A network of Pastors and Ministry Couples. Blended Souls is a gathering of "sista's" and "brotha's", from various Christian denominations, ages, economic and ethnic backgrounds. Our goal is to purposefully make an impact for change in the world by promoting unity, opportunities for ministry couples to network, and exchange ideas so that our churches can partner together within our communities. We strive to reach out to women and men from every tongue, tribe and nation!

Monday, April 30, 2012

Are We All Getting Along?

I came into contact with Carla via her blog. In the short time that we have "known" each other I have found her to be encouraging, supportive and a great communicator. I consider it a privilege that she would even consider doing a blog post for BSN! Thank you in advance Carla!


I

“Can we all get along?”

Five words. Spoken by an assaulted man. Repeated countless times since that day twenty years ago.

Last week marked the twentieth anniversary of the Los Angeles riots incited by citizens furious over the acquittal of four L.A. police officers that had brutally beaten L.A. resident Rodney King.

Rodney King happened to be African American. The officers happened to be Caucasian. And while Rodney King was no saint (he was a 25-year-old convicted robber on parole at the time), his speeding violation and intoxication didn’t warrant the inhumane beating he received at the hands of the men commissioned to “protect and serve.”
 
And when those overzealous officers received an acquittal, the city of L.A. turned upside down. The upheaval from those riots led to more than 50 deaths and $1 billion in property damage.

After three days of riots, King emerged from seclusion to speak those infamous five words, “People I just want to say, can we all get along?”

People around America have been asking that same question for the last twenty years: Can we all get along?

This past decade, I think most U.S. citizens would have answered this question positively in regards to race relations. Many of us would have probably stated something along these lines: Well, we’re not getting along as well as we could, but we’re getting along a lot better than we did. 

But then, something happens in our country to shake us up. We are tested. Sifted. A flashlight beams a light right between our eyes. And we notice our reflection in the mirror is not as lovely as we once thought.

It’s actually quite flawed.

February 26, 2012. A day in our country that tested us, sifted us, beamed a light between our eyes. When neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, we realized we hadn’t come as far as we thought we had.

Almost immediately Trayvon Martin’s tragic death became a racial battle. The African American community shouted outrage over this unarmed teenage boy’s murder in his father’s neighborhood. We posed in hoodies, shot pics in them and posted those pics on our Facebook profiles.

While Zimmerman awaits trial, I’ll choose not to speculate on the specific events of that fateful night. I cannot say for sure that Trayvon fell victim to racial profiling. And the question that will never be answered – if Trayvon had been Caucasian, would he be alive today?

One thing’s for sure. Our country is a long way from healed in the area of race relations. We’re not as far as we think we are.

We work together and live together, but few of us play together. And very few of us worship together.

In 1958, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote these words: “Unfortunately, most of the major denominations still practice segregation in local churches, hospitals, schools and other church institutions. It is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o’clock on Sunday morning, the same hour when many are standing to sing: “In Christ There is No East or West.”

That was 1958. Unfortunately, despite a few exceptions, not much has changed regarding eleven o’clock Sunday morning in the U.S.

But I’m grateful for the exceptions. My husband happens to pastor one of them. And I’m grateful for ministries like Blended Souls Network.

May we always support the exceptions.

May we be the exception.

* Carla is a pastor’s wife, writer and advocate for justice. Her husband Anthony is a teaching pastor at Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas and campus pastor to Mosaic’s Conway campus. They are raising four precious children, Kalin, Christian, Joelle and Jada. You can follow Carla’s life and ponderings at her blog “Deep Waters” @ www.carlaadairhendricks.blogspot.com.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Are You Afraid of The Dark?

Pastor David and I met via the blog world! I believe our first conversation started over the issue of diversity. Through his blog I came into contact with Pastor Shaun, Pastor Marvin and Pastor Scott and eventually connected with them and others via twitter and facebook. I don't believe any of these men realize how much their conversations about diversity in the church effected the path I have now taken, or the fact they were willing to discuss ministry and leadership with me gave me the courage to speak out on the subject of unity. Pastor David is frank and upfront about his passion for a church for "all" people. Out of his love for people far from God he will soon launch "Soul Purpose Church". You can connect with David on twitter and facebook. 



We need to look head-on into race and Christianity.
The church shouldn’t go around saying that we should be colorblind.
If God was colorblind, we would all be the same color!!

We should learn to value one another.
Just because a person’s Black/White/Hispanic doesn’t mean that they are some sort of lower class Christian.
We have to make strides in understanding each other and learning how to effectively communicate.

Too many walls have been built in the name of the Lord that keep Black/White/Asian/Hispanic Christians away from each other.
Fear and mistrust must be replaced by love and compassion.

The world around us is steadily changing.
It’s becoming more diverse.
We must take the LEAD in building stronger communities.
We have to build relationships outside our zones of influence.

Inside the church walls we still have camps of segregation.
We have to throw out the old mindsets.
We have to refuse to be bound by old stereotypes.

Styles may differ, but your substance is forever.

