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Blessed are the Peacemakers
Greg Howse and Michael Posey
Feel the Pain:
“The night has been long, the wound has been deep,
The pit has been dark, and the walls have been steep.” [Excerpt from a poem by Maya Angelou, read at the “Million
Man March,” October 16, 1995.]
Feel the Peace:
“In His love no walls between us.
In His love, a common ground.
Kneeling at the cross of Jesus,
All our pride comes tumbling down.
Let the walls fall down …
By His love let the walls fall down.” [Words and music by Bill Batstone, Anne Barbour, and John Barbour, ©
1993 Maranatha! Music — Promise Keepers, ’93, used by permission.]
I (Greg) remember visiting in my office with several African-American couples who were new to our congregation
during the last month of 1989. Each of them shared their story. Each of them told of frustration in trying to follow
the call of God in their lives. Each of them reviewed their concerns for white and black issues within the body
of Christ. Each of them expressed an undeniable hope in the purpose of God for their lives.
Each of them sat in my office and cried. And I cried with them—a white man, a white pastor, humbled that these
men and women risked being transparent with me, humbled enough and motivated enough to respond in kind. I said
something like this to each of them: “I don't understand fully what is happening here. I don't begin to know where
this is going. But I want to help in whatever way I can. We can go somewhere together.”
This study guide grew out of the years since then of intentional effort to come together across racial barriers
as brothers and sisters in the name of Jesus. The starting point was a conviction that God isn't pleased with the
division in His Son's body. Acting on that conviction led to transparency—often painful transparency—between men
and women of different ethnic groups.
Stop and think for a minute. How have you seen the everyday racial tensions of your community make it uncomfortable
for Christians to worship, serve, or live together?
Who do you know who is a Christian from another racial group? If you were having an honest talk about racial
attitudes in the churches of your community, what would you want to know from him/her? (Remember this person is
an individual, not a spokesman for “you people.”)
The Invitation to Life in Christ
The call of God is an awesome thing in the life of a believer in Christ. It may be divided into two parts. The
first calling is the invitation to enter life in Christ Jesus. The second calling is an appointment to ministry.
Your understanding and depth of relationship in the first calling prepares you for the second calling.
Take note of the purpose of this first calling to life in Jesus in the following scriptures.
1 Peter 2:9
1 Thessalonians 4:7
1 Timothy 6:12
2 Timothy 1:9
Write your story of how you answered the invitation to enter life in Christ Jesus. You might want to write your
story in three main paragraphs, according to the pattern Paul used in Acts 26:1–23.
• What was your life like before you met Jesus?
• How did you come to place your faith in Jesus?
• How has your life changed since you became a Christian?
Since you became a Christian, how has the Lord affected the way you treat people?
• Your family and friends
• Everyday contacts with strangers
• People you don't like
The Appointment to Ministry
This second part of the call of God on your life determines how your new life in Christ will contribute to the
kingdom of God. God has shaped your personality by means of your family background and life experiences. The Holy
Spirit has gifted you to contribute to the edification of Christ's body on earth. Your heavenly Father expects
you to be listening for Him to direct you in expressing the unique ministry only you can have.
In several places in the New Testament, Paul wrote about his call to be an apostle to the Gentiles. Examine
Paul's appointment to ministry as an example of how God expresses His call to others.
1. Rom. 1:1 Called to be an _______________.
2. 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1 Called to be an _______________ by the _______________.
3. 1 Tim. 1:1 Called by the _______________.
4. 2 Tim. 1:1 Called according to the _______ which is in _______________.
5. Titus 1:1 Called according to the _______________ and the acknowledging of the _______________ which is after_______________.
You are called/appointed according to God's purpose, not your talents or abilities. Your calling/appointment
is something God decides, not you. This is not to say that your talents will not be put to use in your calling.
But your talents do not determine your appointment.
Based on your understanding of God's work in your life, what do you think His appointment is for you?
What natural talents do you have that will help you fulfill your assignment?
What spiritual gifts do you have that will enable you to fulfill your assignment?
