Hartel Update

Here is a link to the latest newsletter from Adam and Sarah Hartel.
Remember to check out their website at www.hartel.com for the latest news and prayer requests.
- Pastor Pete

Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay

Following is the essay written and read by Daniel Zaldana on Sunday 2/1/09.

How to Destroy A Mountain

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an extraordinary man. His words were strong and made a lasting impression on our American society that continues today. In fact, many, like Daniel Hale Williams, Bill Cosby, Thurgood Marshall, Barack Obama, and many, many more, have become major icons in our culture. Before these men could be acknowledged, nonetheless, there were many barriers that had to be overcome, which, if stacked one on top of another, would build a figurative mountain as tall as Everest. Dr. King worked vigorously to tear down this mountain; However, Dr. King was only human and could only do so much for America. So people pitched in by protesting and doing inside work with the government, and, eventually, their labors paid off with the cancellation of the Jim Crow Laws and other laws that had been in place for more than a century.

Dr. King faced many problems during his racial revolution. Even though slavery had been abolished one hundred years previous to Dr. King’s work, there were many tensions on African-Americans in the U.S. They normally did not associate with white people, were frowned upon for holding interracial romantic relationships, rarely held positions of authority, and could not even even sit in the same section of the bus. These problems build up an exceedingly tall mountain, but Dr King said, “Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men”, and it is as Dr. King says. If we can train a missile to think for its self, then how can we not train ourselves to think? So the first way that we can break down this mountain of racial injustice is consideration. Think about others and the consequences of our actions. Our own thoughts can be mental dynamite to this “mountain”.

Along with thinking, there is another thing we must do simultaneously, and that would be to change. If we think about these things that we do to restrict our fellow humans, then how can we not change? How can someone give thought to those oppressed people and not be moved by their hardships? If we change the way we look at things on the inside, it leaves room for changes in lifestyle that benefit society.

After we think, we must go farther. Even though the mental changes that we make can help us change our lifestyle on the outside, what good are these changes unless we apply them? So the next thing we must do to overcome racial injustice for African-Americans is another simple one: do. There are many ways we can utilize this crucial step. Encouraging young black children to show pride in their heritage, encouraging friendships between children of different race, improving living conditions for the less fortunate population, and teaching against the horrors of racism are all ways of preventing a relapse into what we have done in the past.

Last, but assuredly not least, we must convince other people to follow the previous steps, for one man alone can not destroy a mountain. Only as a united American people can we truly annihilate the mountain of racial prejudice once and for all. And on a graver note, those who are more serious about totally wiping out racial exclusion must be wholly immersed and committed to the cause, as Dr. King was. Dr. King preached, “I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live”, which he did.

Traces of this mountain of racial discrimination remain a part of society, but if we follow these instructions (think, change, do, and convince), we can eliminate them from our lives and ultimately benefit the oppressed peoples.