Birmingham pastor: Violence puts our intercession on trial; we must not be guilty of silence: op-ed

The devil makes fun of us and does it in plain sight. We just don't always see it. A shooting in Birmingham outside a place called Hush mocks us. It challenges us to stay silent. To hush. The opposite of being hushed is to intercede.

Our intercession is on trial, Birmingham, and it's up to us — all of us — to insure we're not found guilty of silence. Of inaction. Of complacency. Of indifference.

We can't turn our backs on us. On our neighbors. On our young people. On our leaders.

The Bible, in 2 Timothy 1: 6, challenges us to "stir up the gift of God, which is in thee ..." I pray that every gifted person in this city is stirred up. That anointed teachers transform students. Anointed politicians transform constituents. Anointed entrepreneurs transform future business owners. Anointed community leaders transform neighborhoods.

That anointed men transform men.

We don't have a political problem. We don't have a mayoral problem. We don't have a parenting problem. We don't have a church problem. We have a sin problem, and the community must face it together.

In the book of Genesis, there was nobody on the planet except Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve. Yet we still had the first murder. No matter what you do, you cannot legislate sin. Most people don't want to hear this, but we also know in our hearts that no programs will fix this moment.

Think about this: If food got recalled from all grocery stores, a generation will starve because we have a generation that lacks the knowledge to grow food. Right now, we're dealing with the ravages of spiritual recall. A generation fought for our rights. Generations have reaped the benefits but sacrificed nothing. Now we have generations of privilege that don't know sacrifice, don't understand the harm their ancestors endured to gain the privileges they carelessly enjoy.

There are plenty of places to start. We have to change the model of how we see police. When I was growing up, if you got in trouble, our folks would say: . I will admit, I was a bit privileged in this area; chances were, we knew the officer. Knew his people because my dad was a police officer. Now, the stigma in our community is that police are bad. We no longer know the person behind the badge in addition to the stigma presented by media and the corrupted actions of a few. We have a unique opportunity right now to change narratives and have serious, necessary conversations.

Recently, I was at an event, the only Gospel artist there, the only pastor there, in a room full of people who have lived some lives. One thing blew me away: Not only is this generation not afraid to take a life; they're not afraid to die. They're desensitized. Why? Generational traumas? All the death during the pandemic? Social media? It's exposure. You only live at the level you're exposed to. They see violence all day, everywhere. When you have an economy where TV is raising children because folks are working two jobs just to live, you leave the blind to lead the blind. To parent.

Now is not the time, though, to say where we are is fault, fault, or fault. It's a time to say: What can I do? What can I do with my budget? What can I do with my time? What can I do with my platform? Who can I impact? And we must do it together. In love and trust.

In this moment, we must subpoena the conscience of the city. We must demand that we don't give safe harbor to people who choose violence.

My grandfather, Bishop Calvin Woods, marched with Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy. Sadly, if we marched today, the people committing these crimes won't show up.

So, we must be the light. We must comfort people in need. We must guide people seeking a new path. We must pour into those whose energy and resources are waning.

What we become, in the midst of this chaos, this pain, is blind to what's good about our city, our families, our relationships, and our unassailable faith in each other. Sadly, we never hear about planes that land. We only hear about planes that crash.

Our best approach to battling crime is no different than how Alabama approaches a football game: We need the offensive line to block, the quarterback to lead, the running backs to run, the wideouts to catch, the defense to make stops, the special teams to make plays. We need the coaches to coach and the fans to be fanatic.

We all have a role and responsibility in this battle. If we want this W.

We may have to call in, whether we like it or not, Christian athletes or rappers. When I stand, as a pastor, in front of a young brother, he may not hear the message from me because I haven't been through what he's been through. They may listen to a rapper or an athlete. We must take creative approaches to solve an old problem. We have to be very honest with each other, very transparent.

I may get in trouble for this, but we might also have to look at the camera and say: We don't have all the answers. To say this isn't a Black or white thing. It isn't a Baptist or a Catholic or a Muslim thing.

Each of us can — and must — do our part and ask God to give us grace during a time like this.

My job is to pray. To speak life into you and pray for you. At Rock City, we're standing in the gaps. We're committed, not just as a church, but as a community coming together and doing all we can do.

For the W.