Our free resource this week is a workshop led by Keas Keasler and Nikki Toyama-Szeto on the subject of race, class, and gender equality in the church. How might the gospel influence our leadership practices in this area, and what impact might that have for God’s mission in the world?
Workshop Description:
In a society where issues of race and gender continue to be both explosive and divisive, the Church must proclaim that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings us together as a new humanity in which color, class, and gender differences are overcome. The Church preaches this truth no louder than when it embodies it in its leadership. In this workshop we will reflect theologically as well as practically and personally on this aspect of Christian leadership that is so often overlooked and the implications it has for the life and mission of the local church.
The audio download of this workshop is available HERE and is available for free all day today, 2/10/14 (discount automatically applied when you add the workshop to your cart).
**If you find resources like this helpful, there are many more available here. You might even want to grab a bundle all at the same time.**
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
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If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
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One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.