Participants:
Series Code: LI
Program Code: LI000372B
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00:05 Welcome back to the Liberty Insider.
00:07 Before the break, we had an interesting point, 00:10 what were you talking on? 00:12 I think you were talking about how military are trained. 00:14 Yeah. 00:16 And so I'm like, "Oh, that seems like 00:17 a direct tie to how we feel..." 00:18 I mean, there's some... 00:20 I don't know that there's necessarily 00:22 a bad intent behind it but in certain plan as ours 00:27 there's a necessity to basically militarize 00:29 the police force for riots and other violent challenges. 00:34 And the real downside of that is you pointed out is 00:37 on the one to one community level. 00:40 There isn't that personal connection, 00:42 and often people are objectified, 00:44 and violence breaks out. 00:46 And one of the things that I just want to point out, 00:47 I used to work for the City of Benton Harbor 00:49 community policing, 00:50 it was something that was very important. 00:52 When we had our port conference in Chicago, 00:54 the director of community engagement 00:56 for the Chicago police department 00:57 said they were bringing that back in 01:00 because the requirement, you know, shook the world, 01:02 you know, all across you have unarmed minorities 01:05 being shot by police. 01:06 Now we know all police are not bad 01:08 so it's like go down that trail, 01:10 I'm not saying like that but Laquan McDonald 01:13 could have been my son. 01:14 You know, just like the president. 01:16 You know, spoke out about Mike Brown and Fergusson, 01:18 you know, because it's... 01:19 And we have to like you said earlier 01:21 see people as human beings and by doing that 01:24 community police and having that relationship. 01:27 Chicago police, I mean, I was very encouraged, 01:29 obviously they are under federal monitor 01:31 and really some of the things I'm reporting 01:33 this disciplinary action being followed 01:34 through a new police chief. 01:36 And so I'm encouraged, you know, 01:38 to be honest with you but we still have 01:41 a responsibility to do our part. 01:43 You know, how are we, you know, it's one thing to protest. 01:45 But now how are we gonna become part of this solution? 01:48 And now they're asking for help, 01:50 the police department in terms of... 01:52 They say they're going back to knock on doors, 01:54 they're going back to going to good old fashion policing 01:57 but guess what, the church needs to go back 01:59 to knocking on doors. 02:00 The church needs to go back into building relationships. 02:03 We did it before when we were had foot traffic, 02:06 we were walking to our churches. 02:07 Now that we have commuter traffic, 02:09 how do we get back and knock on doors. 02:11 I have... 02:13 And be that voice of conscience in the community. 02:15 What you're saying is absolutely true. 02:16 This is all the things we need to do. 02:18 I have a dark vision. A dark vision? 02:21 For where we are sociologically on all of this. 02:24 Now in the US obviously there's a burden of history 02:28 and I quoted a lot, John Brown statement 02:32 on the eve of the civil war. 02:35 He says, "The sins of this guilty country 02:37 can be only wiped away by blood." 02:39 We hope not blood of violence, he meant that. 02:42 But we've never really been able to escape 02:45 the bad history in the US. 02:47 It's not that many generations since the reconstruction, 02:50 for example. 02:52 But beyond that... 02:55 In the US there's an incredible gun culture. 02:58 There is a tradition of heavy police work 03:01 which goes back to reconstruction. 03:04 But what I think is that, where my real dark vision is 03:07 I'm afraid in a number of countries 03:10 but the US is as bad as any in this regard. 03:13 I think the social contract is broken down. 03:17 Law and order doesn't come 03:19 from police patrolling all the streets, 03:22 they can maintain it at the margins. 03:24 Law and order comes 03:25 when people agree to be governed, 03:27 they agree to be law abiding. 03:31 It's encouraged by sense of community 03:32 but it's basically an unspoken agreement. 03:35 When the govern and the governed in a country 03:38 where the people rule that this is our game 03:41 and that we have vested interest 03:43 each individually in law and order, 03:45 I think that's broken down. 03:46 And I'm not sure myself 03:50 in any method that the government has 03:53 that they can stop that breakdown 03:54 'cause there's a great irony here, 03:56 the more they come in heavy handed, 03:58 they break it down further. 04:00 That's a trust factor. 04:02 I mean... That's trust... 