WhatFinger

And yeah, we used the word, because we're going to deal with instead of running from it

Idiot spray-paints # on Dan's church . . . and the pastor offers the most awesome response ever

By Dan Calabrese ——--July 3, 2015

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I got a phone call yesterday morning from my pastor, wanting my help with a matter that had come up. That in itself is not unusual, but the nature of the matter was. In recent weeks we'd had a series of break-in attempts at the church, and while they hadn't succeeded in getting inside the building, they had stolen the very large grill we keep outside for church barbecues and other special events. Well that can be replaced, although not cheaply. But whoever it is that's been doing this - presumably the same people who have been throwing empty three-ounce liquor bottles around the grounds - decided to also leave us a little message on the back door adjacent to our loading dock. Keep in mind, I live in Michigan. Not in the deep south. The photo above is one I took myself at my pastor's request.
Now I guess I should deal with the obvious thing on your mind: Um, Dan, you're not black. And congratulations for noticing! Yes, the balding doofus in this news report from WZZM-TV is me, a person of pallor. But most of our congregation is black, including our pastor, the inimitable Jathan K. Austin. The news report gets into this a little bit, but let me expand on it. Our church was a fixture in the inner city of Grand Rapids for 60 years before my pastor heard from the Holy Spirit to move - a call that ultimately took the mostly white suburb of Grandville, where my family and I happen to live. (We were already members of the church before the move.) The reason we are called One Church Empowerment Center is that Pastor J - the name we all use for him - emphasizes there is not a black church and a white church. There is one church, and that's God's church. And the community of Grandville has been extremely welcoming. Mayor Steve Maas frequently shows up at our Wednesday night Bible studies with his family. The chief of police was the first to respond to this incident by asking how he could help. The City Council bent over backwards to get us the approvals we needed so we could take possession of the building when we first acquired it in 2013.
So the story here is not white-suburb-hostile-to-black-church, and as you saw in the story, Pastor J went out of his way to make sure no one got that impression. But it is an incident that shows the spirits of ignorance, anger and resentment are still operating in many people, and at least one decided to leave us this lovely little message. With all that said, I want to share with you what Pastor J posted on Facebook yesterday after the incident. If there is going to be racial reconciliation in this country, I'd say it should start with God's church, and I hope you'll agree that the message he offers here is exactly the one everyone in America needs to hear if we're going to get past the racial strife that is all too common in our country right now - regardless of who you think is to blame for it. Here's what he said:
I want to discuss two words, ?#Honor? & ?#Respect?. Some would argue that these two words no longer hold any relevance in our society. Others would argue that the demoralizing nature of our world is falling apart because these two words are no longer taught in our churches, schools, or our homes across America. The word '#' was spray painted on the back door of our new facility sometime Monday night. We have been in Grandville, Michigan for 2 years now and with great support from Mayor Steve Maas, who often attends our bible studies. The City Manager & the Police Commissioner have also shown their support to our ministry over these 2 years. I was reluctant to do this post in lieu of more important matters that plague our city & country at this very moment but after prayerful consideration I chose to make this post. #Honor is given. #Respect is earned. If we would respect each other then we could learn to have differences & disagreements without disrespectful behavior. If we learned how to give honor to whom honor is due then our elderly would not despise our youth & our youth would not feel dismissed by our elderly. We are not asking WHY us....we understand why us because we are committed as a ministry to racial reconciliation, teaching on honor & respect. When we moved to our new location many black people asked why we were moving to a white suburban community. We also had white people ask why we were coming into their neighborhood. Both were valid questions asked out of maybe fear, anger & 400 years of unresolved issues. This act of ignorance will validate the doubters & empower the critics to say I told you, so but for us this confirms that there can be no victory without conflict! We are more committed than ever to pursue healing for our land & serve our community! It will take more than some paint & a word to scare us away.... ?#CommittedToLove? ?#CommittedToPray? ?#CommittedToServeMyCity?
Amen. I'm so happy to call this man my pastor. He preaches God's Word, and teaches his congregation to live by God's power. That is why my family and I are members. We don't care one way or the other about the color of the people with whom we worship. We care about their commitment to Jesus - and you show that most powerfully when someone comes against you. Pastor J's message here should be the model for how to respond to racial animus. I hope you'll agree.

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Dan Calabrese——

Dan Calabrese’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain

Follow all of Dan’s work, including his series of Christian spiritual warfare novels, by liking his page on Facebook.

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