Yes, I heard Tom preach on a couple of occasions. He did speak to the racism embedded in our nationa and churches. I also remember him asking "Have we wrapped Jesus wrapped in an American Flag?" He preached for peace and economic justice as well.
Sorry. A bit confused. Evangelism seems to be adherence to the old covenant under Moses which was only intended for the Israelites. How a black man can condone the Mosaic Laws regarding slavery is a complete mystery to me. AND how anyone can call themselves a Christian but reject the teachings of Jesus in favor of Mosaic Law is an outrage. The "God" of the Old testament, Torah and Koran is a vile, despicable and unjust entity (per Moses), which Jesus came to save us from. There is a reason the Evangelicals especially on the Supreme Court) support Trump; he's just like their God. Not a Christian among them.
Wow, brother Dewayne, are you confused or am I? You seem to have something "figured out." Lots of assumptions about Tom Skinner, or me, or Evangelicals, or Evangelism, or the Supreme Court. You do understand that "Evangelism" and "Evangelical" come from the same root -- sharing "good news," the euangelion, right? No, I don't believe the Surpreme Court's recent decisions and actions are aligned the teachings of the Jesus of the Gospels -- or even well reasoned constitutional law. A majority clearly place their own political and cultural agendas above any Evangelism that would change the ways they think and live in many matters... I agree about this; but I'm not able to do more than question their integrity. I do think there might be "Christians" there -- but perhaps too few Jesus followers. Maybe this is where we can agree?
I was in my teens, attending Brookdale Baptist Church in Bloomfield, NJ. Word of Life (Jack Wyrtzen) would hold rallies at Brookdale. I remember hearing Tom Skinner preach!
I remember when it seemed to me that his tone became more angry. I was too young to discern my own whiteness and prejudice. I didn't understand why his tone changed!
Today (i am 70 yrs old!), I think i get it. After serving as pastor of a very ethnically diverse urban church in a near west suburb of Chicago for 33 years, i see that his message is still needed today.
Thank you so much for bringing Tom Skinner into the conversation. His ministry of a wholistic gospel was very influential on how my church ministered in Harlem and the church community at large.
When I was a young evangelical in 1978, Tom Skinner came to speak at chapel at Westmont College. It was transformative. He spoke about the Lord’s Prayer. Until hearing him, I had never thought that “thy kingdoms come thy will be done on earth as it is In heaven” meant the here and now. I listened to that cassette-tape recording of that sermon over and over. God bless the ministry of Tom Skinner. Thank you for holding him up as a role model.
I never saw or heard him but learned of him from a friend in the early 70s. One quote of his that I heard and I have never forgotten was, "If Jesus is the answer, then what is the question?"
As a college student I heard Tom Skinner preach at the Urbana ‘70 missions conference on “The U.S. Racial Crisis and World Evangelism.” I remember the few black students that attended the conference were all sitting in front of the podium cheering for him. As a new Christian and not familiar at all with racism I was not sure what he was talking about. Hadn’t Congress just passed the Civil Rights Act a few years ago? But it was a message that needed to be heard and it opened my heart and mind to realize there was much work to be done in race relations. I’m grateful that Tom had the courage to speak and that InterVarsity Christian Fellowship had the foresight and wisdom to include this topic which was not popular in churches at that time.
“The Liberator Has Come.!”
BTW I believe you can listen to the audio version of his Urbana ‘70 talk at www.urbana.org.
Dr. Ibram X Kendi wrote about his parents' hearing Tom Skinner speak at Urbana (in chapter 1) "How to Be an Antiracist." This opening for his book caught my attention.
Wow, this is my July 4 theme this year. Tom Skinner spoke of 1619 & the "illusions of America founded on godly principles." And the U.S. church still grapples with these truths & our complicity still in 2024.
Yes, I heard Tom Skinner in the mid-60s at a rural, all-white Mennonite church in eastern Ohio. Our contacts with local Black people was mostly through reading about them in news stories in our county seat--Youngstown--and, for some, working with Black mothers on a commercial vegetable farm owned by a church member (my experience). I was struck in my formative teen years by Skinner's application of the gospel to then-current social issues of race and poverty. He preached with power and probing questions. If I had been more self-assured, I would have tried to talk with afterward. Even without that follow-up, I believe he opened my eyes to God's hope for racial justice in the world, and in the church, especially, where faithfulness in this area has been way too slow and too timid--in my own life and institutionally.
Yes, I heard Tom preach on a couple of occasions. He did speak to the racism embedded in our nationa and churches. I also remember him asking "Have we wrapped Jesus wrapped in an American Flag?" He preached for peace and economic justice as well.
