Pastoral Reflections on Anniversary of King’s Death
This past Friday the city of Memphis, TN held a vigil to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Matthew and I (JR), along with Greg Jackson, had the opportunity to be a part of this powerful gathering. For me, there were two things I came away thinking about - the power of public demonstrations and the intrinsic link between social awareness/action and the gospel of Jesus.
This vigil was an overtly public display of solidarity and a public witness to matters that many would just assume relegate to the private world if not ignore altogether. The continuing need for racial reconciliation in our city, not to mention systemic issues of injustice, poverty, and oppression were brought to the forefront of peoples minds and imaginations. The day-long event was attended by the likes of John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Jesse Jackson, and the Rev. Al Sharpton. The event was shown on television, talked about on the radio, and featured in print. For many, this vigil became, if only for a short time, a public topic of conversation and dialogue. This vigil was not unlike Jesus’ public displays of healing power, prophetic witness, and proclamation of the good news of God’s Kingdom. It was the "publicness" of all Jesus was saying and doing that got him into trouble and as we left the vigil I wondered to myself, "I wonder why the church doesn’t more often find itself in the sort of trouble that her Lord and Savior was in all the time? Could it be that we are not nearly public enough with all we hold to be true about the nature of reality and God’s dream for the world? Perhaps something for us to consider.
I was also reminded of the social dimension of the good news. I do not mean the "social gospel," I mean the gospel’s social dimension. Namely, that God’s good news is good news for all. God’s desire that all are able to experience justice, human dignity, and rescue from the evil which infests our world is paramount to a holistic understanding of the Good News that Jesus lived and died for. For the church (and therefore for Living Hope as a local expression of the church), engaging with the social issues of our context and culture is central to what it means to share in the identity of being the people of God. This begins with awareness - something that the individualism within our culture wars against. We have an increasing number of easy ways to only be confronted with what we want to be confronted with. Social awareness is something that we now must embrace as a spiritual discipline - the practice of exposing ourselves to all the facets of our world which we would rather not own up to or deal with.
Let me try to bring this home for us my summarizing this way. We worship a public and social God. As Abraham Kuyper said, "There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’" God and God’s work is emphatically unbounded by any of our imaginary constraints and limitations. Flowing from this, the Christian church is not but one religious consumer choice amongst many, but rather the called-out community invited by the grace of God to publicly proclaim and socially embody God’s Good News to the world. - JR Rozko
It’s an overcast Friday afternoon. I’m standing on a rain soaked patch of lawn. To my left is the building from which an assassin pointed his rifle and shot Martin Luther King, Jr. In front of me is the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel, the balcony where King was standing and then lay dying 40 years ago on this very day, at this very hour.
But I’m not here to mourn. I’m here to celebrate a man and a movement that began before I was born. I am here to remember something that I didn’t personally live; something outside the years of my life’s life yet something that has shaped and continues to shape who I am, who I hope to be and who I hope my sons will become.
I’m here because I want my church to be here. I am here because I long for Living Hope to be a community of faith that King would be proud of. A community that loves God, loves God’s world and follows Jesus courageously and radically. A community that recognizes the personal, corporate and systemic ways sin can destroy and righteousness can heal. A community that sees, as King saw, the links between racism, materialism and violence. A community that groans for and acts on behalf of the Kingdom of God. A community that more beautifully reflects the Beloved Community that is found in and through Christ.
I’m here, because I sense God’s Spirit is here. And I like being where the Spirit shows up. Psalm 116:14 says that the death of God’s faithful is valuable in the LORD’s sight, so in some ways, that balcony is an Ebenezer, a memorial to God’s redemptive work in a broken world, and a reminder that Satan’s tools of violence cannot overcome God’s instruments of peace.
On this holy day wherein people gather to remember the life and death of a King, I too want to gather with those affected, influenced and changed by Dr. King. And as I’m here, I reflect on the death of another King; another execution that took place on a Friday, about this hour, 2000 years ago. A King who, like Martin, came preaching a different Kingdom, proclaiming good news to the oppressed, announcing another world order, spoke truth to those in power, stood in solidarity with the poor and came seeking and saving the lost.
I’m humbled to be here, in this sacred place surrounded by these sacred people. I’m honored to be singing hymns (We Shall Overcome) with this congregation gathered at the Lorraine. And I’m thankful for the Baptist preacher who helped us imagine a world more rightly ordered around the life and teachings of Christ. - Matthew Watson
As we learn more how to Love God, Live in Community, and Serve Our World, we seek to become an outward-focused Body of believers. This means that the disciple making process begins inside the church but our priorities are for those outsde, sharing the Gospel, responding to physical needs, and making disciples among all people.
We are currently supporting mission endeavors listed below with a brief description of their emphasis
Locally
1. *Service over Self (SOS)
Memphis based ministry that proclaims the Gospel by using teams of volunteers repairing homes in a disadvantaged urban setting.
2. Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
Evangelism through Christian coaches and athletes in schools and communities in the Memphis area.
3. *The Neighborhood School
Memphis (Binghampton) inner city school that serves as a focal point for disciple making in a Gospel deprived area.
Globally
1. Cooperative Outreach of India
Organization led by Ramesh and Gloria Lange, based in New Delhi, involved in church planting, mentoring pastors, starting schools throughout northern India.
2. Concerned Christians for Afghanistan
Networks international community with work in Afghanistan, provides annual conference and focus for worship and teaching involving Afghans. Served as the focal point for startup of the 1st Afghan Christian Church in the U.S.
3. Leadership Institute
Michael Shea is directing a project to equip government and business leaders as servant-leaders in under-developed nations.
4. Hazara Herald Ministries
Headed by Harold Andrew, a worldwide multimedia evangelistic beacon to Muslim
living in the Middle East. Similar to Radio Free Europe for the Muslim world.
5. *Central Asia
Support for several organizations working to build relationships throughout Central Asia.
6. NATIVE (Edgar Sathuluri)
Church planting organization in India
7. Pure and Simple Devotion
David and Sandy Weston plant churches throughout the Eastern U.S., establishing Community and job opportunities in Iraq and Afghanistan.
8. 10/40 Connection
Chad and Leslie Seagraves are involved in teaching, planting churches, orphan care, restoration of prostitutes and connecting churches throughout Asia and the Middle East.
9. Hennie and Rina Venter
Missionaries to South Africa and Mozambique
10. *Indonesia
We are working in conjunction with Kyle & Jill and Louie & Twyla to provide leadership oportunities for local leaders.
11. *Harvest International
Pam and Alan May started an orphanage in Kenya for deserted children.
* These areas have individual pages that give you more information on how you can get personally involved.