Racial Fault Lines

It seems like every week brings out another story of a white cop killing a black man.  Accounts of the stories often vary, and sometimes vary wildly.  In Ferguson, some say that Michael Brown was gunned down in cold blood, while others say that he was on the verge of killing the cop.

In Cleveland, a 12-year-old with a fake gun failed to heed warnings from the cops, and he was shot.

In NY, a man selling untaxed cigarettes fought for breath as police used special holds trying to get him to cooperate.  Apparently his last words were, "I can't breathe."

Many declare that these cases are merely the tip of the iceberg.  Police routinely, they say, treat black men with undue harshness.  Stories by the dozens or hundreds or thousands are being told now, about blacks stopped by cops for no apparent reason.  White citizens even call in complaints about suspicious black people in the "wrong" places.

It seems like we have discovered a fault line in our culture.  Well, maybe the discovery is only for people like me.  To others, the fault line has always been obvious.

And there is plenty of fault to go around, too.  So often, these situations occur when bad decisions by one party are compounded by the reaction of the other.  It seems like sinners keep encountering sinners.  It sounds like real life in this fallen world.

We need changes of attitudes, which will change behaviors.  What we really need is a change of heart.  Only Jesus can change the heart.  He specializes in working with sinners, and it's a good thing.

Enter the Church, preaching the gospel.  Jesus takes sinners and transforms our hearts.  He died on the cross for the sins of rebellion and oppression, for the sins of indifference and prejudice.  He rose again to bring life to all who will receive him.

May he bring life, peace, and healing to our nation.  May those who belong to Christ rise up with love and truth.

High Water

Today God blew me away in our worship. His presence was obvious as we gathered to enjoy him. He filled every song, every testimony, every prayer. He touched our hearts as we prayed for a teenager's healing. When it was time for me to speak, it seemed like there was nothing to say. But God allowed me to speak, and it was exciting to share.

After our worship time, we considered our purchase of a building in Stokesdale. As we continue to grow, we are out-growing our current meeting space and need to find a new place to meet. Miraculously God provided a great opportunity to buy an existing building. Our spirit of excitement carried into our discussion about the building, and we voted unanimously to purchase the building.

It seems like God is taking us to new heights. His best moments for us just keep coming. After our Jamaica mission trip this spring, the report from the trip was a high point for us in ministry. Then we had our VBS in June/July. The energy and participation were off the chart. This was our biggest and best VBS ever. Another high water mark.

Then today, God shows his power. This worship time seemed like the culmination of many years of praying and watching. We had never thought that the Long House would be our permanent place to meet, so we always kept our eyes open for new meeting space. When our need to move out of the Long House became more urgent, we still had nowhere to go.

We have had to trust him, even when we could see no way for him to provide. Then he brings this building across our path, just when we could see no way forward. We expect soon to get the building under contract, and we have already begun the process of raising the needed cash.

Today seems like a culmination, but in some ways, it is just a beginning. Now we have to trust God to see us through the site plans, inspections, financing and local government approval. He has to keep doing it, because it is beyond our ability to get it done.

Today is a high water mark, but it points to greater things yet to be done in this city.