Undercover Pastor

Today was a historic day. I was trying to explain to my 5-year-old son why the nomination of Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States is such a big deal. He didn’t get it. I had to explain to him that there are still people in the world who judge other people by the color of their skin. Johnny told me that he had heard that they used to make people with darker skin sit at the back of the bus. The concept is so foreign to Johnny that he can’t conceive of it. How wonderful it is that Johnny will grow up in a country where an African-American man can be the nominee of one of our political parties – where the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior is closer to being fulfilled than ever before!

It’s a good day.

Last week, I attended a “round table” of sexual assault survivors and members of the clergy. The honesty of the six women who had survived sexual assault was extraordinary – and extremely difficult to hear. But the hardest part of what they had to say was the part about how their churches had treated them. The horrible things pastors, counselors, and church friends had told these women. If you have time, please take a look at my church newsletter post in the Trinity blog and leave your comments. I think it’s time to shine a light on this whole area in the church, let go of our denial, learn how to treat people as they should be treated, and bear witness to the love and grace of God for sexual assault survivors.