A conversation Glenn calls one of the most important he’s ever been a part of aired last night on TV in its entirety. Just after Glenn and Mercury One volunteers handed out over 8 truckloads of food and toys to unaccompanied minors who crossed the border, the group of pastors and leaders had a frank conversation about compassion and service.
During the roundtable, which featured Alveda King, David Barton, and Pastor Broden along with local faith leaders from McAllen, TX, there was a lot of talk about the church's role in providing relief for the communities along the border.
One of the main points that came up during the discussion was that faith leaders needed to engage with the communities and be examples of service and compassion.
Robert Sanchez, a Texas pastor, said, "I see two miracles, the miracle of provision, and number two, the miracle of the beginning of revival. What is the softening of the hearts of United States? It is an awakening. It is revival. And revival is what we need."
And with all due respect to all of us, revival isn’t necessarily praying more at church anymore...revival is actually getting out there and getting the work done, us coming out to the community, us going out to the shelter, us going out to the bus station, us going out to the people in the colonias that are in need. Now, that’s revival, when us, we the church, get out there and get the work done like a lot of these respectful pastors around here have been doing it and that you have come to encourage us to do."
"And if our nation of United States of America understands that we have been inside our four walls of our churches too long, there are too many millions of people in this country in need. We need to get out of our church. We probably need to close our Sunday services and get out to the communities and not have church, but be the church," Pastor Sanchez said.
Others at the roundtable emphasized the importance of experience to learn compassion.
Jamie Gutierrez of Luz Para Las Naciones said "You know, there’s something you can’t exchange, it’s experience. How do we get people motivated? Experience. I can’t go and tell you how great God is if you can’t feel it. I can’t tell you such of a big problem that we have if I don’t go and feel it. Compassion comes out of that."
"When you see that kid, when you see the kid without no tennis shoes, something happens inside of you," he said.
At the end of the roundtable, Glenn looked for answers to even bigger questions. It's not just about finding compassion and mercy for the children who have crossed over, but also seeking justice and fighting the evil driving people from their homes. How do we stop the cartels who are feeding so much violence and chaos in Mexico and at the border? How do you defeat the evil on the border?
"What’s happening with the children and with all humans here is beyond understanding, but the evil on the other side, the evil of the cartels is overwhelming," Glenn said, fighting back tears. "Who can dump little children off in the middle of the woods? Who could dump a quadriplegic and leave him on the side of a river? How do we deal with the evil that is happening as well?"
Alveda King said that it ultimately falls on the leaders of the faith community to be the example, not only within their congregation but to the world at large. She said, "We are the standard. See, now that’s where the responsibility really does come back to us. We are the standard. And it was then correctly stated by every minister here, the church is not four walls and a steeple. It’s okay to have that, but we are the standard."
"We can’t feel that it’s hopeless. We are not a people without hope. We are not without hope. Jesus did not shed his blood for nothing," she said.
Subscribers can watch the full episode HERE.
Morningstar via Investopedia