Even though there are a variety of mitigating circumstances and questionable evidence that Steven Nelson was the actual killer…Nelson is scheduled to be executed on February 5, 2024 for the murder of Rev. Clint Dobson. One of the primary supporters of the execution is Rev. Dobson’s former employer, The First Baptist Church of Arlington.
December 15, 2024
To the leadership and people of First Baptist Church of Arlington,
It’s been a month and a half since my last letter…
Luke 3:4-6, 7
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
In this season of Advent, the words of Isaiah still ring out down through the ages. John the Baptist used such words to preach of baptism for the forgiveness of sins. These moments prepared the way for the Son of God, Jesus the Christ. It seems as if stinging words from the wilderness have always been the forerunner of the inbreaking of the fullness of God.
Clint Dobson should still be alive. The evil actions and inactions of Steven Nelson and others deprived the world of an incredible man of God. Now what? For over a decade, you have selfishly drowned in your grief. Instead of helping people grow in grace, you have taught them that is appropriate to care about their temporal feelings above all else. Jesus is crying out in the midst of such lunacy, “I can’t breathe.” Drowning…at your inability to love. It’s as if you have this delusion that you matter more than anyone else. What an opportunity you have wasted.
Repeatedly, you could have shown the world what grace and compassion look like. There could have been an inbreaking of reconciliation. The world could have more fully seen Jesus. Why am I even having to say any of this? You know the truth. You know what you missed. You know what you’ve done.
Love was possible. Even in the midst of the horrors, love was possible. You could have straightened the crooked places. You could have lifted the valleys. You could have brought the mountains and hills low. You could have made the rough ways smooth. You could have made sure that all flesh could see the salvation of our God. Nope. You don’t care about anyone except your own vanity project that you call a church.
Even when we visited… We spoke of empathy. We spoke of love. We spoke of forgiveness. You spoke of nothing. Repeatedly, the press gave you the opportunity to speak a word of healing. Nothing. John the Baptist baptized with water. In our present hour, all you know how to do is to baptize this entire situation in shit. What type of Jesus are y’all teaching about? It seems to me that the only God that y’all know of is your grief. If that’s it, then more than just Clint Dobson died. Indeed, it seems that your connection to the powerful reconciliatory message of Jesus died as well.
You’ve missed it all. You let the evil of a moment scuttle your entire ministry. You are too rich and righteous to see that you have grown too rich and righteous to love and forgive. Open your damn eyes!
Pain is a heavy burden for all to bear. You have made it heavier. There could have been love. There could have been Jesus. Clint Dobson could have been known for so much more than being the victim of a murder. Your actions have made it close to certain that his legacy will be the execution of Steven Nelson. Your grief has now successfully destroyed all that you’ve said that you care about.
If there is one thing that I am sorry for, it is for encouraging Steven to believe that you might have some grace left in you. I do not wish you a Merry Christmas, on the contrary, I pray that you will be haunted until you repent of the evil ravenous spirit of vengeance you have both cultivated and perpetuated.
The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood
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