Greg Howse's Story
The writers of this study guide are pastors of Cornerstone Christian Center in South Chicago Heights, Illinois.
Before you read and study further, meet the writers who are sharing their hearts and their insights gained through
the pains and joys of spiritual warfare to see brothers and sisters in Jesus come together in love and respect
across racial barriers.
“I was born in Los Angeles in 1952. When I was in the fifth grade my parents decided to move to Torrance. Their
decision to move to the suburbs was based on the way our neighborhood in south-central L.A. was changing.
“Even though I grew up in a mostly white environment, I always had an interest in what was going on in the black
culture. When I was a little boy, my dad served in the ministry with Aubrey Lee, who later pastored the Sky Pilot
Church in south-central L.A. The director of the Sky Pilot Choir was Doris Akers. She would lead the choir as it
marched down the aisles of that transformed movie theater singing “It's A Highway To Heaven.” I remember André
Crouch and the Disciples playing at local churches across southern California. Later I started playing piano in
a group. One day an emerging new singer named Bill Withers came to one of our rehearsals. He pulled out his guitar
and sang “Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone.”
“Nineteen sixty-eight was an amazing year. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. Riots
broke out as university students and other demonstrators protested at the Democratic convention in Chicago. But
the biggest impression on me from that year originated from Mexico City. I was on my high school track team. I
faithfully read the Track and Field News. Everything in those Olympic games was overshadowed by the black-glove
salute of John Carlos and Tommie Smith on the victory stand. The media were waiting to see if Lee Evans would do
the same thing after his victory in the 400 meters. He didn't. From then on Carlos and Smith were bad guys, while
Evans was good.
“I was interested in the Black Panther Party and Angela Davis. I read Soul On Ice by Eldridge Cleaver
and everything I could about the civil rights movement and its main leaders Martin Luther King, Jr., and Ralph
Abernathy.
“Through all this I never had a black friend until I played the piano in a black Baptist church on L.A.’s south
side during two of my college years. I made some good friends at that church. I also learned quite a bit about
a culture different from my own. My final two college years were at U.C.L.A. I learned even more about cultural
diversity there.
“All of these pieces of life have come together during the last several years of my pastoral ministry in the
south suburbs of Chicago to reveal an image of God's purpose for my life. Since 1989 there has been a drastic cultural
shift in our congregation. What was a 98% white church when I arrived in 1982 is now about 55% black, 35% white,
and 10% Hispanic/Latino. Our Christian school of 400 students has gone through a similar ethnic change.
“I enjoy a unique friendship with Michael Posey, a dear African-American brother who is the assistant pastor
of our congregation and co-writer of this study guide. I have other solid relationships with members of the African-American
culture that have served as vehicles of learning and maturity in my life and ministry. We are laboring to see many
fine black young men and women come into their place of ministry. It has been a tremendous life-altering experience
for me and my family. I would not trade it for any other ministry assignment in the world. God would have to pry
me out of here.
“All of my unexplained interests and experiences in the early stages of my life were preparing me for my ministry
assignment. Everything was “working together for good” because I love God and I am called according to His purpose
(Rom. 8:28). My assignment is to bring God's people in our town together as an example to the world that people
of ethnic and cultural diversity can function together in genuine love, true acceptance, and wonderful forgiveness.”
Michael Posey's Story
“I was born on the south side of Chicago in 1961, and lived in the inner city for eighteen years. My mother
and father separated before my first birthday and were later divorced. My older sister and I lived with my mother
who did not marry again until I was ten years old. The neighborhood I grew up in was almost all black, except for
the business owners who were either white or Arabic.
“My mother made a point of exposing me and my sister to the city outside our neighborhood. As far as I can remember
race was never a major topic in our home. My parents and grandparents never talked negatively about people of different
ethnic backgrounds, so I don't remember having any animosity toward different races. But I do remember, even as
a child, a sense of pride and strength when we stopped referring to ourselves as ‘colored’ or ‘negro’ and said
we were ‘black.’
