Episode 1: The Church's Response To Racism

In this episode of the Dr. Bartholomew Orr Leadership Podcast, Pastor Orr talks with Pastor Patrick Conrad of Life Fellowship Church about the challenges of discussing race in the church.

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Unique, Different, Indeed Interesting, One of a Kind, in a Class all by himself – So Special that the Bible says that he was the FIRST (on earth); he was the GREATEST; he became the definition of GREATNESS. Warrior, Hunter, Leader, Founder, Builder! His very NAME became a world-wide recognized name. He was phenomenal and yes, he was a BLACK man! Nimrod! When I was growing up, my first images of Africa came from Tarzan movies – unfortunately they were stereotyped pictures of blacks who were scared, slaves and not so smart! But, oh, when you read for yourself and understand geography – you understand and appreciate the heritage and contributions of Blacks in the Bible! What a lesson Nimrod teaches everyone, especially FATHERS!

For every black-skinned child who have ever question your beauty or your worth because of the color of your skin, let me encourage you that you were born in America but made by God and God loves you! Since God has a purpose for your life and He keeps His promises, follow my advice and you will succeed in everything you do and wherever you go!

“Must Jesus bear the cross alone And all the world go free? No, there's a cross for everyone, And there's a cross for me.” What a sober reminder as we sung that song growing up that life is full of crosses! Heavy and Hard. Big and Small. Some beautiful and some bloody. For some their cross may be sickness in their body, . . . a storm they are going through. . . strife from family or coworkers, and for others, their cross is their SKIN. Yes, all too often from Minneapolis to New York Central Park, we are reminded that wearing Black Skin is a cross that comes with its own pain. Yes, even Jesus had His cross. The physical cross – crossbeam weighing about 100 pounds and as a convicted criminal, sentenced to die, the custom was for the prisoner to carry that cross to the place of execution. But after a night of relentless beatings and flogging at the hands of soldier, Jesus was too weak to carry the physical cross. However, He was strong enough to carry the Spiritual Cross used to purchase our salvation.