“Ignoring doesn’t heal all wounds," Litton added. Like Perkins, Litton argued that the Gospel is enough to fix racial prejudice, but racial reconciliation also requires intentional action to achieve it because “time doesn’t heal all wounds” and prayer isn’t enough by itself. That message came after a controversial debate over critical race theory and social justice led some prominent black Southern Baptist leaders to leave the denomination. And at the end of it all He promises paradoxical, inexpressible joy.”Īt a racial reconciliation event in Alabama last October, Ed Litton, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protest denomination, told a multiracial Christian audience that indifference to racial prejudice “is killing us” and “we ought to go and work at it.” “I want more than anything to encourage others to know that you can live a life of sacrifice, loving your enemies, doing good, and suffering for His name. These messages are a witness of how I believe we should live in a world that is fractured by racism, bigotry, strife, and so much pain,” he writes. Yes, we fought to the very end and found joy in that place. “This is what I’ve learned from knowing this awesome God this is the reality of the war we fought to the end. Perkins said he has already made his peace with death and is looking forward to going to Heaven because of the lessons he has learned about the Gospel in suffering. They are fighting to stay alive, Perkins said, because they don’t want each other to be alone. Children are supposed to bury their parents.”Īnd both he and his wife, Vera Mae, have battled cancer. Parents are not supposed to bury their children. “It was the most traumatic experience of my life. When my son Spencer died, it was like that for me,” he recalled in his book of his son who died at age 44 in January 1998 of a heart attack. “When pain is overwhelming, it can be hard to pull your attention away from the pain and look to Him. The cover art for John Perkins' final book, "Count It All Joy." | Contributed His sister died due to domestic violence. He was beaten and jailed by police in the 1960s, as he fought for civil rights. When he was 17, he had to flee from Mississippi to California due to racial hatred. At 16, one of his brothers was killed by police after returning from World War II. His mother died from malnutrition when he was just an infant. Perkins makes a strong case for his premise by sharing stories about his personal suffering. “Someone said we don't have a skin problem. The issue is what to do with our sin,” Perkins explained. ![]() What I try to do is to put the centrality of the Gospel in those three books. “In those three books, what I have there is an overview of the centrality of the Gospel. The book caps a trilogy that includes, One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race and Loveand He Calls Me Friend: The Healing Power of Friendship, which Perkins refers to as his “manifesto. Not only are we strengthened to ready ourselves for the next storm, we produce fruit that shelters, nourishes, and encourages others,” he adds. We become ‘like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-whatever they do prospers’ (Ps. “And before you know it, we have become like the tree that David spoke of in Psalm 1. With each new privilege to suffer, our roots go even deeper in Him,” Perkins writes in his book. Suffering drives the roots of our faith deep, deep into the reservoir of His sufficiency. ![]() ![]() “This is the great paradox of suffering! Suffering drives us deeper in Him. In his final book, Count it All Joy: The Ridiculous Paradox of Suffering, published six months ago, the civil rights activist and racial reconciliation crusader presents a compelling narrative on the essential roles suffering and the centrality of the Gospel play in delivering the United States from social maladies like racism, bigotry, strife and pain. Meaning, the Gospel is more powerful than we think, and does more than we could ever imagine.” The centrality of the Gospel is defined by church planter Tom Depew as “the belief that the Gospel that saved, is the same Gospel that should be made central in every Christian’s life. Unless you repent, you will all perish,” Perkins said in a recent interview with The Christian Post. Repent of your sins and return to God and the centrality of the Gospel.Īnd to do that, Perkins is convinced Christians must first learn to suffer well to lead the nation into radical deliverance from its errant ways. ![]() And at 91, one of America’s most prominent Evangelical voices on civil rights and racial reconciliation wants to send an urgent final message to America: repent. He’s dying of old age after multiple bouts with cancer. John Perkins is a renowned civil rights leader and racial reconciliation expert.
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