The worst disservice that we as individuals or churches can do to Christianity is to become sponsors and supporters of the status quo.
Contrary to some shallow thinking, the responsibilities of the pastorate both stagger and astound the imagination. They tax the whole man.
I was convinced that worship at its best is a social experience with people of all levels of life coming together to realize their oneness and unity under God. Whenever the church, consciously or unconsciously, caters to one class it loses the spiritual force of the "whosoever will, let him come" doctrine.
Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and maturity enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil. The greatest way to do that is through love. I believe firmly that love is a transforming power that can lift a whole community to new horizons of fair play, goodwill, and justice.
(Our) guiding principle has since been referred to variously as nonviolent resistance, noncooperation, and passive resistance. But in the early days of the protest none of these expressions was mentioned; the phrase most often heard was "Christian Love." It was the Sermon on the Mount, rather than a doctrine of passive resistance, that initially inspired the Negroes of Montgomery to dignified social action. It was Jesus of Nazareth that stirred the Negroes to protest with the creative weapon of love. (emphasis mine)
- i could go on and on with amazing and timely quotes: King also had a lot to say about war, hunger, economic inequalities, the defense budget, and many other things that are quite pertinent still, especially in this election year...instead, in the spirit of Dr. King, here's a song from Tyrone Wells:
