Recovering King’s legacy also means confronting our own complicity in systems of injustice. King’s critique of the “white moderate”— those more devoted to order than justice — remains painfully relevant.

So, Church — what shall we do next? The we is imperative because if we are to truly be one nation under God, if we are to truly be incorporated in the body of Christ, if we are to truly embody our ultimate allegiance to the empire of eternity, our next moves must be different.

Some analysts claim that without the support of Baptists and other evangelicals, neither Donald Trump nor Jimmy Carter would have ever lived in the White House. They have that in common but in almost every other way, they are very different.

How can we serve the people of Georgia – our brothers, sisters, and siblings in Christ and in the wider human race – as the country of Egypt once served the Holy Family as they fled Bethlehem and the tyrant Herod?

Nonviolent resistance is basically people of faith saying, “You will have to go through me,” or “I will put myself on the line in some way for the sake of those with less power or voice.” I call on not just everyday people of faith but religious leaders and denominational heads to help point the way. This is our work at this time.