But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations. Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days? Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with…

I assume that behind the attempts to rid the public of signs of the old Confederacy is the motivation by proponents to accomplish elements of Jubilee: restoration, forgiveness, healing and the empowerment of all people in our communities to flourish. If this is the case, then, to denigrate what some people hold dear, even if…

I am not surprised by the fierce defense of the confederate flag by those who see it as a symbol of a proud heritage. I am not talking about those like Klansman Roy Pemberton, who while demonstrating in Columbia, South Carolina, chastised a man for not joining in the demonstration with other Klansmen. As Pemberton…

Was it appropriate to speak of the confederate flag as a symbol/sign that could be reclaimed and become a reminder of both the dehumanizing capacities of human beings toward other human beings and the need for God’s transformative grace to guard against such occurrences? Was it appropriate to compare this possibility with how the Church…

In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, A wondrous beauty I see For ‘twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, To pardon and sanctify me. “The Old Rugged Cross,” George Bennard   For people in the United States, the details of the massacre at Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in…

“What makes a people great?” I contemplated this question during the Black Church Studies conference last month, along with a few other questions that I’ve reflected upon in previous posts (“The Church as Channel of Jubilee,” “What is the black church?“, and “What is Justice?“). But only until recently could I pinpoint a potentially foundational…

I am wrestling with questions revisited at the Black Church Studies conference held at Princeton Theological Seminary in the early part of May, 2015. I come again to my second question, what is justice? As I come, I am aware that I know so little about it, or better to say, I have little understanding…

What is the black church? As I mentioned in my previous post, “The Church as Channel of Jubilee,” this question was formulated while at the Black Church Studies conference convened at Princeton Theological Seminary earlier this month. Admittedly, this question (and two others to be pursued in future weeks) was not new for me, but the discussions…

The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate provider and dispenser of grace, whether it be dispensed in such a way as to provide salvation particularly, or equipping, generally. Jubilee is a powerful symbol of restoration and facilitation of human flourishing carried out in such a way that prioritizes (at least for the truly faithful) the…

In my last attempt at some needed soul searching, I reflected on Dr. King’s challenge for oppressed people to learn to forgive. I shared how uneasy this thought made me feel because of my problematic tendency to never forget a slight, much less a clear demonstrations of disrespect. It is hard to let go of…

Jubilee shows God’s awareness of sin’s devastation both at the individual and the community’s structural levels. Forgiveness and restoration are required because of the potential to harmfully accumulate wealth and property leading to an even greater insidious danger, forgetting that everything is ultimately under the ownership of God. I have begun exploring the theological and economic…

The Reverend Leslie Fields, Sr. was born on March 29, 1912 in Alabama. He traveled north to New York State during the late 1930s looking for work. Upon finding work, he was then able to send for his wife, Barbara Mae Fields, and their small children. Though they could be bounced in and out of…