Responding to Injustice
Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.
Amos 5:23-24, NKJV
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 NIV
What a year it has been. What a month. What a week.
Pastors Stan and Craig are having flashbacks to 1968, when as teens they saw the nation erupt in riots after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Maria, then age ten, remembers glimpsing the Washington Monument from a tall tree near her Virginia home, and wondering what was burning there. Last week was also the 99th anniversary of the Tulsa race riots. Five years ago, Baltimore exploded after Freddy Gray’s death in police custody. America's "original sin" of racism has yet to be healed.
Followers of Jesus cannot remain silent when our brothers and sisters made in the image of God are mistreated, abused or killed. We believe Black, white, Asian, and multiethnic believers and churches need to work together. We weep with those who weep. We listen, repent, and commit afresh to pursuing justice. We partner with God in restoration of a broken, racism-infected world. We recommit to training the next generation of cross-cultural, disciple-making leaders for Baltimore and beyond.
How is BALM responding?
These are not new issues for BALM. Craig, Maria and Stan have been engaged in racial reconciliation work for 40 years. Sarah, our Urban Ministry Coordinator, has been an active in multiethnic ministry since coming to Faith Christian Fellowship at as a young teen 16 years ago.
• We hosted a Zoom roundtable Tuesday, June 2 for Metro Baltimore Seminary students with Dr. Carl Ellis, author of Free At Last? and Saving Our Sons. Dr. Ellis has decades of ministry experience in churches, seminaries, and other settings. He helped equip participants to serve in our post-Covid 19, post-George Floyd and post-riots world.
• We crafted A Call to Lament, Repent, and Pursue Justice and Unity which is posted on our website and Facebook page.
• Our website also includes other resources for cross-cultural unity. We hope to add additional information soon, including a Bible study curriculum Maria is writing on growing in gospel unity.
The gospel of Jesus Christ remains the only hope for lasting transformation in hearts, communities, and nations. The church must spread this hope not just verbally, but by showing His love. Biblical justice can only be realized as the church leads in living out the love of God for our world. When black, white, Latino, and Asian believers live, work, pray, play and worship together, this unity testifies to a skeptical world of the power and truth of the gospel.
