Shannon Jammal-Hollemans

Certainly. Here are a few ideas for learning more...

Blood Brothers (book: available for purchase on amazon)

Canadian Friends of Sabeel (website: friendsofsabeel.ca) 

Churches for Middle East Peace (US, website: cmep.org)

Little Town of Bethlehem (film: available for purchase on amazon)

Thanks!

Thanks for your comment, Eric. I think you are misreading the post. I do not ask people to choose between talking about justice and doing justice. I state that Christians are spending too much time talking about justice, and too little time doing justice.

I wonder why you think that Palestine and the Middle East are a particular passion for me. I do not think we have ever met or corresponded with one another.

Hi, again. I think we are looking at my comments from pretty difference perspectives. I am writing this as a pastor, identifying a cultural issue in the Church that needs to be addressed. I am issuing a call to action, not a judgment on God's behalf. 

This article explains why this is a threat to Palestinian Christian communities in Jerusalem. 

This article highlights how this move hurts the Christian community in Jerusalem. Particularly, these lines:

"Taken at face value, this new policy suggests that if in the past Israel viewed the material well being of Jerusalem’s churches as a vital Israeli interest, the same view no longer holds sway. Indeed, this new tax policy, if it is not changed, will severely undermine the viability of many of the Christian communities in the city. Many of these are vulnerable communities, struggling to maintain the Christian presence in Jerusalem under daunting circumstances."

Thanks for your comment, Roger, but you don't know me, nor the relationships that I speak of. My friends and family members who are atheists do share ideas that offend me at times, but that does not mean that we can't be friends. They actually strengthen me as a Christian. Their diversity is not a threat or a barrier to our relationship. It is a gift. As Christians, we are called to testify to our faith in our relationships with others, but that does not mean we need to cut ourselves off from those who we disagree with. Do people prejudge me when they hear I am a pastor? Certainly. Will people occasionally be caught off guard or offended by my Jesus-talk? Yes. But does that mean that I must be offensive because of my faith, or unable to live in relationships with others that are loving and honoring of who they are? No.

I think you are missing the point of the article, but thanks for your comment, David.

I agree, Greg. We need to live the gospel, in word and in deed, and trust God to do the work that we cannot, which is changing hearts and minds.

I appreciate your thoughts, and I think you are misunderstanding. When I was in Seminary, I remember one of the professors pointing out how the quote that says "Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet..." from Teresa of Avila wasn't exactly correct. Because God still is at work, around us and at times in spite of us. I think that is the beautiful thing about Reformed theology--that God's salvation is not dependent upon us, but on God, and God's choosing. That is what I hoped to convey in this article, not to take responsibility off of us for living it in word and in deed that the world may know that Christ is Lord. I probably could have conveyed that more clearly. Thanks, again.