I am not sure if this is an appropriate time to write a “love poem,” as we who live in Florida are facing a terrible storm: Mr. Ian. Well, love always wins, even in the midst of life’s greatest storms. Thus, I wrote this poem, “For a Thousand Suns,” to celebrate the infinite value and endurance of love. Love is stronger than a thousand hurricanes.

“For a Thousand Suns”

I love you with the fire of a thousand suns
When darkness grows darker like the disappearing moon,
You calm the storms of Jupiter
You, the eternal fire, become a companion in the night
When my days, were filled with woe
You became my true champion in battle

I love you with the fire of a thousand suns
By your pure, august ray,
I may still sing the beauty of may
When all the yellow suns shall go away from sight,
Your eternal beauty shall transform the night

I love you with the fire of a thousand suns
Your touch my shackled soul will save
Your voice, proud, tender, is sacred
Shine on me, you, abounding in kindness and glory
In humble obedience, I shall learn your story

I love you with the fire of a thousand suns
Ten thousand more years of youthful moments,
Will you still love me freely?
You, cabin warm and welcoming, cradle me in balm
Of unforgettable dreams and delightful envies
Our destiny? Who will dare limit our histories?

I love you with the fire of a thousand suns
You, bearer of eternal beauty and unruly love,
You, become my hopes, my prayers, and my visions
Gone the pain thereof,
For you I see, for a thousand years,
And your voice I hear, from a thousand ears.

I just received word today from the Marketing Department that my new book “Theological Education and Christian Scholarship for Human Flourishing: Hermeneutics, Knowledge, and Multiculturalism” (Pickwick Publications: September 2022) has been published and can be ordered online.

Book Details

Book Description:

This book explores the interconnection of theological education and Christian scholarship, cultural and theological hermeneutics, pedagogy and community knowledge, democracy and citizenship. Yet, the three major disciplines or discourses covered in this work include multicultural education, theology, and hermeneutics through the lens of human flourishing and the concept of the good life. From this angle, this project is written from three different methods and approaches that intersect with each other: a theology of contextualization, a hermeneutics of interculturality, and a pedagogy of cultural literacy and transformative community knowledge. The book advances the idea that theological education should be the starting point to foster candid conversations about the importance of democracy and human rights, civic engagement and the political life, inclusion and diversity, and pluralism and difference in our multicultural society. The book uses the tools of multicultural education and cultural knowledge to enhance democracy and promote fundamental human virtues that would sustain the good life and human flourishing in the world–in the Aristotelian sense and in the Socratic idea of local and world citizenship. Finally, this text offers an alternative vision to contemporary theological education, to deconstruct the white, male, and Eurocentric narratives of theological education and Christian scholarship.

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I am thankful to all the amazing and insightful scholars who first read the manuscript of the book in its early phase.

I am grateful to a group of thinkers and theologians who reviewed and endorsed the book.

I am grateful to all my seminary professors who introduced me to the world of Christian academia and theological education, and who invested in me as a Christian thinker, writer, and theologian.

I am thankful to the various churches, both white and black churches, that I have attended and served as member, leader, preacher, and teacher. The people of God in these various multiethnic and multicultural congregations have opened my eyes and given me a new and fresh perspective about the enormous value of diversity (ethnic, cultural, gender, racial), inclusion, and multiculturalism in theological education and in the training of both men and women for Christian ministry and academic vocation.

Finally, my patient and very generous wife has given me the freedom and flexibility to think, write, and research for this book. This is very important to me because I spent 20 years working spontaneously on this book, as my initial research for this book began in my second semester of seminary in 2002. This incredible woman was by my side and provided unconditional support when I started seminary in Louisville, Kentucky 20 years ago.

To the praise, glory, and excellency of the most gracious, the most beautiful, and the most merciful triune God!!!

“Betrayal”

How old is your soul?
You are struck by the slap of love
You crave attention and cover the pain with a mask
He does not know the beauty in the dark,
but I care about the fantasy of your pleasure
Could his hands be a healing balm for your soul?

How old is your soul?
You open your wings to the breathing sunrise
He hides away from the beating sound of your heart
He does not buy you heirloom roses in summer seasons,
but I will cover your feet in the raging winter.
Will he hold your hands when it rains?

How old is your soul?
You are searching for the lyrics that make you smile
and the home where you belong
He does not know the story of your life,
but I know the language of your love
and will bring back the memories
Will he carry you when it snows outside?