Blogs

The Dreamer Speaks is my blogging home, but I am a regular contributor to other blogs. I encourage you to not only read my posts on these sites but to engage with the blogs as a whole.

BGE Blog

The Evangelical Covenant Church’s Commission on Biblical Gender Equality exists “to educate people in biblical equality regarding gender; to advocate for justice in the structure of the church regarding gender; to equip the church to articulate the truth about Biblical equality regarding gender; and to advocate for the modeling of women in ministry and leadership in all possible venues within the church.”

Posts:

Taking Off the Blinders

One of last week’s lectionary texts was Deuteronomy 34:1-12, when Moses viewed the Promise Land from Mount Nebo. This passage jumped out at me because a year ago last week, I stood on Mount Nebo. As I read the passage, a lot of things jumped out at me; however, there was one part that stood out to me . . . read more

Discovering What You Didn’t Know Was Missing

I’ve been reading leadership books for years, but it was only recently that I realized something: none of the books I’d been reading were written by women. If I broadened my definition of a “leadership book,” it might allow for the inclusion of a small handful of female authors. (And I haven’t even bothered to raise the issue of ethnicity.) I am naturally . . . read more

Leaders on the Margins

A few months ago, Covenant Pastor Gail Song Bantum postedabout her 2015 experience of only reading works written by women of color and her 2016 commitment to expand that to only reading works written by women and men of color. Though it wasn’t an intentional move on my part, the majority of the books I have read, am reading or am planning to read for 2016 are authored by . . . read more

The Power of Weakness

Last month, while listening to a sermon, I found myself reflecting on my weakness and the power that lies within it. Of course, I blogged about my thoughts. I decided to share the post here for two reasons: 1) because I want to challenge you to rethink your understanding of “weakness,” particularly in the context of a society (and Church) that still refers to women as “the weaker sex” and . . . read more

Introducing a Deborah

Last year, the CCDA (Christian Community Development Association) held its first ever Women of Color Retreat. During the retreat, I had a few “fangirl” moments during interactions with Christina Cleveland and Rahiel Tesfamariam. I later discovered that a new friend was having her own fangirl moment after meeting me. This revelation made me pause and consider . . . read more

Silent Women

The concept of intersectionality, popularized in the 90s by law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw, is the theory of how different types of discrimination interact. For example, as a black woman, I’ve experienced discrimination based on my ethnicity or gender. Intersectionality addresses the discrimination I also face based on the unique combination of my ethnicity and gender. read more

Sharing is Caring . . .

During my time in the dual degree program at North Park Theological Seminary, I also pursued a Certificate in Justice Ministry. At the same time, I was serving as an intern with North Park University’s Urban Outreach program (facilitated by University Ministries) and participating in the CCDA Leadership Cohort program. All of these experiences allowed me many opportunities to engage in conversations about power and privilege. They also helped me to understand  that . . . read more

What’s in a Name (Word)?

I recognized and accepted a “general” call to ministry over 15 years ago. What I mean by a general call is that I came to understand that God was calling me to a lifetime of using my gifts and skills to build up the kingdom, whether that was as a volunteer or a paid staff person. Over the years, God has revealed more specific aspects of my call in bits in pieces. While I was in seminary, it became clear to me that . . . read more

LMDJ Voices

The Evangelical Covenant Church’s Love Mercy Do Justice (LMDJ) mission priority seeks to “join God in making things right in our broken world.” Their blog, LMDJ Voices, is a space for people to keep conversations going about how to live into this mission.

Posts:

Cheese Toast and Lynch Mobs

I once wrote an entire blog post about cheese toast. Okay, it wasn’t as trivial as it sounds. It was a reflection on how eating cheese toast as an adult always takes me back in time to my childhood. The look, the smell, the taste of the toast always brought to mind specific childhood memories. In fact, just writing about cheese toast brings up those memories. At this point, I’m sure you’re thinking . . . read more