Interfaith Conversation

      The Interfaith Conversation class with Dr. Lynn Caldwell

 Last fall I had the privilege of sitting in on one of my husbands seminary classes. If you don't know Marc will graduate this May with a Masters in Divinity from Virginia Union University. What intrigued me about the class was the opportunity to speak and listen to people from different faiths, denominations and backgrounds.

     When first creating Blended Souls my goal was to get leaders from Christian organizations and churches together to not only discuss the difficulties of racial relationships, but to work out those differences so that we could better live out that mission...of going ye therefore and teaching men and women about the good news of the gospel. What this class did for me was open up my eyes to hard that can be if your reaching out to others of different faiths. How can we share the gospel of Jesus Christ when they don't believe in our Jesus? Can we even carry on a conversation if they believe in their God and not the God we talk and preach about.

        Professor Lyn (center back row in the red top who not only graciously allowed me to sit in on the week long session but she also encouraged  me to participate) asked us some very tough questions at the start of the course. Why are there so many different religions? How do we look at people who are non Christians? And how does God view others who are not Christian? I have to admit this is not something I had thought a lot about and even though I did not leave with all the answers I'm grateful for the chance to have dialogued and listened to people with varying viewpoints.

        The one lesson I definitely learned from this experience is we are much more similar then we are different. Maybe not in our beliefs but in our hopes and dreams for our families and for our countries. The Muslim, or Jewish mother wants the same for her children and family that I do. And that is something that can act as a way to bring us together as people rather then divide us. If we would just listen to one another and hear each others hearts. We show others Jesus by how we love one another. All humans crave relationship. If you want to be an ambassador for Jesus how are you showing that? Are we spending time building bridges with those who are different from us or are we building up walls? Imagine if we not only came together along racial lines, but we actually built community with those of a different faith, shared services and worked on community projects with one another? How better to show the Jesus in us then by first showing that we care for one another!

  One of the "take away's" I believe Professor Lyn wanted us to truly get was that we can't necessarily change a persons beliefs. We have to let God handle that. And we have to ask him to help us with our own biases and prejudices. If we want others to see the Christ in us we have to be willing to see what Christ see's in them! And then care for them in the way we wish to be cared for! Just imagine how we could change the world if we truly walked and talked and loved the way that Jesus loved?

I want to thank Professor Caldwell as well as the classmates for being so gracious and warm towards me and for allowing me to be a part of the class. Its an experience I know will stay with me for many years to come.

We are each others keeper!

This is my response to the events in the news the last few months!" We must learn to live together as brothers (and sistas) or perish together as fools". Martin Luther King Jr

When I first started this group my goal was to bring ministry couples together to learn and work with one another to solve issues of race and bigotry in our communities. My thought was that if we the leaders/pastors of churches could not learn to dialogue and work together how could we ask our church members or our community or our government to do so.  Looking back now I didn't have a clue of how much of a divide there was among Christians when it comes to race. It pains me to see the hate spewed on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram from "good" Christian brothas and sistas towards each other. It pains me even more to see such little regard for life, or compassion for those who have lost a loved one no matter the circumstances! Even if you do not agree with the way the events occurred I don't know how in the world you cannot grieve for the mothers, fathers, siblings, friends and family who have lost their love one. 

This smacks in the face of everything I believe our Abba Father stands for! Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly! If one of my brothas and sistas is in pain and I can't feel compassion for them then how can I stand before Christ one day and say I lived out my purpose? If your black brothas and sistas say the events happening right now are hurting us to the core then believe them. You don't have to bleed to understand when you see blood that it hurts. And right now our communities are not just hurting they are bleeding (profusely)! 

 And lastly to my black sistas and brothas in The Lord....don't lump every white sista and brotha with the same brush as all. I know too many who love us and want to comfort us during this time of grief. But many are afraid or are not sure what to say or do for fear of being misinterpreted . This is why BlendedSouls  was created in the first place....because if we don't learn to communicate with one another, if we don't learn to work together for good then we most assuredly will fall!! 

I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself!

