Have you ever had the talk with your kids?  No, not that talk.  How about being stared at by the store security from the minute you walk into a department store, or just plain ignored by the person at the check out counter.  The talk I’m referring to is the one most...

Let me first address this notion that race is a political issue, and so we can’t talk about it.  That is one of the most asinine statements on many counts.  I’m wondering where in the Bible it says thou shall not talk about politics.  First, do you think the Egyptians...

Many of you don’t know who Richard Pryor is and the ones who do are thinking he was dirty and inappropriate for Christian consumption.  I’m not writing this to fight that rather universal assumption.  I want to tell you a little about this man so you can better...

As promised, this is an introduction to a five-part series of blog articles written by my friend, Tony Chukes. Like me, Tony will focus on interracial relationships in the church. The world is broken and unless people develop God’s perspective and imitate his heart,...

In my last blog article, I described God’s obvious love of great variety and the fact that no scientific or biblical evidence is to be found for the common view of race. But with those facts in mind, what should we do about it? The answer to this question is a simple...

I am simply awestruck with God’s creation. When we are at our cottage in the countryside of East Texas, I have my quiet times journaling on my laptop, sitting on the porch with the lake across the street in full view. That is what I see. But what I hear are birds,...

I began this blog some years ago and made regular entries for several years. However, I have not been actively writing about this topic lately, although I am still very interested in it and consistently seeking the perspectives of Black friends and even persons of...

An Introduction to a New Blog on Racism and Prejudice Why This? Why Now? Why Me? During my 45 plus years of ministry, I have served in many roles in many places. When I turned 65, I resigned from my ministry staff role in Phoenix and began a teaching ministry. The...

A number of people have looked at the title I’ve chosen for my blog and had the response above, as in “What’s That?” Black tax is a term becoming increasingly popular, and it is one that is very helpful in identifying certain attitudes and actions toward African...

The silence must end; the conversations must begin. I feel like my role in life right now has become the starter of discussions. My final letter regarding the last two chapters in my book, “My Three Lives,” was sent out to encourage more and more discussions about how...

As I wrote in my last posting, the Jim Crow laws that supposedly supported “separate but equal” status for people of color ended by decision of the Supreme Court in 1954. On May 17 of that year, Chief Justice Earl Warren publicly announced the court's decision...

From my perspective as I entered my teen years, nothing had changed. Blacks were expected to keep in their place, and that expectation covered a very broad spectrum. They lived in what many called N______town, separate housing developments that were disgraceful. They...

Most of us like presents of all types, and for many people, Christmas is one of their very favorite times of the year. Therefore, early Christmas presents are really special. Personally, gifts are not high on my list of “love languages,” but occasionally I receive a...

An Introduction As I’ve mentioned several times, I have a group of carefully chosen advisors who have provided me with invaluable input for my blog. They have taught me, corrected me, and encouraged me. My intention from the beginning was to use them to also write...

An Introduction Yesterday I read an article on Facebook by our dear brother, Scott Green, in honor of Martin Luther King Day. Not only did I think it was an excellent article, I was impressed that he wrote it while in the middle of his battle with brain cancer. He...

Addressing the Fear Factor If you have been keeping up with my blog articles, you know that my main objective in writing is to strongly encourage interracial discussions in the church about racial issues. We are biblically the family of God, brothers and sisters in...

“Learning from a Movie” In the previous post about Black History Month, I mentioned the movie, “Something the Lord Made.” I further mentioned that the father and both of his sons viewed and approached their lives differently, with each having something to teach us....

“Black Professional Sports Heroes” Honestly, it is difficult to know just where to start with this article. In the United States, the number of black professional sports heroes is staggering. As would be expected, it was a steep uphill climb for black athletes to...

One of the challenges I have faced in addressing the topic of race issues is in helping my white brothers and sisters understand that what we call systemic racism or institutional racism is quite real and ingrained in our society. We have difficulty understanding it...

Do you think that white is the right skin color? Where did that idea originate? Even if you are a non-white person, how much have you accepted the idea that white is right? You may be surprised with your answer, if you dig below the surface. Does the Bible give us an...

