Weekly Web Roundup (6/10/17)

Photo Credit: pennstatenews

Here is a collection of items from around the web that caught my attention the past few weeks:

How "Race Tests" Maintain Evangelical Segregation by Joshua L. Lazard (Religion Dispatches)

"As the Bracey/Moore study alludes to, these evangelical churches are spaces that on paper claim that, to put it colloquially, “race doesn’t matter,” or “It doesn’t matter what color Jesus is.” But obviously it does. Reality shows that ecclesiastical segregation is a sociological trend that exists beyond just white evangelical churches. It also includes congregations and denominations that are decidedly liberal and stand at the opposite end of the theological spectrum. Studies have shown time and time again that this segregation has held true for a multiplicity of reasons. While these reasons range from the difference of praise and worship style and doctrinal differences, to residential segregation or the preference of non-whites creating affirming spaces of their own, white liberal churches aren’t excused from being a part of white institutional spaces as defined by this study."

Being Black, a Woman and an Evangelical by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson (Missio Alliance)

"For those black people who are conscious of this American history and still desire to remain true to the scriptural principles of evangelicalism, it costs us something to present ourselves as evangelical. For the most part, we are able to confidently make this claim because we have been trained in evangelical institutions, we love Jesus and the Good Book, and we believe in the gospel as the ministry of reconciliation. It also means that we often find ourselves leading and ministering in predominately white spaces, churches and institutions. It means that we are often one of a few ethnic minorities within white evangelicalism challenging the thoughts and actions surrounding diversity (or most often the lack thereof), racial reconciliation and biblical justice. We are often on tap to contribute to conversations but rarely on payroll to make decisions."

Considering (and Surviving) Unhealthy Christian Organizations, part 1 by Ed Stetzer (Christianity Today: The Exchange)

"Many times, the leader gets a pass for the fruit of his/her leadership because of some overwhelming characteristic: preaching ability, intelligence, ability to woo others, or more. Yet, the fruit remains below-- a culture toxic to all who swim downstream. The leader is often seen (from the outside) as a great leader, but those inside know him/her as someone who is, well, more concerned about outside appearance than godly leadership."

Sports Spectrum Podcast Interview with Ernie Johnson

The personal story of NBA on TNT studio host Ernie Johnson is powerful. As someone that became a Christian later in life, his family's journey of faith through cancer, adoption and other challenges related to their special needs child is challenging. This interview with Jason Romano is worth a listen.

Are You Married to Your Smartphone? by Dave Boehi (Family Life)

"Adjusting to new forms of technology is nothing new. Just think how telephones and automobiles changed our culture. Or air-conditioning. Radio, television, computers, and many other new inventions sparked significant changes in our culture and in the way we related to our family and friends. But the pace of change since 1995 has been breathtaking. We’ve seen the emergence of the internet and of mobile phones, and then the convergence of the two in 2006 with smartphones. We can now be plugged in wherever we are, 24/7. The technology is evolving so quickly that most of us are barely aware of how our behavior is changing and our relationships are affected. As one reader wrote after I wrote about this issue a few years ago, “These mobile devices can take over your life.” Another said, “I understand technology has its advantages, but we are being ruled by the technology rather than using it as a tool.”

How the Internet is Changing Friendship (The Atlantic)

Weekly Web Roundup (2/11/17)

Photo Credit: Moinikon

Here is a collection of items from around the web that caught my attention this past week:

Why Christian Kids Leave the Faith by Tim Challies

"For some people Christianity is outright rejected and replaced by an alternate system of beliefs. For others, though, Christianity is merely displaced by competing passions, concerns, or emphases. They may commit themselves to success in business and allow religion to take a back seat, or they may passionately pursue sports and find it more exciting and fulfilling than their faith. Some endure times of trial or torment and in the midst of those troubles find their faith has fallen by the wayside. In either case, faith, once an important part of their life, falls in significance until it fades far into the background. It’s less that these people reject their faith and more that they lose interest in it or even forget about it."

Getting My Friend Back 25 Years Later by Joshua Rogers

This is a touching story of how a grown man was spurred on by his young daughters to make an effort to reconnect with his estranged best friend from middle school. Get your tissues ready.

