http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=42852 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:10:44 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3065 This March marks the two-hundredth anniversary of the British Parliament's abolition of the slave trade—the culmination of a twenty-year struggle by William Wilberforce and his fellow abolitionists, a story brilliantly captured in the new Hollywood release coming next month titled Amazing Grace. Wilberforce would be appalled to learn that, two hundred years later, however, people are still trafficking in human flesh. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3065 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3063 Cathy ten Broeke's job title clearly spells out the mighty boulder she's supposed to push uphill in what seems a truly Sisyphean task: she's the Minneapolis/Hennepin County Coordinator to End Homelessness. That's end homelessness, not reduce homelessness, or add shelter beds, or rescue people from underneath bridges on freezing nights. Ten Broeke's job is to put a stop to homelessness in the next decade. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3063 Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3029 The city is God's invention and design, not just a sociological phenomenon or invention of humankind. History began in a garden (Genesis 2), but it will end in a city. The wife of the Lamb is a beautiful city, shining with the glory of God (Rev. 21:10-11). hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3029 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3064 There is a connection between last week’s message on Racial Harmony and Interracial Marriage and today’s message on Abortion, Race, Gender, and Christ. When interracial marriage is rejected, it is often because the reproductive effect of it is offensive to the dominant race. That is, for example, the children of marriages between white and African American or white and Asian or white and any other ethnic group are not white enough. As soon as we say it like this, we can begin to see the connection between abortion and the racism1 implicit in this attitude to interracial marriage. If non-whiteness is viewed as an undesirable outcome of an interracial marriage, could it be that this view may also express itself in the use of abortion to reduce the prevalence of non-whiteness in a dominantly white culture? hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3064 Thu, 20 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=5259 A New Kind of Urban Christian As the city goes, so goes the culture. Tim Keller | posted 5/01/2006 12:00AM His speaking style is disarmingly low-key, almost professorial, but only the rarest professors make every word count the way Tim Keller does. For 16 years, he has been preaching at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, distilling biblical teaching into arrestingly simple phrases that convey the radical surprise and gracious truth of Christian faith. One such typically piquant phrase is the source of the Christian Vision Project's big question for 2006: How can followers of Christ be a counterculture for the common good? Keller's vision of a church keenly committed to the welfare of its city attracts 4,000 worshipers each week to Redeemer's four rented locations, sends them out into many forms of charitable service through the church's ministry Hope for New York, and fuels a church-planting effort that embraces Baptists and Pentecostals as well as Presbyterians, immigrant hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=5259 Tue, 04 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4878 BIBLICAL NARRATIVE FOR WHOLISTIC MINISTRY As we have said, a church that is missional through an understanding of the gospel of the kingdom and which is seeking the peace of the city is also a church that is wholistic in ministering both word and deed. Following the Biblical narrative, we are instructed in wholistic ministry: • Creation. Adam was told to have dominion over all creation—both the physical and spiritual realms— and to bring it under the order and rule of God (Genesis 1:28). God's servants were, therefore, to be subduing the physical disorder as well as the spiritual disorder caused by sin. Both were fundamental to covenant service. • Fall. Sin defaced all of nature. Man was alienated from God (Gen.3:8), causing guilt and hostility to the knowledge of the Lord. Man was alienated from himself (Gen.3:10), causing loss of identity and loss of meaning, as well as anxiety and emptiness. Man was alienated from other men (Gen.3:7), causing war, crime, family breakdown, op hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4878 Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=12163 1. Evangelism and social action are distinct activities This is an obvious thing to say, but it needs to be said. Evangelism = telling weak, sinful people (like me) that they are lost and powerless, but for the amazing message of God's grace in Jesus Christ. Social action = empowering the weak, and working together with them to effect change in their temporary circumstances here and now. Evangelism and social action are both good and worthwhile things, but they are not the same thing. We should not try to justify social action by disguising it as evangelism, nor make our evangelism more acceptable to the world (and more amenable to our weak selves) by redefining it as social action. 