My friend Lance Ford posted to Facebook,

White Pastors: It’s Thursday. Are you willing to set your long ago planned sermon series on the shelf and consider what the Lord would have you say to your church in light of the yet-another unspeakable crime against our black siblings?

For pastors of any color, Sunday is always coming.

david-og-goliathOn this edition of Thoughts from the Edge, I offer some ways to think about the murders in South Carolina in light of the David and Goliath story. One wonders if we might capture the spirit of the story by thinking of Goliath in terms of power, the way the story gets told by power. I am the best, the strongest, the inevitable victor. Much of the discussion and analysis of the event that stirred us deeply turns on issues of hate, terrorism, and most importantly race.

How is it that after all human advancements we still have subgroups that tout the mantra of the white Southerners, “You rape our women and are taking over the world?” And, that this is so entrenched in a 21-year old. Answers will abound but will better questions emerge than who were his parents, where did he live, and so on?

After a quick suggestion related to the Goliath and David story, I make some brief connections to the Psalm 9 passage for the Church/churches. It will require us to intentionally get to the other side and do so with a proper display of character and service. (Mark 4 and 2 Corinthians.)

Maybe you will have some additional, constructive, thoughts along the way. Offer them in the comments and let’s have a discussion on the way forward.

There are a couple of notable mentions in the podcast. One was to Marty Duren who wrote a solid piece on the manner of our assertions, our truth telling. He writes,

Today, depending on who is doing the talking, the emphasis may be on grace, or it may be on truth. It is infrequently both. Sometimes one is leveraged against the other: “Well, we can show them grace, but we gotta tell’em the truth, too!” Similarly, “speak the truth in love,” leans heavily on the “speak the truth” part as if we should not love people just the same. “Speak” morphs crudely into “yell” more often than need be, and no one likes to be yelled at. When we show grace and truth, however, we display Jesus.

Another is to a Facebook post by my friend, Jimmy Doyle. He posted,

 

Jimmy Doyle
1 hr · Edited ·

My thoughts on the feeling I have that as a nation we are moving backwards in terms of race relations:

1) A sense of moving backwards is at least related to a sense that we have taken some steps forward in our past;

2) Point 1 gives me the hope we can move forward again;

3) Freedom and equality require diligence of thought and action, and complacency based upon previous success (real or imagined) will not result simply in lack of progress but in regression.

4) I am aware that my perspective of all this is not the same as millions of Americans of color for whom my sense of “moving backwards” is merely a naive ignorance of the unchanging realities in which they have lived their whole lives.

Take a listen and let’s talk about the issues raised here.

Image Credit: David and Goliath

About the Author
Husband to Patty. Daddy to Kimberly and Tommie. Grandpa Doc to Cohen, Max, Fox, and Marlee. Pastor to Snow Hill Baptist Church. Graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Reading. Photography. Golf. Colorado. Jeeping. Friend. The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church I pastor.

5 comments on “Goliath, David, and South Carolina

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.