Trust is what we spend years developing in
ministry only to have people question our trust. Why?
1969 was the
first year of integration in the state of South Carolina and I was bused 12
miles to Ebenezer Junior High School where I experienced hate and hurt because
I was different. The fear the students from the different areas of town felt
turned into racial riots in our school and at the high school. I was just a kid
and I did not know what to do. My dad was in Vietnam with the Air Force and my
mom was depressed because my brother had died the year before. I didn’t have anyone to trust or guide me during this hard
time.
I have been called to minister in very ethnically diverse
communities and I have worked to build relationships in these communities for many years. And it takes years to build trust and just moments to destroy the
trust that is needed to produce the fruit in which we have all been called to
in making disciples. The richness of these relationships leads me to never go
back in isolation of sameness but to continue on in the depth of oneness I
have experienced. I deal with my foundational years of division and racism
through the freedom I have found in God’s word that man is made in the image
and likeness of God. This truth sets us free but we have to walk daily in this
freedom that calls us to cross every line and barrier that divides to be together
as one.
Now, 50 years later, after working many years to reconcile
some of those early relationships and after building a ministry focused on
Biblical reconciliation, there is still the question of trust. Can I be
trusted? Trust has to be built and that takes time and motivation from the
inside out. Three years ago I went to my 40th High School reunion to discover
that my peers had their own stories of those years that mirrored mine. It has
been amazing to build new relationships from years where there was no trust to a
relationship of trust around the Gospel. Reconciliation is the process where we
trust the Christ in those that have hurt us and build a new relationship with
one another.
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| Tracy with Thomas Beavers, Joel Brooks, Alton Hardy, and Matt Mason |
Today, I am still working to build relationships with friends and peers where trust is not easy but is foundational to our relationship. I want to hear
your story and I want to share my story and build trust around God’s word and
work. At CSM, I have spent 9 years building trust in relational partnerships
believing this is the only way to change a city. John 13:35 says, “Your love
for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” My desire
comes from God’s desire for all of us to be His disciples. The song of old
sang, “Trust and Obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but the
trust and obey.” If we obey the word of God we can build trust because of the Gospel.
During my time at the
school, I spoke to three first grade classes (about 45 kids) about our
Mother's Day luncheon and how we would utilize the cards as a part of
our blessing and honoring those moms on the 11th. I let them ask
questions for about 5 minutes about the food, the timing, the
decorations, etc... and then the class prayed for CSM, the banquet, the
mom and the letters. They all prayed aloud at one time lifting up their
requests to God that people would know him more because of this event
and their letters. When they finished, I asked them if I could pray for
them because I grew up in a school that didn't let people just pray
together out loud like that and those kids were totally shocked that
that was a reality. After I prayed and thanked God for them and their
impact and involvement, I told them one of the best ways (if not the
greatest) to love and serve others is to pray for them and no matter how
old or how young they are, their prayers will always be heard by God.