Thoughts on Sharing our Stories by Marilyn Gardner (A Life Overseas)

"The person who has read a book cannot claim experiential knowledge. A person who has spent ten days on a cruise ship and has visited nine ports in those ten days is hardly an expert on every country where they have stopped. Yet they sometimes claim to be. The person who has gone on a short-term mission or volunteer trip needs to be careful to tell their story with integrity and honesty, not as an expert, but as a learner. It is easy to make broad assessments of places and people based on a limited view and a single story. At the same time, when we travel and when we live in places, we do experience the world through a different lens, and we do want to communicate those experiences. Much of my life is a learning process of how to communicate what I have experienced and be fair and wise within that communication."

The Headache and Hope of Multi-Ethnic Ministry by Adam Mabry (The Gospel Coalition)

"I’m not saying every church has to meet some false standard of diversity. Nor am I suggesting churches mostly composed of one ethnic group are bad. Yet if any church isn’t concerned with the other tribes—unconcerned to reach them, to know them, and to be known by them—how is that not the same kind of self-preferential partiality of which Peter was guilty? We carry the lunch tray of our cultural preferences to the table filled with persons like us because we just don’t want the headache of dealing with the other."

A Timeline of Black Christianity Before the Civil War by A.G. Miller (Christianity Today)

Here is an interesting timeline of some of the key moments of African American history as it relates to Christianity.

How Children Learn Who’s In And Who’s Out by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson (The Redbud Post)

"As an African American child, my mother taught me about race. She didn’t teach me so I would hate the other. She taught me so I would be informed, so I could better understand history and attempt to process why someone might think differently, and so I would have examples of what was and is a righteous response to hateful people. From her teaching and example, I learned my responsibility to educate myself and to advocate on behalf of others. As an African American parent of an African American daughter, this is part of the teaching and training that takes place in my home. Education about racial injustices is a necessity for her survival, and it was a necessity for mine. That’s why my mother taught me, that’s why I teach my daughter, and why I don’t want her to be colorblind."

Jennie Allen and the Longterm Impact of College Ministry by Tim Casteel

"College Ministers: What you are doing matters. Meeting with hundreds of disinterested freshmen to find a handful that want to know Jesus and make Him known. Turning over a multitude of rocks to find one or two gems. Teaching students how and why to read God’s Word. Discipling students who will make disciples. We rarely get to see the fruit of what we so laboriously sow. Students graduate and get married and get jobs and move off. And we go back to meeting with hundreds of disinterested freshmen to find a handful…"

40% of White Americans, 25% of Ethnic Minorities Have No Cross-Racial Friendships

Photo Credit: Mike Baird

From Lindsay Dunsmuir of Reuters:

"About 40 percent of white Americans and about 25 percent of non-white Americans are surrounded exclusively by friends of their own race, according to an ongoing Reuters/Ipsos poll. 

The figures highlight how segregated the United States remains in the wake of a debate on race sparked by last month's acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting of unarmed black Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. President Barack Obama weighed in after the verdict, calling for Americans to do some "soul searching" on whether they harbor racial prejudice. 

There are regions and groups where mixing with people of other races is more common, especially in the Hispanic community where only a tenth do not have friends of a different race. About half of Hispanics who have a spouse or partner are in a relationship with non-Hispanics, compared to one tenth of whites and blacks in relationships. 

Looking at a broader circle of acquaintances to include coworkers as well as friends and relatives, 30 percent of Americans are not mixing with others of a different race, the poll showed. 

Respondent Kevin Shaw, 49, has experienced both integration and racial homogeny. He grew up in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and attended a mixed high school where he was one of only two white teenagers on the mostly black football team. His wife, Bobbi, is Hispanic. They met in high school and have been married for 27 years. 

Eleven years ago, they moved to a predominantly white neighborhood in the suburb of Liberty. "Soon after we moved in, my mother-in-law came to visit and a neighbor asked if she was my maid. It was just a matter of ignorance," he said. In the time he has lived there the neighborhood has become less blinkered, helped by the arrival of younger families. He also puts prevailing attitudes down to environment. "A lot of it comes down to where you grow up," he said. 

As a group, Pacific states - including California, the most populous in the nation - are the most diverse when it comes to love and friendship. By contrast, the South has the lowest percentage of people with more than five acquaintances from races that don't reflect their own.

