Dear Friends,
The death of George Floyd, at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, has absolutely broken my heart and brought me to my knees several times over the past few days. As a follower of Christ, I want to state clearly that I am, as we all should be, against all forms of sinful violence, racism, and breaking of the law for individual gain. As I struggle with my own pain and brokenness, my prayer, as your shepherd, is how to effectively deal with the issue of racism in the wilderness we have entered.
In the past twelve weeks, God has been working on me to slow down, to listen, and to be led by the Holy Spirit. I am learning to speak and act only as the Spirit directs, and I have tried to follow this discipline daily. In the middle of cutting the grass at my house on Tuesday afternoon, he spoke simply and plainly; “talk to your brother and sister shepherds.”
I called four of the African American pastors that I have formed relationships with through the Sea Islands’ Worship Nights. I was given no agenda by the Holy Spirit, no words of wisdom or comfort, and no programmatic solutions. When each answered or returned my call, I explained that I love them as brothers or sisters in Christ and fellow pastors. I was praying for them and their churches and asked if they would do the same.
They were thankful, gracious, and loving, but did not shy away from communicating with me how they were feeling and how they and their churches were being impacted. All totaled, I spent two hours on the phone doing a great deal of listening to the many things they said. This was not just informative, but I believe redemptive for all involved in the conversation. I learned that there was a deep concern for the vulnerability of their congregations to COVID-19, that the economic impact was deeply troubling, and that there was a true desire to end discrimination for the benefit of the next generation.
One of the pastors asked me what I wanted for my family, for my children and grandchildren. After answering “a relationship with Jesus,” she pushed me further and asked me if I wanted them to have the ability to live in a good house, have a good job, and the freedom to live a life God created them to enjoy. Obviously, I said yes, and she replied, that’s all I want for my children as well. I was taken back by the simplicity of her desire and the reality that this was not something she believed was a protected and guaranteed right because of the color of her children’s skin.
Another pastor told me that as her boys were growing up, she would often forbid them from leaving the house for fear of being caught up in an escalating situation, like so many we have witnessed the past several weeks and it could cost them their freedom or even their life. This was painful to hear as it is to write and my heart broke for this pastor whom I deeply respect.
I have been asked over the past several days, what can we do and how can we help? The Lord has given me Micah 6:8 as a response; “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
We must, as individuals and a church, act justly, and demand justice for all. Justice cannot be arbitrarily applied, assumed, or believed to be automatic. We must be vigilant and we must stand up for anyone who is being oppressed or marginalized because of their race, gender, or creed. We must take to heart and incarnate Dr. Martin Luther King’s statement, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
We must love mercy and extend that mercy to all. We are living in a divided country today that seems to thrive on living on the extremes with no common ground or willingness to work together for the good of all. Harmony has given way to dysfunction, mistrust, and blame. It makes me think of that line Don McClain’s song, American Pie, “I saw Satan laughing with delight the day the music died.” Jesus spread his arms of love on the hardwood of the cross so that we could be surrounded by his loving embrace. We need to open our arms with the same amount of mercy and grace for all humanity.
We must be humble before the Lord and before each other. We are all made in God’s image and in Christ, there are no differences between us. We need to continue to build relationships with our brothers and sisters and to learn to serve just as the Son of Man came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. As a church committed to loving our neighbor, this must be an integral part of our future. We must especially humble ourselves to ensure a better life for our children, and our neighbor’s children. We are to love each other selflessly and to welcome each other with the same love God has for each and every one of his children.
God has shown us, the church—all the churches, what is good and what He demands of us in this situation. We need to be proactive and not reactive. We need to work together in a spirit of making things better and stand as an example to our community by engaging in meaningful dialogue and significant change. We must speak the truth in love, but more importantly, we must hear the truth in love. We must recognize that we are not fighting other people, but against Satan and his kingdom of spiritual darkness. Thankfully, our hope is not in our efforts, but in the blood of Jesus that reconciles us to God and to each other. My prayer is that we become a church where our life together with our brothers and sisters of all races demonstrates the power of the Gospel to bring all the nations of the earth together in worship and in service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. With the Good Shepherd as our guide, let us joyfully and expectantly go forth into the wilderness before us rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
God Bless,
Karl+
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