I'm a born-again
Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ
with all my heart. That faith informs
every decision I make. That personal
faith convicts me and draws me back when I deviate from it. But I don't wear a cross.
I'm a Methodist pastor, but I
don't own a single cross necklace, or bracelet.
There are no crucifixes hanging in my house. I've got couple of t-shirts with crosses
embedded in other logos and symbols, but that's it.
Yesterday afternoon I spent
an hour walking through a housing project in 90 degree heat, inviting people to
the church I pastor and praying with them.
But I don’t wear a cross. Does
that mean I’m not a Christian?
I teach the teen class in our
Vacation Bible School. I teach two Bible
studies on Tuesdays and I preach at least once a week. But I don’t have a crucifix hanging on the door
of my house. Does that mean I’m not a
Christian?
I pray ----- a lot. I obsessively
study and think about Scripture. I cry,
literally shed physical tears, when I feel I missed the mark on a task God gave
me. But I don’t publicly display the cross---
the symbol of my Christian heritage. Does
that mean that I’m not a Christian?
I “wear” my faith in my
actions. I explicitly use the name of
Jesus when I talk about my core values and motivations. If you talk to me for more than 3 ½ minutes
you’ll hear about my God and my wife.
If I bear my cross, do I still
have to wear one?
If my heart, my actions, my
thoughts, my intentions are focused on and directed by Jesus, do I need the public
symbol?
Does wearing the cross make me a Christian, or does living for Christ?
I hear that South Carolina’s
governor wants to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol’s grounds. I hear that Walmart and other companies are
going to stop carrying rebel flag paraphernalia. I hear
that some people are scraping the Confederate bumper stickers of their cars
because they don’t want to look racist.
That’s cool. I really think it’s a good
thing.
But, if your heart, your
actions, your thoughts, your intentions are focused on and directed by a belief
that non-White people are inherently less intelligent, more violent, less
ethical, more criminal, less worthy of compassion or citizenship----- does taking down a flag change who you are?
Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. (Deuteronomy 10: 16)
It's nice to see pro-Christian symbols in my community. But I'd rather see more hearts and lives genuinely aligned with the gospel.
I want to see the symbol of the Confederacy come
down from my Alabama’s and Mississippi’s flagpoles. But I want even more to see the Confederacy
die in my neighbors’ hearts.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community
organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership
development.
Rev. Anderson T.
Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield,
Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking
Organization (SAYNO); and director of
rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
#Awordtothewise
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P O Box 132
Fairfield, Al 35064