For months I have had difficulty putting into words the pain I have felt as I listened to, read and watched many of my friends on both sides of the political divide talk. Make no bones about it this election year has clearly proven just how divided our country has been and still is! I think the most disappointing part of this whole process has been the division I have seen in the church among "Christians"! I wonder sometimes if we even consider our words before we speak them......or if in fact the words we speak are truly a reflection of our heart?

I had decided that would not write a post until after the elections were over. But days after the election I was still conflicted as to how to even broach the subject. Thank goodness that God equipped me with a compassionate and thoughtful team who think the same as I do. No words are needed from me when my friend and BSN team member Alida has said it so well!

Thought for Today...Respecting our leaders and praying for them!

Congratulations to President Barack Obama!

Yahoo.com

Let everyone be subject to governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. Romans 13:1-2 NIV

I pray that all who claim the name of Christ will choose not to denigrate our president any longer but will instead commit to praying for him. God has appointed him for a second time as the President of the United States. All throughout this election process the things I have read and heard Christians say about the president have truly hurt my heart. I grew up in a military home. The Commander in Chief was always respected by my father and mother no matter which party he was from. I cannot even remember my father talking down President Nixon when everyone else around him was doing so. His signature is on my dad's honorary discharge papers proudly on display in my parents home to this day.

President Obama needs our prayers not our insults or condemnation. I know that as I write this there are those who are celebrating and those who are grieving. It is important to remember that God was in control these past four years and He will continue to be in control for the next four years and beyond. There are devoted, Bible believing, Christians in both parties. Christ is not fully represented by either party.

sojo.net

One party focuses on protecting the unborn and preserving the Biblical view of marriage. The other party focuses on caring for the least of these...educating, feeding and providing medical care for the poor and disenfranchised. All of which are godly values. There is a great article I read entitled 7 Things Christians Need to Remember About Politics. You can read it by clicking here. As I read through it this quote stood out for me:

The political process is dirty and broken and far from Jesus. Paranoia and vitriol are hardly attractive accessories for the bride of Christ. Rather than engage in the political process, Christians have a duty to elevate it. Like any other sin, we are called to stand above the partisan dissension and demonstrate a better way. Should we have an opinion? Yes. Should we care about our country? Yes. Should we vote? Yes. But it’s time we talk politics in a way that models the teachings of Jesus rather than mocks them.

So whether you celebrate or grieve today...let's all pray together for the hearts of our government leaders on the national, state, and city levels. And as believers let's remember to be loving, kind, and compassionate toward others no matter how we or they voted.

Thank you Alida for being a beacon of light in a dark place!

I also suggest you also read an article from fellow BSN "sista" Carla Adair Hendricks. My question to each of you is where do we go from here? How can we as the church bring about awareness of the evil that is Racism? We are quick to broach the subject of abortion, gay rights and even the downfall of the USA under our present administration. When do we as a Chiristians come together and broach the one subject everyone in the room refuses to discuss? Until we as a people learn to cross the "Red Sea" together we will continue to be a divided city, country, and nation. I would ask that we each consider the consequences of inaction! Better yet.....what would Jesus command us to do?

^{Revolation 7:9} After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm brancheswere in their hands; ¹⁰ and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,¹² saying,
“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
¹³ Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴ I ^[a]said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His ^[b]temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. ¹⁶ They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun ^[c]beat down on them, nor any heat; ¹⁷ for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the ^[d]water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Summer Break!

Sometimes in ministry you need to take a break and spend a little time with family. With summer approaching the BSN team will be taking a mini break from our blog during the months of June, July and August to spend time with family and friends. You can still connect with us on our facebook page. We had hoped to do some travel this summer to promote BSN, but we are still available for local gatherings if you are interested. You can contact us at blendedsoulsnetwork@gmail.com , or via twitter . Pastor and ministry wives are encouraged to join our private facebook community page. Of course if any of you attend or hold an event with other churches and would like us to promote or write about it please let me know. We should be back up and running in the fall. Enjoy the summer!

Let's Get Together!!!!!

This weekend my family and I attended an annual community picnic in my hometown of Gloucester, VA hosted by several churches in the Ware Neck area of Gloucester County.  

This includes my family's church, Union Zion Baptist Church, Buelah Baptist Church, and Singleton United Methodist Church. 

