As I sit down to write my Friday (June 19th) blog, my heart is heavy with grief and sadness over the shooting that has taken place at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, a historic black church in Charleston, S.C. I had planned on writing about the retreat our CTC Core Leadership Team and Cabinet conducted Wednesday. As had been promised in the Conference Core Leadership Team’s report, we met to begin work on the seven recommendations adopted by the Central Texas Conference in the Exodus Project Evaluation Report. With the news of the Charleston tragedy, I choose instead to share a brief word on “A Christian Reponses to Hate-driven Violence.” Next Tuesday’s blog (June 23rd) will share insights and directions from the Core Leadership Team & Cabinet retreat.
My first instinct mirrors that of most people of good will. It is heartfelt anguish and grief. On our Conference Website, I invited the churches and people of the Central Texas Conference to offer up prayers of support and healing for the members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, especially those who lost loved ones, and the people of Charleston. First, foremost, and always, let us all be a people who offer our pleas of hope and healing before God in trusting prayer. May each church and each individual Christ follower related to the Central Texas Conference set aside special time for such prayer.
As I meditate in a deeper level spending quiet time with the Lord, I have come to see that our prayers must include prayers of confession. For too long and in too many ways, we have celebrated violence as a solution to our problems. Crime dramas saturate television. We laugh over rewriting the 23rd Psalm. (“Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, because I’m the biggest meanest *@#! Expletive in the valley.”) We grit our teeth and shake our fists at others, even if only inwardly. We must confess that culturally we have worshipped at the altar of violence.
At “tweet” challenges us to live the better nature of the Christian faith. “As the #Charleston police deem this horrific act a hate crime," the King Center tweeted, "we pray vigorously that this person's hate does not cultivate more hate.” Our Lord calls us instead to be a people of peace. “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27).
I believe there is a second element we must add to our prayers of confession. We must confess our complicity in racially motivated hatred and misunderstanding. At the recent meeting of the Central Texas Annual Conference, we listened to teaching and preaching presented by Rev. Rudy Rasmus (Senior Pastor of St. John’s UMC in Houston) and Dr. Erin Hawkins (General Secretary of the Commission on Religion and Race for the United Methodist Church) shared with eloquence and true depth. In keeping with the best understanding of Methodist theology, they challenged us to live in a greater way the gospel of love and grace. Both social and personal holiness begin in prayers of petition and confession. The tragedy of the shootings at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina call us back to the center of our faith. Their teaching can help to guide us into a better, more Christ reflecting way of living. We are challenged not only to accept Christ but to follow Him in the way we live. Let the admonishment and advice of the Apostle Paul to the Philippians be received in committed discipleship as well.
“Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).