in history. In other words, their meaning of the Bible during the early years of slavery is different from that of later years of slavery, from once they were free, etc...Now while I agree with his first argument that how he view America is related to our understanding of the Bible, I have an issue with the use of the word "manipulation." In my opinion, it was the Europeans (and anyone else) who used the Bible and Christianity to justify slavery who manipulated the Bible, not Africans. Africans and people of African descents' interpretation of the Bible during different periods in history are not examples of manipulations but a succession of scriptural truth. God does not like individuals manipulating His word for the exploitation of others in the name of greed. Moreover, Jesus' ministry was about healing and empowering the oppressed and marginalized. He emphasized the importance of and commanded us to love one another and to put others before ourselves. Neither of these commands could be achieved by using the Bible to justify slavery. Until next time...speekonit

Labels: African, Bible, God, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, manipulation, ministry, scripture, slavery