The pastors of these churches all belong to the Gloucester Ministerial Association, which is non denominal organization comprised of various church leaders in the community. 

In the four years that the three churches have met for fellowship they have held the annual picnic, conducted a unity service, and this weekend even sponsored a 5k Walk to raise money for the Gloucester/Mathews Free Clinic. 

Pastor Cohick from Beulah Baptist and Pastor Dickerson from Union Zion have even switched pulpits on Sunday morning to demonstrate their committment to unity within their community and the church! 

Although the turn out this year was smaller than usual (probably do to the fact that it was Mother's Day weekend) I'm very proud of my hometown, especially my home church for being so open to partnering with other churches in their community.

The theme for this years walk was "Connecting Our Community Together Thru Faith and Fellowship". I don't know about you but I get goose bumps when I see God's people not just living, & working with one another...but showing genuine "L-O-V-E for one another. How can we as a community of believers get together; not so that we can shine, but so that the LOVE of Christ that is in us can S-H-I-N-E ?

 

2 Chronicles 7:14

 ¹⁴if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face,

and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal

their land.

You're Not Welcome

Pastor Tubs wife Melissa and I connected via twitter and eventually through Facebook. Melissa is a big part of our BSN community and after several conversations we realized our husbands had a few things in common, including the fact that they are both bi-vocational. I can tell you from my own experience that you have to be a very special man to not only hold down a full time day job but act as a full time  pastor as well(are there really any part time pastors?). After hearing about Pastor Tubs (did I mention I love saying that name...lol?) bible study with other men from varying denominations and backgrounds I knew he would be a great contributor to BSN. 

At Acts2 Church we meet on Sunday mornings and you are not invited. Yes, I am the pastor. Yes, I have said this to people.

Anyone who stopped reading at those three sentences is now switching over to their Twitter pages to write about a pastor who doesn't want people at his church. I am sure the  tweets would range anywhere from "doesn't love his people and stay away" to "clearly this guy doesn't understand the Gospel" (sorry not good at twitter abbreviation). However, like many things in life that people don't want to wait to find out about before speaking, there is an explanation.

On Saturday mornings we meet at the church for men's Bible study. We do a verse by verse study of Scripture and often discuss how the particular verses help us be better husbands, boyfriends, fathers, and most importantly Christians. (Yes, most importantly Christians, if everything in my life is taken away today I still have God.) Although the group is not always large there is something still very special about it.

This group of varying size is usually always made up of men from different churches. Even in a small group it is not uncommon to have anywhere from three to five different churches represented. What makes this even more uncommon is that the churches range from Independent Baptist to Pentecostal to non-denominational. (And as we study the Book of Acts you can imagine some of the conversations.) Furthermore, this group has been known to have various ethnic backgrounds represented.

 For all the men involved we simply see this as an opportunity to grow and improve in our walks with God. We tend to celebrate the different viewpoints that are offered. In fact, I believe it has shown many of us the places where we have allowed division to enter our own thinking. We have learned that it makes no difference how you "perform" church as long as Christ is always the center of all that is done.

 Now, back to my initial statement. At the end of our time together on Saturday mornings I thank all the men for coming and tell many of them that they are not allowed to come back the following morning. Why? Because our church is not interested in merely moving sheep from one church to another but instead on bringing the unchurched to Christ. Perhaps, this concept may not allow us to ever have a church of thousands or maybe even hundreds but we can rest in the fact that we were not simply concerned with growing our little portion of God's Kingdom.

 I pray often that our church will always remain focused on bringing people to and growing them in Christ even if it means we never grow over a hundred people (and I stay bi-vocational). How nice would it be if we had more churches simply looking to grow people in Christ instead of growing attendance numbers and campuses?

Pastor Tub Rorabaugh is a devoted Christian, husband and father. He is the senior pastor of Acts2 Church in Jacksonville, FL. Acts2 is a church plant based on the concept of making better Christians through disciplining and community (Acts 2:42-44). Tub has been involved in Christian education at Temple Christian Academy for five years. 

He is a graduate of Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science in Religion. His desire to remain in God’s will leads and directs his daily walk. Tub is married to Melissa and they have two teen aged sons, Danny and Hunter.

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.