On Sunday, Feb 24, 2019, we visited with our sisters and brothers in the Indianapolis Church. The fellowship was buzzing as I looked around and saw people engaged with one another smiling. The diversity here is excellent in age, in music, and even in those man-constructed concepts like race and economics. As a result of the integration and bridging of these things in 20+ years of visiting the Indy Church, I’ve never sensed or seen cliques or a sense of “I’m better than you,” or God-forbid “We are better than that church,” like there are in other churches. The other standout for me is that the worship team (both aesthetically and musically) brings different flavors of music to enhance the service and touch the congregation to move (both physically and emotionally) as the songs presented also do a great job at preparing the heart for the message. The leadership does a great job of listening to what goes on in the world and listening to what the members express, and then set about to create change, starting from within. This equipping and training then spreads out into the world, as more people are impacted by the Gospel.
On this Sunday which happened to also be the last Sunday of Black History Month, the service was laced with nuggets of this history not only in the songs but within the sermon, as historical artifacts were talked about that brought home points within the message. But before that, the worship team started with two old African American hymns followed by an original poem read by a sister about diversity and inclusion and tied that with a statement on how the reclusion of hate is made possible simply by looking with the eyes of Jesus. A gospel song “War,” by Charles Jenkins followed that. The service ended with the hymn and well-known national anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” that I grew up singing in school after the Pledge of Alliance. This was written by the African American brothers John H and James W Johnson and is a song I often teach my students.
Steve Cannon gave a sermon from a series they were continuing entitled “Re
It’s all about context though. This was his underlying message. Understanding the context is key. Steve drove this point home. I remember learning about a process for understanding scripture (and I suppose you could apply the principle to the healing needed in race relations), and that is S.O.A. P which stands for Scripture (read it first); Observation (read in context – that’s why I always go back to the Hebrew or Greek lexicon as well as the historical context of what is going on); Application (what is God asking me to do; how do I apply this scripture to my life, my situation) Prayer.
As Steve shared from his experience of having his eyes opened at age 19, to the Truth, I wrote in my notes, “…knowledge brings deliverance,” You see, when people who perish for lack of knowledge have their eyes opened to how Christ became the sacrificial lamb, eyes become wide opened! The start of deliverance and healing happens. The chains are broken. Racism flees, division and bias are thrown out the window. The Holy Spirit rises up breaking down walls, beating down doors, crashing through windows 🎵 because they see now in context, a new thing. After all, context is key. That’s why the Christians in Acts 2:42 worshipped the way they did. That’s why they responded the way they did to Peter’s message Acts 2:36. They lived with eyes wide open 🎵. Are your eyes wide open, according to Colossians 4:2 (MSG)?
So, what is my one takeaway from this day, you ask? Well, there were, of course, four points and many takeaways, but the one is God exposes. What does He expose? Two things: My own heart and what needs to change in how I think/process and relegate my negative emotions, so that my responses are ALWAYS like Christ, and the why behind what has the church stuck, and how can I move in a healthy way to help create change so that others, in the process, are also changed, or at least, begin to open their eyes to changing. In my notes I wrote:
- He expects me to be his agent of change.
- I have to be courageous. He calls me brave🎵. He has given me the tools with which to speak out in righteousness, for righteousness; He has given spiritual gifts to you and me, to use to set captives free and to equip the saints, according to Ephesians 4:7, 11-12. We are to bravely water, cultivate, and invest in them, so that we grow up in faith. OMG, it’s all right there in Ephesians 4. Open your eyes to what you have been given! The ability to create unity is right there, too.
- I need to walk hand in hand with the church to show the world a better way. It starts with you and me, saint, walking together. We have to get it on right first. If there is any bitterness between us, let’s resolve and then let it go. Jesus is the filter. Resolving it doesn’t mean you or I keep harping on what is past. Phil 4:13 says forgetting what is behind. When we have come to a place of forgiving each other, we move on in love. We do not continue to beat each other or ourselves up, bringing up the hurt of the past. This, my friend, my brother, my sister, is not letting go. This is not reconciliation. What we need to do instead, is first listen in patience to each other’s heart – even the details! (And if you’ve ever had a conversation with me, you know how detailed I can be and within all my detail, I get passionate and the decibels of my pitch raise! This does not mean I’m upset or still hurt, but many have mistaken this to mean I am upset and still hurt. This shows me that they simply don’t know me and set out to misjudge me and try to quick fix me with platitudes of scripture.) Just because someone long and detailed doesn’t necessarily mean that the person is still hurt. Perhaps she is sharing the facts very illustratively to paint the story of how she was hurt, to share how she rose out of and past that hurt, and even to help you see your part in causing the hurt, as she responds to your questions. But if you begin to nitpick every line item, this my friend, is dangerous and that is what the Bible calls exasperating. And lastly, this is where you push people away, having allowed a door to open up for the enemy to walk right in and create more divide between us. Put yourself in my shoes, and I will put myself in yours. That way the eyes of our understanding are opened to the pain AND to each other’s heart. Second, we apologize and offer forgiveness. Third, we allow each other space to abide in Jesus. After all, it is Jesus who says, to come all who are weary, to drink all who thirst. He says you were never meant to suffer alone. Why? He knows our every need and will supply it. But we have to rest in Him to do that! If we do not ALLOW EACH OTHER THE SPACE to abide in Jesus, how will we learn to trust again? How will we learn to love again? If we, Church, can get this on straight with each other, we can show the world a better way to resolve, reconcile, and be reshaped to the image of Christ! Listen to “Come to Me” by Harrison Russell https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07611Z8MX/ref=dm_ws_tlw_trk13
Very enlightening…like the revelation of you ( we are ) christ agents