I was taught never to question God. In my faith tradition, questioning God was akin to heresy and blasphemy, but there was no one else I could ask these questions.
Why? Why Pinckney and all of these innocent people? My God! Mrs. Susie? Why Mrs. Susie, Lord? She would not hurt a living soul. Why? Why any of these people? None of them deserved to die like this.
I grappled with the senseless murder of the dear friend and brother I referred to simply as Pinckney -- the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of Mother Emanuel AME Church -- and eight other faithful souls on that life-altering Wednesday evening: DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons Sr., Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Myra Thompson.
I could not comprehend how such a thing could happen, during a period of prayer and Bible study, in such a sacred place. Such hatred, such unprovoked violence, such evil had penetrated the holiest of places.
My soul felt empty but at the same time flooded with bewilderment, anger, loneliness, anxiety, loss. There was no real space to process any of it, because I had to remain strong for Pinckney's widow, Jennifer, and their daughters. I had to maintain hopeful optimism as a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a leader in the community. I was expected to help bring people together -- to be a leader in the process of healing, reconciliation and forgiveness.
Read more from Kylon Middleton » |
In this essay from 2015, African Methodist Episcopal minister Natasha Jamison Gadson writes that the Charleston shooting presents more than just security challenges to church leaders. That moment -- and this one -- demand honest language and an insistence that black bodies are the image of God.
Read more from Natasha Jamison Gadson » |
| REMEMBERING THE SHOOTING AT MOTHER EMANUEL & MARKING THIS PRESENT MOMENT |
In the national aftermath of recent racist violence, a church and a community continue the work of healing as they mark the five-year anniversary of the Charleston massacre.
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Faith and fear have always been intertwined in the Christian imagination, and our continued failure to reckon with it can only lead to continued violence, the pastor of Metropolitan AME Church says in this sermon.
Read more from William H. Lamar IV » |
How to Lead When You Don't Know Where You're Going: Leading in a Liminal Season by Susan Beaumont
How do you lead an organization stuck between an ending and a new beginning -- when the old way of doing things no longer works but a way forward is not yet clear? Beaumont calls such in-between times liminal seasons -- threshold times when the continuity of tradition disintegrates and uncertainty about the future fuels doubt and chaos. In a liminal season it simply is not helpful to pretend we understand what needs to happen next. But leaders can still lead.
How to Lead When You Don't Know Where You're Going is a practical book of hope for tired and weary leaders who risk defining this era of ministry in terms of failure or loss. It helps leaders stand firm in a disoriented state, learning from their mistakes and leading despite the confusion. Packed with rich stories and real-world examples, Beaumont guides the reader through practices that connect the soul of the leader with the soul of the institution.
Learn more and order the book » |
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