North American Church Experiencing Crisis of Meaning

by Starlette Thomas | Jan 10, 2022 | Opinion|The Raceless Gospel Initiative

The church in North America is experiencing a crisis of meaning. What the religious institution meant for previous generations and the role that sacred spaces play in community has changed. No longer the center of the community or our lives due to overcrowded...

A Call for Audacious, Bold and Courageous Words

by Starlette Thomas | Dec 27, 2021 | Opinion|The Raceless Gospel Initiative

“The sky is falling!” Plan for when worst comes to worst. The world has been ending for nearly my entire life. What keeps me from living as if my hair is on fire or finding shelter under a rock are words. Good faith words have moved me to a deeper sense of human being...

Don’t ‘Cry Over Spilled Milk,’ but What About Spilled Blood?

by Starlette Thomas | Oct 25, 2021 | Opinion|The Raceless Gospel Initiative

Some say, “Don’t cry over spilled milk,” but what about spilled blood? How do we clean this up? How do we respond to blatant acts of racism and social injustice? Acting Executive Director Aidsand Wright- Riggins and New Baptist Covenant invites us to lament in a...

Why October’s Second Monday Needs an Accurate Poem and New Focus

by Starlette Thomas | Oct 11, 2021 | Opinion|The Raceless Gospel Initiative

The calendar on my iPhone now has two holidays listed on the same day. Monday, Oct. 11 is both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day. I choose not to celebrate the former for his attempted genocide of the latter. I’m bursting awkward silence conversation bubbles...

How You Can Lose Your Faith in Church

by Starlette Thomas | Sep 13, 2021 | Opinion|The Raceless Gospel Initiative

I trust God but I have my doubts about the North American Church. Worse still, its response to my lack of faith in the institution troubles me. The reflex is to protect the institution and not the sheep. It is not that church leaders and lay people are not aware of...

Can the Church Be Trusted to Handle Jesus?

by Starlette Thomas | Sep 7, 2021 | Opinion|The Raceless Gospel Initiative

“I trust Jesus to handle the church. I’m not sure I trust the church to handle Jesus.” The author is unknown but the sentiment is shared by many. Christians have to get Jesus’ story straight if we are to ever get on the same page. We share in common a sacred text, but...