Page 41 - Evidence of Things Unseen

Vulnerability Salesman

t is the will of God that all of His children should live their lives being led by the Spirit,
Irather than by their senses and natural reason. The apostle Paul wrote:

Romans 8:14
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Our senses and our rational mind will not lead us to the will of God. They stand as an
obstacle to a true walk of faith, in most instances. It was in 1996 that we moved to the house
in Fort Valley with the security system. We were still attending the Southern Baptist church
where I first heard the message of grace, but the pastor who had been instrumental in
teaching this message had recently left this church to pursue other ministry. This church
went through a period of about two years when they had no pastor, although God had sent
the man whom He desired to step into this role before Mac Goddard had even left.
Leon Nelson was a godly minister, passionate about God, and a man of faith. He also
happened to be black. Mac Goddard had invited him to come preach to the body on several
occasions before he left, and his messages were very challenging, for he proclaimed a
message of a vital faith that would make a difference in the saints’ daily lives. Leon was
asked to come and preach regularly at the Sunday evening services, and, after Mac Goddard
departed from this church, the elders decided to continue the invitation for Leon to do so.
The elders began looking for a minister to replace Mac Goddard immediately, and
Leon Nelson’s name was brought up for consideration. It was difficult not to consider him,
for the timing of his appearance, and the departure of Mac Goddard, seemed more than
coincidental. This church, however, was almost completely composed of white members,
and in the state of Georgia many people are not indifferent to the color of another man’s
skin. Although such things as race should make absolutely no difference in the
consideration of a man’s suitability for ministry (there are NO Scriptures that list being a
member of a particular race as a qualification for ministry), we would be very naive to
believe that prejudices do not exist within the church.
At one time I was naive to such things. I do not ever remember my parents speaking
a word of prejudice about a man’s skin color while I was growing up. I was raised in the
suburbs of Portland, Oregon, and I had almost no exposure to people who were colored. In
my freshman year of high school I attended one of the largest schools in Oregon, which at
one time had nearly 4,000 students. During my freshman year there were only four black
students in the entire school. Race simply wasn’t an issue in the area in which we lived, or
in our home, so when we moved the next year to Georgia I had no anticipation that others
would feel differently.
I noticed almost immediately upon arriving in Georgia that there were some people
who expressed deep racial prejudices. Yet, for a time I thought it was lost people, who were
strangers to the love of Christ, who alone were prejudiced, and I did not expect to find this
same bias in the church. During my senior year in High School we were attending the First
Baptist Church in the Georgia town we lived in, and there was a traditionally black college
in the town. The assistant pastor of this church was a young man, and perhaps he was a bit
naive at the time as well. He began visiting with some foreign students at this college and
asked them if they would like to attend Sunday School at the church. A couple of young