Those of us in the ICOC family of churches take pride (the justifiable type) in our racial diversity. Walking into most of our assemblies is mind-blowing to many first time guests, as well it should be. I love coming to our services, because I know I am going to see...

A Brief Review In the previous post, we discussed our racial diversity from several angles. One, we were encouraged to be grateful for what we do have, although we need to become more understanding of what we do not yet have and work to improve. Primarily, we need to...

A Brief Review In Part One of this series, we discussed racial diversity in the composition of the membership. In Part Two, we addressed diversity in the leadership (including ministry staff). In this third segment, we will cover some important aspects of diversity in...

As I began reading Michael’s manuscript of this recently printed book, I knew that I was going to devote considerable attention to encouraging its reading. Michael is a humble man, and I suspect he will be hesitant to promote his book as intensely as others will, not...

Introduction: The following article was published in the church bulletin of a congregation in Athens, Georgia recently – a church within the ICOC fellowship. It illustrates a number of important lessons regarding racial issues viewed from a biblical perspective....

I could have written an article with this title a year ago, but it would not have been quite as jarring as this one is. In the past year, I have expanded my knowledge considerably of my black friends’ worldview, and have altered mine in the process. This has been a...

My last post did prompt a number of responses directed to my email account, as I had requested. We have in our movement of churches (the ICOC) sort of an official “Diversity Group.” Most of them took the time to respond to my article, and all were very encouraged by...

I’m sure that this title is going to attract attention, and it is intended to do just that! However, it is only a question, right? In my next post I am going to provide some encouraging examples of white leaders who are definitely listening. At the same time, I am...

As promised in the last blog post, I am continuing a series about white church leaders who are listening to the issues faced by our racially diverse membership. This series will likely consist of at least three articles, and perhaps more. As with the first one in the...

Love listens. Agreed? Ask any wife whether she feels loved or not by her husband, and her answer will likely be tied to how well he listens to her. No one can be described as a loving person who is not a good listener. A quick glance at a concordance demonstrates...

As mentioned in my previous blog post, the DFW church conducted their third Diversity Workshop last Saturday as a part of an ongoing series. The first was for the ministry staff; the second was for the singles ministry; and the third was for all small group leaders...

Okay - this is the last article in the series about the DFW Church, my home church! There will be at least one more article in the series, one that shares what another congregation has been doing to promote better understand and closer ties between those of different...

In early September (2017), Theresa and I had the privilege of conducting a Marriage Retreat with the couples of the Atlanta Church of Christ in Gwinnett. As the following article from their leadership team indicates, they have a diverse membership. They have more...

I started this blog last November, so it seems reasonable to end this November with some self-examination and self-evaluation. So, just why did I start this blog and why am I still writing segments for it? Good question, don’t you think? I am not writing it because I...

Many years ago, a then-young Doug Arthur addressed our sin as a movement (and often as individual disciples) in not caring for the poor and needy much more than we were. Our sin was in the broad sense, a two-fold sin. One was that of indifference to the physical...

It is a fact that the Bible does not forbid any and all slavery, but rather regulated it among God’s followers in both Old Testament and New Testament settings. That fact is especially difficult to accept for those who have even a reasonably good understanding of how...

My last post on this blogsite was on the subject of slavery and the Bible. Interestingly, one of the members of our Diversity Committee in the ICOC churches is quite the expert on the subject. Richard Rodriguez, a brother in the South Florida Church of Christ, wrote...

James 3:13-18 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such...

If you have been keeping up with this blogsite at all, you know that Michael Burns has become one of my heroes. I have repeatedly urged everyone who claims to be a Christian to read his amazing book, “Crossing the Line: Culture, Race and Kingdom” – published by...

Stories are incredibly important. Every person and group has a story. Stories help to shape and craft our identities even when we don’t realize it. The grand stories that shape our self-understanding and the way we view and interact with the world are often called...

As noted in my recent post on Facebook and in the introduction to my new article regarding male and female role relationships in the church, the article grew out of a midweek outline for a lesson I taught. One sister who heard the lesson, Demerris Johnson, wrote me an...

Introduction to the Author Within our fellowship of churches, we have a Diversity Committee that is devoted to improving relationships between different races and ethnicities in our churches. The majority of the group are people of color, both male and female....

