Insights Into The Covid-19 Church Era – Part X
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All quotes by Nelson Mandela:
- “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
- “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
- “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.”
- “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”
- “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
- “I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”
- “A Nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but it's lowest ones”
- “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.”************
As the astronaut stepped on the top rung of the ladder to descend upon the moon in 1969, I laid on the floor as gunfire pinned a police officer under his car only a block away. I missed seeing “The Giant Step For Mankind” and had to watch the rerun! I vowed that day, if I could go anywhere on the earth to share peace, I would do it. In the fall of 1993, I got to go to South Africa weeks before Mandela was elected President. Those also were turbulent times!
After officially ending apartheid, Mandela established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which was a court-like body that heard testimony of victims of gross human rights violation. They could request amnesty to those who offended them from both civil and criminal prosecution. The laws stabilized South Africa and prohibited a revengeful blood bath. Unfortunately, in America, it took a century after the Emancipation Proclamation to pass Civil Rights Legislation. It took another half a century to elect a Black President, yet racism still raises its head. We still are unwilling to forgive and accept one another as peers. Why?
America hit the streets protesting in the ‘60’s. They came out in greater numbers in 2020. Change is in the air. Today’s protestors are multi-racial. While some are still looking to the wineskins of the ‘60’s, many are looking to new wineskins to solve today’s dilemmas, but new wine will not fit into old Civil Rights wineskins, so new wine must be poured into new wineskins.
The American church is still a prejudicial institution. American church = Black church + White church is not a correct formula. Neither is the American church = Evangelical church + other churches. There is only ONE CHURCH, an all-inclusive family of peers.
The American church needs to practice reconciliation, forgiveness, and peer acceptance. It needs new wineskins that will take new wine. Today’s young people are seeking relationships over religion. When church buildings were shut down by Stay-At-Home orders, many Christians took to the street to build relationship with those of different races, social backgrounds, and economic levels. This is only the beginning of some new wineskins.