Praising and Cursing in Springfield Ohio
Dear friends,
The book of James talks about how difficult it is to tame the tongue. While it is just a small part of the body, like a spark, it can destroy forests. Like a small rudder it can steer ships. The tongue can be itself set on fire by hell.
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.” James 3:9-12
What do you do when powerful men lie about you or your immigrant neighbors? What do you do when hate groups come to town to frighten your immigrant neighbors because of those lies? Or perhaps you’re the immigrant facing such accusations? What do you do when the tongue sets fires to a community that brings fear, bomb threats, elementary school evacuations, a shooting threat, government building and college closures, and harassment?
Faithfulness, boldness and prayer are the actions I witnessed closely from Springfield Christian leaders during a month or two of deep pain and fear that intensified after the presidential debate in September. Haitian pastors and community leaders, along with American church leaders, English as a Second Language teachers and the governor of Ohio spoke out and told a better story to news reporters about the gospel, about Jesus’s call to welcome the stranger, about what Christian hospitality looks like and about the importance of telling the truth.
I witnessed the leaders of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, now the Haitian Community Center, speak to news outlets all over the world and witness about the terror their community faced, while still serving Haitians daily who were working on integrating to their new American life. They stood firm and called for truth telling from elected officials. They witnessed to the history of Haiti that brought them to Ohio as lawfully present immigrants. They exhorted church leaders across Ohio and the nation on prayer calls from Scripture. They faced persecution and slander and faced it with the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth.
I watched American Christian leaders witness to the watching world, speaking out against the slander and falsehoods towards their immigrant neighbors. Black and white American Christian leaders hosted prayer gatherings and press conferences to stand alongside their Haitian brothers and sisters who were being maligned by candidates. They exhorted the Springfield community and watching world from the heart of the gospel.
While the news cycle moves on, the slander has not stopped, and Haitians are considering leaving the city out of fear for safety. The pain and fear of persecution are not over. Yet the Haitian people have been brave in the face of such pain. They left persecution and hardship in Haiti and don’t deserve it here. The warning from the book of James of the fires that the tongue starts, which can be weaponized to slander people made in the image of God, should cause us all to pause and tremble.
We are in times where the wildfire of slander and lies and the dangerous tongue are rampant. Church, what should we do? Our brothers and sisters in Springfield have modeled for us to how to respond, praying both publicly and privately, I’d ask you to pray with them for the following:
- That God would bring about justice and peace in Haiti, so that so many people would not feel they have no choice but to leave a homeland they love
- That Haitians and all immigrants would be protected from slander and the threats of those motivated by misinformation or fear
- That churches of Springfield would continue to know how to love their newest neighbors and speak up for those who are slandered
- That God’s will would be done in this election season, and that the rhetoric and eventual policies of all candidates would affirm the image of God in each person
In Christ,
Christy Staats
BBB Mobilizer OH, IN, PA, KY
