Modern Prophet for Justice

Today I heard from a prophet and saint in our own time.  Dr. John Perkins was an African American pastor in Mississippi during the 1960's.  He was jailed and beaten for daring to speak up for civil rights.  His life story since then has been one of forgiveness of his oppressors(because of Jesus), and reconciliation (because Jesus gave his followers a 'ministry of reconciliation' 2 Corinthians 5:18).  I read his autobiography, Let Justice Roll Down, a couple of decades ago and was changed.  I also sat under Dr. Perkins teaching for part of my doctoral studies in leadership.  His most lasting work has been the pioneering of Christian Community Development Associations around the country www.ccda.org , working for evangelism, discipleship, racial reconciliation, justice, and education in impoverished communities.  Today, he was the keynote speaker to open our annual denominational gathering (General Assembly), which is in Deetroit, Rock City this year.

I lost the copious notes I took(arrgh), but here are a few quotes from today's talk as I remember them:

"You can't have justice without mercy or vice versa.  Justice and mercy are doing the waltz and can't be separated."

"If someone says 'I'll pray for you,' I pick up my hat and walk out the door.  That means they ain't going to do nothing.  We need to recapture authentic prayer.  Prayer is not a substitute for action, it is preparation for action."

"Racism is not a matter of ignorance, its a matter of greed and domination."

"The middle class church has lost an accurate view of suffering.  In the Bible, suffering is a virtue."

"The Presbyterian church doesn't act according to faith, but according to the budget.  We only make decisions according to the facts.  Instead people who serve the living God - we make the facts.  Budget will follow."

Sorry, he said some much more powerful and prophetic things, directed at the heart of suburban Christians like me, but I can't quote them without my notes.  I was challenged and encouraged at the same time, to be more like Christ and less a product of my culture.

Takeaway? I am so excited God has led Michael Flake to be Lake Forest's director of mission, with the strategic priority of engaging our church with the needs of our city.  It is time for us to more fully  live up to our calling to love the poor, do justice, and be ministers of reconciliation between people living at odds with one another.  Three years ago, I began saying that our core value of 'loving the poor' was our most unrealized original aspiration as a church.  Now as a ten year old church, we've made strides locally (we've always done this well internationally).  For example, we turn our building into a homeless shelter for days or a whole week at a time multiple times per year.  Another example - we've participated in the formation of the HELP network - a group of diverse congregations advocating, in unity, for power and resource decisions in our area to take justice for the least into account.

But we are not yet engaged relationally and massively, as a whole people of faith, with communities in great need in metro-Charlotte.  When I say relationally, I mean in partnerships where we learn and benefit and grow from our interaction with those different from us, even while we construct some tangible, long-term good for a community in crisis.  When Micah tell us, "He has shown thee, oh man, what is good: To love mercy, to do justice, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8), I think Lake Forest is doing WELL at walking humbly with God, doing OKAY at loving mercy (charitable acts), and doing THE MINIMUM at doing justice (engaging systems that favor the strong over the weak, the rich over the poor).  Time to get better at those last two, for the sake of joy, to the glory of God.

Comments

[Mark Denning]

We have a copy of Dr. Perkins book for sale in the media resource area (behind the information table) in the gathering space for anyone who's interested.

[Jaye]

AMEN

Here is a good event for anyone who wants to get more invovled with "loving mercy"

Details:

Speaker Scott Miller, originator of the Circles Initiative
7:30-9 pm on Monday evening, July 13, at Myers Park Methodist Church.

Circles is a strategy that provides a stable structure for people to pursue getting out of poverty with the help of middle and upper income “allies.” Circles come together monthly to pursue plans to secure basic needs such as food, housing, transportation, energy, and childcare.

Over the past decade across the nation, Circles have helped people earn more income, rely less on public assistance, become more confident problem solvers, feel better about their lives, and raise their children more effectively

[Jaye]

Saw this quote today and thought it was a great statement on the difference between justice and mercy:

Charity is commendable; everyone should be charitable. But justice aims to create a social order in which, if individuals choose not to be charitable, people still don’t go hungry, unschooled, or sick without care.

- Bill Moyers,