April 4

I love my church for many reasons: excellent preaching, consistently intentional and creative worship planning, an emphasis on community service. But I've never been prouder to call Woodmont Hills my church than I was this past weekend. 

On Friday night, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination, our choir partnered with the choir from Temple Church across town to present an evening of multimedia, personal recollections, and freedom songs. After each choir led the congregation in worship, the two groups united to sing some of the famous songs of the Civil Rights Movement--We Shall Overcome, Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around, Wade in the Water. While they sang, screens displayed hundreds of black and white photographs from the era, like the devastating one above.

We also watched Dr. King's March on Washington "Free at Last" speech in its entirety; by the end people in the room were shouting "Amen" and when it concluded the entire room stood and applauded. (Preachers, if you haven't already, consider studying his speaking technique. The man gets standing ovations from jaded 21st-century audiences watching poor-quality, grainy video.)

Best of all, the evening's narrator and special guest was Charles Neblett, one of the original freedom singers who shared stages with Joan Baez and Harry Belafonte--and who also experienced jail cells and beatings during his protest days. It was moving to see his quiet dignity, and to watch him sing along with every song.

Not every church has the staff or the resources to pull off this kind of major event. But every church could extend an open hand to believers of a different color and organize a prayer gathering, worship service, or joint project. The point isn't singing a spiritual, the point is singing together, and making it a regular thing. We plan to spend more time with our brothers and sisters from Temple Church, and that may be the biggest reason I love my church.