Archive
L.A. Times: It’s 2016 and the Civil Rights Era Hasn’t Ended
This post originally appeared on the Sunday OpEd page of the L.A. Times. I participated in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. I was pastor of my second church, in Kansas City, Kansas, in …
Could Churches Help Solve the Payday Loan Crisis?
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has unveiled new proposal to protect consumers from “debt traps” that are caused by payday loans. Rev. Mark Whitlock, executive director of USC Cecil Murray Center for …
The Impact of Faith-Based Financial Literacy Training in Los Angeles
The USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement trains leaders of faith communities on financial literacy, economic development and fund raising. Watch this video to find out more about the program: The …
Los Angeles’ Homelessness Emergency Is a Crisis of Values
This post also appeared on Equal Voice News and Huffington Post. A state of emergency signals that a catastrophe, social or natural, has challenged or upended civic order. Under states of emergency, …
A Crisis of Integrity in Seoul, the Megachurch Capital of the World
Seoul, South Korea is the “Megachurch Capital of the World.” Not only is Seoul home to the largest known Protestant church in the universe, Yoido Full Gospel Church, the city has more …
American Christianity Is Changing Fast: Five Stories to Watch in 2016
This post originally appeared on Religion Dispatches. While LGBT evangelicals cheered on the SCOTUS decision on gay marriage, evangelical institutions lobbied for the passage of “religious freedom” laws that would allow them …
The Top Five Religion Trends to Watch in 2016
From the rise of evangelical hipsters to the rise of religious “nones,” religion is in a period of flux as we end one year and look forward to the next. Here at …
Christmas Economics: Black Friday Boycotts and Santa Selling Toys
Christmas is not only a religious holiday, but also season for shopping. The Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement was called on to respond to the economics of Christmas. “Jesus doesn’t sell …
Why Do Buddhists Give Money in Sri Lanka, But Not in the U.S.?
During visit to observe a Los Angeles-based mindfulness group a few months ago, the teacher asked me to explain to her students the significant role that dana, one of the ten pāramitā …
Lessons from Hurricane Katrina: How Faith Communities Can Save Lives
One year before Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Louisiana’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness conducted a tabletop exercise that simulated a Category 3 hurricane hitting and …
How a Pentecostal Law Professor Has Helped Reshape Nigerian Politics
This post also appeared on The Washington Post Acts of Faith blog. I met Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s vice president-elect, two years ago, during the annual convening of the mammoth Holy Ghost Congress …
How To Make Sense of the Latest Killing on Skid Row
Los Angeles police officers killed a man on Skid Row on Sunday night, shooting him outside the building where I work. He died, his body broken, as others’ have been, just a …
A Pragmatist’s View of Religion
It is reasonably easy to be an armchair critic of religion. There are ample examples of religious leaders who compromise the values of their tradition, and the fundamentalists of every religion are …
Hampers of hope in Harbor City
This post originally appeared on Al Jazeera America. HARBOR CITY, Calif. — From the Pacific Coast Highway exit off the freeway in Harbor City, it is impossible to miss the towering exhaust stacks …
Downtown L.A. Captures Pentecostalism’s Past, Present and Future
“When people ask me, ‘What good can come out of Skid Row?’ I tell them that the people of God come out of Skid Row!” Pastor Cue’s sermon hit a crescendo as …
The Visual History of Christian Civic Activism in China
Accounts of the Hong Kong campaign for political choice and universal suffrage that began in late September have emphasized the prominence of Christian activists in planning and leading that movement. Community organizer …
A Family Occupation: Samuel Chu on the Occupy Central Movement in Hong Kong
Samuel Chu has been a community organizer in Southern California for the past decade. On September 26, 2014 he left Los Angeles to join his father–a Southern Baptist minister, community activist and …
LA Voice: Congregations and Communities Building Electoral Power
For many years in the United States, churches have been at the center of progressive political and social movements. From abolitionism to child welfare and of course the Civil Rights Movement, religious …
Iceberg Lettuce vs. Arugula: Religion and Gentrification in Los Feliz
Last week I took a walk on the gentrifying edge of Los Feliz with the pastor of a local church that mainly ministers to the down-and-out. We talked about the urban landscape …
Putting Education to Work: How Cristo Rey High Schools Are Transforming Urban Education
Putting Education to Work: How Cristo Rey High Schools Are Transforming Urban Education Megan Sweas, Author (Harper Collins Publishers: 2014) The story of how the Cristo Rey Network’s values-based education model and …