Black History Month: A Call to Culture Care

Two African-American pastors challenged Columbia International University students to think biblically when it comes to caring for the culture and their walk with God. They were a part of CIU’s annual weeklong commemoration of Black History Month.

“It was just a really cool opportunity to garner more inclusivity on campus because we didn't want any of our events or Chapel services to be toward specifically Black students,” said Jada Stroud, president of CIU’s African American Student Association (AASA) that organized the week. “It was really cool to get a diverse group of people together to celebrate Black history and to worship together.”

Jarrian Wilson, pastor at City of Refuge church in Columbia opened the week by expressing the need for students’ lives to be flipped upside down for the better. He delivered the Word of God as found in Isaiah 6:1-8, pointing to Isaiah’s feeling of unworthiness as a call for students to evaluate where they stand with God and to pursue living rightly before Him.

The next day James Womack, pastor of Destiny Church in Fort Worth, Texas, called students to embrace the Kingdom of God in its entirety.

Womack described God’s kingdom as being the “complex and comprehensive rule of God over all of creation.” Womack examined the current cultural climate and stated that the reason for all the brokenness around us is “not a race issue, but a humanity issue.” He stated that Christians oversimplify the Kingdom of God as a label when it should be a fervent motivation that drives us toward Christ daily. Womack implored the students to seek after a fully-developed Kingdom theology and truly live it out to make God known.

At the last Chapel of Black History Week, Womack asked a challenging question, “How are you going to respond when Satan attacks you?” He encouraged students to truly think on these things and to be prepared for the life ahead of them outside of college.

“Your belief in God leads to your relief in God,” he stated. He pointed out that it is important to have both a positional knowledge of Christ as your Savior and a practical understanding of God’s sovereignty and protection in Him.

In addition to the preaching there was lively worship in music.

“It was very encouraging and refreshing to be able to serve alongside believers and rejoice in the joy of the Lord,” said Mary Hockenberry, who was a part of AASA’s worship band. “It was a very unifying experience.”

Hear the messages from Black History Week on CIU's podcast link. 

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