Perkins taught on John 4, Jesus and the woman at the well". He talked about our common human needs: the need to be loved, need for significance, and our need for reasonable amount of security. He spoke about how society is reflecting these three needs all the time. As disciples, we need to apply God's principles into these three needs all the time.
Some JP quotes from the day:
"Racism is an affront to the Gospel, but the Church reinforces racism more than any other institution. We need to get rid of the contradictions....the segregated Church is a heresy.
Black folks want barriers in the Church to break down even less than whites because the church has represented their power base on earth. Whites forced that to happen over the years."
"The Church is the continuation of Jesus' life here on earth. We are the human part of God that is still on earth. We have to stay as close as we can to the pain and suffering on earth. That's what Jesus did; that's what we need to do."
"Don't go patronize. Go to ignite the life of God in the neighborhood, in the community."
Relocation workshop with Patty Prasado-Rao:
Patty, the co-executive director of New Song Urban Ministries in Sandtown (Baltimore, MD), faciliated in a wonderful morning on one of the key components of CCDA: relocation. Mark, the director of Habitat in Sandtown, lives in Sandtown and shared these three learnings from his relocation:
1. Dr. Perkins has said, "If you're not indigenous to the suffering, you have to make a move into the pain." Mark and his wife have done this and have found it very difficult and very liberating.
2. Mark shared that the most important thing he can do is be present in the lives of his neighbors.
3. He has learned the true meaning of love as referred to in John 15:13 (Greater love has no one than this: that he would lay down his life for another.) Mark has relocated not only his body but also his heart and feels he's prepared to give his life for his neighbors.
Reconciliation workshop with Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner
We spent the afternoon in conversation and learning about Biblical reconciliation with Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner. One activity was to take the following quiz and then have conversation about what we learned from it.
Are you a Biblical Reconciler? (answer often, sometimes, never to each question)
1. Do you pray regularly for racial healing in our nation and world?
2. Do you or have you prayed for God to heal your heart of any racial prejudice you may have?
3. Do you visit churches whose members are of a different race than you?
4. Do you pray for people from other races by name?
5. Other than work, do you socialize with persons from other races?
6. Do you purposely read books, watch videos or use other resources that increase your awareness of other cultures?
7. Do you arrange playtimes for your children or grandchildren with children of other races?
8. When racial tension arises, do you have a friend from another race to pray with you for racial healing?
9. Do you have a trusted friend of a different race with whom you can pray regularly about key issues of your life, family, or work?
1o. Do you celebrate the birthday of someone from a different race or culture?
Score of 70-100 You are a Biblical reconciler; Score of 50-69 You periodically act as a reconciler; score of 49 or below You need to pray to become a reconciler
Emmaus Ministries (www.streets.org) We took the train to Uptown in the evening and learned about Emmaus Ministries, an outreach and refuge for male prostitutes in Chicago.
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