Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher
When I was a student, I loved going to every Christian fellowship
that was on campus. Even though I joined
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF-USA), which is part
of International Fellowship of Evangelical
Students (IFES), for 8 years as a student/staff worker, I
have fond memories of being at Cornerstone
Christian Fellowship (Cornerstone) as a student. Cornerstone
is part of Coalition Christian Outreach (CCO).
As an Indian Evangelical Christian, I was so impressed how
well BJ, Katrina, Sarah, Chris, Bobbie,
Gene etc who were the staff of CCO
loved me. Also, when I was on staff with IVCF, I had the honor of
speaking to over 100 students at Common Ground,
a summer college fellowship of which Cornerstone took part in with
other fellowships on campus. I got to speak on Parable of the Four
Soils. I even attended the Jubilee Conference held in February for
parts of it.
Because of the CCO staff that I came across that were so loving, I
had a high opinion of CCO. I felt how much the leadership loved
Jesus and wanted Jesus to be known in the lives of students. Because
of their love for Jesus, I saw that love flow through them in the
lives of their staff and students . I also saw how loving the staff
were towards each other and the students. I had the honor and
pleasure of interacting with White and Black staff members.
Never did it occur to me once that CCO is a racist organization
because the organizational culture is set by the leadership. I only
have fond memories of interacting with the staff and students.
So, it comes as a total shock to me how anonymous CCO staff workers,
who happen to be Person of Color (POC), are demonizing the CCO.
First and foremost, it must be said that it is alleged that their
stories against CCO are true.
What if they are all true or some of them is true?
If they are all true, it makes me so sad to see that a leadership of
a Christian organization such as CCO could treat POC staff so badly
and hurt them. As followers of Christ, we are called to be servants
of others to serve them instead of lording it over them. We are to
be an imitation of Jesus and follow Jesus.
"But among you it is quite different. Anyone wanting to be a leader
among you must be your servant. And if you want to be right at the
top, you must serve like a slave. Your attitude must be like my own,
for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give my life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:26-28, TLB)
Jesus told them, "In this world the kings and
great men order their slaves around, and the slaves have no choice
but to like it! But among you, the one who serves you best will be
your leader. Out in the world the master sits at table and is served
by his servants. But not here! For I am your servant." (Luke
22:25-27, TLB)
"For neither you
nor anyone else can serve two masters. You will hate one and show
loyalty to the other, or else the other way around--you will be
enthusiastic about one and despise the other. You cannot serve both
God and money." (Luke 16:13, TLB)
To the POC staff, if these allegations you presented anonymously are
true, I am so sorry for what you went through.
To the CCO leadership, if these allegations are true, ask yourself
why have you not lived out the exhortations of Jesus on serving?
To the CCO leadership, if these allegations
are true, will you be King Saul or King David before the Lord when
accusations are brought against you?
The prophet Samuel said to King Saul,
"Obedience is far better than sacrifice. He [LORD] is much more
interested in your listening to him than in your offering the fat of
rams to him. For rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as bad as worshipping idols. And now because you
have rejected the word of Jehovah, he has rejected you from being
king." (1 Samuel 15:22-23, TLB)
The prophet Samuel had just told King Saul of his rebellion and how
it is as bad as the sin of witchcraft that the Lord says. Sadly,
King Saul goes to a witch to try to get answers and pays the price
later.
"Saul then instructed his aides to try to find a medium so that he
could ask her what to do, and they found one at Endor....The archers
overtook Saul and wounded him badly..so Saul took his own sword and
fell upon the point of the blade, and it pierced him through." (1
Samuel 28:7, 31:3-4,TLB)
The prophet Nathan is sent by the Lord to tell King David this
story: "There were two men in a certain city,
one very rich, owning many flocks of sheep and herds of goats; and
the other very poor, owning nothing but a little lamb he had managed
to buy. It was his children's pet, and he fed it from his own plate
and let it drink from his own cup; he cuddled it in his arms like a
baby daughter. Recently a guest arrived at the home of the rich man.
But instead of killing a lamb from his own flocks for food for the
traveler, he took the poor man's lamb and roasted it and served it."
David was furious. "I swear by the living God," he vowed, "any man
who would do a thing like that should be put to death; he shall
repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having
no pity." Then Nathan said to David, "You are that rich man! The
Lord God of Israel says, 'I made you king of Israel and saved you
from the power of Saul...Why then, have you despised the laws of God
and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah and stolen
his wife! (2 Samuel 12:2-7, 9)
How different is King David's response to King Saul's response even
though the prophet Nathan told him all the bad things that would
happen in his family including murder because of what happened to
Uriah.
"I have sinned against the Lord," David confessed to Nathan. Then
Nathan replied, "Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won't
die for this sin." (2 Samuel 12:13, TLB)
When accusations of sin are brought against us, let us not hide in
our sin and become rebellious but let us make
Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 our
prayers of repentance and confession as King David did!
That said, the reason this article was written is more to address
the reaction of the POC staff towards their CCO leadership.
What I see in their anonymous stories is their hatred towards the
leadership of CCO. What I see in their stories is the cancel culture
narrative. What I see in their stories is seething unforgiveness and
desire for payback. What I see in their stories is the Critical Race
Theory (CRT). What I see in their stories is the BLM narrative which
I shared as Marxist, communist, fascist, and anti-God. It is not
surprising that 'thisisnotjubilee' circular logo is 'Black Lives
Matter' with white lettering in a black circle. Let it never be
confused that 'black lives matter' and 'Black Lives Matter' are the
same thing. They are not and they never will be.
Before you call me racist, etc, read the articles to the side bar
starting with the one on R.A.C.I.S.M.
What concerns me is how much these POC staff have been influenced by
the devilish BLM movement hinged on Marxism, communism, and fascism
where murder, looting, and rioting are given precedence rather than
the counter-cultural exhortation of Jesus.
When I read their stories, the first thing that came to my mind was,
"Are they really followers of Christ or
followers of the BLM movement?"
When we are badly hurt to the point that we feel like we have been
stepped upon, trampled, shamed, and left to the wayside, it is human
tendency to get back at those who did that to us by lashing out in
such a way to bring them harm. However, we might even use the
Bible to justify what we are doing to appease our guilt while
ignoring key teachings of Jesus.
For example, this whole 'thisisnotjubilee' stories trounces Truth.
When I speak about Truth, I am speaking about Christ as much as the
Word of God.
Jesus said, "I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man commeth
to the Father except through me!" (John 14:6, TLB)
Jesus said, "You will know the Truth and the Truth will set you
free." (John 8:32, TLB)
Jesus said, "Sanctify them by the Truth; your Word is Truth." (John
17:17, NIV)
The Bible says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that
has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all
mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not
overcome it...The true light that gives light to everyone was coming
into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made
through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which
was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did
receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of
human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became
flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the
glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of
grace and truth." (John 1:1-5, 9-14, NIV)
Jesus said, "I AM the Light of the world. So,
if you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, for
living Light will flood your path." (John 8:12, TLB)
In their stories, I don't see Christ being reflected but 'Woe is me,
see how I have been wronged', 'See what the White man/woman has done
to me, how dare they!' 'Cancel culture the leadership of CCO', etc.
Their stories are more in line with the CRT/BLM movement than a
counter-cultural movement endorsed by Jesus.
To justify their actions of anonymously broadcasting their
grievances against the CCO to the world, the POC staff and students
want you to believe they are rebuking the CCO leadership staff like
the Apostle Paul did to Peter. This is far from the truth.
When the Apostle Paul rebuked Peter, he did not do it
anonymously for the whole wide world to know about the rebuke. On
the contrary, it was done face-face and publicly among the other
Christians that were there whether they were Jewish Christians or
Gentile Christians.
"But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face,
for what he did was very wrong...When I saw that they were not
following the truth of the Gospel message, I said to Peter in front
of all the others..." (Galatians 2:11, 14 NLT)
How different the POC staff's response has been in comparison to
Paul's response towards Peter. How different the student alumni's
response has been towards the leadership of CCO.
The founders of thisisnotjubilee want you to believe they created
their website through the power of the Holy Spirit because the Holy
Spirit charged them to create it.
Will the Holy Spirit go against God's Word?
Of course not!
Jesus
said, "If you love me, obey me; and I will ask
the Father and he will give you another Comforter, and He will never
leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who leads into all
Truth. The world at large cannot receive him, for it isn't looking
for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, for He lives with you
now and some day shall be in you. No, I will not abandon you or
leave you as orphans in the storm---I will come to you....The one
who obeys me is the love who loves me; and because he loves me, my
Father will love him; and I will too, and I will reveal myself to
him...But when the Father sends the Comforter instead of me--and by
the Comforter I mean the Holy Spirit--he will teach you much, as
well as remind you of everything I MYSELF HAVE TOLD YOU. I am
leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart! And the peace I
give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives. So don't be
troubled or afraid!" (John 14:17-18, 21, 26-27,TLB)
The sad thing in all this is that I don't see any of the 42 people
who shared their stories have peace of mind and heart because they
are dependent on the 'peace the world gives' not Christ's way.
How are we to resolve conflict among brothers and sisters in Christ?
"If a brother sins against you, go to him privately and confront him
with his fault. If he listens and confesses it, you have won back a
brother. But if not, then take one or two others with you and go
back to him again, proving everything you say by these witnesses. If
he still refuses to listen, then take your case to the church, and
if the church's verdict favors you, but he won't accept it, then the
church should excommunicate him.... Then Peter came to him and
asked, "Sir, how often should I forgive a brother who sins against
me? Seven times? NO!" JESUS REPLIED, "SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN!" (Matthew
18:15-17, 21-22, TLB)
Wow! Peter thought he was being so generous by stating that he would
forgive a brother 7 times if he sins against him but the Lord Jesus
put Peter in his place and told him Seventy Times Seven. In essence,
we should not count how many times we forgive a brother or sister in
Christ.
To illustrate the point deeper to Peter that he would understand,
Jesus shared 'The story of the Unforgiving Servant' where a King
forgave a servant who owed him 10 million dollars but this servant
would not even forgive another person who owed him 2,000 dollars.
(Matthew 18:23-35, TLB)
The King was very angry at the servant for harboring an unforgiving
and merciless heart.
"And the king called before him the man he had forgiven and said,
'You evil-hearted wretch! Here I forgave you all that tremendous
debt, just because you asked me to--shouldn't you have mercy on
others, just as I had mercy on you?' "Then the angry king sent the
man to the torture chamber until he had paid every last penny due.
So shall my heavenly Father do to you if you refuse to truly forgive
your brothers." (Matthew 18:33-35, TLB)
Do you want the Lord to revist an area you asked him to forgive just
because you are so adamant about not forgiving someone else to the
point that you want to see them pay?
As a POC staff, why did you join CCO?
Was it to serve the Lord Jesus because He called you to this
position or was it to serve yourself and get accolades for yourself?
If the Lord has called you to be a POC staff, He will equip you,
enable you, empower you, and encourage you to work for Him. No one
can take that away! He will send the right persons your way for you
to continue. But He expects you to do your part too.
He wants you to live counter culturally for Him and Him alone. He
wants you to find your identity and worth in Him and not the color
of your skin.
Will you do that for the Lord Jesus and love those that hurt you?
"Dear brothers, if a Christian is overcome by
some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help him back
onto the right path, remembering that next time it might be one of
you who is in the wrong." (Galatians 6:1, TLB)
"Listen, all of you. Love your enemies. Do
good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who
curse you; implore God's blessing on those who hurt you. If someone
SLAPS you on one cheek, let him slap the other too! (Luke 6:27-29,
TLB)
"Do you think you deserve credit for merely
loving those who love you? Even the godless do that! And if you do
good only to those who do you good--is that so wonderful? Even
sinners do that much! Love your enemies and do good to them!" (Luke
6:32-33,35, TLB)
Jesus shared the Sermon on the Mount to the people who were being
oppressed by the Romans. I don't see any gentleness or humbleness in
any of the 42 stories I read. I don't see anyone's heart breaking
for the CCO leadership staff . I don't see any good being done to
the CCO leadership staff.
What I do see is a heart of retribution and desire for payback!
Those that have wronged you will be held responsible by the Lord
Jesus. But it is His decision to do that. The Lord removed King Saul
but had mercy on King David.