 Up until I was 20 years old, I never had the opportunity to be in any church experience with someone of a different color.
Now let me tell you that I lived almost my entire life up to that point in church (choir, usher, youth leader, Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday).
I had been to school with other nationalities and races.
I participated in sports and other activities also, but I never went to church with anyone other than African-Americans.

This all changed with I went one year to our local Six Flags for their annual Christian concert weekend ( I forgot what they called it).
During this weekend they had the Black Christian artists perform on Saturday and the White artists perform on Sunday (huh??).

Since my friend and I had a 2-day pass we decided to go back Sunday and hear Carmen who was scheduled to appear.

During Carmen's ministry time, there was a strong movement into worship.
The whole crowd was on their feet praising God.
I had my eyes closed and was immersing myself in the presence of God.

When I opened my eyes, everything changed.

Next to me was a young Caucasian guy.

He was worshiping God also.

Right then I realized that although we may not look the same or come from the same neighborhood.
Or like the same food, music, clothes, etc.
Despite that, this guy loves God.
And God loves him too.

In that moment all my fears and concerns about “how white people do church” were gone.
Never again could I be afraid of what I never really knew.

I’m not afraid of the dark.
Are you?

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

A Case For Diversity!


I hope you have enjoyed the articles posted here at BSN. In the coming weeks we will hear from more of our BSN friends as they share with you their heart for unity and diversity. First and foremost we hope to encourage ministry leaders to come together, step outside of their comfort zone and establish relationships with someone you might not normally connect with unless you are intentional.

A few weeks ago Marc and I met up with our favorite pastor friends David and Cheryl for lunch. We actually met over twenty years ago while Marc was stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas. We were the only black couple in the community in need of a church home. Cheryl and David took us under their wing and treated us like family. While Marc served his country away at Dessert Storm, Cheryl, David and our small community took care of me and my three small kids. In the grand scheme of things we really should never have come into contact with one another. It would have been far more routine for Marc and I to seek out a church that looked like "us". Instead we stepped outside of our comfort zone and joined a small rural church in Riley Kansas where no one looked like us! This could have easily turned into an uncomfortable situation had the members of Crossroads Baptist Church not chosen to welcome us into their fold. Instead they embraced us without question, loved on us and treated us like one of God's children. In other words....they showed us the hands and feet of Jesus!

It was in fact at Crossroads Baptist Church where Marc did his first sermon, and it was Pastor David who licensed him for the ministry! To this day because of the welcome extended towards us by the church, its members, and the community of Riley that Kansas holds such a special place in my family's heart.  Years later our friendship continues and we are very thankful, grateful and honored to call them our spiritual parents in the faith!

Never underestimate the power of being intentional in your relationships with others! It has the possibility to form great friendships, community love, and in our case....a heart to serve in ministry!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail (Unity and Diversity Part 2)


Part two of Stephanie's 2 part post continues today with ways we can come together as the "CHURCH" in a way that the gates of hell cannot prevail! As we prepare for Easter Sunday, lets not forget that we are all part of God's Team!!!!

You know how when you build a campfire it's important to keep all the logs grouped together? (I don't actually know this from firsthand experience since I am not a camper... but it seems to be true based on what I've seen on TV...)  When campers or firemen or Smokey the Bear wants to extinguish a fire, they make sure to spread the fuel out, to separate the burning logs so that the fire goes out more quickly.

