by Reginald Brantley

One of the great ironies of Christian history in America is that slave masters taught their black slaves a racialist form of Christianity, hoping to keep them docile, but instead the story of the Exodus taught them that the God who rescued the Hebrew slaves and brought them out of Egypt was their God of liberation. Men like Demark Vesey and Nat Turner preached a liberation theology that rescued America from its baser self.

by Nicole Duncan-Smith

This is a personal story of how Angelou’s writings and life influenced the author to such a degree, that she credits Maya Angelou with her gaining self-confidence, and teaching her how to navigate some difficult periods in her life. Angelou as poet/author/ humanitarian inspired her readers and listeners many positive ways.

by Dae Jung

Dae Jung credits Angelou’s book, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes, as defining endurance as “what happens as a resistance to death by life itself.” He also uses the experiences of Theologian Jürgen Moltmann as a teenager in Germany to show how hope is a strong motivator for life.

Collected by Darla Turlington

A collection of quotes from Maya Angelou.

by Baruch A. Levine

The author relates today’s concept of endurance to how it was demonstrated in the Hebrew Bible. For example, he uses Deut 4:3–4 to show how the Israelites who remained loyal to the Covenant with YHWH were not seduced by Baal-Peor, the Moabite deity. There are many interesting examples of how the Old Testament Israelites demonstrated faithful endurance.

by Pam Hasegawa

Here is an example of how one person realized that the poor peasants in Asia who had been cheated by unscrupulous middlemen could change their lives and the lives of people in their villages by attending a nine-month training session that required extreme endurance. This is a wonderful, true tale!

by Kevin Yoho

How do the actions of a local, inner city church square with the concept of endurance? They do if the subject is Mission Endurance. Here are the experiences of a pastor whose church had endured but was facing new unpleasant realities. Successful endurance often requires new thinking. Here is how one church overcame the revered dying past to establish a new future.

by Donald L. Odom

There are many examples of people overcoming obstacles through endurance. Sometimes endurance is a physical attribute, but it can also reflect mental toughness. The author shares his own need for endurance when he was diagnosed with cancer and he wondered, “Why me?” And later he learned that our growth in God depends on continuing to mature in faith to overcome our challenges.

by Cleotha Robertson

The two Biblical characters who most represent the idea of endurance are Job and Jesus. Who does not sympathize with Job—set upon by the devil, abandoned by his friends and seemingly by God? Jesus, tested by Satan, and constantly attacked by the religious community showed endurance that could have come only from God.

by Remington Slone

Whether or not a pastor follows the Lectionary, this perceptive commentary should prove valuable for preachers, seminary students, and lay readers seeking to expand their understanding of many Biblical passages from both Testaments.

collected by Darla Turlington

Here are quotations from the Bible and from secular writings that pastors and others may find useful in sermons, essays, or other venues.

by Jin Hee Han

In this new issue, our authors challenge us to recognize that endurance signifies not so much hardness of certain situations but the hardiness of the faithful. They remind us of the grace of resilience. For that we are eternally grateful.