2. Prayerful proclamation is central to the work of the Lord Because of the human predicament (sinners facing God's wrath), and because of the days we live in (open season on salvation as we wait for judgement day), God has given us a work to do. He has commissioned his people to an urgent task that a hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=12163 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3062 Churches are bulwarks of marriage in urban America. Analyses of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study indicate that urban parents who attend church frequently are significantly more likely to marry before the arrival of children or to marry in the wake of a nonmarital pregnancy, and they are more likely to experience higher levels of relationship quality. The church attendance of fathers is a particularly powerful predictor of marital behavior and relationship quality. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3062 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=11218 A 23-year veteran who earns more than $80,000 a year, this teacher has a warm manner, and her classroom is bright and neat. She paid for the kids’ whiteboards, the clock, and the DVD player herself. But she seems to have given up on the kids’ prospects in a way that Mr. Taylor has not. “The kids in Northwest [D.C.] go on trips to France, on cruises. They go places and their parents talk to them and take them to the library,” she says one fall afternoon between classes. “Our parents on this side don’t have the know-how to raise their children. They’re not sure what it takes for their child to make it.” When her fourth-grade students entered her class last school year, 66 percent were scoring at or above grade level in reading. After a year in her class, only 44 percent scored at grade level, and none scored above. Her students performed worse than fourth-graders with similar incoming scores in other low-income D.C. schools. For decades, education researchers blamed kids and their ho hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=11218 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4769 Nehemiah begins with lamenting over the city of Jerusalem . "Those back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire." Neh 1:3b. This describes the situation in parts of most American cities today. They have been neglected and allowed to deteriorate for almost forty years. The church of Jesus Christ has at best sat back and watched this happen yet in many areas has contributed to the problem. The words of Nehemiah, "great trouble and disgrace," ring true for us in the church today. The question arises as to what the response as Christians will be to the troubles of the poor and the inner cities today. The desperate conditions that face the poor call for a revolution in the church's attempts at a solution. Through years of experience among the poor, many have come to see these desperate problems cannot be solved without strong commitment and risky actions on the part of ordinary Christians with heroic hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4769 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3226 The percentage of individuals nationwide whose family income falls below the federal government’s official poverty level varied only slightly between 1970 and 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Over the same period, the spatial concentration of poverty—the percentage of low-income individuals who live in low-income neighborhoods—was much more volatile. From 1970 to 1990, this and related measures of the concentration of poverty rose sharply across the nation—particularly in the Midwest, including Minneapolis-St. Paul. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3226 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3051 The point of this weekend is not to celebrate all that MLK was. You need not belabor is sins. The point is to lift up some magnificent things he stood for and some necessary and amazing achievements of the civil rights era in which he was a key leader. We are Christians and can see these things in the light of providence and the gospel. Let everything point to Christ and him crucified. Consider Revelation 5:9 if you wonder whether ethnic diversity and ethnic harmony are Jesus-blood issues. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3051 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4420 Perhaps the longest running conversation between Blacks and Whites in America is a conversation about race. It’s a conversation that started in 1619 in Jamestown, Virginia as slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade began. The conversation moved through the Civil War, through Reconstruction, through Jim Crow segregation, and into the Civil Rights movement. And the conversation continues today in battles over affirmative action, racial profiling, and other problems in an increasingly diverse nation. In all of these conversations, the topic is "race." Everyone talks about "race." Lurking behind all this controversy and influencing our very identities are notions of "race." From time to time this discussion of race has been theological in nature. The Civil War, as historian Mark Noll recently pointed out, could be understood as a theological crisis. [1] When both the opponents and advocates of slavery raised the question of African humanity, a theological anthropology was in view. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4420 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=9606 Many people in our community are facing dark times. FACT: Unemployment and financial stress have led to a recent increase in domestic violence causing increased demand for emergency safe shelter and support services. More than 1 in 4 Minnesota women experience domestic violence during her lifetime. