1. It’s Our Holiday
How many holidays are dedicated to a pastor? We’ve got a couple for saints (Valentine and Patrick), but whatever Christian origin those holidays had they’re now drowned in romantic love and beer. In an age when marketers will use George Washington to sell anything, it’s at least still considered tacky to offer MLK Day sales (though as Stephen Colbert pointed out in 2011, it’s happening).
“This holiday should be a big deal for churches,” our founder Brad Abare wrote about MLK Day, “Outside of Christmas and Easter, no other holiday represents the heart of God so much.”
Martin Luther King Jr. is our people. Churches should be embracing and celebrating this holiday like no other.
2. We’re Not Innocent
We tend to look back on the civil rights movement with rose colored glasses. It was a just cause and simply inevitable, right? Wrong. King went to jail. While sitting there, he wrote a letter and referenced the many Christians who stood silent:
“All too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows.”
While the church may be able to claim the greatest civil rights hero of the 20th century, we’re also complicit in the injustice King stood against. For all the marches and lunch counter sit-ins, we forget that there were also “kneel-ins” targeting segregated churches. Yeah, the ‘bad guys’ weren’t just swinging batons and fire-bombing buses. Churches barred the doors and wouldn’t let people in.
Churches must own our broken past and work for a better future.
“This holiday should be a big deal for churches. Outside Christmas and Easter, no other holiday represents the heart of God so much.”
3. We’re Not Free at Last
We haven’t made it to the mountaintop yet. Electing (and reelecting) a black president is an incredible milestone, but it doesn’t mean racial issues are behind us. See: Ferguson. People still argue about the details, but similar incidents—including Eric Garner and Tamir Rice—spark even more debate and protest.
If the headlines don’t convince you, maybe the research will. We have come along way in racial relations (say 74%), but 81% say we have a long way to go.
Your church should care about MLK Day because it’s a ready-made opportunity to bring the gospel to this often divisive issue. We’re still short of King’s dream and we’ve got some work to do.
4. Speak Up for the Minority
“On the surface, most Americans agree that racial reconciliation matters,” says Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research. “But we’re divided about how important this issue is. For many white Americans, progress on issues of race is a good thing but not urgent. For many African-Americans, it’s front and center.”
Even if this issue isn’t pressing for you personally, it is an opportunity to speak up for the minority. That’s something the Bible continually champions with calls to care for the “alien, the fatherless and the widow.”
I can’t say it enough: MLK Day is the church’s holiday.
How Can My Church Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day?
OK, we get it. MLK Day is a holiday we should get behind. So what can we do?
Lots. It’s probably too late to plan your own event, but there’s plenty you can do to take part in Martin Luther King Jr. Day and celebrate the legacy of this Baptist minister.
1. Not a Day Off
First and foremost, don’t take the day off. Yes, it’s a federal holiday. But it’s also an opportunity to do good. Make it a day to volunteer. Look for local opportunities to serve and mobilize your church to take part.
2. Post to Social Media: Free MLK Day Graphics
Share something on social media honoring King. There are plenty of inspiring quotes to choose from and ways to connect the dots between King’s life and the work of your church. Ask people to share their dreams. Ask about people’s memories of King. Ask people to confess their embarrassing stories of confusing Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr. (at some point we’ve all been there).
3. Confront Racial Realities
A recent study showed there’s not much diversity among our friends. On average, for every 91 white friends a white person has, they have only one black friend. Blacks do better with 8 white friends for every 83 black friends. But a full 75% of white people have zero black friends.
Not an easy conversation is it? Kind of awkward.
But it’s a conversation we need to have. Use MLK Day to address racial issues in your church, your families, your friends and neighborhood.
(And let’s be clear: A lack of diversity does not make anyone racist. These stats are the simple reality that we’re segregated, hopefully unintentionally. Let’s change that.)
About the author
Kevin D. Hendricks
When Kevin isn’t busy as the editor of Church Marketing Sucks, he runs his own writing isn’t writing and editing company, Monkey Outta Nowhere. Kevin has been blogging since 1998 and has published several books, including 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading, The Stephanies, and all the Center for Church Communication’s books.
Web: KevinDHendricks.com Twitter: @KevinHendricks