THE CHURCH MILITANT By Randy Nabors FIT TO FIGHT It kind of amused me when I realized that the Army wanted me to be as healthy as possible before they sent me to war. The Army didn’t want me to go to war if I was sick, had bad teeth, or any kind of injury. I had to be healthy and fit or else they wouldn’t send me. At any given moment, in the Army, there are thousands of soldiers who are “non-deployable. These are troops that cannot be mobilized because they have something wrong with them. They might have bad teeth, been hurt in training, contracted a disease or virus. Their eyes, ears, and feet might not be working well, whatever, and if so they will not be sent to war. In other words the Army wanted me to be in perfect health so I might possibly be blown to bits on the first day I arrived in a war zone. This seemed counter intuitive to me. They could send just anybody if all they needed was cannon fodder, but that is not what they want. No, they wanted me to be …
Core Values
SHOW SOME RESPECT
SHOW SOME RESPECT! BY Randy Nabors I have a friendly name. Actually it’s my middle name, which I prefer, and I think it sounds friendly because it ends with a “y.” My friends call me Randy. I know of a famous evangelist who asked everyone to call him “Billy.” I have heard of a Prime Minister of England who asked people to call him “Tony.” This essay about cultural intelligence begins with a discussion about my name because “friendly” names can sometimes send a wrong or confusing signal to people, especially if one is seen as a person in authority and deserving of respect. Professor David Livermore wrote a book called, “Customs of the World; Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are.” One of the chapters has to do with, “Authority-Low versus High Power Distance. Professor Livermore teaches that some cultures see authority figures as distant, worthy of being shown respect in how they are addressed. These are High Power Distance cultures. Folks in these …
ESSAY ON RACISM
RACISM BY Randy Nabors Racial discussions in America are full of rhetorical flourish, phrases, and powerful words which sometimes are not clearly defined, or not universally accepted. Even when there is agreement on definition there might still be conflict over the existence of a concept, such as people when people insist America is built on “systemic racism” while others say such an idea is a “myth.” Some of these arguments are more emotional than rational, and one can listen to arguments jumping the rails of logic to attempt to prove a point, usually because they don’t like the political implications of the other side. We search for explanations. Why did this man get killed by this policeman? Why did this child go to prison, not finish school, live in poverty? Why does this neighborhood even exist? Why did this person get hired and that person get fired? Why does this person have wealth and that person doesn’t? Is success built on personal responsibility and …
HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY IN CROSS CULTURAL MINISTRY
Recently someone called me from an inner-city non-profit ministry. They had some unfortunate experiences with trying to hire people and then having it turn into a negative experience. They wanted some advice. My discussion with them covered some basic human resource process as well as problems centering around race and class. I thought the discussion worth writing about and sharing with others in these kinds of ministries, which are of course my background and experience. [I want the reader to know that it has been my passion to champion African Americans as leaders in churches, to enroll in colleges, and be hired by other Christian institutions, as well as the poor, women, ex-inmates and other under-represented minorities. It is up to others to witness as to whether or not that has indeed been true of me, or if I have been at all successful.] I will try to cover some of the topic in two categories. We Must Establish A Good Process In Evaluating Whom To Hire. A. What is …
WE NEED SOME BIG GOD THEOLOGY!
WE NEED SOME BIG GOD THEOLOGY! In a world with so much injustice, suffering, and legitimate sorrow it takes a “Big God” theology to help us through the day. There is and should be real lament for the pain of the world, and then there is a whole nasty industry which shades guilt upon everyone who hasn’t posted yet, or denounced someone yet. I am braced by how many are absolutist about how I should feel and react to all kinds of incidents on the news and all kinds of statements from Presidents to activist teenagers. I am alarmed at the new legalism and the sweeping indictments-not simply against real acts of oppression, but- against those who haven’t said it right, and those who have done mercy wrong, or took the wrong pictures when they did it. I wish I had meme or some kind of copyrighted symbol that meant, “stop the bullshit!” People seem to be moving from cultural observers to prophets, and from prophets to “those who would be kings,” (pretenders to the throne.) Prophets …
White Supremacy and the Importance of the Accuracy of Meaning.
