Justin Barnett: Come together

Our nation may be more divided right now along the lines of race that it has ever been before in my lifetime. Recent events have shaken our country. People of color are especially hurting, and many are angry. What our nation needs now is healing. In order to heal, we must come together. In order to come together, there must be understanding.

You may have noticed from my picture here on Neuse News that I am a white man. One of my best friends in this world happens to be a black man, Apostle Khayyam Shepherd of S.O.I. Ministries. I do not have many close friends. He is one of a few. I love him dearly, and I know that he loves me. He and his wife are my son’s godparents. He is one of the few people that I call when I really need someone to talk with or pray with. He is a pastor like me, so we often partner together for ministry.

The point is that we have a close personal relationship, a relationship where we can talk, listen to one another, and share our differing perspectives on issues. He has helped me to understand how he and other people of color see things. I hope that I have also helped him to understand things from the perspective of a white person. 

We do not agree on everything, but we absolutely agree on the most important things. We agree that racism is a problem in our nation. We differ on the extent of racism in our nation, but we agree that we must stand together and address it. We agree that injustices against people of color must not be tolerated. 

Call me naïve, but I believe that most people can come together on the issue of racism. Most people can agree that racism is a problem, and that we must stand together and address it. We agree that injustices against people of color must not be tolerated. So, here is an idea. Let us all work towards coming together, standing together, and addressing the problems! 

Here is where I think it begins. You must have real authentic relationships with people that do not look like you. You have to build relationships with people where you can have meaningful conversations. Through this, you can understand another’s perspective, their feelings, and why they feel the way that they do. Social media posts and comments are not going to lead to anything fruitful. It takes more. It takes real world relationships.  

Meet with a neighbor, a coworker, a fellow student, anyone that is a different race or ethnicity than you. Buy them a cup of coffee, meet for lunch, or do something else to start a relationship. Talk. Listen. Seek to understand one another, and that will go a long way. Maybe it will turn into one of the most meaningful friendships that you have. 

Khayyam and I met and talked a couple times recently. We had some heart to heart conversations about racism in our nation, and we talked about what we could do to bring people together. Here is what we came up with. We are coming together for a worship service on Sunday morning June 14th at 11:00AM at Jackson Heights OFWB Church, and we want to challenge other churches to do the same. 

There are many predominately white churches in Lenoir County, and there are many predominately black churches in Lenoir County. We challenge these churches to come together for worship on Sunday, June 14th. We need pastors and deacons to reach out to other churches. We need church members to talk with your pastor or deacons about doing this. Reach out to other churches. Ask them to join you for worship, or if you can join them for worship. Come together! 

We also plan to have a prayer meeting for all pastors in Lenoir County once a month moving forward. The first one will be held at S.O.I. Ministries in Kinston on June 27th at 10:00AM. The idea is for it to be held at a different church each month and for it to be a time of prayer. It will not be about any pastor or church, but about all of us coming together. We hope that all our area pastors and churches will participate. We believe that if the pastors set the example, others will follow. We must come together!