{"id":447,"date":"2014-09-05T18:58:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T18:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/09\/our-churches-can-be-bridges-of-hope-after-ferguson-tragedy.html"},"modified":"2014-09-05T18:58:00","modified_gmt":"2014-09-05T18:58:00","slug":"our-churches-can-be-bridges-of-hope-after-ferguson-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/09\/our-churches-can-be-bridges-of-hope-after-ferguson-tragedy.html","title":{"rendered":"Our Churches Can Be Bridges of Hope After Ferguson Tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
Only a few weeks have passed since the horrific shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, in Ferguson, Mo. As I have reflected on this tragic incident, I am not a big supporter of clich\u00e9s, but the phrase, \u201cThe more things change, the more they stay the same,\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>seemed to have great validity.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Countless incidents have occurred nationally and right here in North Texas that mirror the Brown tragedy. My heart constantly aches at the sight of excessive force being inflicted on unarmed victims and peaceful protesters. These deplorable images harken back to the turbulent times of the 1960s, and I am thoroughly convinced that if a proactive plan is not implemented, history will simply repeat itself. So, in the words of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., \u201cWhere do we go from here?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
I believe the faith community must play a critical role in addressing issues that plague many underserved communities throughout the country. The church has been at the center of every significant movement in America. The church has been a prophetic voice to advance causes of justice and civil rights. The church has also been the conscience of the state and must\u00a0continue<\/em>\u00a0to be our nation\u2019s moral compass.<\/span><\/div>\n
Again I pose the question: Where do we go from here?\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Read the rest here<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Only a few weeks have passed since the horrific shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, in Ferguson, Mo. As I have reflected on this tragic incident, I am not a big supporter of clich\u00e9s, but the phrase, \u201cThe more things change, the more they stay the same,\u201d\u00a0seemed to have great validity. Countless incidents have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nOur Churches Can Be Bridges of Hope After Ferguson Tragedy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Only a few weeks have passed since the horrific shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, in Ferguson, Mo. 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