Before I plunge in to another post that I hope will be helpful for understanding both the value of using culture-related language and what I believe is the fundamental difference between Western and Non-Western cultures, I believe a clear definition of the word is in order. CULTURE: the shared beliefs, values, knowledge, language, and behaviors…
By God’s permission and design, people from around the world now live in my community and have become a part of my day to day and week to week sphere of life. I regularly interact with a Sikh gentleman from Punjab state, India, a hard-working cultural Muslim man from Iran, and various culturally Muslim men…
When I pastored in Phoenix a few years ago, my assistant pastor was from a Middle Eastern country and a number of our church members were refugees from Burma/Myanmar. For all of them and almost every other refugee that our church served, their life experience prior to being resettled in America was oppression generated by the…
The bible is full of admonitions for God’s people to be an expression of His love for the poor and oppressed. This includes caring for the fatherless, the widow, and the “strangers” that live among us, (Deut. 10:17-22 being just one of dozens of examples). But does the bible have anything to say about the…
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that morally, culturally, and politically, what’s taking place in the U.S.A. is change at the foundational level. And as with all change, a segment of people rejoice at what’s “finally” happening while others are absolutely disgusted with the way things are “these days”. Although division certainly does…
Knowing a bit of my back round, a few friends have asked me what my thoughts are regarding whether or not the United States should permit refugees from Syria to be resettled here. Before I share a few of the things that I think about that subject and a few others, I believe that sharing…
As sobering and painful as it is for me to express it, I’m not surprised at the ho-hum response of the majority of the media and most Americans to the videos recently released that clearly portray the multi-faceted evils of the abortion industry in America. Why am I not surprised? Because I’ve learned to view…
