A Day To Remember

Like many, I remember exactly where I was when I heard about the planes flying into the twin towers. I was in a Greek class at Oakwood College and my wife phoned me with the news. At the time, they thought it was a terrible accident, but I immediately knew it was something more. As the day progressed we learned the degree of hate against the U.S. that is held by many radical Islamic leaders.

In the days that followed, a highly patriotic spirit swept across the nation. You were either for us or against us. Prayer was encouraged from seemingly heathen politicians and church attendance was at an all time high. Unity was promoted across racial and economic boundaries.

Since then, a number of things have happened. President Bush has gotten us into a war that have cost thousands of lives. A number of freedoms have been stripped away in the name of security. Laws have been put in place that set the stage for marshall law at the whim of the government. And in the last few years, after the period of racial harmony, there has been a rise in racial profiling and incidents where minorities, mainly blacks and Arabs have been been the victims of hate that has not been seen since the 1950s and 1960s.

Most disturbing is the plight of Jena 6 in Jena, LA. It is a sad fact that this level of injustice could happen in the U.S. in 2007, however, this is not an isolated incident of racism. Within the U.S. and even in the churches, there is a culture of systematic racism. There is a prevailing thought that the conservative eurocentric style of worship is the only correct way to have church.

Now this is really only true within multiracial churches like the Seventh-day Adventists and United Methodists, along with others that came out of churches started by those of European background. It is particularly seen among those of African descent that have roots in colonized countries. Because many of the first missionaries were white Americans and Europeans who taught, and still teach, that any culture, other than their own, is inherently evil.

Mind you, most times they will not just come out and say it, but by teaching that things must be done their way, it is implied. They use texts about becoming a new creature to justify their teaching, however if you look at the biblical accounts, God never requires a person to forsake their culture, but rather forsake sin. Many times conversion does not require a change of language, dress, or vocation, unless they go directly against biblical principles.

The problem I see is that many so called Christians have not truly had an encounter with Jesus. Such an encounter would transform their hearts to allow them to see people through the eyes of agape love. This would keep them from practicing injustice against their fellow man. It will help them to make a positive change in their community. It will transform the U.S. from a country that lives within a evil dichotomy to a nation that would exercise the power it holds in order to bring peace and prosperity to a dying world in need of so much.

My prayer is that each of use will look within ourselves and ask God to remove that which is not like Him and then work to influence those within our area of influence to make the world a better place. Peace & Blessings!

Pastor J