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These are difficult times to be a leader. In addition to Covid-19, we continue to be challenged, individually and collectively, concerning systemic racism in our world. Engaging this issue takes a tremendous amount of physical, emotional, and spiritual energy. We are trying to learn to be better people while helping our families and faith communities listen to the voices of those who cry out for justice and peace. At the same time, we want to support those we love and lead who work in law enforcement, knowing they are also struggling during this time. Being a person of peace is difficult. Resisting the urge to respond with anger and hate is exhausting. Endurance is key. Years ago, I served as an adjunct at a local Christian college and a preacher for a congregation in the same town. A fellow professor, Dr. Dennis Lynn, stood before the packed house at a preacher’s forum to apologize on behalf of our college for the dismissal of a black student 40 years before. The school’s stance had been that the student had violated the code of ethics, but Dr. Lynn, believing it was racially motivated, repented on the school’s behalf. The man’s response on hearing the apology was, “I felt as if I had been in the wilderness for 40 years wandering, and now I can enter the promised land.”  The Hebrews must have felt the same way when Moses told them he would lead them out of slavery in Egypt. “When they heard that Yahweh was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped.” (Exodus 4:31) Their response to hearing that God knew they were suffering was to worship him. People who are hurting, enslaved, and suffering can truly worship only when they know that God and others believe them. Dr. Lynn’s apology was met with mixed reactions. I was surprised and angry that it wasn’t received with overwhelming support. I spoke up on his behalf and was called on the carpet for it. Some of my church leaders (to be fair, it wasn’t all of them) were upset that my sermon on racism made the church and the school look racist. “Ask the black churches in town,” they said. “They’ll tell you it wasn’t racism.  Not long after that, I attended a wedding at a local church, one that is predominantly black. The preacher and I got to talking and the conversation came around to the student’s dismissal, Dr. Lynn’s apology, and my sermon on racism. The words of those two elders still rang in my ears. “Ask the black churches. They’ll say it wasn’t racism.” Yet here I was, at a black church with a black leader. And he was telling me, “Brother Ron, we all know it was racism.” The student did not feel free true freedom until someone heard and acknowledged his pain. Only then did he feel he could enter the promised land. Only then could he fully worship. Even though it took 40 years. People who are hurting, enslaved, and suffering can truly worship only when they know that God and others believe them. In this and many other situations, I’ve learned that only those who are oppressed can understand the scope and meaning of the problem. The elders at my church thought they understood the situation, but the members of the black churches in town saw it as racism. It’s only through active listening for understanding that we can grasp where the true problems lie. Those of us who are not oppressed do not get to define what oppression means. I encourage you to:
May God Continue to Bless You This Week Ron
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