Preaching God’s Word Transforms Our Community Marlene James
I
only knew that going to church was the right thing to do. For generations my family attended church. But despite our regular church attendance when I was growing up, I can’t recall a time I felt the church was a community. I didn’t know Christ and didn’t understand that I needed Him to have eternal life. When I got married and had children, my husband, Napoleon, and I were still in that same mindset. Some Sunday mornings, we took our children to church, but our hearts were not in the church. Eventually, the Lord redirected our path, and we started attending a Church of the Nazarene. We didn’t have any clue as to why we were there. We only knew that through our 10-year-old daughter’s eagerness to attend Bruton Terrace Church after vacation Bible school, we ended up in that church. The pastor was Rev. Harol Wright. The year was 1989. The first Sunday we attended, I understood the preached Word for the first time, and my heart was affected. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I knew something was different. Shortly after we visited Bruton Terrace, Pastor Wright came to our house and led us to the Lord, right there in our living room. A minister had never visited our home before, so this alone was special to us. We continued to attend Bruton Terrace, and later that year, our family joined the Church of the Nazarene. As we grew in the Lord, our love for the church also grew. We became connected with other believers. We felt like we had been adopted into a new family. It wouldn’t be truthful for me to say that everyone there treated us like family. When we were around some people, we felt like we did not belong. We did not look like them; we
were a different race. Perhaps they thought that though God’s Word was for us, we just didn’t belong as part of their church family. However, it’s beautiful the way the Lord worked His plan through those who did treat us like family, loved us, and accepted us as we were. We grew to serve in many areas of the church as we partnered in prayer with the congregation. This church was a great representation of a community of believers, and 30 years later, we are still grateful to be a part of this community. T r a n s f o r m at i o n
in
Our Community
Today, I serve as senior pastor of Bruton Terrace Church of the Nazarene. I do my best to follow the plan that Jesus established for His Church. I often remember those church members who chose to follow Jesus in His demonstration of relational and racial reconciliation, accepting us into their spiritual family. Unfortunately, they lost friends for making this decision, but I believe the Kingdom grew because of their choice. Many members left the church because they were not ready for a diverse congregation, but others came into the church, including my mother, siblings, and friends. This opened the door for us to become an even more diverse community of believers. Through the work of Christ in this church, many accepted Jesus as their personal Savior for the first time. Several of these new believers joined Bruton Terrace Church, and some are still serving there today. Lives were transformed through this community of believers who obeyed the voice of the Lord. A transformed life is a life that will help build community in the church and give hope for the future.
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