I have made few public statements regarding the tragic occurrences in #Ferguson, MO. It may have been that I needed a moment to grieve and prepare for the anticipated backlash that will come in response to my indignation. I have, however, paid close attention to the comments of trusted friends who are publishing statements in response to the occurrences of the last two weeks. At the moment I am preparing a statement of my own as I will address it this Sunday in front of people who I love and pastor. But as I read the malicious jabs from so-called evangelicals in response to an excellent two-part article written by my brother Pastor Léonce Crump, I cannot help but note that we have been celebrating behavior modification - not true repentance. We appear united, until people of color emotionally react to the death of a teenage boy - one of many inexplicable deaths to have occurred this summer! Unity was not as genuine as once thought! Thug has been the word of choice. I, like the rest of you, never met Michael Brown. If he was a thug I would not know. I do know that he was unarmed and after being shot six times (twice in the head) his body was in the middle of the street for hours! They did not even cover him! His life was taken and no one saw fit to give him dignity in death. I also know that he was a divine image bearer who possessed inherent value. To label him a thug for the sake of downplaying the circumstances is an insult to him, those who love him, and the God who fashioned him. We have been pretending that all is well and systemic devaluing of human beings is a thing of the distant past. For my eternal siblings who believed this, the summer of 2014 should have been an alarm clock. If not, I contend that a divisive wall, which was destroyed by the death of Christ (Eph. 2:11-22), is being futilely rebuilt by those who claim to know him. And for the men and women of color, who are taking advantage of a catastrophe in an attempt to progress a political or personal agenda, be mindful of the God who is not mocked (Gal. 6:7). Your actions are no better than the officials you malign. Instead of rebuilding the wall, we should see to it that the Gospel comes to bear on the relationships that are obviously broken. We are the ambassadors of the message of reconciliation. The message presupposes repentance! We must stop pretending that all is well! I have a son and I am fully aware that I will have to teach him the same life saving lessons my father imparted to me as a boy. In 2014 I will have to teach him how to get home safely. All is not well!
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 03:39:18 +0000
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