Douglass’s speech was prophetic. In 2024, as millions in the United States prepare to celebrate Independence Day, Black Americans, Native Americans, religious minorities, immigrants and LGBTQ+ folks are still surviving an unequal, exploitative legal, social and economic system.
Ideally, coercion-free membership should be a way to align one’s beliefs, ideas, and causes with a collective body. At its best, becoming a congregant of a local church, one should feel confident in saying, “Yes, I’m on board with the vision and ministries of this church.”
The tenor of our conflict in the public sphere needs to improve dramatically. If we find ourselves in disagreement, conflict, or challenge, here are three things we can learn from how Jesus approaches conflict.
Today, as a community of Baptist LGBTQ+ people and allies, may we remember that our work for equality, equity, and justice is not in vain. Because of the patience and faithfulness of others before us, our Pride marches are more than just events.
Like many stories in the gospels, the disciples serve as a “stand in” for the reader, asking questions and showing what sort of responses people can have to the gospel’s events. Their challenge is our challenge. Do we believe or do we doubt? What do we believe in more: the way the world tends to be, or the way the world could be, if the gospel is made known?
Graduation speeches are aspirational, but they also help us lift our heads and they provide simple answers that move us forward.