{"id":2028,"date":"2015-06-22T05:01:05","date_gmt":"2015-06-22T11:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?p=2028"},"modified":"2015-06-22T05:01:05","modified_gmt":"2015-06-22T11:01:05","slug":"looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking at race — Through their eyes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Unsettled.<\/p>\n

There it is again.<\/em><\/p>\n

This has been happening plenty lately as I\u2019ve gone to the Middle East<\/a>, marched with Ethiopians<\/a> and now this.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just three days after the horrific shooting in a church in Charleston. Nine people, open bibles, heads bowed, seeking God. They should have been safe. They shouldn\u2019t have to worry about murder and death. \u00a0Mothers. Fathers. Sisters. And a pastor\u2026gone, snuffed out by a man bent on starting a war between the races\u00a0What he didn\u2019t know is that he actually might have ignited a campaign of love.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What he intended for evil, God will use for good.<\/em><\/p>\n

We sat outside the Denver Shorter African Methodist Episcopal Church<\/a>. Not a single part of the long name resonated with my being or background, except \u201cChurch\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are we doing here?\u201d Yet\u00a0God told me to do this\u2026<\/p>\n

I was first moved after I heard the love and forgiveness given by the family of those who were killed on Friday. Did you see that? \u201c<\/em><\/a>I forgive you, my family forgives you,\u201d said Anthony Thompson. \u201cWe would like you to take this opportunity to repent. \u2026 Do that and you\u2019ll be better off than you are right now.\u201d <\/em>What manner of love is this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The families aren\u2019t demanding\u00a0riots or protests or violence. They are calling for repentance f<\/span>or Dylan. They are calling for repentance for a nation. Are we listening?<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n

And then I heard Glenn Beck<\/a> who went to Charleston just to pray and show love. He said this\u00a0\u201cSomething has begun and it has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with LOVE.\u201d\u00a0An MSNBC anchor heard those prayers and the songs and got choked up, and even said<\/a> \u201camen\u201d on the air. Two sides, completely opposite, moved by something greater.<\/p>\n

\"AME<\/a>Going there<\/h1>\n

So what is a middle-aged white guy in Denver supposed to do? I can\u2019t fix the bigger problems in society. But I\u2019ve been prompted by friend and editor Deidra Riggs<\/a> to \u201cgo there\u201d when it comes to race and building relationships. And Iranian Christian \u200eHelen Abdali Soosan Fagan<\/a>\u00a0has been encouraging me to go outside of myself.\u00a0\u00a0I had to go there.<\/em> Maybe not Charleston, but to the AME church in Denver, whose pastor was personal friends with the slain Charleston pastor.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, we\u00a0wondered how we would be received. After all, it was a white man who sat in the middle of\u00a0 prayer service that killed the Charleston nine<\/a>. We bowed and prayed\u00a0before we went in \u2014 not knowing if we would be intruding. There were politicians there \u2026 and media. \u201cPlease God, not a sideshow, please.<\/em>\u201d But from the moment we walked in, we were loved. We were welcomed and received with warmth. It was great to sit near my new friend, Patricia Rayon<\/a>. But even if she wasn\u2019t there, we would have felt at home.<\/p>\n

The sermon was out of Job, and the passage focused on the words, \u201cthe Lord restores.\u201d Job lost everything, and yet God restored Job with all that\u2026and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe might endure for a night, but job comes in the morning. God will restore. God will make a way. God will show up.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Pastor Timothy Tyler<\/a>\u00a0preached with passion. He was forceful. He was emotional. And he\u00a0had every right to be. He lost his friend for no reason, except to evil. \u201cI was mad a God. I couldn\u2019t pray. I couldn\u2019t talk to Him. But people who are mad at God have great faith, because you can\u2019t be mad at someone you don\u2019t believe in.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He also spoke out against the rush to forgive. \u201cFirst, we must grieve.\u201d<\/p>\n

And grieve they did \u2026and we cried with them.<\/p>\n

\"AME<\/a>I\u2019m pretty sheltered. I\u2019ve never suffered like so many others. I\u2019ve always been employed. I\u2019ve never been unjustly arrested.\u00a0I\u2019ve never been at the end of a racist joke or been pulled over just for looking a certain way.<\/p>\n

But my lack of experience in your world doesn\u2019t disqualify me from caring.<\/p>\n

Friends, you are not alone.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m pretty sheltered. I’ve never suffered like so many others. I’ve always been employed. I’ve never been unjustly arrested. I\u2019ve never been at the end of a racist joke or been pulled over just for looking a certain way.<\/p>\n

But my lack of experience in your world doesn’t disqualify me from caring. <\/p>\n

Friends, you are not alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":2030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1064,1065,1518],"class_list":["post-2028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-charleston-sc","tag-charleston-shooting","tag-racism"],"yoast_head":"\nLooking at race in a different way -- Through their eyes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The families aren't calling for retribution. They are calling for repentance for Dylan. They are calling for repentance for a nation. Are we listening?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Looking at race in a different way -- Through their eyes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The families aren't calling for retribution. They are calling for repentance for Dylan. They are calling for repentance for a nation. Are we listening?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/davidrupert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-22T11:01:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@rupzip\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/\",\"name\":\"Looking at race in a different way -- Through their eyes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-22T11:01:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-22T11:01:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81\"},\"description\":\"The families aren't calling for retribution. They are calling for repentance for Dylan. They are calling for repentance for a nation. Are we listening?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Looking at race — Through their eyes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/\",\"name\":\"David Rupert\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81\",\"name\":\"David Rupert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Rupert\"},\"description\":\"I am a communication professional who has a passion for people. I dream big and with that comes even bigger prayers.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.redletterbelievers.com\",\"www.facebook.com\/davidrupert\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rupzip\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/author\/drupert\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Looking at race in a different way -- Through their eyes","description":"The families aren't calling for retribution. They are calling for repentance for Dylan. They are calling for repentance for a nation. Are we listening?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Looking at race in a different way -- Through their eyes","og_description":"The families aren't calling for retribution. They are calling for repentance for Dylan. They are calling for repentance for a nation. Are we listening?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/","og_site_name":"David Rupert","article_author":"www.facebook.com\/davidrupert","article_published_time":"2015-06-22T11:01:05+00:00","author":"David Rupert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@rupzip","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Rupert","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/","name":"Looking at race in a different way -- Through their eyes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-06-22T11:01:05+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-22T11:01:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81"},"description":"The families aren't calling for retribution. They are calling for repentance for Dylan. They are calling for repentance for a nation. Are we listening?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/looking-at-race-in-a-different-way-through-their-eyes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Looking at race — Through their eyes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/","name":"David Rupert","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81","name":"David Rupert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David Rupert"},"description":"I am a communication professional who has a passion for people. I dream big and with that comes even bigger prayers.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.redletterbelievers.com","www.facebook.com\/davidrupert","https:\/\/twitter.com\/rupzip"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/author\/drupert\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2375"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}