“In 1979 I joined the Marine Corps and much in my life changed. Two days before I was to leave for boot camp
a good friend of mine brought over a guy that was already a Marine. We sat on my front porch and he began to tell
me of how much discrimination was in the Corps. He recalled stories of how he and many other blacks were mistreated
and denied promotions. I was eighteen. He scared me, and I thought about backing out. Today, I'm glad I joined
the Marines, because the Lord used that period in my life to teach me much about people of different races.
“There was discrimination in the Corps, but I was sheltered from it my entire four years in the military. I
worked with computers, and I was pretty good, so I didn't have many problems concerning my job. Now outside the
work area, that was something else. In the military you have people from all over the country, and some had very
definite views about blacks that I didn't agree with.
“One of the greatest things that happened to me in the Corps was the friendship I developed with Steve Wharton,
a white guy from Downey, California. Steve and I met in boot camp and did our entire four years together. We were
roommates much of the time and best friends more than that.
“We had much in common, and conversation was always easy for us. We learned a lot from each other. I watched
the confidence Steve had about life and the future. By looking at him I started to change how I viewed my future.
Steve talked matter-of-factly about one day buying a house. I hardly dared to dream that I would buy a house one
day. It was what he took for granted for his future and what I only hoped for.
“Another thing that came from this relationship was Steve's loyalty to me. He would stand with me no matter
what color the opposition was. At the time there weren't many blacks working computers in the Corps, so the majority
of my unit was white. I wasn't the most outgoing man, and here I was spending all this time with whites. It wasn't
always the most comfortable environment for me. With Steve's help I began to understand so much about the ignorance
and fear that separate people of different races.
“When I returned home after my time in the Corps, I began working in data processing in the Sears corporate
offices. I became very involved in my church. I had acquaintances of all races, but no significant relationships
with anyone who wasn't black. I didn't feel any great desire to develop strong cross-cultural relationships. This
changed when I walked through the doors of Cornerstone Christian Center. The congregation was predominantly white,
but there was something about Pastor Greg Howse that I was drawn to.
“Greg and I began to get to know each other through an outreach ministry the church launched in the Ford Heights
community. We started meeting one-on-one for discipling and accountability. After I attended the church for a little
more than two years, Greg brought me on staff as assistant pastor of Cornerstone. Those years learning my way around
the multi-racial worlds of the Marine Corps and corporate America now make sense to me.”
Your Story
You are working your way through Race and Reconciliation: Healing the Wounds, Winning the Harvest because
you have a sense that God is at work today to bring divided people in His church together in ways that will show
His love and power to a world desperately in need of unity. Take a few minutes and reflect on what God may have
in mind for you.
Faith Alive
Examine your own life experience. How have unexplained events and experiences in your life worked to develop
you for the assignment God has for you?
How did your family background prepare you to deal with people?
What experiences and perspectives on life have you gained because of the places you have lived?
How would you describe your personality? How does it shape the way you relate to people?
What interests, natural abilities, and spiritual gifts affect your love for people and the ways you interact
with them?
How has your education and work experience affected your skills in dealing with people?
Word Wealth
Purpose translates a Greek word suggesting a deliberate plan, an intention, or a design. Most usages
point to God's eternal purposes relating to salvation. Our personal salvation was not only well-planned but demonstrates
God's abiding faithfulness as He awaits the consummation of His great plan for His church. God's purpose for your
life is a piece of His overall cosmic purpose. [Spirit-Filled Life® Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 1991), 1701, “Word Wealth: Romans 8:28, purpose.”]
Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “Man is man because he is free to operate within the framework of his destiny.
He is free to deliberate, to make decisions, and to choose between alternatives.” [Great Quotes from Great Leaders
(Lombard, IL: Celebrating Excellence Publishing, 1990), 12.Part I] What are some of the major choices you have
made in life that have played major roles in shaping your life direction?
How would you explain God's ministry assignment for your life if you were talking to your closest friend?
What part do you think God has for you in the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18, 19)?
From Race & Reconciliation: Healing the Wounds, Winning the
Harvest by Jack W. Hayford with Greg Howse and Michael Posey.
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