Our dear friend and PTC leader Rev. Steve Wells helped minister on Tuesday at the funeral service of George Floyd at the Fountain of Praise Church in Houston. Steve is the senior pastor of the South Main Baptist Church of Houston, and a founding pastor with our mission.
Here is the text of the beginning of his message. We hope you will read it and be comforted and challenged.
The Apostle John, whom Jesus called the “beloved Apostle,” wrote in his first epistle:
There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because God first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:18–21)
None of us wanted to be here today. You would rather and we would rather George was home and safe. But racism murdered him. Racism is the reversal of the revelation of God. Racism is the consummate expression not of perfect love casting out fear, but of perfect fear casting out love. This means overcoming racism will require a love greater and stronger than fear. Only Jesus offers us that sort of love. Only the Jesus way-of-living can lead us to healing.
And we need healing. You and I know — there is nothing any of us can say that will bring George back. So we want you to know we grieve with you. We want you to know that your grief has awakened the conscience of the nation, and because we believe in the risen Lord Jesus, we grieve in Resurrection Hope. Resurrection Hope promises us both a reunion one day and restoration this day. We grieve in the Resurrection Hope that God is at work in our nation rending hearts, changing minds, bending the moral arc of the universe toward justice.
I hope you know: everyone would have understood if you had said, “we don’t need to hear from any white people today. You have been silent long enough — you can be silent one more day.”
Instead, you asked to have the whole community come together. (And look what happened!) You have chosen the path of love, the perfect love that casts out fear. I want you to know that this path leads not only to your healing but also to the healing of the whole world. This is the path of being a partner with God in redeeming the world. And it is a difficult path.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the message, and CLICK HERE to view a video clip.