My Response To The People (Ferguson)

I first want to acknowledge the Brown family. This is a tough time in your life constantly reliving the death of your son, Michael Brown. In addition, you have to carry the weight of encouraging people to respond to the "no indictment" verdict in a manner that you have strongly and courageously done. For that, I commend you.

As a pastor of a community church, I feel it is my responsibility to respond to the actions of the community. Yes, I am not pastoring in Ferguson but the community I live in is definitely impacted by it as is most cities in the United States.

There are people who are angry with the final verdict being "no indictment".  They feel justice was not served. The officer did not get what he deserved. The problem with this claim is that our society has made "justice" to be subjective. Had there been an indictment, charge and conviction of the officer then the people supporting the officer would feel that they were cheated of their justice. So, the court of public opinion applies justice in a subjective and separate manner.

Because we are a divided people, it is only natural that our view on justice is divided. In our development as the United States of America, we have lost our way in being united. We successfully united the states but not our citizens. There's a divide ranging from social class to ethnicity. The separation is not in having rich and poor or black and white but in designating one as inferior to the other. Let's work at becoming a unified people.

I understand the anger people have with the verdict. I understand the frustration people have with the verdict. What I do not understand is why that anger and frustration is channeled at looting the stores of independent business owners or rioting? Is that justice for the store owners? Is that justice for the owners whose property was damaged?  Is that justice for the innocent people who were injured while attempting a peaceful protest? That certainly cannot be the justice that we are seeking.

Use that anger and frustration to create changes in our legal system. Hold peaceful protests. Develop organizations geared to bring exposure to our cause. Go and cast our votes during elections and attend town hall meetings. Get smart on proposed laws and force accountability to those making the decisions.

The bottom line is that we need to become a unified people and wisely work towards a standard of justice that is truly fair. This goes beyond the extent of our emotion because Ferguson will become old news to most of us. This must now become our passion. We need to commit to our passion.

Pastor JB Marshall
Email: pastorjbmarshall@gospeloutreachcc.org
Website: www.gospeloutreachcc.org
www.twitter.com/RevJBMarshall
www.facebook.com/GospelOutreachCC

Why Starting A Church Was The Right Choice For Me

   I remember when God showed me part of my purpose in life was to pastor a church. "You want me to do what", was my first response. After a few years I was a little more at ease with doing it but still had my reservations. I began to prepare myself for the interview process at any local church that was in search for a Senior Pastor. I had it all figured out.  I was going to go in the interview room and speak with the search committee. Next, I would go back to preach a few Sundays services and teach a few bible studies. The search committee would recommend me to church and accept my package. I would have been nervous when I saw the committee POCs phone number show up on my cell phone. Nervousness would have turned into tears of joy and gratefulness to God after I hear the words "You are our new Pastor."  Arrangements would have been made and I would collect my church belongings from my home office and bring them to the church office. But that wasn't Gods plan.

   Once I made that step to go to interviews, God showed me that He wanted me to start a church. No members. No facility. No money. No clue. He did give me a vision. I spent many nights rehearsing the vision. I spent equal or more nights doubting the vision. There lies the problem. God wanted me to believe in the vision He had given for Gospel Outreach Community Church (GOCC) as it stood by itself. This was the ultimate step of faith for me. It was a necessary step of faith for GOCC. They needed a pastor who fully believes in the vision that he is sharing. They needed a pastor who will not easily be discouraged when things go wrong. They needed a pastor who will not lose sight of the vision because things are going exceptionally well. I was not that pastor when I first received the vision. I am that pastor now. With God's guidance, I will continue to be that pastor.

   This experience has increased my faith tremendously. All of this is building a foundation for "vision-motivated" people in a "vision-motivated" church. Yes, we now have a handful of launch team members doing a whole lot of work. Yes, we now have a facility that would allow us to setup and tear down. Yes, we have a little bit of money to do ministry. Yes, believe it or not, I have a little better clue of what I'm doing now. We thank God for His vision.


Pastor JB Marshall
Email: pastorjbmarshall@gospeloutreachcc.org
Website: www.gospeloutreachcc.org
www.twitter.com/RevJBMarshall
www.facebook.com/GospelOutreachCC