Cross Point Blog
Everyday theology and useful resources; relevant to our church, our city and current culture.
Latest Posts
The Story of Two Refugee Crises that Break the Mold
For many of us, the modern refugee crisis hit our radar in September 2015 with a viral photo of a little Syrian boy named Alan Kurdi, laying facedown on a beach after trying to escape to Europe with his family. If someone asked me to describe the typical refugee, my mind would immediately go to stories like Alan’s – a Middle Eastern family fleeing violence in search of a better life. But, refugees don’t come in just one shape or size.
Noormah’s Refugee Story
By the name of our merciful God, who created all the human beings, I am very grateful for my kind, graceful, compassionate God. I am Noormah, I am 25 years old, and I am from Afghanistan.
Spotlight
The Value of Relational Equality
I sat in the home of Maryam*, a young refugee woman from Afghanistan asking her what she needed. The interpreter relayed her response, “This is your first time to my home, it is not right that I should tell you what I need now, it is right that I should serve you.” This is an important antidote to my tendency toward saviorism.
Fire & Rain
It was something completely contradictory to what I had imagined. There was a group of people safe enough where I could share the weaknesses that kept me limping along for ages. Up to this point, my experiences had taught me not to trust. To let people see what was happening underneath would mean that from that point forward, I would be seen as damaged goods, and there was no coming back from that. But then, something remarkable occurred.
What is Black History Month?
Black History Month has been installed by necessity because black history has been grossly underrepresented when the storytelling of America has been told. As actor Morgan Freeman so concisely put it once, “Black history is American history.” This is why we have Black History Month – so that the fullness of the historical landscape of our country can be traversed. Pondered. Lamented. And built upon responsibly.
A World in Turmoil
As news outlets show live footage of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the world watches from a myriad of perspectives, whether sociological, financial, geopolitical, theological, etc. Regardless, the situation is real and the implications are vast. While the trauma of war is acute, hope is also, even if it isn’t always immediately clear.
When People Let You Down
You know that saying “wisdom comes with age,” I’ve never experienced that to be so true as realizing that all people are broken people. In naivety, I used to put people on pedestals thinking they were the exception to the rule, sure they weren’t perfect, but they were infinitely better than me. Time and failures on the part of those “nearly perfect” people were what finally exposed my faulty thinking.