Some of this is down to precedent. "This country has a pretty long history of restriction on inter-racial contact and for whites and blacks, even though it's in the past, there are still echoes of this," said Ann Morning, an associate professor in the department of sociology at New York University. "Hispanics and Asian Americans have traditionally had less strict lines about integrating."

In his comments two weeks ago, President Obama expressed optimism about the future, saying his daughters' experiences show younger generations have fewer issues with race. "It doesn't mean we're in a post-racial society. It doesn't mean that racism is eliminated. But...they're better than we are, they're better than we were, on these issues," he said."

To see the rest of this report please click here.

Donald Miller on Bullies

Photo Credit: Working Word

Author Donald Miller provides some good advice on how we should filter our relationships with others. Here he comments on bullies:

"The quickest way to identify a bully is to notice what a person laughs at. Bullies do not laugh at themselves, they laugh at others. If somebody makes fun of others but isn’t self deprecating, they’re a taker and not a giver. Ever heard a loud-mouth political talk-show host make a self-deprecating joke? Most likely not. Bullies make great radio-show hosts, for sure. I keep my distance from people who can’t laugh at themselves and have zero friends who aren’t objective about themselves and others. There’s an entire Pandora’s box that goes along with this personality and I’m not interested. If you have friends who are bullies, it may be because they “protect” you in some way. I’d keep my distance all the same. Bullies protect others on the condition that others submit. That’s an unhealthy relationship. Get some strength and learn to protect yourself. You don’t need them to do that for you."

To read more of Donald's thoughts on filtering relationships as it pertains to false victims and the overly religious please click here.

The Danger of Becoming an Internet Busy-Body

Photo Credit: Internet Society

If you spend a similar amount of time online as I do, you are also at risk of becoming an "Internet Busy-Body." What is that you ask? Trisha Wilkerson writes about this type of person as one who spends an inordinate amount of time online with no real purpose -- just surfing the web, bumping around from site-to-site, wasting time by ingesting massive amounts of trivial news and random updates that don't necessarily serve any real purpose.

Wilkerson says this:

"When was the last time you found yourself going around from house to house being idle? Or, perhaps calling or texting too many friends in one day? Does boredom lure you in to busy-bodying? What do you gain by knowing more stuff? When does being curious distract your heart away from what God wants you to focus on? 

The sin of the busy-body is often when desires are disappointed and we either demand or settle for the pleasure of knowing others’ business. Instead of being connected relationally to God and people, we slip into false intimacy and gather knowledge that doesn't grow us, but instead wastes time. Like greed or lust, busy-bodying is a thirst for more. We are saying to God that he doesn’t satisfy our hearts."

This is a helpful reminder that although this is much that is positive about our ability to connect with another and learn new information on the Internet, there is also the temptation to flutter away significant amounts of time each week by wasting time online. We can all-too-easily trade the realities of our seemingly boring and mundane lives for the salacious and exciting news of celebrities and others we don't know.

While there is certainly a place for entertainment and recreation, we should be concerned if we find ourselves spending more time living vicariously through the lives of others online than we do seeking to become better people ourselves who are growing closer to God and who connect in healthy relationships with others in real life.

To read Trisha Wilkerson's complete post please click here.

Gerald Ford, Racism and the Importance of Friendship

Photo Credit: National Institutes of Health Library

Gerald Ford is most well-known as the 38th President of the United States but few people probably realize that back in his college days he was an outstanding football player at the University of Michigan.

Ford, who could have played professional football had he chosen to, instead went to law school, joined the Navy during World War II and eventually entered politics.  President Ford holds the unique distinction of having been the only U.S. President to never have been popularly elected into the office of Vice President or President.  (As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the Watergate scandal, Ford was selected to fill the role of Vice President when Spiro Agnew stepped down and eventually became President when Richard Nixon resigned.)

But the character that President Ford demonstrated in leading the country during the aftermath of Watergate was demonstrated years earlier during his time as a Wolverine football player.  Detroit News writer John Niyo tells the story of the time in 1934 when Michigan was preparing to play Georgia Tech, a southern school who demanded that Michigan not play Willis Ward, U of M's only African American player.