Another Article by Chris Jacobs Those of us who are white and love our brothers and sisters of color want to learn to love better. I believe that. More and more of us are taking to time to read about race issues, watch videos and movies about the subject, and most...

Gordon's Introduction Jesus had plenty to say about the relationship he and his followers were to have with the world. In John 18:36, he made it clear that his kingdom was not of this world. In John 17:14-16, he passed on this principle to his followers with these...

We all are different colors, aren't we? People would say that I am a white person, but no one is really white when compared to a piece of copy paper. I may be light-skinned, but I’m technically not white-skinned. I do have some color in my pigmentation, thank you very...

Nineteen years ago, the world lost one of God's finest -- Arthur Conard. He and I, along with five others, were a part of a very special club. Its development and function just sort of happened, in what became a beautiful thing, a "God thing." We were all members of...

Family, we need to talk. This won’t take long but it is important. I’ll be brief and try to avoid that lecturing tone that no one appreciates. In the early 20th century, Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach developed the famous inkblot test, which soared in popularity...

When I first started writing my blog, I entitled it “Black Tax and White Privilege.” I found out quickly that the term “white privilege” was a loaded term, for it elicited some very strong negative responses by white people. I didn't mind the strong responses and...

My experience with racism and prejudice I recently discovered that my adopted 9-year-old Sudanese-American daughter had been called a “gorilla” at school.  It broke my heart.  Trying to assume the best of people (especially young kids), I got the impression that the...

NOTE: In order to avoid overwhelming my readers with too much material at once, I will be posting the two articles by Tom and Sheila Jones in a couple of days, one at a time. This will also give you additional time to access the other materials by Michael Burns that I...

The following material will appear in The Kingdom of God, Volume Three: Learning War No More by Tom A. Jones to be released later this year. The book will be available from Illumination Publishers.  As we open this chapter and the one to follow, I want to depart from...

April, 1994 The following piece will also appear as an appendix in The Kingdom of God, Volume Three: Learning War No More by Tom A. Jones. Sheila wrote this 25 ago when she and Tom lived in Concord, Massachusetts. At the time, she wanted to submit it to the local...

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord (Romans 12:19, NASB). We live in an angry age, to put it as mildly as possible. At least 40 years ago, I heard a lecture in...

From the very beginning of this blogsite on racial issues, I made it clear that my purpose was to deal with those issues from a biblical perspective. The world in general is broken badly and I can do little to fix that brokenness. On the other hand, I believe that in...

NOTE: Please read Part 1 before reading this post. In both, I am discussing the causes and cures for what is commonly called “white fragility.” That term describes the often strong tendency of many white people to avoid honest discussions about racial issues....

Introduction I have not added any articles to this blog for quite a while now, due to focusing on other writing. I have written three short books during that interim, all of which are in some part of my publisher’s pipeline. This article was written by the daughter of...

A few days ago, I posted articles twice on Facebook about the death of Ahmaud Arbery. Many others have posted similarly, generating many responses. Most responses indicate that more and more of us are starting to understand the depth of the problem and are looking for...

Last semester I had the privilege to share work on a grad school class project with four men, all African American, three of them ministers. The entire class demographic was probably 2/3 men, and 2/3 Caucasian. When we were put into groups, I soon learned that I was...

Introduction After the truth came out about the death of Ahmaud Arbery, I received a letter via Facebook from an older white sister in the Boston church of which I was a part for sixteen years. Here is her letter along with my reply to it. More and more white people,...

To my Black Brothers and Sisters in Christ Three days ago, Roger Lamb posted a personal apology on Facebook about our failures as a church family (the ICOC) to address racism. I commended him for the post and posted it to my FB friends. He had called me a few days...

Given the title, take into consideration that I’m a Christian black man living in the USA. I’m married to but one wife, with whom I have three beautiful children, and we belong to a diverse church home. And I am active in my community as a somewhat successful junior...

In 2014, the Asaads saw the need for our congregation to celebrate the diversity among us while deepening the love we have for each other. Todd asked the Sagets to help meet this need by looking into a training model on the topic of diversity that would be appropriate...