Daring to Dream Again: Confront the… – Part 13

Confront the Scandal of Our Prejudices—Part 13

READINGS – Part 2

The bottom line is that the church is still the most segregated community in America. We have not found each other, except on the annual rent-a-choir day. So a moratorium on church growth for the purpose of majoring in reconciliation might not be such a bad idea. The witness it would show to a confused society grappling for ways to mend broken fences could just result in the greatest growth the church has witnessed in quite a while.

The impression I get from my colleagues in psychology, pastoral care, and counseling is that reconciliation is hard work. It requires confrontation, getting beyond mere words to true feelings and attitudes, many of which we may not even be aware. Of course, this presumes we must be in the same room together. Beyond that, it requires setting up listening posts where we can speak with one another about the things that have kept us apart. The church ought to be such a listening post. This must become the preoccupation of the church’s leadership. Unless it does, the church will be mute before the ravages of on-going racial and ethnic animosity.

I believe that the future of human relations in our cities is ultimately in the hands of churches. It is here where politicians, cops, citizen-victims of police brutality, .business leaders, moms and pops from those small stores-all sorts of people- could meet to talk, perchance to pray. Some fine ministry work is already being done among urban gangs, but gang members are regarded as the scum of the earth by too many people in too many churches. We need to view these wandering youths as “sheep … scattered … without a shepherd.” (Who will mediate between these gang members and the local police precinct?, Probably not the police chaplain—he is too much of a cop himself or he wouldn’t be accepted by the establishment. The answer might emerge if community-based policing becomes fully operative. Then cops might get names, and gang members’ faces. But until that happens, and even after it does, the church has an important role to play.
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The Coming Race Wars? William Pannell, Zondervan, pages 138-39.

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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?

Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.

We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

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