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When it comes to the issues of racism and violence, the question is not whether, but why. Why is it that at least some human beings treat others so horribly?

I have been watching and listening to conversations about this issue, and it has taken me a while to organize my thoughts, but I think it’s time I weighed in, as a Southern White male. So here are a few thoughts: To those who point out that this was never officially the flag of the Confederacy, and rather was the battle flag of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, I say that this is a specious detail. There is no symbol more widely associated with the Confederacy than the rebel flag, and that is why South Carolina chose to fly it fifty years ago.

Published on Jun 30, 2015 “‘Once A Day’ is about unexpected moments in life. Some days we have unexpectedly beautiful moments and others that are unexpectedly challenging. Last year I had a really challenging moment when my …

We know what to do. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins: “Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.” Unitarian Universalists claim the “inherent worth and dignity of all humanity.” Christians claim the Apostle Paul’s ecstatic revelation that “You are no longer Jew or Greek, no longer slave or freeborn, no longer ‘male and female.’ Instead you all have the same status in the service of God’s anointed Jesus.” Leviticus 19:18 says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said, “Love your enemies.”

The literary world is in an uproar, learning that a prequel to Harper Lee’s great American novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” depicts the beloved Atticus Finch as a southern white racist. Is it possible that, like the fictional character, we can ever evolve and change?

Approximately one thousand people gathered for an Independence Day rally to “Take Down the Flag” at the Confederate Memorial on the capitol grounds in Columbia, SC.  There has been hope among the demonstration organizers that Gov. Nikki …

When Atticus in “To Kill A Mockingbird” states to Scout, “Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand,” as a thoughtful and measured response decrying racial prejudice, no one would imagine Lee’s second novel “Go Set A Watchman,” to reveal the blight of racial strife in Atticus as an aging angry bigot and separatist. And news of Atticus taking a 180-degree turn has sent shockwaves across the Internet.

American novelist William Faulkner wrote in his 1951 novel Requiem for a Nun, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” As we all try to move away from America’s racial past, this recent massacre reminds us of it. For decades now, America has refused to broach the topic of white privilege. During Black History Month in 2009, then-US Attorney General Eric Holder offered an explanation as to why.

The words of Bree Newsome rang out across the capital, “In the name of Jesus, this flag must come down.” Having scaled up the flag pole, Newsome did what many have been asking for since the shooting at Emmanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina. Newsome took action into her own hands and the symbol of an African-American woman removing the confederate flag that has flown over the state since the time of Jim Crow was a powerful action of resistance, power and pride.

“Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing.” —Desmond Tutu

Any enterprise needs fresh people. Without 20% new members every year, a church won’t keep up with attrition. Ideas will go stale. Even regulars will lose interest. Your goal is to draw people into the space where you can “touch” them, that is, get their email address and start sending them pertinent emails. Your blogpost, therefore, should have a “call to action” link that invites them to read more, download a paper on this topic, subscribe to your blog – not attend your church, for that is way premature.

Fostering Spiritual Depth in a Busy World

• Small group materials help your members embed greater meaning in their lives.
• Your participants quickly make deep connections with each other.
• Proven materials and techniques help you lead your small group through transformation.

    Here are three high-value tasks for church leaders to undertake in summer — in and around your highest priority: taking a vacation! Get your data systems in order   You need a tracking system to …

When we go to war, we put the children of the poor into uniforms, arm them, and ship them abroad to kill the children of the poor in a distant land. Sure, there are tyrants and illegitimate, violent governments all over the world (many of whom are our closest allies) but as Howard Zinn pointed out, our modern wars always make things worse. We have to find other ways to solve international crises. Our nation should be smarter and our communities of faith should be more conscientious. Being strong and rich does not mean that we are a great nation. Being morally good and diplomatically intelligent…. That would make us great!

The nine deaths in the mass murder in the Mother Emanuel AME church will not automatically become redemptive suffering. Those deaths may be simply sad victims of senseless, racist, violence unless their deaths inspire transformation. It is up to us. The universe, on its own, is capricious and chaotic, entirely devoid of meaning UNLESS we bring meaning to it.

When someone places a newborn human in your arms, it opens you to MORE. Humans have a strange relationship to MORE. Most of us spend our entire lives longing for more, looking for more, hungering for more, desiring more, striving for more, waiting for more, searching for more.

The final stage of an effective membership recruitment process happens when the constituent actually affiliates with your congregation … always remember that recruitment of new constituents isn’t the final stage of membership development. Now you need to work at retaining them and helping God to transform their lives.

I challenge you to set the goal for yourself. What would happen if you could be the kindest person anyone had ever met? Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Wouldn’t that be great if people said about you, “He/she is the kindest person I know.”