By Frank Ramirez
The featured speaker at Thursday evening’s Discipleship and Leadership Formation Dinner paused a second, as if taking special enjoyment from his introduction as executive director of the Christian Community Development Association. “That was my first time being introduced as Dr. Lorenzo Watson,” he said.
Speaking on the topic, “(W)holistically Engaged–The Church in the Community,” the newly anointed Ph.D. recipient spoke to what he called an “existential crisis” he experienced when he first went to college. He grappled “with who is God, what is the work of the church, and why am I here?”
Watson admitted, “I was one of those weird kids who actually liked going to church.” He attended what he described as a “traditional Black church that came with a set of rules about how we were to live.” That included restrictions of what words could be said, what beverages could be consumed, what clothes could be worn, and as for movies–out of the question. So when he attended college and met people who identified themselves as Christians, he experienced a major clash of cultures. “There were so many things that blew my mind.”
“That challenge ushered me into a greater experience of God” and he came to realize that “some of my greatest experiences of God happened outside church.” His basic notions were challenged. He learned some of his earlier notions were not necessarily incorrect so much as waiting for new understandings. He compared it to learning that you can’t take three from two in first grade math, only to learn later that indeed, you can take three from two. Over time, this new understanding led to what he called a “recipe for spiritual development.”
Watson read the famous passage from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, “To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under the sun.” He added, “We must learn to be appropriate for each season in life. How often do we find ourselves misaligned with what is appropriate for that season?”
Two things are always in season, he explained: “The presence of God’s love and the presence of the Beloved Community.” Three things are always true: “First, God is absolutely and unapologetically in love with you. Second, we are in the light of God’s love. We are to love God with everything we have, and to love our neighbor just the same.
“The Gospel message must have relevance to folks with their backs to the wall. God’s message is relevant to those whom you surround yourself with–the Beloved Community.”
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