FIRST-PERSON: Black Lives Matter? Embracing the proclamation or the organization
ATLANTA (BP) -- "Black lives matter!" is a statement of proclamation -- a declaration and a decree -- emerging from centuries of anguish born of America's history of injustices stemming from the African slave trade.
FIRST-PERSON: The courage to stand
Kelvin Cochran exhorts believers who may have to choose "whether to live out their faith or keep their jobs": Trust Christ to "hear us and embolden us with courage and strength to stand."
FIRST-PERSON: Redemption & reconciliation
Christians -- as ambassadors for God -- carry a calling to evangelism, Kelvin Cochran writes, as well as "reconciling divisions within the body of Christ."
FIRST-PERSON: Are you an enemy of the cross of Christ?
Becoming an enemy of the cross occurs when professing Christians compromise their faith, Kelvin Cochran writes, noting, "The influence of popular culture, moral relativism and politics has turned their hearts from the truth."