How to Pray About Ferguson

The word Ferguson is "trending" on social networks like Facebook, now that we know that the Grand Jury has refused to charge Officer Darren Wilson with any criminal activity in the shooting death of 18 year old Michael Brown. Like the case of Trayvon Martin, this case is bitterly dividing the nation. It is dividing even us in the Body of Christ, just as happened in the case of Trayvon Martin. Yes, I have already received email requests to sign petitions calling for justice for Michael Brown and I signed one of them. You may have seen calls to sign petitions online already. Whatever our positions on the Grand Jury decision, we all should be united in praying about the entire sad Ferguson situation, as it affects not only Ferguson but larger St. Louis and the entire US. Let me give some key points for prayer.

1). Pray for the safety of all the residents of Ferguson and nearby St. Louis, Officer Darren Wilson, other Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs), the Grand Jurors, the Prosecutor, and the peaceful protesters. We know that emotions will remain raw in the wake of the Grand Jury announcement that Michael Brown's killer will not be held accountable for causing his death.

2). Pray for all those whose livelihoods have been affected by all this. Pray that they will God will draw them to His side, provide for them, and that they will use this time to get closer to their families. This includes many school teachers and staff members, and many businesses, including small businesses.

3). Pray for all supporters of Officer Darren Wilson who may consciously or subconsciously harbor racial prejudices or biases, that they God will convict them, soften their hearts, and that they will overcome fear and hate of those who look or act different because of race, disability, nationality, or anything else.

4). Pray for the Black community and others who look or act different, that they will place their hope in God, turn to Jesus in their hour of need, forgive those who have hurt them, and find true community with others who feel their pain. Pray that they will use their pain to make a difference and work to make the world a better place for all.

5). Pray for the family of Michael Brown and for many other families whose loved ones have never received justice from the courts, that they will find in God their refuge and comfort. Pray that they will be given the grace to forgive and the courage to work for change in this culture.

6). Pray for the criminals involved in this, including groups like the KKK, the Black Panthers, and other hate groups, and for the looters and the arsonists, that God will save their souls from sin. Pray that God will convict them and capture their hearts for Jesus, and that they will overcome anger, rage, bitterness, and hate. Pray that they will find that love is more powerful.

7). Protests are going on in other parts of the US and criminals are infiltrating the peaceful protests, just as they are in Ferguson. Remember these cities also in your prayers, as you pray for Ferguson.

8). Give thanks and praise to God that He can bring good out of all the chaos, just as He can in any situation. Praise Him for His sovereign grace even in this.

Let us remember that this not only about Michael Brown or Ferguson, but is about all of us!

May God help us.

What Position Should Christians Take on the Michael Brown Shooting?

I had thought that the highly divisive case of George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin was spitting our nation and maybe our churches, often along racial and political lines. I remember how bitterly uncivil our conversations could get when any mention of either name was mentioned. Even in our family and in our local congregation, we refrained from mentioning the case because of the controversies. Currently, a case, located very close to where I live--Ferguson, Missouri--has proved to be just as controversial and divisive. We hesitate to discuss the case even with family or close friends whom we sense may disagree with us.

I'm talking about the Officer Darren Wilson/Michael Brown case.

Since this current case broke over two weeks ago, it has continued to unfold. I remember when I first heard about the 18 year old being gunned down, and that it happened right in my area. I learned about it in the local morning news; later in the day it was mentioned in the national news. That evening, we were saddened to watch our local news show, in real-time, the looting that took place, that night, in response to the shooting. A couple family members dismissed the perpetrators as thugs: "They are scumbags. They don't care about that teenager who was just killed; they just want to steal from stores and cause trouble." It didn't do any good for me to counter: "There is no excuse for that and they are just giving that community a bad name. But these people probably grew up with hopelessness from the beginning; they don't see anything to look forward to and so they decide to grab all the gusto they can." The offending officer had kept his name secret for over a week. We still know little about him, except that he was divorced, had no disciplinary history, and claims that he shot Brown in self-defense, feeling bad about "having to do so." From the beginning, protesters have been marching in the streets to call for justice for Brown and to end unjustified police shootings. One or two autopsies reveal that Brown was shot at least six times. And this case continues to unfold before our eyes.