04:04 You're getting back to the social contract. 04:07 There has to be a trust that the mechanisms of control 04:10 in maintaining law and order and interchange 04:13 between different elements of society, 04:15 that's predictable and acceptable 04:18 to the greater community. 04:20 When it's not, there's no number of police 04:23 that can maintain law and order. 04:24 I mean, you have a text that bounces, 04:26 I mean, is there a code of silence. 04:28 You know, we hear about it not just in the police 04:30 but also within the ministry with clergy. 04:33 Yeah. Is there a code of silence? 04:34 You know, does internal affairs really work? 04:37 You know, when you see people being prosecuted, you know, 04:40 for these crimes and they get off, you know, 04:42 over and over again, I mean does the system really work? 04:46 And let just face, I'm not a legal scholar. 04:48 You know, so it's like what can't be proven. 04:51 And then people are not talking about what can't be proven, 04:53 they want to see what is right and how can we implement right 04:57 and I think that is, you know, really part of the challenge 05:01 is because you know we want to talk about 05:03 the legal argument but people are saying 05:05 what's morally right. 05:07 And what Public Affairs Religious Liberty 05:09 has an opportunity to do if we're truly as Christians 05:13 are gonna reflect the love of Christ 05:14 as we have to reflect Him in every situation. 05:17 And our churches really need to be known as churches 05:21 that love people in spite of whatever. 05:23 Right. And back to my hobby horse. 05:25 Okay, your hobby horse. Connected to yours. 05:28 And really it's mine too. 05:30 Social contract is in a bad state 05:33 but what you're saying about the church reaching out, 05:35 and connecting, and Christian individuals, 05:37 that will rebuild the social contract. 05:40 And what's worked against it in the US 05:41 it's been for a long time now, certainly since World War II. 05:45 A very mobile society people come and go, 05:47 they don't know their neighbors, 05:49 there isn't intact as it should be 05:52 overall social structure 05:54 but the church can help rebuild that. 05:55 The church can help rebuild that 05:57 but another thing is helping to rebuild 05:58 the social contract outside the church 06:00 and we've seen in a lot of these different cases 06:02 is social media. 06:04 I have responsibility of getting on a Facebook live, 06:08 on a Twitter feed, or Instagram, I mean, 06:11 that social accountability is back. 06:14 And now you're seeing more millennials, 06:18 more young people taking in activist approach 06:22 and putting this live of in terms of what's happening, 06:25 you know, these body cameras, these things 06:27 that, you know, come along. 06:29 People saying money, I know Chicago police department 06:31 is planning to invest to reduce the violence 06:34 but also misconduct. 06:35 That's good idea, just like Richard Nixon's secretary 06:39 tripped over in a race a few minutes. 06:40 The body camera always seem to be off with them. 06:43 At an appropriate time, right? 06:45 But accountability can't be a buzz word. 06:48 Accountability has to be, 06:50 this is how we're coding people accountable 06:53 or this is how we're holding police accountable, 06:55 this is how we're holding clergy accountable. 06:56 There you go, this is step one, this is step two, 06:59 this is step three, but then people are like, 07:01 "Well, I'm afraid of retaliation." 07:03 I mean, I have to see these police officers 07:05 everyday in my neighborhood. 07:06 What do you do to prevent retaliation? 07:08 And how do I see that actually taking place 07:11 so that I can speak about it and tell people, 07:13 "Oh, no, no, no, things have changed." 07:15 And going back to that social contractibility 07:17 and the trust factor, 07:18 it's not gonna happen overnight. 07:20 I knew that can't happen overnight. 07:22 It's not gonna happen in 90 days or 6 months. 07:25 It's gonna take a while to reverse the trend. 07:27 And the church and the public affairs, 07:29 I think you're big time on to something. 07:31 There's public affairs to do that. 07:32 And it leads to be institutionalize. 07:35 And the thing that was so interesting 07:37 like let me think about a church 07:39 that abolish this movement. 07:40 When we have worked together 07:42 to assist marginalized people, things happen. 07:47 The problem is we put politics 07:49 instead of the Bible in the way. 07:51 I mean, Jesus was a rock star, I mean, 07:53 I don't want to use that as a hip-hop pop culture term. 07:56 He was a social phenomenon. 