Sadly, Michigan complied and coach Fielding Yost benched Ward for the game. Ford, who threatened to quit the team because of the unfair treatment of his friend and teammate, was talked into participating in the game but let his play on the field do his talking. This situation had a profound influence on the future president and it was an experience that neither he nor Ward ever forgot:

"On Monday morning, (Ford) and Bill Borgmann told me that they'd done something during the game for me and … I'll never forget it," Ward said. "It seems as though as the game got started, a fellow on the other side of the line made a remark about him loving people like me. And his adjectives, they were 'bleep' adjectives, so I won't use it. Whereupon Jerry and Bill put a block on him that ended that fellow's participation in the game. So they came back that Monday and told me that they dedicated that block to me."

Long after his presidency, Ford, who'd remained friends with Ward through the years, noted that 1934 incident "had a significant impact" on his views on race relations.

"I admired him because of his character and intelligence," Ford wrote in 1995, more than a decade after Ward, who served as a state court judge and chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission (1969-73), passed away in 1983. "I deeply resented those who did not treat him as an equal because he was black."

And that played a role in Ford's decision to take another stand at the age of 86, when he publicly backed the affirmative action policies that were under fire at his alma mater and other universities. Ford submitted an Op-Ed piece to the New York Times and quietly encouraged others to fight the legal battle that ultimately led to a landmark 2003 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the Michigan Law School's policy.

"Do we really want to risk turning back the clock to an era when the Willis Wards were isolated and penalized for the color of their skin, their economic standing or national ancestry?" Ford wrote in the Times, nearly 70 years after that Georgia Tech game."

Both Ford and Ward went on to lead lives of prominence and their friendship remained strong until their dying days. And while President Ford should be admired for the stance that he took during a time of accepted racial animosity toward African Americans, the real hero of the story is Willis Ward.  Here is a man that faced consistent discrimination (the Georgia Tech game is just one example) yet went onto to get a degree from one of the most prestigious universities in the country and later became a state court judge.  His determination and fortitude are to be commended. 

Their story, as well as a number of others, will be told in a series of films highlighting the history of University of Michigan football entitled, "Victors." To view the trailer for the film featuring the story of Willis Ward and Gerald Ford, please watch the video below. If the video player doesn't show up please click here.

How to Raise Kids That Don't Have Cross-Cultural Friendships

According to authors Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, one of the best ways to raise children that don't value friendships with kids that are culturally different than them is to never talk about race. Bronson and Merryman's book, NutureShock: New Thinking About Children, examines commonly assumptions about how parents talk to their children about race.

Jonathan Liu of Wired Magazine comments on the book:

"What Bronson and Merryman discovered, through various studies, was that most white parents don’t ever talk to their kids about race. The attitude (at least of those who think racism is wrong) is generally that because we want our kids to be color-blind, we don’t point out skin color. We’ll say things like “everybody’s equal” but find it hard to be more specific than that. If our kids point out somebody who looks different, we shush them and tell them it’s rude to talk about it. We think that simply putting our kids in a diverse environment will teach them that diversity is natural and good.

And what are they learning? Here are a few depressing facts:

* Only 8% of white American high-schoolers have a best friend of another race. (For blacks, it’s about 15%.)

* The more diverse a school is, the less likely it is that kids will form cross-race friendships.

* 75% of white parents never or almost never talk about race with their kids.

* A child’s attitudes toward race are much harder to alter after third grade, but a lot of parents wait until then (or later) before they feel it’s “safe” to talk frankly about race."

What Bronson and Merryman have found is something that I absolutely agree with. For those of us parents that want to teach our children about equality, it is important that we talk about race. By living in an American society that has been so formed by racial dynamics, we do our children a disservice if we don't address why things are the way they are. But in talking about race, ethnicity and culture, we can talk with our children about the beauty that exists within our diversity.

Many well-meaning parents, especially those of us that are white, never help to educate our children about race. We are uncomfortable in talking about it so our kids our uncomfortable talking about it. And in the process we can unwittingly raise children that are blissful in their ignorance. As they get older and interact with those of other cultures, they are likely to say insensitive, rude or racist things without even intending to because we, as parents, never discussed these things with them (see above photo). Based on my experiences, evangelical Christians can create some of the biggest blunders when it comes to addressing the topic of race.

In addition to talking about race with our children, we as parents who see the value represented in the diversity of God's creation can help our children to value cross-cultural friendships by having these kinds of relationships ourselves. If our children never see us in friendly interactions with those that look different than us then it will be hard for them to value these types of friendships themselves. If they never spend time in the homes with those of other ethnicities (or vice versa), then they likely will not develop these cross-cultural friendships on their own.