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=9606 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4202 Galatians 2:11-16 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” 15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. Thirty-eight years ago, January 16, 1968, when I wa hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4202 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4222 Cities occupy a large space in the heart and plans of God. Today there are over 400 cities with populations over one million and over half the world’s population now are urban dwellers. “By 2015 three will be more than 225 cities in Africa, 903 in Asia and 225 in Latin America…[that] will have more than 1 million people in each.”1 City living has a transforming effect on people. In his book, The City: A Global History, Joel Kotkin observes, Cities compress and unleash the creative urges of humanity. From the earliest beginnings, when only a tiny fraction of humans lived in cities they have been the places that generated most of mankind’s art, religion, culture, commerce, and technology. This evolution occurred most portentously in a handful of cities whose influence then spread to other centers through conquest, commerce, religion, and, more recently, mass telecommunications. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4222 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4357 Deuteronomy 15:7-11 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4357 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4056 Tim Keller is senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, NY and an adjunct professor of practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. The original question I was asked to address was "How does our commitment to the primacy of the gospel tie into our obligation to do good to all, especially those of the household of faith, to serve as salt and light in the world, to do good to the city?" I will divide this question into two parts: (1) If we are committed to the primacy of the gospel, does the gospel itself serve as the basis and motivation for ministry to the poor? (2) If so, how then does that ministry relate to the proclamation of the gospel? hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4056 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=8226 Even in the best years, more than 100,000 Minnesota children live poverty. But the past few years have not been good for children, according to the 2009 Kids Count report by the Children's Defense Fund-Minnesota. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=8226 Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=8316 I am writing this post from Taiwan. As I have been working with both local leaders and American pastors, I have been struck by a few things and thought I would share them with you. First, I have traveled to Taiwan as a part of the Upstream Collective. The reason is to accompany American pastors with a desire to be missional on a cross-cultural, international encounter. (You can scroll down the last few posts to learn what we are doing in Taiwan.) Each person on the trip has the missional impulse as part of their DNA, and they are here to consider how they might join God on his mission globally. While I admire the faithfulness of these men, I must admit my surprise to see that there is not a bigger interest in such global concerns among American pastors in general. My fellow travelers seem to be rare of a breed in ministry. Second, when I blogged about this on Sunday, two readers contacted my hosts-- one working with the Presbyterian Church in America and one from the Oversee Missio hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=8316 Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=7993 The line begins to form well before eight in the morning, a colorful cross-section of humanity – homeless men with graying hair bushing beneath stocking caps, gaunt young women dragging on cigarettes, strong young men leaning nonchalantly against the building, obese women with preschoolers clinging to their dresses, non-descript people dressed in work clothes of various sorts. Soon, though not soon enough for the waiting crowd, the large church doorknob twists. The sound causes an immediate straightening and tightening of the line. The lock clicks back, the doors swing open, and the impatient stream of humanity surges through. They push down the hall to the sign-in counter where a well-dressed lady wearing a kindly smile waits to examine ID’s, record names and addresses, and issue vouchers. It’s Wednesday morning at old First Church. Time for the free food distribution. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=7993 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=7913 It's difficult to begin writing this post. Every word I've considered using to open this post is simply inadequate. Woefully inadequate. "Overwhelming" won't work. "Horrific" misses the mark. "Astounding" or "paralyzing" won't do. What do you say when you visit an area where 85% of people there--men, women, and children--are HIV positive and dying of AIDS? 85 PERCENT! Imagine: a situation where 8 out of every ten people you see have a deadly virus coursing through their bodies, slowly killing them, and then moving on like a microscopic invading army to kill anyone who has the most intimate contact with them (sex). It's... (there are no words). Meanwhile, only 25 percent of those infected receive treatment (ARV). Only a quarter may slow death and live "normal" lives for a season. The number of orphans from this pandemic is.... Well, there is no word for it. Apocalyptic maybe? Oh, and by the way, unemployment is (unofficially) 80 percent. And what you're imagining probably is hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=7913 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=7808 The historic and contemporary reality of slavery is never far away from how we think about the Bible. Instead of a frontal attack on the culturally pervasive institution of slavery in his day, Paul took another approach, for example, in his letter to Philemon. Onesimus was a slave. His master Philemon was a Christian. Onesimus had evidently run away from Colossae (Colossians 4:9) to Rome where Paul, in prison, had led him to faith in Jesus. Now he was sending Onesimus back to Philemon. This letter tells Philemon how to receive Onesimus. In the process, Paul does at least 11 things that work together to undermine slavery. