ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 13, 2023
Rev. Dr. William Barber II is a minister within our denomination, while also being a prophetic voice to the nation. He is a well-known, some might call him controversial, pastor from North Carolina who also serves as the co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. I have heard him speak on a number of occasions, and each time he has left me feeling an uneasiness within my soul while also compelling me to do something. In his book, “A Third Reconstruction,” he writes:
“Not long ago I was a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher, with one of America’s most prominent atheists. Wearing my clerical collar, I realized that I stood out among his guests. So I decided to announce to Bill that I, too, am an atheist. He seemed taken aback, so I explained that if we were talking about the God who hates poor people, immigrants, and gay folks, I don’t believe in that God either. Sometimes it helps to clarify our language.”
How true!! Today, if I were to say to a group of people, “I’m a Christian,” that statement could be heard in dozens of different ways, ranging from positive to negative to even frightening. Rev. Barber reminds us that we need to be exceptionally clear when it comes to explaining who we are, what we believe, and what we value. And of course, one of the best ways is to make sure our lives communicate a boundless mercy and limitless love for all. We can put all kinds of statements on our website, but if our lives do not match, people will make the assumption that we are no different than those who believe in a god who hates poor people, immigrants, and gay folks.
Help me to align my life, O God, with the stories of Jesus. And where my life presents a Jesus who is without mercy and conditional with his love, I seek your Spirit to convict my spirit and guide me on the path of real change. Amen.
