Barnabas File

 " You think things are different? You think times are different? … They will never let a Black man be Captain America. And even if they did, no self-respecting Black man would ever wanna be.—Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) Perhaps these are the defining lines of dialogue in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier mini-series that concluded on Disney+ this week.  I think all of us knew that Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) would eventually take on the role of Captain America, but the series challenged us to consider the hurdles to this conclusion:  Sam’s own reluctance to accept the shield from Steve Rogers after being his backup through several films; the expectations both of the public and the government about the Cap heritage; the treatment of Bradley, a Black Captain America, in the Korean War era; and the possible reluctance of a Black American to become the symbol of a nation that still struggles with systemic racism.   Marvel was not subtle about those themes in this series.  Some fans h

In a conversation with a church leader prior to the pandemic, we discussed the various activities of his church and how they might lead individuals to become more committed disciples of Christ.     My friend is very concerned about taking people deeper into the faith, helping them to connect with God on a daily basis and transforming their lives.     Unfortunately, we found that many of the things that his church offered were attracting day campers rather than pilgrims.    This is true of many churches today.   During the latter part of the last century, many churches fell in love with church growth methodologies.  The church growth movement adopted the organizational and marketing ideas used by businesses in post-World War II America.  These included designing events based on the demographics of your community, providing comfortable meeting facilities, making certain that everything the church offered was polished, and evaluating customer experience to make church ministries more attr

Pastors have always realized that there will be large numbers at church on Easter Sunday, and it has nothing to do with them.     Of course, this was not true last year, and it was not true this year.     Although some churches were able to meet again physically, many more were involved in worship online, as they have been for the last 14 months.   Despite everything, Easter happened.   God’s people celebrated the Resurrection in church buildings, open spaces, and their homes.  The physical numbers were not important; they never have been.  Numbers don’t valid the message.  If we are depending on larger numbers of believers gathering in worship to be a testimony to faith, we are fighting a losing battle.     A recent Gallup study reported that church membership in the United States has fallen below fifty percent for the first time.  Whether conservative, moderate, or liberal, all churches have reported a decline in membership. The same is true whatever one’s political affiliation, edu