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM We went to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum yesterday. An institution and monument of statewide lament. My family, on my father’s side, is from Mississippi. It is 400 years since black people were brought here to America as slaves. One of the things the museum helps you to realize is that white supremacy was (and is) nasty, violent, and murderous. It was an intentional attitude, with policies and vicious activities to hold black people in slavery and subjection, even into the time of Jim Crow and share cropping, primarily to protect cheap labor for planters. There is a record of slave rebellions, and many counties in the south had as many or more black people in them than white. There was fear in the white south of such rebellion. There was fear of a loss of political power in the time of “Reconstruction“ and all that fear led to violence. WHITE SUPERIORITY White people overwhelmingly and undeniably thought they were superior to black …
QUESTIONS FOR A CROSS CULTURAL CHURCH PLANTER
Questions to ask a young white church planter who wants to do a cross-cultural church plant; some of these apply to People of Color as well. WHY? 1. Why are you doing this, or attempting to do it? What has motivated you to do what can be a very difficult work? FRIENDS? 2. Do you have any close friends who are People of Color or the ethnic group among whom you wish to plant? Who do you hang out with? Do you know how to be a friend or are you simply a religious professional? HOMEWORK? 3. Have you done your homework in terms of cultural, ethnic, historic, and sociological studies of the people groups among whom you will work? Have you read not only social science work but art, novels, essays, etc.? CULTURAL LEARNING! 4. How are you learning the culture; are you going to an ethnic church, listening and trying to understand the popular music as well as religious music, watching shows, films, documentaries, interacting with the people of the community on a social, culinary, …
THE BEST THING I CAN DO
THE BEST THING I CAN DO! What’s the most important thing that I can do with my life, according to my calling that will make an impact against racism, work toward reconciliation, and the Kingdom of God? My answer to that question is to plant churches, really good and relevant cross-cultural churches within communities of need. I believe the “best” thing that I can do is to help plant churches that are Gospel preaching, grace driven and empowered, holistic loving communities that care about their neighborhoods and the broader social and cultural environment. Some people feel called to fight racism, some are called to preach and call for reconciliation, some are called to pursue economic community development. I can agree and cooperate with these brothers and sisters in many ways, especially if they love Jesus and hold to the truth of his Word. I learn many things from them, willingly participate in some of their efforts, and pray God give them success as they do things …
CHURCH PLANTING AND EVANGELISM
One of the problems of finding qualified church planters, (and that phrase needs explanation) is that one needs certain basic things before one can, or should, plant a church. A “qualified church planter” is something that his sending agency determines. That agency asks the question, “can this person, in our estimation, have a reasonable chance at success in planting a new church?” They ask this question because to some level they are going to invest resources into this church planter and into the effort. Will those resources produce a product, i.e., a new church? Or, will these resources be wasted when they could have been used for someone else they expect will actually succeed? We believe that God (if he chooses) can use just about anybody to plant a church, so obviously any agency, or church, or church organization, can be wrong in estimating potential for success. This does not make them wrong in giving prayerful …
CALLING FOR COMPROMISE
Personal DisclosureSome personal disclosure as I write on this subject. One of my sons is part of the federal work force that is working without pay. So, for me this is personal. My son tries very hard to be apolitical and he doesn’t like to engage in political discussions. He is a loyal and sacrificing American, a combat veteran, and has an essential job in security for our nation. These are not his opinions as he is just trying to do his job, take care of his family, and survive these difficult times. Some of the things I say will be vehemently opposed by those who are partisan. They completely support the president or adamantly oppose him, no matter what he does. I may fail in my attempt to take a neutral position here, but I am sincere in seeking to honestly discuss and analyze what I think is going on, and on some possible scenarios for what may happen, or could happen.It Should Be Possible to …