07:58 He was a social phenomena, there we go. 08:00 And he made a difference, I mean, they're thinking 08:02 and back that day who went to attack 08:03 the collector's house? 08:05 Who hung out with a prostitute? 08:06 No, we were too clean as Jews at the time as Pharisees. 08:10 And the Romans. And the Romans. 08:11 Jews wouldn't talk to them. Oh, we do that. 08:13 But, Jesus, you know, set things in motion 08:17 in terms of what love from an individual basis. 08:21 Now, He didn't even talk about the church, 08:22 He didn't do that in the synagogue, 08:24 He did it as an individual. 08:27 You know, we say, "Do you not know that 08:28 you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God 08:29 dwells in you?" 08:31 Well, individually we as a church would transform. 08:35 Just think about the social impact, 08:37 the impact that we could have on the community as our church 08:42 and the difference that we can make. 08:44 I mean, you know, Elder Eric... Can I throw in there... 08:50 He told me is what you got to understand. 08:52 People want the three A's of social acceptance. 08:54 They want to be Accepted, Approved, and Appreciated. 08:57 That's what he said, we go and through that interaction, 09:00 you can make a difference in the life of people. 09:02 Yeah, now we didn't see these possibilities. 09:03 I remember seeing a cartoon in a religious journal once. 09:07 There was a church and the door is open 09:09 and the pastor standing there and then people running 09:11 like crazy in different directions. 09:13 Someone says, "The pastor must have really preached 09:15 a great sermon today." 09:16 But, you know, the church would be an action point, 09:18 people should be fired to go and to do and do dare, 09:21 not just enjoy it, like you've heard it, 09:24 we were fed today. 09:26 Well, if you're really fed, you're vitalized and you go out 09:29 and do something and the church should be an action center. 09:32 I agree, and it's not the pastor's responsibility 09:35 to only do the action. 09:36 Oh, no, no. But, you know, we come... 09:37 He can be the coach of the quarterback. 09:39 I mean the church is becoming like a theater. 09:42 We come to get our praise on 09:44 and then we leave it and don't do anything. 09:46 Yeah, yeah. 09:47 And we're Public Affairs Religious Liberty ministry is, 09:49 it's challenging us as an individual 09:52 to show the love of Christ everyday during the week. 09:57 You should not come to church during the welcome prayer, 10:00 that's the only time we're giving people hugs. 10:03 You should be interactive. 10:05 You know, sometimes visit 10:07 a lot of churches that bothers me. 10:09 I sit there and they won't say hello. 10:10 And there's the moment, suddenly 10:12 everyone wants to hug. 10:13 I read much more into how they react 10:15 in the foyer and so on. 10:17 Absolutely. 10:18 I remember going, be in a foyer, 10:19 the person didn't even talk to me. 10:21 I think I averse to that. 10:22 Folks, Public Affairs Religious Liberty 10:24 when it comes to you, we have to look at our motives. 10:27 Why are we involved in being Christians? 10:29 Is our motive to reflect the love of Christ, 10:32 or is our motive to get the credits that comes 10:35 with reflecting the love of Christ. 10:37 As the Public Affairs Religious Liberty ministry 10:39 we can make a difference by showing our love 10:42 for one another not just in words 10:45 but also in deeds and I can assure you, 10:47 if you do that Public Affairs Religious Liberty ministry 10:51 will make a difference in your community. 10:55 Over the years of Liberty Magazine, 10:57 I've had a lot of letters, nowadays more emails. 11:00 But this one common threat that unites many of them 11:03 and its news that I should know, 11:06 if somebody in religious liberty 11:08 that's compromising and often they are accompanied 11:11 by pictures of a handshake that maybe goes a little beyond 11:14 that's worse, deep hugs and perhaps a kiss or two 11:20 between religious leaders, compromise. 11:23 What many of these people fail to notice 11:25 or to realize is that in my church 11:28 the Seventh-day Adventist church 11:30 there is a department called, 11:31 the department of public affairs and religious liberty. 11:34 Public affairs is all about meet and greet 11:38 and presenting who we are and what we're about. 11:41 It's not public relations, it's communications. 11:44 And sometimes that seems to these people at odds 11:47 with religious liberty where you see 11:49 a doctrinal out there and people in error. 11:51 With religious liberty, people need to realize 11:54 this is a universal approach that accepts 11:57 our common humanity under a Creator God. 12:01 For Liberty Insider, this is Lincoln Steed. |
Revised 2017-10-26