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=7808 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=7751 During the last week of July, I taught a two-day course for the Equip Conference, put on by the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. As the title suggests, the main burden of the not-for-credit course was to explore what the relationship is and should be between the kingdom of God and social justice. I approached the issue by: (1) providing a brief and necessarily selective historical survey of how the church has engaged these issues; (2) exploring the nature of the kingdom of God as revealed in both the Old and New Testaments; (3) revisiting Niebuhr's fivefold typology from Christ and Culture and critiques of it; and (4) noting the vague and nebulous definitions of social justice. I also hosted a panel discussion with three individuals involved in ministries that broadly fit underneath this umbrella to hear their perspective on these challenging issues. It was a very enjoyable experience. I concluded the class by stating Ten Theses for Further Discussion. I do not intend these as t hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=7751 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=7610 Craig was well-equipped for teaching God’s Word. He was committed to Christ, thoroughly educated, solid in his doctrine, well read, loved to study Scripture, and could preach outstanding sermons Sunday after Sunday. He also saw himself as a gifted pastor. He loved to discuss theology, debate doctrinal issues, and tell people how to apply the truth of God’s Word to everyday life. When people came to him with questions or problems, he prided himself on helping them to quickly get to the heart of the matter by identifying underlying sins in their lives and developing practical plans to grow in godliness. The trouble was that as time went by, fewer and fewer people were coming to him for pastoral advice. He would have been shocked to learn that while most of the people in his church respected him as a gifted preacher, many had lost confidence that they could approach him safely with questions, personal problems, and especially criticism, no matter how graciously it was offered. So w hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=7610 Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3176 When he first arrived in Minnesota, Jose Abascal was amazed to find that cash machines -- and lots of other things -- came in two languages. "You'd expect that in Miami," he said, "but not here." But what really floored him when he and his Midwestern wife settled onto their farm north of the Twin Cities 18 months ago was what a neighbor brought them for dinner. "Fajitas!" exclaimed Abascal, who at the time didn't have a functioning kitchen. "And she's nothing to do with Latin! She's Scandinavian!" The co-founder of the new Spanish Institute, which will open next month in Edina, was sensing cultural changes that will only accelerate in the years to come, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Minnesota State Demographer. The state's Hispanic population will shoot up, rising seven times faster than that of whites in the next decade, the report predicts. By the year 2030, one Minnesotan in five will be Hispanic or a person of color hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3176 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3174 “We have been learning from our grass-roots involvement with poor communities. We have learned the importance of the participation of the poor in the process of development. We have learned the need for mutual transformation. We have learned that sustainable development is as much about empowerment, the restoration of dignity and attitudinal change as it is about the provision of physical products and services. We have learned that development is time-intensive rather than capital-intensive. We have learned, above all, that development is about building and rebuilding relationships – with God, with others in community and with creation. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3174 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3054 As more and more people become city-dwellers it is imperative that the church understands how to reach out to the expanding cities of the 21st century. Here Tim Keller shares some biblical insights. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3054 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=6602 A friend sent me an email following the Twin Lakes Fellowship. Because my talk there was basically an exhortation to unity in the church, he asked if I might do a post to help "all those white guys out there that feel so incompetent when it comes to talking about race." Actually, it's a request I get often in one form or another. And that's sorta ironic... because folks who know me well know that "race" is the last thing I want to talk about with people. Literally, it's the last thing... right after a number of topics I'll label as "women's issues." But if you have to talk about race... here are some things to keep in mind that keep you from getting Imus-ed out of a job or a friendship. 