On January 6 of this year, the Houston Chronicle and local TV media reported that a group of Houston area pastors came together for a press conference to declare to the world that they were utterly helpless and were in need of a greater power to stop the black-on-black crimes that are tearing apart the community of Sunnyside. The delegation represented the 300-member Houston Ministers Against Crime movement, and they assembled themselves before the public to demand that city officials create an expert panel to address escalating violence among black youth. “We’re crying out for help from our elected officials,” said one minister. “We’re going to scream this from the roof,” said another.
However, there is something very telling about these actions in light of the great declaration the church’s founder which was “…upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Jesus spoke of the church having unimaginable power and ability—the entity that these leaders suppose to represent! Though we may exhibit stellar pulpit performances and spout great Scriptural verses like “I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me,” the public plea shows a sign of weakness and utter despair. Or could it be safe to say that the church has lost its savour, meaning that it has lost its effectiveness and ability to influence those around it?
The cry of the pastors for government help stands as irrefutable evidence of how far the leadership has strayed from the spiritual foundation of being rooted in the basic principles of traditional Biblical doctrine. Question: What can the city council and government do to force or even convince young black men to cease committing such heartless violence, not just against black people, but people in general? The laws are already in the books!
And remember, government’s duty is to “punish the wicked and protect the innocent, bring justice to the offender and encouragement to the law-abiding.” So this means that many segments of the Christian community has it all wrong! Government’s primary responsibility is actually remove the wicked and disobedient from civilized society in hopes of changing them—it is not government’s responsibility to raise them! In fact, government functions best where its duties truly reside, and many of the things the preachers are crying so loudly about stem from the government’s attempt to handle those things best minded by the church! In fact, much of the tragedy the black communities suffer from is the collateral damage stemming from liberal alliances and an unquestioning devotion to a political party system that profit from the very misery they lament.
The dependence upon government solutions has been the plague of the church, which has withdrawn step-by-step from its responsibility of shaping the culture. It is for this very reason we have many of our problems. With government doing all it can to remove God from every aspect of society, how can church leaders depend upon it to solve issues related to the spiritual condition of people? For the leaders of the church—the only physical, visible representation of the kingdom of heaven on earth to declare this dependency upon a lesser authority illustrates the spiritual poverty in our pulpits! The immense political power has raised a generation that no longer looks to God, but to our city halls, state capitols and ultimately Washington, D.C. Is there not a word from the Lord? Perhaps a display of unity, fasting and prayer would open greater wisdom in finding solutions.
