I Have A Dream Today!
April 4 seems like a fairly unimportant day this year. Easter is over, school still has a couple of months, and there are no major holidays on the horizon. But if you listen closely, you’ll find that NPR, NBC, and several other networks on tv and radio are talking about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. If you are a little fuzzy on why they are talking about him today, it’s because 50 years ago on April 4, 1968, he was shot outside his hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. This day gets forgotten about often because we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day on the Monday in January every year which falls around his birthday (January 15).
The events of the past couple of years have shown some of the ugly, forgotten or ignored sides of American culture. In fact, the number of Americans who now admit racism is a big problem has doubled from 26% in 2009 to 58% in August of last year. From stories of Michael Brown’s shooting in 2014 that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, to a man in a car driving through a crowd of protestors, to people becoming more aware of systemic racism, it is hard to deny that we have a problem. Over 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. gave his most famous speech “I Have a Dream” that I’m sure many of us have heard either in school, movies, or TV. And that saddens me even more because, in the 50 years since he gave this speech, his dream is far from realized. We may have made some strides in civil rights since then. Blacks were allowed to vote, segregation was officially ended with Brown v. Board of Education, and we elected our first president of color in 2008. But we have not solved racism. It still exists, and it goes beyond just black and white. Read the words of King’s speech again, but this time read it through the lens of our current political and social lenses. Read it and think about the dozens of references in the Bible that say
“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”
Read it while thinking of the story of the good Samaritan and Jesus’ second greatest commandment. I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free; one hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination; one hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity; one hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land.
So we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense, we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note in so far as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy; now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice; now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood; now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content, will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the worn threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy, which has engulfed the Negro community, must not lead us to a distrust of all white people. For many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of Civil Rights,
“When will you be satisfied?”
We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality; we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one; we can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating For Whites Only; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro in Mississippi cannot vote, and the Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No! no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until
“justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi. Go back to Alabama. Go back to South Carolina. Go back to Georgia. Go back to Louisiana. Go back to the slums and ghettos of our Northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I HAVE A DREAM TODAY!
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama — with its vicious racists, with its Governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification — one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I HAVE A DREAM TODAY!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low. The rough places will be plain, and the crooked places will be made straight,
“and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brother-hood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. And this will be the day. This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring. And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire; let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York; let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania; let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado; let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia; let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee; let freedom ring from every hill and mole hill of Mississippi.
“From every mountainside, let freedom ring.”
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men, and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
“Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”
Source: Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have A Dream: Writings and Speeches that Changed the World, ed. James Melvin Washington (San Francisco: Harper, 1986), 102-106
God’s Not A He Anymore
In church news this past week, one of the major headlines has been “Episcopal Church Votes to Stop Using Masculine Pronouns for God.” Some headlines use the word “ban” or “remove,” some say “gender references” instead of “masculine pronouns,” but they all get to the same basic point… The Episcopal Church has lost its mind! I wish that it was more of a joke than it is, but for the most part, I have read very few positive articles on the Episcopal Church’s decision. Many were quick to refer back to the Episcopal church’s decision to fully support the LGBTQ community, even electing the first openly gay bishop back in 2003. Because it’s often difficult to get to the bottom of what is going on in these quick news stories, I’m going to take a little bit of time to try to unravel some of this tangled web.
First of all, the headlines are slightly misleading. The most technically correct headline I could come up with is “An Episcopal Diocese Passed a Resolution to Avoid Using Gendered Pronouns for God in the Next Update of the Book of Common Prayer.”. It just rolls off the tongue, right? Now as someone who isn’t very familiar with the Episcopal church’s structure, I had no idea what a diocese was, but it sounds super official. To the best of my knowledge, in the Episcopal church, a diocese is something like one of our districts or annual conferences. So it’s not the entire Episcopal church. And it’s definitely not a final decision, even though it still could become an official decision by the entire denomination. But here’s what an Episcopal friend had to say about it.
"Y'all. Slow your roll. What they have done is to ask the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music to consider the issue of expansive language for God as General Convention starts to think about revising the Prayer Book. It's a few steps shy of tabling the resolution entirely.
No diocese can unilaterally change the liturgy. It takes two successive votes of General Convention, six years apart, to amend the Prayer Book. Plus a study period beforehand that can go on for years and years. This is being misreported everywhere, and whether or not you think it's great or think it's terrible, it's important to understand what actually went down.”
So it’s not as bad as you might think. The Episcopal church has definitely not lost its mind. In fact, it’s very much trying to get a better image of God to come through. See, the Bible uses feminine imagery for God sometimes. In Hebrew the word for Spirit (רוה) (ruach) is feminine. But if you were to ask every kid in our church if God was a man or woman, they would almost all say man. And it seems obvious because we call him Father God and all our prayers and creeds use Father and masculine pronouns. Wait a minute... if the Bible uses several different gender connotations for God, why doesn't our prayers and liturgy do the same?