Why are you asking for the resignation of certain CCO leadership
staff?
Don't you believe the Lord Jesus can work in their hearts if they
are wrong?
We are asked to follow Jesus counter-culturally and not the CRT/BLM
movement's cancel culture.
How are we different than the world, if we stoop down to their
level?
All I see from stories and petitions is asking for resignations from
CCO leadership. It is not enough to share your grievances publicly
but you have to involve former CCO student alumni to back you asking
for petitions of 1000.
When they were students of yours, did you teach your own ways to
them or gave them a foundation in Jesus Christ and His Word to last
them when they left college?
Did you teach them liberal theology or Evangelical view of Scripture
which states, "The Bible is the Word of God", not 'The Bible becomes
the Word of God', and not 'The Bible contains the Word of God'?
It saddens me to see the number of students who have signed on to
this grievance and petition.
Is this the way of the Lord?
Did the Lord Jesus ask King David to resign or remove King David
from his throne for his sin?
What gives you the right to ask for the resignation of someone just
because you have been hurt?
"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and
different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then
you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really
satisfy you." (Romans 12:2, TLB)
"Never pay back evil for evil. Do things in such a way that everyone
can see you are honest clear through....Dear friends, never avenge
yourselves. Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay
those who deserve it. Don't take the law into your own hands.
Instead, feed your enemy if he is hungry. If he is thirsty give him
something to drink and you will be "heaping coals of fire on his
head." In other words, he will feel ashamed of himself for what he
has done to you. Don't let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil
by doing good." (Romans 12:17, 19-21, TLB)
You are supposed to all be a CCO family of God! Instead, you are
acting like a BLM family which has no place in the Christian faith.
It does not!
Whoever is teaching you, you have been so consumed with Critical
Race Theory (CRT) and victimology that you have not given Christ the
place He deserves. It is not too late to change. If you love the
Lord Jesus, love your brother and sister in Christ not because they
treat you well, but because you belong to the family of God.
If your family does something to you, do you air it on the air for
everyone to know about including strangers?
Do you want the whole world to know that you have been wronged?
Is it not enough for the Lord to know?
The world might do it such as when Mary Trump did it to her uncle
Pres. Trump but we are to be different.
"How is it that when you have something against another Christian,
you "go to law" and ask a heathen court to decide the matter instead
of taking it to other Christians to decide which of you is
right?..Why then go to outside judges who are not even Christians?
But, instead, one Christian sues another and accuses his Christian
brother in front of unbelievers. To have such lawsuits at all is a
real defeat for you as Christians. Why not just accept mistreatment
and leave it at that? It would be far more honoring to the Lord to
let yourselves be cheated." (1 Corinthians 6:1,4,6-7, TLB)
Where 'thisisnotjubilee' lost it's credibility is when they wrote,
"Students of color and LGBTQ+ students have
been neglected and harmed by the CCO, and we respect their bravery
as they continue to come forward and share their experiences of pain
and trauma."
If the pain and trauma was caused by CCO staff who shared from
Scripture on LGBTQ+, such as "Instead of
believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately
chose to believe lies. So they prayed to the things God made, but
wouldn't obey the blessed God who made these things. That is why God
let go of them and let them do all these evil things, so that even
their women turned against God's natural plan for them and indulged
in sex sin with each other. And the men, instead of having normal
sex relationships with women, burned with lust for each other, men
doing shameful things with other men and, as a result, getting paid
within their own souls with the penalty they so richly
deserved...They were fully aware of God's death penalty for these
crimes, yet they went right ahead and did them anyway and encouraged
others to do them, too." (Romans 1:25-27, 31-32, TLB), they
were doing their duty.
What thisisnotjubilee is asking is to pick and choose Scripture that
suits them but that is not the Way of the Master.
"But, instead, you yourselves are the
ones who do wrong, cheating others, even your own brothers. Don't
you know that those who do such things have no share in the Kingdom
of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who live immoral lives, who are
idol worshipers, adulterers or HOMSEXUALS--will have no share in His
Kingdom. Neither will thieves or greedy people, drunkards,
slanderers, or robbers. There was a time when some of you were just
like that but now your sins are washed away, and you are set apart
for God; and he has accepted you because of what the Lord Jesus
Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you. (1 Corithians
6:8-11, TLB)
Scripture is what CCO leadership and staff have to teach their
students and not their own ideas. The teaching has to come from the
Word of God and not from some CRT or BLM movement.
