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In 1995, I pastored a church in downtown Cincinnati with a German heritage. The church had put up barbwire during the racial unrest of the 1960s. There was a doorbell in the pulpit which the former pastor would push to let the ushers know if any undesirables walked in. 1/5
Those artifacts were gone by 1995, but the spirit lingered. It was a white flight church and had failed to adjust to the changing neighborhood. One time I invited a local black family to church. One of the ladies told us to keep an eye on the kids in case they took anything. 2/
But another time I mentioned the Holocaust as an example of evil, and a member gave me a hard time about that afterwards as "selective." He was MAD.
Turns out he was an Austrian 16-yr-old drafted by the Nazis in 1945. He never fired a shot but spent 5 years in a Soviet gulag. 3/
Turns out he was an Austrian 16-yr-old drafted by the Nazis in 1945. He never fired a shot but spent 5 years in a Soviet gulag. 3/
Race relations is complicated. I bring all this up not to slam my former congregation, but to say that, yes, racism still exists and many people are victimized in different ways. Human evil is complicated.
My church never adjusted and eventually became an Urban Outfitters. 4/
My church never adjusted and eventually became an Urban Outfitters. 4/
But the Kingdom is never shut down. When in doubt what to do or what to think about these things, remember that God is love. Let that form you.
Remember also that mercy triumphs over judgment. And that mercy will triumph in all sorts of people. Remember that. 5/5
Remember also that mercy triumphs over judgment. And that mercy will triumph in all sorts of people. Remember that. 5/5
