I want to publicly say thank you to my family on the corner for loving me like Jesus loves me.  I have never been more proud to call a group of people my friends than I am today in regards to SweetWater.  God has allowed me to see Him in action through the hands and feet of His people.  Thank you, SweetWater for allowing me to be a part of the family.

I learned that there are believers behind bars.  The passion displayed by the prison choirs, both the Hispanic and Black choirs, was a manifestation of the fruit of believers who had worked hard to provide an example of worship through learned songs.  The Holy Spirit used each choir to minister to me and ultimately bring glory to God.  It was believers who were used by God.

I learned that believers can get “happy” in the Lord and not be disruptive.  We sang numerous songs together and each song ministered differently amongst the congregation.  When the Spirit of God was sensed by the men they would respond.  The responses of the men varied.  Some men would clap, some men would shout, some men would turn and beam with joy towards their neighbor, yet some men would hang their head to weep.  No one seemed to care what others might be thinking in regards to their worship of their God.  No one got out of hand and no one took the focus off the Christ,  Every man, in a room full of men, worshipped, communed, and fellowshipped with his Lord personally.

I learned that Black folks can worship freely even when a Honky is preaching.  I preached in a way that I preach anywhere I go.  Those that were there said I preached more passionately than normal, but I can tell you for certain that I did not change my method.  I studied to preach an expositional, verse-by-verse message.  I do have to admit that I did get a little more excited while preaching, but that was do to the response I was getting from a predominately Black audience.  I would like to add that God used this Honky preacher to reach 3 Black prisoners with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and another Honky counseled them to make sure they understood the commitment they were making.

I learned that worship has very little, if anything to do with location, but can be greatly affected by unified purpose. It is said that the three most determining factors in the value of property are, location, location, location.  I can tell you that is not so when it comes the value of worship.  A group of believers can gather in the most undesirable location such as a prison and the value of the worship will not be affected.  The most important factor in assessing the value of corporate worship is unity of purpose.  When believers gather to worship, there will always be an agenda.  I am disappointed to report that in many of the Baptist churches I have gathered, the purpose sticks out like a sore thumb.  More times than any of us would like to admit, the unifying purpose of the gathered is to receive something.  The “something” can be a multitude of things ranging from spousal relief to bargaining with God.  The men I got to worship with were not going to get anything out of gathering for worship.  It does not make a bit of difference to the guards or parole boards for that matter.  The prisoners were there in order to bring what praise, glory, and honor to their God that He deserved.  Their joy was in Christ and their purpose was to gather for one unified purpose.  The purpose proved to be to celebrate the God of their salvation. 

Most of all I learned, gathering to worship can be drudgery sometimes, but it DOES NOT have to be this way.  We must repent of our own selfish purposes for gathering to worship the One who gave us all things, not to the exclusion of His Son. 

I pray, what I learned will help you grow more like Christ and it will encourage you to never settle for less than what God has for you. 

Now back to the subject as it pertains to our current topic.  The thought that only Blacks can reach Blacks calls the power of the Gospel into question, in turn calling the power of God into question.  When we determine that a White man cannot reach a Black man for Jesus we limit the ability of God.  We place limitations on God and determine to “help” Him get the job done that only He can accomplish.  I am sick and tired of hearing that if God is going to save Black people it is only going to be through other Black people.  You are saying one of two things when you make this narrow minded determination, either you do not believe that God can use you to accomplish His will, or more likely you do not want God to use you to accomplish His will.  Whichever statement you make you have decided that the Black people in your realm of influence can and will go to Hell.  The roots of racism run deep in Southern Baptist life.  I have heard too many preachers, deacons, and lay men use the “N” word, tell horrible “Black” jokes, and out right say they do not want anything to do with Blacks.  It is time we quit using the excuse we can’t reach Blacks and repent of our sin that we won’t reach Blacks.

I am not the “Perfect Cracker”, but I am trying everyday to break free of my own bigoted mentality.  God wants us to reach out to all people.  God will use a Believer that is broken hearted for the lost.  People all around us are going to Hell today.  We must repent of our selfish attitudes and racist dispositions.  The time has come to charge wide open into the gates of Hell and drag out its captives.  Our neighbors, no matter their color, are going to a deserved Hell like we were, but thank God Almighty that someone, somewhere loved us enough to not care about themselves more than they cared about our eternal destination.