If any CCO leadership caves in to the pressure of thisisnotjubilee,
I will lose respect for CCO as a whole because they are not
answering to the Lord but answering to the CRT and BLM movement.
This is not what the Lord Jesus has called you to.
If CCO leadership is in the wrong biblically, they have to confess
and repent, not because POC staff or student alumni can get their
way. They have to do it for the Lord. Confession and repentance does
not mean to leave your post.
I request the CCO not to become the victim of this cancel culture
where Christ is not at the forefront but the CRT and BLM movement.
It has to stop!
Join me in opposing how 'thisisnotjubilee' and the petition have
been conducted. It is not the biblical way. The biblical way needs
to be followed whether we like it or not. A safe place does not mean
we agree with any sin but what it means is we love the sinner and
hate the sin.
Let us never forget the words of Jesus, "Where
are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" "No, sir,"
she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." (John
8:10-11, TLB)
If Jesus said that to the CCO leadership, can you live with that or
will you be furious?
To the White CCO staff and students, you have no reason to feel
guilty about how the Lord made you. When you start apologizing for
your whiteness and the privilege people say you have, you are
spitting in the face of God! Instead, your identity should be found
in Christ alone. No one white, black, yellow, or brown person should
make you feel guilty about how the Lord made you! You are
responsible to the Lord for your actions and not any CRT or BLM
movement. Don't make anyone believe you are racist just
because you don't do things their way as long as you do them the
biblical way!
To the POC staff, you are precious and special in the sight of God.
No white man/woman can take that away from you. You are not defined
by the color of your skin even though the devil may make you feel
that way. You were made just as the Lord Jesus wanted to make you,
with lots of love. You are loved, you are valued, you have a place
in the Lord's calling. It is not to bash White CCO staff but to work
with them hand-hand as children of the Most High God to accomplish
His work. Take your wounds to the Lord and let Him show you how to
love.
When I read your stories, I saw myself in some of them. I saw what
happened to me through the years in different places. But, I did not
let that define me. No matter where the Lord placed me, I put my
entire trust in Him knowing He can use me for His purposes if I have
F.A.I.T.H: Faithful, Available, Involved, Teachable, Humble.
He has blessed me with wonderful pastors such as
Pastor Hugo, Pastor Josh, Pastor Mike, Pastor
Bucknell, Pastor Lake, etc that I can turn to in my pain as a
supplement to my first and foremost time with the Lord Jesus in His
Word and prayer. Find a community that will love you and cherish you
for how the Lord made you without compromising the tenets of
Scripture.
If you belong to Jesus, you belong to the Lord Most High God! Wow!
That is awesome to know! No one can take that away. You do not need
the thisisnotjubilee movement, CRT movement, BLM movement, to find
your worth. You can find it in the Lord. You can find it in His Word
lived out!
I challenge you to turn to the Word of God and pour out your heart
to Him daily and pray for the White CCO staff daily that you believe
have shamed you, hurt you, belittled you, etc. Bless them daily in
your prayers instead of cursing them. Leave the retribution to the
Lord if there is any that needs to be given.
Show the world
what it means to be an Ambassador for Christ in CCO whatever your
position is by loving because God loved us first and by following
the whole Bible as the Word of God.
In closing, always remember, "Dear brothers,
let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who love
has been born of God. Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love... Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also
ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love
one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us....
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet
hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their
brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they
have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves
God must also love their brother and sister." (1 John
4:7-8,11-12,19-21, TLB)
"The whole Bible was given to us by
inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to
make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out
and helps us do what is right. It is God's way of making us well
prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone." (2
Timothy 3:16-17, TLB)
Reddy's Right Rhetoric takes you into the world of ministry to
see what happens when oppressed Persons of Color (POC) who say they
are Christians follow the CRT/BLM movement instead of the
counter-cultural movement of Christ when dealing with CCO
leadership.