On my recent flight back from Haiti, the plane was full of short-term trippers. It was the matching t-shirts and sunburned skin that gave them away (no judgement from me… my skin color matched theirs, and I’ve worn my share of matching t-shirts). I wasn’t trying to be nosy, but I overheard one enthusiastic...
Recently, my friend Shane Claiborne and I took part in a debate on Christian responses to poverty. To call it a debate might be a bit of a stretch, especially when the prevailing image of a “debate” is rancorous TV personalities angrily shouting over each other. Still, in the midst of our discussion, we...
A few months ago, I wrote about how HOPE was changing its mission statement to replace the language we use to describe “the poor,” a phrase that stuck in my throat whenever I tried to use it. Since adapting the mission statement, I’ve been thinking about other words and phrases that might unintentionally dishonor...