1. Don't talk about race. I know... I know. This is a post on how to talk about race and the #1 recommendation is not to talk about it. Yep. For several reasons. A) "Race" (if we mean some essential difference rooted in biology) does not exist. It's neither a biblical or a scientific category hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=6602 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3061 Al Mohler points to the research of W. Bradford Wilcox of the University of Virginia, who argues that fathers play an essential role in the raising of children. His recent study, "Religion, Race, and Relationships in Urban America," suggests that fathers play a very important role in five specific domains of children's lives. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3061 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=6323 There is a race problem in the American church, if for no other reason than the fact that there is a race problem in America, and the evangelical church’s progress on race has, historically, mirrored America’s progress on race. The great gulf that exists between the gatherings of Whites and African Americans on Sunday morning, often reflecting the great gulf that exists between white exurbia and African American suburbia or cityscape, exemplifies the mirroring of the culture by the church. My white brothers of the faith often miss the race problem. I don’t feel that this is due to overt racism on the part of many. Instead, it’s because my white brothers must work at seeing life though the eyes of an African or Hispanic or Asian or Native American—all of whom are naturally and daily race-conscious. This is inevitable when you are hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=6323 Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=6162 Having Little Money Often Means No Car, No Washing Machine, No Checking Account And No Break From Fees and High Prices. You have to be rich to be poor. That's what some people who have never lived below the poverty line don't understand. Put it another way: The poorer you are, the more things cost. More in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, menace. This is a fact of life that reality television and magazines don't often explain. So we'll explain it here. Consider this a primer on the economics of poverty. "The poor pay more for a gallon of milk; they pay more on a capital basis for inferior housing," says Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.). "The poor and 100 million who are struggling for the middle class actually end up paying more for transportation, for housing, for health care, for mortgages. They get steered to subprime lending. . . . The poor pay more for things middle-class America takes for hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=6162 Tue, 26 May 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3053 Perhaps the longest running conversation between Blacks and Whites in America is a conversation about race. It’s a conversation that started in 1619 in Jamestown, Virginia as slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade began. The conversation moved through the Civil War, through Reconstruction, through Jim Crow segregation, and into the Civil Rights movement. And the conversation continues today in battles over affirmative action, racial profiling, and other problems in an increasingly diverse nation. In all of these conversations, the topic is "race." Everyone talks about "race." Lurking behind all this controversy and influencing our very identities are notions of "race." HLIC-TwinCities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3053 Wed, 20 May 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3050 In a flood of bestsellers by skeptics and atheists charging a nonexistent God with crimes against humanity, Timothy Keller stands out as an effective counterpoint and as a defender of the faith. His new book, "The Reason for God," makes a tight, accessible case for reasoned religious belief. And his national tour of college campuses has drawn overflowing crowds. "This isn't because I'm well-known," Keller told me, "but because of the topic." hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3050 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4377 While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such rrespondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time forconst ructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4377 Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4221 NHD Philly! is the regional National History Day program for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a collaboration of more than thirty history and community-based organizations in the Greater Philadelphia region. The participating partners represent some of the most significant history collections and programs in the United States, as well as the region's extensive community of education and heritage tourism enterprises. In addition to the regional National History Day Competition, the collaboration provides programs and products that support not only learning history, but also the development of research and analytical skills through the exploration of special collections, archives, museums and historic sites. Bristol Bay Productions thanks V. Chapman Smith for her extraordinary work on this extraordinary timeline. hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=4221 Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3912 What does the Bible have to say about God’s heart for the poor? hlic.twincities@ccci.org http://www.hlictwincities.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=44700&articleId=3912 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:00:00 GMT