I’m not saying I agree with the diocese’s decision to update the Book of Common Prayer, but maybe they aren’t as crazy as the headlines are making them out to be. Maybe the resolution that says
“If revision of the Book of Common Prayer is authorized, to utilize expansive language for God from the rich sources of feminine, masculine, and non-binary imagery for God found in Scripture and tradition and, when possible, to avoid the use of gendered pronouns for God”
is the start of some serious conversations that we all need to have about who God really is.
Can't We All Just Get Along?
Ok, I might open up a big can of worms on this subject, but I feel it is necessary to offer my point of view. First, let me be clear I am a lover of all music. Many days I am in a blues mood, some day’s jazz, standards, classic rock, Christian, country and yes, even bluegrass. I have learned to play all of these genres at one time or another in my days as a musician. And have grown to appreciate all that every genre offers.
There is a saying called the last eight words of a church. “That’s the way we have always done it!” Change is part of a church’s existence. The Bible clearly says “Sing to the Lord a new song” Psalm 149. So change is encouraged for the health of the church. This is not saying anything old has to be put aside to “bring in the new.” On the contrary, everything can be honored and worshipped together. The bigger picture is what many overlook. The health of any church is its progression to adapt to change for the better of the mission.
When we were young, we told our parents “If its too loud your to OLD.” Now we complain that we don’t like the volume. We could just bring in a piano, guitar and sing some Matt Redman songs and some hymns and God would show up. Cause that is how it was done in the day. Here is the bitter truth, middle age and youth do not want to listen to music, “they want to experience it.” If they feel the kick drum hitting their chest, chances are they will say this is awesome! Youth will never say music is too soft. They will just say, “Looks and sounds nice” and disengage and go somewhere else. This is a generation we need to reach for the health and longevity of the church. Again, let me be clear on this. This does not mean we put traditions aside; we want everyone to join the celebration of what God is doing in our church. Pastor Scot Longyear a friend of mine from Maryland Community Church that has eight campuses offers earplugs at the doors as you walk into his church. He was asking everyone for grace for the bigger picture. If it is too loud, use the earplugs and raise your hands in worship. The next generation is just as important as our generation.
I remember my parents were not thrilled with the Beatles, Grand Funk Railroad, Kiss, Chicago, Eric Clapton and other groups I listened to growing up. Even though it was not their preference, they saw what an impact it had on me. When I walked into my church growing up, you could smell the hymnals. I had no idea what was being sung and was totally disengaged. But, when I saw someone with a guitar singing about God, it changed the way I looked at God. We need to look at ourselves and see the impact music is having on the next generation.
Reverend Billy Graham passed away a few weeks ago. The world lost an incredible servant, and for his entire lifetime, he proclaimed the name of Jesus. There was an article he wrote about the parishioners complaining about style and choice of music. Here is Billy Graham’s response.
I know this has been a controversial issue in many churches, and I don’t pretend to have all the answers, especially since I’m not particularly musical! But we have a singing faith, and God has given us the gift of music to praise Him. The Psalmist declared, “With singing lips, my mouth will praise you” (Psalm 63:5).
Instead of complaining to your pastor (or anyone else), I urge you to ask God to help you be grateful for all music that points us to God, new or old. No, you may not like some of it, but others do, and God can use it in their lives to encourage them and bring them closer to Christ. Remember: The old hymns you like were once new, and someone probably didn’t like them, either!
Sometimes, I’m afraid; a hymn can become so familiar to us that we sing it without even thinking about the words. But this is wrong because then our singing becomes empty and meaningless. Don’t let this happen to you, but meditate on the words of the songs you sing, and even turn them into a prayer.
Your music director has probably been wise to introduce new songs slowly; completely changing everything all at once can be disruptive. Pray for him and encourage him, letting him know that you’re grateful for his gifts. Yes, let him know you appreciate the old hymns, but support him also as he seeks to reach a new generation through music.
I realize the introduction of new music makes some people uncomfortable and it’s not the hymns. However, God uses it to grow hearts for many new people, to meet their needs. As I said my first Sunday here, there will be days that I play all the songs you like and days where I play none that you like. But the goal is to sings songs that glorify God, and lead you into his presence. So, I appreciate all types of music, and all will be celebrated, please know that all songs are sung to glorify God PERIOD!
Mike Conrad serves as our Worship Director. When he's not preparing for worship or playing an instrument, he enjoys spending time with his wife boating and fishing. Learn more about Mike here.
Are you a God-Worshipper?
