Category: Leadership

A Summer Reading List for Leaders

A Summer Reading List for Leaders

Hello folks,

I am already into my summer reading. Mostly, I’m reading and doing research for my next book. The manuscript is due to the publisher in the fall.

In the meantime, I’ve been doing a lot of reflection and introspection about what it means and what it looks like for me to lead as an African American Christian woman. God is affirming my commitment and confidence in his call to leadership, and he is also inviting me to speak into leadership conversations, as I continue to celebrate other women that are doing this work–women that we all need to know.

In light of a recent Christianity Today conversation, I have shared a syllabus of women authors that will benefit the whole church, both men and women.

You can find my contributions to the conversations and my book recommendations at Missio Alliance.

What are you reading this summer.

Blessings, Natasha

On Being Black, Woman, and Evangelical

On Being Black, Woman, and Evangelical

 

I’m thrilled that important conversations are taking place about the history and condition of the American evangelical church. I am humbled and honored to contribute to these conversations.

This week I’m sharing at Missio Alliance about the intersectionality of being black, a woman, and an evangelical.

Over the past few years, I have wrestled with identifying as an evangelical who is Black. The past couple years have made it all the more difficult because of the troubling marriage of evangelicalism (mostly reported by those in the majority people group) and American politics, that often does not reflect the priorities or interests of many black people that I know.

I just finished reading Dr. Douglas A. Sweeney’s book, The American Evangelical Story: A History of the Movement. While reading, I was encouraged to know that the debates for evangelicalism—what it means, who belongs in the group and who doesn’t, and how marginalized people are often left out of the conversation—are not new ones.

In fact, uncertainly about the definition of evangelicalism, its mark on the American and global church, and how that has impacted various people groups has been a reality since the beginning of the evangelical movement.

Continue reading at Missio Alliance.

 

My friend, Lisa Sharon Harper, also makes an important contribution here. Thank you, Lisa, for answering the question, “What does repentance look like for the white church?”

What Does Church Hospitality Look Like?

There is an old cereal commercial that begins by panning across a field of tall stalks of golden wheat. The viewers then see an image of a large family house and an intimate group of people running through the wheat fields to the home. Before the commercial ends, the narrator reminds us, “If you feed them, they will come.”

I have thought about this commercial many times. As I survey the Gospels, I am constantly reminded of the various ways that Jesus shared food, broke bread and simply was hospitable to those in need of compassion and companionship. This is the mark of Christianity. Indeed, this is what it looks like to make disciples of Jesus. You welcome people to a table, to be present with you and the Father. You break bread together, and you eat the Word of God.

Our suffering servant Jesus goes beyond the miraculous work of feeding the 4,000 and the 5,000, plus more of their companions. Yes, he can create something out of nothing. Yes, he can fill us until we are all satisfied. And yes, there can still be so much more left to give.

Hospitality

Continue Reading at Outreach Magazine.

I am so honored to serve as a regular contributor to Outreach Magazine. They are an invaluable resource to pastors and church leaders. You can read and subscribe at their official website.