In this over this past week, dozens and dozens of arrests were done in Ferguson. Police officers, heavily armed, arrested even journalists just doing their jobs and one protester who was a Holocaust survivor. Protesters, often harassed by cops and pepper-sprayed, marched in the streets to show their anger and frustration at the devaluing of Black lives. This recent shooting, the last straw in long line of cases of the shooting of Blacks who had not gotten any justice, has drawn the Black community together. Our Missouri Governor, Jay Nixon, even called for a curfew and declared a state of disaster. Later, he summoned the National Guard and Ferguson looked like a scene out of the Middle East. Most of this has died down, fortunately. The St. Louis Prosecutor on this Brown case, having lost a loved one at the hands of a Black youth and with strong ties to police officers, is seen to be unable to be unbiased on this case. Yet even after many of us signed a petition for him to resign, he rejected the 70,000 signatures and our Governor, Jay Nixon, said no to calls to ask him to step down. Currently, an audiotape, currently unconfirmed as legitimate, reveals up to ten or eleven gunshots were fired and a conversation was engaged in at the time. Who knows what will be learned tomorrow?

I have seen many comments that have been trashing Brown, just like Martin was trashed when his case was front and center. Even in a Christian publication, Brown was called a "thug" just as Martin was called a "thug" on a Christian pro-life Facebook page. Brothers and sisters in Christ, would Jesus have referred to anyone, let alone any teen gunned down, as a "thug"? I don't think He would. Maybe we should not, either, whatever we may think of Brown or Martin or other victims who have been exposed as not living squeaky-clean lives. What can a video of thievery or possibly doctored photos tell us about the character of a person, anyway? In the case of Brown, when the suspect cop released his name, he released a video that sparked outrage in the Black community because it made Brown look bad. In the video, Brown was involved in stealing and assault of a store clerk minutes before he was shot and killed. In the Trayvon Martin case, Zimmerman supporters hacked into Martin's supposed Twitter account, which showed pics of Martin flipping his "birdie," puffing on marijuana and brandishing a gun. It showed tweets full of foul language. I cannot count the number of times when Christians have posted articles that posted articles that cast Martin as a person who caused his own death, and that capitalized on that leaked material from his supposed Twitter account. An account that may have been hacked. Hacking websites is a felony and can crime-based "evidence" be the basis to discern anything? Christian Pastors have criticized Martin and defended Zimmerman. Is it no surprise to us that, sadly, many Blacks are converting to Islam because they are being turned off by many of us in the Christian Church?

What can we do about this? Here are some steps to regaining credibility with more people in the Black community: Listen to Black people, especially those closest to us. If we are Caucasian, we need to admit the reality of "white privilege," even those of us who may feel oppressed in other ways, because of disabilities, gender or class. We need to apologize for "the sins of our fathers," and maybe our own (if applicable). We need to talk about racism and admit that it remains alive and well. We need to pray for loving Christian ministry among those in the inner-city ghettos and be willing to become an answer to our prayers if called to be that.

And as for our law enforcement, they need better race relations understanding and training in difficult situations, involving people with racial or disability differences or other differences. Police shootings based on poor training needs to stop. As suggested, maybe more Blacks should be encouraged to become police officers. If you are tired of hearing about Michael Brown and Ferguson, think about how those with racial and other differences are tired of how so many in law enforcement deal with them.

Time will not make this racial discussion go away. Only prayer and action will. Aren't we tired about hearing of Micheal Browns or Trayvon Martins?

A Tragic Anniversary & A Law That We Christians Need To Help Get Changed

February 26, 2012.

Does that date mean anything to you? Be very sure that on this date, in the state of Florida, a 17-year-old Black teenager was killed that particular awful night. That date changed his family's life forever. This date outraged an entire community as this teenager became the poster boy for generations of oppression, inequality and institutionalized racism that the election of a Black President has by no means eradicated. That date greatly heightened our national awareness of a controversial law, wherever each of us may stand on this law. Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we are in this world and this culture affects us, we can't excuse ourselves from our responsibilities to speak up for those whose voices have been silenced.

Why the Controversy of Racially Charged Cases?