Over the years this is what I have heard about Sunday mornings from friends not able to make it to church. At some point, all of these have been told to me.
To tired
To Sick
I have to fix the toilet
I don’t see how it will help me
They’re just a bunch of hypocrites
Too much hassle to get kids ready
All they want is money
I got in too late last night
It’s Raining
I don’t like the music
Regardless of what has been said, in today’s society, there are many distractions, which will keep you away from church on Sunday mornings. Now many reasons are legit, and life happens Monday thru Saturday, and we are not in a cocoon to know that stuff happens. Its how we conduct ourselves Monday thru Saturday in which we will make a big impact. Small things can be done during the week that will keep you close to your faith.
On your commute, turn off your radio and have a conversation with God. Pick a time and be consistent.
Do one nice thing for someone every day.
Think positive; no one wants to be around a negative “Nelly.”
Hug your spouse/kids like you mean it once a day.
Stop thinking about how we cannot do something and start thinking how can I succeed with the tools I have.
Be Thankful.
In Psalm 22 verse 22 the psalmist talks about how he tells his friends what to expect when you come to worship, Regardless of your circumstances the last line says, “ He has been right there, listening”
“Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,
and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:
Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;
give glory, you sons of Jacob;
adore him, you daughters of Israel.
He has never let you down,
never looked the other way
when you were being kicked around.
He has never wandered off to do his own thing;
he has been right there, listening.”
Are you a God-worshipper? To be the worshipper, you have to celebrate surrender and know that God has never let you down and never looked the other way. Certainly, there are times in my life I have been mad at God. I did not understand the circumstances I was in or the prayers I have prayed that were not answered to my satisfaction. But, over time I have tried to give up control and have more faith in His will not mine.
In Psalm 29:29 “God makes his people strong. God gives his people peace”. And in Matthew 11:28 “Come to me and I will give you rest.”
Apple had a slogan for its company and employees years ago.
“We need to come up with something the public does not know it needs, but when they have it they cannot do with out it!”
All of us in one way or another have a cell phone near us at all times. Something we cannot do without. We don’t have to have it but its something we have grown to depend on and rely on for our everyday lives. Everything is at our fingertips.
In these times do not forget that our God has never given up on us and he is always there to listen. And you don’t need a phone for that.
Mike Conrad serves as our Worship Director. When he's not preparing for worship or playing an instrument, he enjoys spending time with his wife boating and fishing. Learn more about Mike here.
Will Be Healed
In the book of Acts, chapter 5 verse 12 the Bible talks about the apostles healing many.
“The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.”
I want to look at few things in this scripture. “All believers would meet together on Solomon’s Colonnade (or Porch) no one else would join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. This just sounds eerily familiar in today’s society. Here is what I mean. We (Christians) meet in Church even though the door is always open the fear of joining or attending is still there. We don’t bite. It’s the fear of I am not perfect, what will everyone think of me. Oh and the excuse “this is not my kind of service, or the music is not what I prefer.” Do we really think that is an issue in Heaven? Its worshiping God for who he is. Bow down and worship him. The song by Hillsong “Touch the sky” says “I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground.” We find it difficult to admit we do not have it all together. And we sure don’t want to go into church in front of people and declare we are a mess. But the truth is you do not have to be in Church to fall on your knees to surrender to Christ. This can be your path; certainly the Church is here for you. To be honest, I am tired of people thinking ‘Oh so you’re a Christian” some how that can mean we are weak. Far from it, just because we are surrendering ourselves to the guidance of Jesus does not make us weak. It makes us strong.
“I can do everything thorough him who gives me strength.”
We can be a witness to anyone we come in contact with, knowing that we are not perfect nor will we every be, but thought the blood of Jesus he has paid for our sins and we are forgiven. The next part of the scripture is the last line “all of them were healed."
During the past year I have lost a very dear friend of the family to cancer, and 4 more family and friends are fighting it now or have completed their treatment. Growing up you never dwell or think about disease or addiction with people you know. It was always “someone else”. And as you grow older the more you realize it’s all of your friends and family.
I believe “all of them were healed” in that time was a statement for the ages. All who ask for God’s love and forgiveness will receive God’s grace. All of our prayers are not answered for healing. I sat at the bed side held my friends hand and prayed for healing of her body. She was not healed. She was still the same person I knew for years, full of wit and sassiness she had always been just in a much weaker state. I do know she had great love for God and she is walking on streets of gold. We miss her but she was healed.
My prayer is anyone who comes in the doors of the Church “Will be healed” and know that God’s love is available and they will never feel like they are intruding.
Mike Conrad serves as our Worship Director. When he's not preparing for worship or playing an instrument, he enjoys spending time with his wife boating and fishing. Learn more about Mike here.