If You Want Things to Turn Around, Face Forward

There is something alluring about “going back,” “starting over,” “returning to fundamentals,” “getting back to basics,” “re-rigging the wells,” “recovering what we lost,” “restoring past glory,” or any number of other figures of speech that call on us to look backward. People lose focus. Vision leaks. Corruption sets in. We drift off course. We can’t remember how we got here or why we started on this journey. Things rust, calcify, and oxidize. It’s all part of living in a broken world as fallible creatures with a predisposition to sin and folly. There is a force of gravity which not only pulls down on matter, but also on ideas, dreams, visions, and endeavors of all types. God’s people are not only attacked from the outside, we constantly struggle with controversy and corruption from the inside.

Dan's Blog Archives2Dan BouchelleOctober 29, 2020starting over, back to basics, looking forward, moving forward, Romans, Revelations, Lesslie Newbigin, turnaround, recover, past, future

Race, America, and the Mission of God

I feel compelled to speak about racism, but I am hesitant to do so. I’m reticent not only because race is deeply controversial, but because tensions are high, and the issues are complex. More importantly, I’m still trying to understand the dynamics. However, I’ve been reading widely about racial history in the U.S. and the global context for years. I’ve been pursuing a multi-cultural vision for over 20 years and have learned much by making mistakes. I have had many conversations with church leaders of various races in the U.S. and around the world about these matters. Still, I feel in over my head all the time. Yet, at some point, it is time to move beyond learning and begin to say something. I need to do more than send out an occasional Tweet or Facebook post.

Dan's Blog Archives2Dan BouchelleSeptember 9, 2020racism, missions and race, racism in the bible, God and racism, Acts, Romans, Luke, missionaries and race