When I was younger, I always used to wonder (oohh…that could be fun song lyric) why we took off MLK day from school but didn’t take off the combined birthdays of our first and one of our greatest presidents and why that “special” day wasn’t on either one of their birthdays. I have since grown to highly respect the work and ministry of Martin Luther King and personally feel like much of what he stood for and fought against has long since been forgotten or distorted. Even though it is not as obvious or celebrated and in many cases the table has been turned in the opposite direction, there is just as much hatred, racism, and discrimination in America today. Trying not to dive into too much politics and debate here, I’ll ask a single question that has been on my heart all week. Has the church decided it is not important to celebrate MLK Day anymore?
I heard of one story that moved me and made me ask myself why this kind of celebration or joint Christian effort is not happening more often in more places. If you think about it, most church congregations are mostly white or mostly black. There are few that successfully blur that line. And if there is one time of the year that line should always be ignored, it was this past weekend. I understand that certain people like certain styles of worship and get uncomfortable (or bored depending on what side you are coming from) in worship environments they are not “used” to, but I personally think it would do us all a lot of good to do what ever it takes to keep the color lines blurred.
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January 27th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
MLK was not a great man and should not be celebrated by the church. Christians need to celebrate and promote the fact that in Christ there is no color. We are all His and we should never separate as brothers and sisters in Christ. MLK was not a moral man, or a true preacher of Christ Jesus. A quick Google can tell you more than you want to know. Unfortuately, that fact you rise up against this man makes you a racist. Our family does not celebrate this “man”. Our children were never taught to differenciate between races. From young to old they will walk up to a white, black, hispanic or oriental with out any hesitation. I think by teaching equality we teach our children there is something to be feared in the other colors. Until sin does not reign in our hearts anymore, can we then all be set free from these wicked ways.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:38 am
The problem is, there is separation no matter how much “white” churches and “black” churches preach against it. I will not argue that Mr. King made some poor moral decisions nor that his main message latter in life was centered more on color than Christianity, but I have read many of His writings and I firmly believe, if what he wrote is what he believed, his ambitions and efforts were based firmly on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I don’t celebrate the “man” either as the only “man” that should be celebrated is Jesus Christ. But to ignore color is to ignore history and all those who worked so hard during the Civil Rights Movement to eradicate the immoral and unethical treatment of all those less than white. That idea is what I want to celebrate and promote and MLK Day is a great reminder of what we have still yet to fully achieve.