Christians have always
wrapped themselves
in the cloak of cultural convention:

When the culture wore the coat of slavery,
the church wore the coat of slavery.

When the culture wore the coat of segregation,
the church wore the coat of segregation.

When the culture denied personhood
    to women, gays and those on the fringes,
the church denied personhood
    to women, gays and those on the fringes.

And now, when the culture wears the coat of greed and excess,
the church wears the coat of greed and excess.

It takes courageous Christians
and prophetic churches
to remove the cloaks of culture and convention
and stand naked with the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized…
and with God.

Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.