I know that this George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin, polarizing case, has been politicized. I know that many of you, my fellow Christians, are aware of this very high-profile case but decline to speak to it out of a desire not to "get political" or to avoid "playing the race card." But it is intellectually dishonest to duck the social evil of racism, or to deny that it still remains institutionalized and affects everything, including the criminal justice system. This case is not about one teenage boy but is an icon for centuries of oppression, racism and inequality. Possibly taking note of George Zimmerman's acquittal of murdering Trayvon Martin, months later, a software developer saw a car full of Black boys and heard very loud music playing; Michael Dunn allegedly had an ugly verbal argument with Jordan Davis, another 17 year old Black boy. If you were following this most current case, you know that it all escalated into Dunn shooting 9 times into that car of teens, Jordan Davis included. You will know that the trial resulted in convictions for the 3 surviving boys but no verdict on the murder of Jordan. Why is it so tough to get murder convictions when victims are viewed as suspicious? Ought we, as Christ-followers, be concerned and involved?

What Is Stand Your Ground, Anyway?

You may or may very well not know what Stand Your Ground laws mean. It has taken two racially charged cases to bring nationwide attention to these laws. I know many people in and even out of the Christian community have priorities other than following, much less speaking out on, such cases. But these cases and others like them matter. Why? Both these cases and many others they are just examples of, put the Stand Your Ground law in the spotlight. What is Stand Your Ground? Simply put, the Stand Your Ground law is an extension of the right to use deadly force when our lives are in danger. Stand Your Ground extends legitimate self-defense; in states where it is law, citizens, wherever they are, have the right to use deadly force if they simply perceive that they face a threat of death or serious bodily harm AND they do not have to retreat from this "perceived threat" but can exert deadly force. The opposite side of a Stand Your Ground case, Marissa Alexander, shows that Stand Your Ground isn't even applied equally to people groups. Marissa, a Black mom of three, fired a few warning shots against her allegedly abusive spouse, with two of children being in the line of fire. No one was injured, but Marissa was not allowed to use her desired Stand Your Ground defense. She was sent to prison for 20 years. Why do we need this law, anyway? What is the problem with this, especially as we ponder the principles of Scripture concerning not rendering evil for evil and pursuing peace?

What About Stand Your Ground?

We Christ-followers have always approved legitimate self-defense when ours or another's life are in imminent danger. Scriptural principles would seem to allow self-defense when we know that ours or another's life is in immediate danger. Lawful wars are a HUGE example of this. But Biblical principles favor the pursuit of peace, self-control, nonviolence and turning the other cheek. Stand Your Ground, with its granting permission to people to act on their suspicions and prejudices and to "exert deadly force," runs counter to Jesus' call to pursue peace, to turn the other check, and to not resist evil. These principles run directly counter to Stand Your Ground laws, which encourage loss of self-control, giving into anger and hate, and render evil for even PERCEIVED EVIL! Thus, how can we who are committed to following the Prince of Peace, if we ponder this, support Stand Your Ground laws? The two high-profile cases I have mentioned, not to mention many others, do not even involve ACTUAL dangers to Zimmerman or to Dunn, but PERCEIVED threats to the lives of these two individuals. Stand Your Ground is not a Black issue, either. Recently, a Caucasian shot and killed another Caucasian over texting and flinging popcorn in his face. In his arrest, he claimed Stand Your Ground (the case has not come to trial).Stand Your Ground does not support the Biblical call to pursue peace with all people and to exert self-control! So, what are we Christ-followers to do?

Let's Be Part of the Solution

First of all, we need to educate ourselves about Stand Your Ground laws and what they are. Below You will find sources for this. We need to work on changing hearts, one person at a time. This is not about gun control; I'm all for gun rights if you can handle this responsibility. We should oppose racism wherever we find it and, above all, be models of peacemaking, self-control, love and understanding. We should, if we can, be involved in changing the Stand Your Ground law, which can save lives. Changing this law will get rid of a law that is redundant, encourages violence, has unclear language and is not even applied equally to all people groups. Above all, we need to fight against it because it violates the command "Thou shall not kill" and the call to be peacemakers. Doing these things will ensure that Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, and other victims of Stand Your Ground laws, have not died in vain.

What would Jesus do?

Stand Your Ground Laws Are Linked to Increase in Homicides

Legal Blog (With Stand Your Ground Articles)

Please Sign This Petition.

The above photo of Trayvon Martin is courtesy of a Justice For Trayvon Facebook page and can be found here.

A Christian Perspective On George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin

There is a website full of evidence files in every part of the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case. It can be found here.

