Back to MenOfIntegrity.net a service of Christianity Today International
Today's Christian

 

Main  |  Archives  |  Contact Us
Site Search

Connect with God

Transform my Mind

Live by His Power

Relate Better

Make an Impact



Take this poll

HOLIDAYS & EVENTS
National Bible Week (U.S.A.)
Thanksgiving (U.S.A.)
Advent
Related Channels
Marriage
Parenting
Singles
Movies
Music
Today's Christian
Bible & Reference
Faith in the Workplace





Home > Men > The Risk of Reconciliation > No Easy Solutions


No Easy Solutions
Theme of the Week: The Risk of Reconciliation
Saturday, June 22, 2002



May/June 2002 5 3 No Easy Solutions Theme of the Week: The Risk of Reconciliation
No Easy Solutions
Theme of the Week: The Risk of Reconciliation
Saturday, June 22
Q. Why does problem solving come up short? A. We're too easily persuaded, wrote British mystery writer Dorothy Sayers, that "hatred, poverty, and unemployment … are problems … solved in the same manner as the Death in the Library." Once upon a time, America had a race problem. Whites (mostly southern) were the problem. Blacks were the victims. Northern whites (with help from Martin Luther King, Jr.,) were the detectives. The Voting Rights Act and Brown v. the Board of Education were the solution. But what's the problem in 2002? Once you've hugged a black man at a Promise Keepers gathering, how much of a race problem can be left? Let's admit it. We haven't managed to "solve" anything in our own ministries, much less in the culture as a whole. How can we make progress? Forget "problem" and "solution"; think life. Those of us who've persevered in efforts toward partnership across ethnic divisions have discovered that the only reason to stay in this challenging, often painful process is that it leads to life. We stay in cross-racial friendships, give up the ease of homogeneity, abandon our rights before one another because it allows us to experience as concrete what to other Christians still sounds abstract: "For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us" (Ephesians 2:14, NRSV). Often seeking racial reconciliation and justice makes things harder. We keep doing it only because here we meet the Lord of resurrection life. Andy Crouch is editor-in-chief of re:generation quarterly. Adapted from: Prism (7-7/01). Copyright © 2002 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.
May/June 2002, Vol. 5, No. 3


0Prayer for the Week

Lord, make me willing to endure discomfort in order to reach out as a reconciler.



Men of Integrity
Connect with God  |  Transform my Mind  |  Live by His Power
Relate Better  |  Make an Impact
Home  |  Archives  |  Contact Us


Try an Issue of Men of Integrity
Free!
Subscribe to Men of Integrity
Name
Street Address
City/State/Zip
E-mail Address

No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders.

If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless.

Give Men of Integrity as a gift
Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter
Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter
   RSS Feed   RSS Help








SUBSCRIBE!

5 minutes is all it takes …

Subscribe to Men of Integrity








Free Newsletter
Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter:






ChristianityToday.com
Home CT Mag Church/Ministry Bible/Life Communities Entertainment Schools/Jobs Shopping Free! Help
Books & Culture
Christianity Today
ChristianityTodayLibrary.com
Church Finance Today
Christian History Back Issues
Church Law & Tax Report
Church Secretary Today
Ignite Your Faith
Leadership Journal
Men of Integrity
Today's Christian
Today's Christian Woman
Your Church
BuildingChurchLeaders.com
ChristianBibleStudies.com
Christian College Guide
Christian History
Christian Music Today
Christianity Today Movies
Church Products & Services
Church Safety
ChurchSiteCreator.com
PreachingToday.com
PreachingTodaySermons.com
Seminary/Grad School Guide
Christianity Today International
www.ChristianityToday.com
Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today International
Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Advertise with Us | Job Openings