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Saturday, August 9th changed the dynamic of an already racially sensitive America. People from all over the United States were confused and in an uproar. Michael Brown, another African American teenager was gunned down. This time it was by a police officer. Questions were asked, protest were conducted, riots happened, meetings were held and yet; nothing has really changed. Racial tensions are at an all-time high in America and even when the media isn’t watching, racism has become like a smoldering fire among American culture. We stand in our churches every Sunday talking about the love of Jesus and how he has died for our sins, yet we find ourselves as a “body” decapitated and remain in denial that we are in fact dying. We are becoming irrelevant, we have been defeated and have not even begun to fight.
Church leaders are all called to action in this occasion to show support, rally their attendees to go forward and demonstrate their support for the cause by writing their congress representative or attending meetings on how to be effective in our urban communities. Yet, this smolder of racism remains. We have treated the flames we see but what we do not see, we ignore until it all flames up again. The problem is not a simple fix, we cannot just protest and attend a meeting, if we want change we have to submit to changing our minds.
How is it that we serve a God whom created us all in his image, yet we hate our brother or sister because of preconceived notions based on his or her skin color? To reject them is to reject a part of God. If we are one body, how can the arm hate the leg? We have decapitated our own “body” and cut off our head (God) and are upset at what the world has done to us! We go into outrage when they take prayer out of our school systems, when gay marriage becomes legal or when we are told we cannot practice our religious freedoms. Yet, we cannot even find the strength within ourselves to love each other? This isn’t just a white and black issue, this is an issue of humanity. The issue of preconceived ideas and prejudice is not only a matter of white people\’s perceptions about black peopole but also prejudices and preconceived notions that black people have about white people. A type of change has to happen that has not fully been realized in our nation.
I am convinced that the time is now and the people whom should lead this movement are urban pastors. It starts with conversations and work from within. The body has to first recognize it’s self as a unit and see itself through Gods eyes, love its self with the heart of God. When we have achieved that we will be a true force to be reckoned with.
