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A Charlotte Pastor Weighs-In on the Recent Protests in Charlotte, NC

A Charlotte Pastor Weighs-In on the Recent Protests in Charlotte, NC

Last updated on: September 27, 2016 at 9:23 am by Frank Viola

A Charlotte Pastor Weighs-In on the Recent Protests in Charlotte, NC 2016-09-27T09:23:08-04:00 Frank Viola

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Prove it!

by Derek Turner

Charlotte, NC

The eyes of the world are on my city. At least until the next tragic event happens and the media scurry off like a pack of eight year old soccer players chasing a ball around the pitch. Charlotte is being judged. Not by God, but by the countless beliefs of individuals who have every right to express their opinion and then fight over it on social media.

The protests in the streets are real. So is the violence and destruction. Anger is palpable. Both sides seem firmly entrenched and unwilling to budge. The cries for calm equal the calls for more protest. There are as many demands for proof as there are requests for patience.

Who’s right? Who’s wrong?

Questions ring out like gunfire. What exactly happened? Who do we blame? How do we fix this? You don’t need me to give you the details of this hashtag worthy event that has put Charlotte in the national spotlight. Those details are being aired out on television, argued on Facebook and flying through your Twitter feed. Every ounce of information is steadily being distributed bit by bit like the slow drip of an I.V. into our collective conscience. But instead of bringing a healing solution they inject more questions, more anger, and more division.

So what’s a Christian to do? How should we respond? Surely the Church should be able to judge our world and deliver the appropriate verdict?

As a pastor in Charlotte for nearly 15 years here is my humble opinion. I think we got it backwards. I believe we’ve been wrong on this for a long time. We are not allowed to judge the world. The world is allowed to judge us. Jesus Himself gave the world permission to judge the Church and it’s found in John 13:34-45:

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my followers.”

We love proving we’re right. But often, we are more bent on proving our rightness than we are showing our Christ-ness. This is especially true on social media.

We think the world should be impressed by the brilliant way we present our arguments in 140 characters or by our well-planned zinger in response to an already angry Facebook post.

No, Jesus is as clear as the sound of sirens in the streets of Charlotte. We have one command from Him and it’s summed up in loving each other. To put it in an equation: Love = Proof. While everyone is scrambling for evidence in the shooting of Keith Scott, we should be providing proof of the saving power of Jesus Christ!

We do this by our genuine love for one another. It’s the only proof we have that we are followers of Jesus and it’s the evidence the world needs. Like a court judge pounding a gavel signals the end of a case, so this love is the verdict the world needs to bring real healing.

This love shows up in acts of kindness and patience. This love isn’t rude or easily offended. This love is not boastful or proud. This love does not demand its own way. This love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. This love does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. This love never gives up, never loses faith, and is always hopeful.

This love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 paraphrased).

Ultimately, this love was nailed to a cross and died so everyone could belong to the family of God.

The world is screaming for justice right now. But true justice will never be fully realized by handing a guilty verdict to our chosen offenders. It may offer temporary relief, but it can never bring real freedom.

True justice is found in being handed our own verdict that we have been declared innocent by God because His Son took our place. The cross is the only act of violence that will ever bring true justice.

So where do we go from here? How do we bridge the gap and turn a fractured city into a flourishing community? I don’t have all the answers. I’m not offering a full solution. I’m just suggesting a starting point that you can act on today.

Here it is …

“You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.” James 3:18 Message

Let those words sink in for a second. Treating each other with dignity and honor is hard work. Especially when we think the “others” don’t deserve it. We say, “I’ll treat you with dignity when you act dignified.” And, “I’ll honor you if you honor me.” But the cross reminds us that none of us deserved it. Jesus made us right with God while we were still hopelessly lost. He showed us dignity and honor when we didn’t deserve it.

That was the ultimate act of justice and it’s where we encounter the power of love so we can prove to the world that they matter!

Derek Turner is the lead pastor of River Church. He resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife and two daughters. You can find him on Twitter @PastorDerekT.

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