Sorry. A bit confused. Evangelism seems to be adherence to the old covenant under Moses which was only intended for the Israelites. How a black man can condone the Mosaic Laws regarding slavery is a complete mystery to me. AND how anyone can call themselves a Christian but reject the teachings of Jesus in favor of Mosaic Law is an outrage. The "God" of the Old testament, Torah and Koran is a vile, despicable and unjust entity (per Moses), which Jesus came to save us from. There is a reason the Evangelicals especially on the Supreme Court) support Trump; he's just like their God. Not a Christian among them.
Wow, brother Dewayne, are you confused or am I? You seem to have something "figured out." Lots of assumptions about Tom Skinner, or me, or Evangelicals, or Evangelism, or the Supreme Court. You do understand that "Evangelism" and "Evangelical" come from the same root -- sharing "good news," the euangelion, right? No, I don't believe the Surpreme Court's recent decisions and actions are aligned the teachings of the Jesus of the Gospels -- or even well reasoned constitutional law. A majority clearly place their own political and cultural agendas above any Evangelism that would change the ways they think and live in many matters... I agree about this; but I'm not able to do more than question their integrity. I do think there might be "Christians" there -- but perhaps too few Jesus followers. Maybe this is where we can agree?
I was a brand new. Christian at Urbana ‘70 when I heard Tom Skinner preach. He started me on a journey that continues today. Thanks be to God.
I was in my teens, attending Brookdale Baptist Church in Bloomfield, NJ. Word of Life (Jack Wyrtzen) would hold rallies at Brookdale. I remember hearing Tom Skinner preach!
I remember when it seemed to me that his tone became more angry. I was too young to discern my own whiteness and prejudice. I didn't understand why his tone changed!
Today (i am 70 yrs old!), I think i get it. After serving as pastor of a very ethnically diverse urban church in a near west suburb of Chicago for 33 years, i see that his message is still needed today.
Thank you so much for bringing Tom Skinner into the conversation. His ministry of a wholistic gospel was very influential on how my church ministered in Harlem and the church community at large.
When I was a young evangelical in 1978, Tom Skinner came to speak at chapel at Westmont College. It was transformative. He spoke about the Lord’s Prayer. Until hearing him, I had never thought that “thy kingdoms come thy will be done on earth as it is In heaven” meant the here and now. I listened to that cassette-tape recording of that sermon over and over. God bless the ministry of Tom Skinner. Thank you for holding him up as a role model.
What an on-message message from Skinner! The "Kingdom" was a motif he and his associates used in all of their work!
I never saw or heard him but learned of him from a friend in the early 70s. One quote of his that I heard and I have never forgotten was, "If Jesus is the answer, then what is the question?"
As a college student I heard Tom Skinner preach at the Urbana ‘70 missions conference on “The U.S. Racial Crisis and World Evangelism.” I remember the few black students that attended the conference were all sitting in front of the podium cheering for him. As a new Christian and not familiar at all with racism I was not sure what he was talking about. Hadn’t Congress just passed the Civil Rights Act a few years ago? But it was a message that needed to be heard and it opened my heart and mind to realize there was much work to be done in race relations. I’m grateful that Tom had the courage to speak and that InterVarsity Christian Fellowship had the foresight and wisdom to include this topic which was not popular in churches at that time.
“The Liberator Has Come.!”
BTW I believe you can listen to the audio version of his Urbana ‘70 talk at www.urbana.org.
Thanks for the fyi; found it: "Tom Skinner: Racism and World Evangelism" https://urbana.org/message/us-racial-crisis-and-world-evangelism
Dr. Ibram X Kendi wrote about his parents' hearing Tom Skinner speak at Urbana (in chapter 1) "How to Be an Antiracist." This opening for his book caught my attention.
Wow, this is my July 4 theme this year. Tom Skinner spoke of 1619 & the "illusions of America founded on godly principles." And the U.S. church still grapples with these truths & our complicity still in 2024.
Yes, I heard Tom Skinner in the mid-60s at a rural, all-white Mennonite church in eastern Ohio. Our contacts with local Black people was mostly through reading about them in news stories in our county seat--Youngstown--and, for some, working with Black mothers on a commercial vegetable farm owned by a church member (my experience). I was struck in my formative teen years by Skinner's application of the gospel to then-current social issues of race and poverty. He preached with power and probing questions. If I had been more self-assured, I would have tried to talk with afterward. Even without that follow-up, I believe he opened my eyes to God's hope for racial justice in the world, and in the church, especially, where faithfulness in this area has been way too slow and too timid--in my own life and institutionally.