I know that I'm addressing a case that has divided the US since it become public, and which still brings up strong emotions. I'm sure this holds true in the Christian community, too, if you are familiar with it. I'm talking about the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case. We all know the facts in that sad case. One dark, rainy night, a 17-old, teenage, Black teen, was walking in a gated neighborhood. He was carrying ice tea and candy, wore a hoodie, and was in the neighborhood to visit his father. In the course of time, this Neighborhood Watch volunteer drove in that neighborhood, armed with a gun. He took note of that teen. Something about that teen made him look suspicious and the volunteer decided to take action. He called 911. The person who answered that call assured the volunteer that Law Enforcement (LE) would handle it. "Are you following him?" the Dispatcher asked. The volunteer was calling the teen names, and said he was. "We do not need you to do that," the Dispatcher assured the volunteer. Still, the volunteer got out of his vehicle, and pursued the teen. Something tragic happened. The teen ended up dead, killed by a gunshot to his heart. Evidence got forever lost and the case was botched from the beginning to the trial, and the resulting verdict in Seminole County, Florida.

I know that every Christian, like everyone else, has a right to hold your own opinions on this, as on any case or matter. This post is not an effort to get anyone to believe what I believe, which would be futile. First of all, I'm Caucasian, female and I live in St. Louis, MISSOURI. I'm a Christian and a pro-life Democrat. I believe that people have a Second Amendment right to have guns, so they can protect themselves and their families. But I believe, and the evidence shows, that people should be thoroughly screened before getting guns, and that gun owners should not be able to abuse their gun ownership privileges. Guns have been abused over and over, so many times that the victims of gun violence can't be counted. And even perfectly good people are deploring the "race-baiting" of this case and of related cases, and calling any discussing of race relations "race-baiting." The Judge in the George Zimmerman case, would not even allow any race-related evidence in. This, to me, is just one example of many who refuse to admit that racism is still alive and well, and that our broken system does not bring equal justice for all.

I had followed the George Zimmerman case, and I saw that the case was riddled with injustice before it even began. First of all, LE did not even want to arrest Zimmerman, and it took a petition and protests to bring the case to trial. The Prosecutors, whom I believed were incompetent, hurried the case, failed to lay it out clearly, allowed Martin to be put on trial, and did not prepare their witnesses to testify to help their case against Zimmerman. They did little to cross-examine defense witnesses. Zimmerman had far better Representation and witnesses than Trayvon Martin had. The case was full of injustice and showed that the system, which is made up of people, values some lives above others. This trial, like so many others, is less about finding the truth and bringing justice to victims and defendants, and more about who has the most money, supporters and social connections with LE. Trials are more about who has the best lawyers. I was brokenhearted and angry when the verdict was read.

In Scripture, God makes it clear that Judges and anyone involved in dispensing justice, should be about seeking truth and doing impartial justice. Unequal favors are not to be shown anyone, whether it is the rich or the poor. Yes, God allows for those who kill in self-defense, to be able to protect themselves and to have fair trials. They have the right to protect themselves from any revenge a victim's family may want to take. In Scripture, it's clear that we are allowed to defend ourselves when we feel that we are another's, lives are in danger. Yes, this is written into all our laws, which allows anyone to exert "deadly force" against anyone who is seen as a physical threat to self or to others. But the question that remains for many of us and certainly for the family of Trayvon Martin's family, why was this teen put on trial and his killer deemed to be acting in self-defense?

Currently, Zimmermann is having brushes with the law and his actions keep shedding light on who was mostly likely looking for a fight that tragic night that he killed Trayvon. Zimmerman's former wife, Shellie, will not speak about Zimmerman's role in Trayvon's death, but is warning the public that Zimmerman is a "ticking time bomb" and that he "is not the man I married and was not since the night he killed Trayvon." Weeks ago, Zimmerman was accused of assaulting her and her father, but no charges were filed. Most recently, Zimmerman threatened his latest girlfriend with a gun and now awaits trial. To me and to many others, this just confirms that Zimmermann was probably not acting in self-defense that night. Yes, I know that Zimmerman will likely not be held accountable for killing Trayvon Martin in this life, but we Christians know that there is a life to come as well as a day of accounting. We Christians know that God's heart, as expressed in the life of Jesus, leans strongly toward love, nonviolence, prayer and forgiveness, while not disregarding accountability or justice.

What do you think?

The first photo is courtesy of MorgueFile.com. The first photo is by jclk8888.

The first photo can be found here.

The second photo is courtesy of MorgueFile.com.

The second photo is by wallyir.

The second photo can be found here.

There is a website that is full of evidence files in every aspect of the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case. It can be found here.