An Evening with John Perkins

I had the honor to hear and see John Perkins speak last night, as I returned to the Kindlings Muse. He is a phenomenal speaker, and he shared about his past and passions. He shared of how he grew up with a grandmother because his mother died when he was seven months old, and his grandmother had to give away a number of his other brothers and sisters- only to have his only remaining brother killed by racial hatred. He came from a family of bootleggers, and it was only later that he discovered Jesus, and for the first time in his life, felt loved. Through the process of forgiveness he came to a realization that the Gospel is one of change and Justice, and not just "asking Jesus into your heart". It shouldn't only be an effort to have a good time praising Jesus- too many churches are focused around Sunday morning. The Church should be instead focused on the poor and equality for all, and working to implement the Gospel rather than just a feel-good sermon once a week.

I got a chance to ask him about how best to remove the blight upon our nation- that the most segregated hour in America is Sunday mornings. To hear his answer to this question, and Perkins' talk with Dick Staub, visit the Kindlings Muse podcast. What you won't see is how on fire Perkins was when he talked. You'll hear the passion certainly, but towards the end of the Q&A, he got out of his seat and began walking up and down, connecting with the audience, towards a climax that was utterly moving: It is a parcel of racism to say that slavery at least helped bring Africans into a better land. That implies that the whites invited the Africans into their land of prosperity. On the contrary, it was the Africans who built this land. The Egyptians didn't build the pyramids- it was the slaves. The land of America is prosperous because of African-Americans.

At the end the entire audience rose in a standing ovation to a man who has poured out his life in the service of the Kingdom of God and a true Gospel.