The task of parenting is not an easy one but the things that are most important (namely how we view God and others) should not be left for others to educate our own children about. The most valuable type of education takes place in the safety and nurturing environment of the home. And because race plays such a dominant role on so many levels within American culture, this topic certainly needs to be addressed by parents.

[NOTE: The original Wired article is entitled "How to Raise Racist Kids." I chose not to use this same phrase since I don't believe that just because someone does not have friends of another race that they are automatically a racist. They may be uninformed, but that does not make them racist. However, I'm of the persuasion that the likelihood of forming racist attitudes dramatically increases if one has no meaningful friendships of a cross-cultural nature.]

(h/t to Racialicious for the link)

Friendships Across Racial Lines

One of the blogs that I regularly read is God's Politics and there has been an interesting discussion on there about whether it is possible to build deep and meaningful friendships with someone of a different racial background than your own.

Although my immediate family is white (like me) and I attend a predominately white church, I live in a neighborhood in east Orlando that is heavily populated by Hispanics. In addition, I spend the better hours of my day working for an organization, The Impact Movement, that reaches out to those in the black community, with 90% of my co-workers being African American. So as one that is personally involved each day in building friendships with those of a different ethnicity, this topic has particular importance to me.

The discussion on God's Politics began with a critique of the New Monastic movement and with Bart Campolo's assertion that it is nearly impossible to build the kind of friendships with those of very different backgrounds than it is with those that have a similar life experience as our own. Here are some of his words:

"Bart’s point then and now is that, even as we reach out across racial and cultural barriers, we shouldn’t feel guilty about staying rooted in mostly homogeneous core communities, nor should we feel compelled to seek an essentially unnatural diversity within those core communities. While we shouldn’t automatically exclude different people from our inner circles, we shouldn’t feel obligated to change our group dynamics to suit them either. According to Bart, it is difficult, if not impossible, to build a core community that meets the deepest needs for intimacy and understanding of people with radically different backgrounds, and seeking to do so almost always results in painful divisions and burnout...Instead of feeling guilty about this limitation, Bart suggests we should accept it and resolve to use the strength we draw from our core communities for the important work of reaching out to build authentic cross-cultural relationships, wherein we learn from, teach, nurture, challenge, protect, mentor, and work together for justice with one another. Such relationships are not superficial—just not intimate.

The blog then posted two separate responses from other individuals here and here. To be fair to Campolo, he is someone that is practicing incarnational ministry as he lives among the people that he seeks to minister to in a disadvantaged part of Cincinnati. He is heavily involved in racial reconciliation and for that he has my respect. But I do have to disagree with him that truly intimate relationships cannot be formed across racial lines.

Because of the opportunities that I have in my everyday life to be around those of ethnicities other than my own, I've experienced firsthand the possibilities that can take place between those of seemingly incompatible backgrounds. My very simple definition of reconciliation between individuals is friendship. With those that are my true friends I am able to laugh, cry, share hopes and fears, argue, encourage and love.

If I can't really laugh with someone, then we're probably not that close. If they've never shared their hurts with me and I with them, we're probably not friends. If we've never been able to work through disagreement and conflict and come to a place of resolution, then any kind of friendship that we have will remain at the surface level.

In any relationship, conflict and hurt feelings are bound to arise, but it is how we respond to those conflicts that will determine the depth of our friendship. In cross-cultural friendships, those disagreements or misunderstandings can oftentimes be interpreted much differently than if those same things took place with a friend of our own culture. Many people that have intentionally sought to build a friendship with someone of a different race have not demonstrated the commitment to the relationship that is needed to sustain it. When times get tough, it's always easier to cut bait and run.

But therein lies the problem. Racial reconciliation involves trust, humility, servanthood and commitment. If I want to end a friendship with someone of another ethnicity the first time there's a problem, I was never that committed to the relationship in the first place. It is often in working through our conflict that we learn more about each other and come to greater places of understanding.

I know from personal experience that building relationships across racial lines is extremely hard work, but I know that it's worth it. I feel like I am a better person and a better Christian because of the close friendships I have with my friends that don't look like me. I have learned from them and they from me and we each have a greater picture of the unique ways that God has created us.