Monthly Archives: August 2017

8 Christian Leaders I am learning from who are African-American

In the last year, I’ve come to realize how many of the people I learn from are white, like I am. So, I’ve tried to expand that circle a bit this year, and listen more to leaders of color.

My goal is sharing this list is to help others get exposed to voices of leaders and thinkers outside of white evangelicalism. These are pastors, professors, and other Christian leaders, because that is my primary field of study.  This is certainly not a ranking or evaluation of them as leaders; it is just my way of trying to point others to people I am learning from.

Thabiti Anyabwile – We use his book Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons with our elder board. He’s a wise, thoughtful and courageous pastor.

Eric Mason – The founder of Epiphany Fellowship, a network of churches around the country. Pastor Mase is a dynamic and brilliant leader. Worth listening to in a variety of topics, especially men’s ministry. His book, Manhood Restored is terrific.

Christena Cleveland – A professor at Duke Divinity School, she may have my personal record for most times “followed” and “unfollowed” on twitter. She provokes me to think about race on a deeper level than I am comfortable with, which I need. That said, her doctrinal commitments (as I understand them) are not consistent with mine.

Bryan Loritts – One of my favorite pastors to listen to speak. Sharp, funny, and brave.

Jackie Hill Perry – Her story of redemption is inspiring. Plus, she’s great on twitter.

Trillia Newbell – A strong Bible teacher and leader, who is a delight to listen to speak. I’m grateful to God for the wide variety of ways that Trillia has led, but it does make me wonder if I’ve accomplished anything in life, compared to her.

RJ Davis – A friend of mine from our seminary days, I’m often inspired by the way that RJ brings inspiration and application to his people through teaching and social media presence.

Jemar Tisby – Founder of the Reformed African American Network website. His article in the Washington Post on a racist photo from some professors at Southern Seminary was really helpful to me.

Who would you recommend adding to this list?

Helpful statements condemning white supremacy

Over the last few days, I’ve struggled with what to say about Charlottesville. I am only a beginner in understanding the issues of race in this country. So, rather than write something, I’m going to share some of the statements I’ve found helpful:
Menlo Church (John Ortberg) –

Racism and movements of white supremacy are evil and God-grieving because they violate God’s intent for salvation; they deny the image of God, they belittle the worth He has implanted in every human being, they sow seeds of anger and fear and confusion, they spit in the face of the One who was crucified for all human beings.

And so we pray; we mourn and grieve, we work and strive, we repent and learn and act. We follow Jesus. Salvation belongs to our God.

My concern about these statements is that they are all from the perspective of those who also white males. I’d love to hear from your articles that you’ve found helpful.