When God established the Church he grew it from a tiny spark that spread into a magnificent fire, transforming lives from every nation!  But from that very first day, the enemy has been trying to separate us and divide us so that our fire will be extinguished. God created us each different and unique but we have allowed our differences to become walls that divide us.
"On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18
Worshiping with unity and diversity does not come easy. But it's definitely worth the effort for that little taste of heaven!  So, I thought I'd share some practical tips based on what we've learned about doing worship together based on our almost 4 years of experience. These are in no particular order and may or may not be true for every situation... but these principles have worked for us and may be helpful for you as well.
  1. Unified and diverse worship works best when based on personal relationships. In our situation, the pastors or leaders of each church represented meet together to plan the service. The actually spend about 10 minutes planning and the rest of the time sharing their own personal struggles and praying for one another. The leaders who have built personal relationships with one another tend to work better together and are more committed to making the services happen in spite of the difficulties.
  2. No egos allowed. Some people are natural speakers and others work better behind the scenes. My husband MC's each worship service by introducing each church group and helping the program to flow smoothly. But even though he is the one on stage the most, he always includes the other pastors during the prayers or time of response. All the churches have equal time and importance. No one church should dominate or take over the service. The churches even take turns hosting the service each quarter so that no one has more work than they can handle or more credit than they need.
  3. Focus on unity. Emphasize the things that we all have in common: we all love God, we all want to serve Him, we all have been forgiven. That is why in our services there is no preaching. Yes, you heard that right. An entire church service with NO PREACHING! That is a rule my husband (a preacher) has stood firm on. We want to focus on what unites us, not what divides us. Since our events are made up of churches from a wide variety of denominations, preaching would highlight our differences. Some believe in laying hands & healing, some do not. Some believe in speaking in tongues, some do not. Some believe in eternal security, some do not. Some believe in only using the King James Bible, others use modern translations. Some believe in a verse by verse interpretation of Scripture and others use the Bible to support their topics. Some don't mind getting political, others avoid it. Some prefer a calm and educational sermon presented in outline form while others prefer lots of sweatin' & shoutin'. See what I mean? Those are the things that we disagree on. That's one of the reasons we all attend different churches... But when we get together, we can all agree that God loves us and the world, that Jesus is the only way to heaven, and that the Holy Spirit is the source of our strength. That is a good foundation for worship!
  4. Celebrate the differences. Don't expect each church to worship the same way you do. Do your members raise their hands or clap during the music? Great! But don't expect everyone to do that. Do you feel more comfortable with quiet songs played on piano? That's fine! But don't walk out when the band starts beating the drums. In my opinion, the most fun thing about these services is that I get to do things that I wouldn't normally do at my own church. Honestly, if I were to sway and clap or shout during the singing on most Sundays, I would feel out of place. But surrounded by people who worship in many different ways, I can freely worship from my heart without fear of standing out in the crowd! I love hearing songs I've never heard before, worshiping along with instruments I don't normally use, and lifting my voice in a language that is not familiar (at least I'm hoping to do so soon...there is a Hispanic worship band planning to join us at our next service! How fun!)
  5. Give a lot of GRACE. Jeff says all the time that maintaining a relationship is more important than being right. What he means by that is that we all have our own opinions of the right way to do things. But sometimes we have to put aside our idea of the "right way" in order to show grace to the people we love. When we love one another and worship together it doesn't matter if someone is off-key or the music is too loud. If someone starts speaking in tongues or  gets "slain in the Spirit" my Baptist buddies get a little nervous, but we give grace because it is more important that we worship together in unity than argue about what we think is the right way to worship. In these services we emphasize that there is something for everyone...but that probably means that there's also something that you won't enjoy. But that shouldn't stop us from worshiping together! "Love covers a multitude of offenses." 1 Peter 4:8
I sure do wish I had some pictures to post here. But I'm usually so busy worshiping during these services that I don't even think to take any! So here is a word-picture description of a typical worship celebration:
Every 5th Sunday approximately 200 people cram into a sanctuary that's not used to holding more than 50 on any a normal Sunday (all of our participating churches are small: averaging 20-80 people each).There are normally 8-12 churches represented. Everyone mixes and mingles as best we can in such a tight space as Jeff puts the order of service together and the different groups give instructions to the sound guys. At 5:00pm Jeff gets everyone settled down and asks the host church pastor to open in prayer. Some churches occasionally arrive late, but we're learning to be flexible. Jeff introduces the groups as they step up to give their presentations. Each church does 2-3 songs or skits. (See yesterday's post for a sample of what you might see) Sometimes you sit and watch as God uses their talents for His glory, and other times you get to get up and participate in the singing & clapping. Either way, it's worshipful and God-focused... and FUN!
Sometime during the evening, we will take up an offering. This should not surprise anyone, because I don't care what your background is... you can't have a church service without an offering. Amen? :) Each service our offering goes towards a specific cause. We have given to support disaster relief in Haiti, provide food for one of the participating church's food banks, to help local families whose homes were destroyed by floods, and to buy supplies to renovate the home of a young man in one of the youth groups who had been in a terrible accident and become paralyzed. The purpose of each offering was something close to the hearts of the pastors and that love trickled down into the hearts of their people. How great to not only worship but also to do ministry together with one another!
After two hours the service comes to a close. Some wish it would keep going and others wish it would stop sooner... that's where grace comes in. But two hours is the best compromise we've been able to do to keep as many people continuing to participate as possible. We always end with a call to respond. Usually it's a brief presentation of the Gospel with Scripture, a drama, or a personal testimony. Then all the pastors from all the churches move to the front so that if people need to make a spiritual decision, they have plenty of people they can talk to. This not only allows every pastor to minister in the way he knows best, and also presents a wall of unity for all to see. I love it!
According to my daughter, the best part is last. After the service we all gather in the gym or fellowship hall for food! Sometimes it's a full meal but usually it's just drinks and desserts. Everyone brings something to share and then sits around getting to know one another outside the service. The first time we did this, Jeff had to remind everyone to mix and mingle... everyone had drifted into what felt comfortable and were only sitting with their own church people! He joked and cajoled until he made everyone get up and sit by someone they didn't know! It was the funniest thing...but also the best thing!
Unity and diversity does not come naturally. Leading these services is not easy. Each and every church that has been a part of this movement has come under spiritual attack. Some have stopped participating. Others are still hanging on in the midst of their own battles. But this is God's plan: to show the world a little taste of heaven here on earth. This is the kind of CHURCH that the gates of hell will not prevail against!
PS... Our next Community Worship Celebration is scheduled for April 29. I will try to take some pictures. Please pray that God would continue to strengthen our churches as we worship together!