Twin Pandemics

At the time this is being written, we are facing twin pandemics.

Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash

One developed in the last few months and brought a worldwide quarantine in an effort to "flatten the curve" and slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The other, one some thought had been eradicated long ago once again showed its unjust head and that is racism.

If you have followed me long, you know that I am not a knee-jerk reactionary, a political drumbeater, or a conspiracy theory fan... to the dismay of some.

Photo by munshots on Unsplash

Over the last weeks, my heart has been broken anew by racism, intolerance, and an often tone-deaf response from some who should know better...or who should care better.

I have also been encouraged by other voices who are doing and saying the right things. I have hope that Jesus is working through this situation to address areas of gross sin and injustice in our country and in our hearts.

It is important in polarized times that we listen to other voices, those speaking and writing outside of our own echo chamber...I have. My Twitter feed is quite diverse and there are some people talking inside my head that would not normally talk face-to-face. Now is not a time to be defensive, but a time to listen deeply and feel carefully (yes, I meant it that way). As we lead our people through this tumultuous time of Covid-19 reopenings, and the war against the other sometimes-invisible enemy that is racism, may the Holy Spirit empower us to creatively and skillfully do the work that needs to be done for the church to be a place of prayer for all nations!

I recently posted an article called "Curfew" on my cultural engagement blog (Compelled2.blogspot.com) that addresses some of what I am processing at this time.

No matter where you stand, I hope you will find this blog post to be thoughtful, heartfelt, appropriately sensitive, and challenging.

Be blessed...

https://compelled2.blogspot.com/2020/06/curfew.html