Category: New Church Hacks

People are suffering. How can the church show that it is listening? How do we exercise Biblical justice as Disciples of Christ? There are some practices that leaders, congregations, and organizations can adopt to eradicate systemic racism. The Bible is clear that all people are made in God’s image. Racism and oppression are against the heart of God, who does not tolerate injustice.

You can courageously and radically transform your church and community into an active force for justice and solace when the world seems to tell certain people that they do not matter. Racism is a sin that needs to be called out. In our latest New Church Hacks episode, participants were empowered to:

• Dismantle racism from the pulpit and beyond
• Engage anti-racism training at all levels of formation in your church
• Support organizations and community activists that are at the frontlines
• Discuss different ways in which others are fighting against racism
• Celebrate humanity’s rich cultures and diverse ethnic backgrounds and traditions.

Featured guests

April Johnson is the Minister of Reconciliation for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada). As Minister of Reconciliation, Rev. Johnson facilitates the church-wide process of awareness, analysis and action toward healing the fractures in the body of Christ that are caused by systemic racism. She collaborates with organizer trainers, regional and congregational staff leadership, anti-racism teams and ecumenical partners in her efforts to guide this work. To read her hacks and resources, click here.

Mark Anderson is the CEO and President of the National Benevolent Association (NBA). In this role, Mark leads the NBA in living out its mission of “creating communities of compassion and care” – a mission that NBA fulfills by utilizing a network of ministry partners and by equipping congregations and other direct-care providers to deliver services to those in need. He strongly believes that health and social service ministries can respond to both the immediate need in marginalized communities, as well as fighting to change the systems that prevent people from overcoming their challenges in life. For his hacks, click here and for his resources, click here.

Yvonne Gilmore is the Associate Dean of the Disciples Divinity House at the University of Chicago. As Associate Dean, she fosters educational opportunities, vocational development, and transformative conversation among current students, alumni/ae, and friends as well as in wider venues. She is in demand as a speaker and preacher and as an anti-racism trainer with Reconciliation Ministry. She has team-taught in the Divinity School’s Arts of Ministry sequence, and she is a member of the Board of Directors of Higher Education and Leadership Ministries (HELM) and former member of the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Her hacks and resources are accessible here.

Joining us in her first Facebook Live was guest, Nadine Compton (Creative Writer/Digital Media Specialist for Disciples Church Extension Fund). Here are her hacks and resources.