As a nation, we’ve just come off of celebrating one of the greatest holidays of the year—Independence Day. Our founding fathers fought long and hard for a nation that would be established on a new idea, a new principle of governance: "One Nation Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All.”
But here we are several hundred years later and we’re currently struggling to live indivisible, as one nation. Recently, this struggle was made all to real by the massacre at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. In a place of refuge, hope, deliverance, love and acceptance—9 brothers and sisters in Christ were shot and killed because of the color of their skin.
Evil has a way of finding its place—even in the church. At times, the church has stood in silence, or worse, allowed ignorance to dissolve its value in God’s people. But it doesn’t have to be that way any longer.
As followers of Christ, we carry the Hope of the world within us—therefore, we’ve had the answer to racism all long.
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”—John 13:34-35
This is evident: People Matter to God, therefore people must matter to us. And because people matter, stories matter. On Sunday, we shared Hubert Graham's story: one that would tell the historical and present struggles of racism within the church.
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Watch Hubert's Video Here
It’s a story that forces us to think outside of our own perspective, so see the church through the lens of someone of a different race. It moves us to ask questions about our personal life and the responsibility of the church when it comes to race.
It’s stories like Hubert’s that show us how theissue of racism has kept our country and our churches divided for too long.
Here at Renovation Church we will do everything we can to do our part at ending racism and hatred of this kind. If we are really going to say that we are about “
Reaching Every man, woman, and child
” then we have to write a new history for our nation. That starts with the Church living out a new level of life that is truly indivisible—
Loving others
just
as Jesus loved us.
For more on Sunday's message, listen to the podcast
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