Below is an email that I received recently from a young woman in our church. It was really encouraging to me and wanted to share it with our church and with others of you out there who have a desire to see our churches grow in diversity as a reflection of God’s kingdom.
Hey J.D.
I wanted to thank you for your sermon on Saturday, March 19th. There was one particular aspect of the message that stood out to me and since I’m an African American female… You hit the nail on the head for me and my relationship with The Summit.
I was in search of a church home in Durham and visited many different churches in the area. I went to where all the black people go in Durham… but at the suggestion of my friend and a student of mine I came to The Summit. Now, my first reaction was quite hesitant simply because the praise and worship at my home church in Portsmouth, VA and at the Summit are about as different as Beyonce and Mother Theresa. (editor’s comment: are we really the Mother Theresa in this analogy? 
)
I mentioned this to my friend who is also African American and she agreed but encouraged me to think more about the message. The thing was J.D., is that after leaving The Summit that day it was the first time in a very long time that I actually listened to and heard the message. It was the first time that I really left church with more questions and a yearning to discuss the message with other people. That struck me as different but it struck me as the way that I always thought I was supposed to feel after hearing the word of God.
Needless to say, I decided to come back to The Summit and I don’t know what happened in choir rehearsal but they tore it up on Sunday and the crowd seemed a bit more interactive and responsive and I thought, okay, I can get down with this but really I was just super excited to hear what was going to happen next in the Bible. I found myself leaving church every Sunday and meeting up with a friend or calling my mom and sharing what I’d learned and how the word was directly applicable to my life and my circumstances. My friends were shocked but excited and my mom just kept saying “Praise the Lord” coupled with, “You like going to church with all those white people?” Bless her heart.
The praise and worship at The Summit has grown on me quite a bit and now I have favorite songs and my Pandora stations are sprinkled with Chris Tomlin. I’m a little black girl from the hood who for some reason God has always placed in “white” environments. I went to William & Mary for undergrad, University of Maryland for graduate school and now I work at Duke University with fraternity and sorority life. I’m always surrounded by white people and that is totally fine BUT I had never thought that I would ever find myself in that environment when it comes to church. I’ve learned that it isn’t about the color of the pastor but am I getting the word, am I hearing the gospel, am I learning and growing in my relationship with Christ and the answer to all of those questions since I’ve been attending The Summit is yes.
I’m the only person of color in my small group, I’m on First Impressions and every once in a while there is a person of color who serves with me but I don’t care because I know or at least I hope that we are all there for the same reason. I think that is the way Jesus would have wanted it.
The Lord has allowed The Summit, through His word, to create a change in me. I have become a much calmer person since I really started digesting the word of God. I’ve become prayerful, I’ve become a little bit of a God nerd in the sense that I’m reading all these books to learn more about Him. I never thought I’d read anything by C.S. Lewis beyond The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and that was in 5th grade. I want to know more about Him and I want to thank him and praise Him for all that he has done for me and those around me. I am learning to trust in Him and I have huge trust issues.
When I first started coming to the church there were 2 guest pastors who visited and at that time I was still trying to figure out this large church and whether or not I was welcome at the church as an African American and both of the guest pastors were African American and I was like, “Okay J.D. I see you–you are down with the brothers.” That was remarkably refreshing and relieving. Also, now you have Omar and me and my friend were super excited about that and really want to be a part of helping him and his beautiful wife in the development of a new branch of Brier Creek. Their presence will serve as an invitation to other people of color. That’s just how it works. We like to have a successful model before we roll in to the situation.
Sadly, I will be leaving the church soon because I have a new opportunity in Nashville, TN at Vanderbilt University. I’m super excited to move on to the next stage in my journey but I’m sad to be leaving The Summit. I’ve met some really nice people and my heart has been reopened to the word of God and He put The Summit in my life for that reason. Now, the goal is to go to Nashville and continue my spiritual journey in a new place.
That is all. Hope all of that made sense. May is coming too soon and I was just reflecting on how great The Summit has been for me at this time in my life and I just really appreciate what you and the rest of the church staff are doing here in the Triangle. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to meet you but here is a huge high five and an awkward church hug.
awesome! We are another “minority” at the Summit church,
the middle-aged couple(seems weird to describe myself that way, but 52 is pretty much right there in the middle!)with mostly grown kids (5: 3 out of the home,
1 in college and 1 home in high school). We came to the
Summit at the request of our teenage daughter and we too
have loved the teaching and are now in the process of joining the Summit family. As 2 of our
5 are still searching to embrace their own personal faith, it is great to know that when they are in town and with us on a Sunday, they will have the opportunity to hear God’s call to them. Thank you for challenging us each week and we look forward to plugging in and joining hands/arms in growing our “minority’s” presence at Summit!
p.s. Can you recommend a book for me to share with a
young woman friend (age 28) who has never been in a church and is studying a philosophy class at Wake Tech.
We have had small conversations and I feel the Holy
Spirit’s prompting to use this class as an opportunity to
give her a book that would introduce her to Christianity.
Thank you! Blessings! – Mary
Hey Mary,
My name is Michael and my and my wife’s story are similar to the author of this letter. We went where a lot of African Americans go for church. But there came a time where I was hungering for more. I didn’t know what ‘it’s was, but since coming to the Summit, I have learned that The Gospel is what we have been missing. To quote Trip Lee (a Christian rapper), “Ah what a relief it is to be in Jesus!” The Gospel has overtaken my thoughts, and has altered the way I talk to people, and how I converse and love my wife. I can’t have a conversation with my other friends and NOT bring up the gospel-God’s grace is so mind blowin’ I just want to tell anyone who will listen.
As far as book a book for your friend, Tim Keller has a book called “THE REASON FOR GOD”- awesome read. And Ravi Zacharias (hope I spelled that right) has a book called Jesus among other gods”. I hope those suggestions help.
For the editors- not Mother Teresa maybe more along the lines of a hillsong, Jesus Culture, Third Day kinda way. Lol
Thank you so much for sharing your story and best of luck in Nashville! Mary, a possible suggestion for your friend is The Shack. A fair warning, this book is not a light read as it begins with tragedy; however it vividly personifies the holy trinity and the journey of one man’s quest for answers.
Omigoodness, you mean they are white?
I heard that rumor, but I hadn’t noticed!
I had a thought while reading this: Nashville & Vanderbilt University are only about 45 minutes from Murfreesboro, where Trevor Atwood will be planting City Church. As I understand it, City Church will be at least a few months behind her arrival, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.
that sermon has stuck with me greatly! i am a white male (not that it really matters) but i never put much thought into the mental picture i get when i think about the body of Christ. i realized that subconsciously i picture a white body of Christ, shamefully, and not in a racist way. i have become so used to my culture and having those of the same culture around me all the time…it is just what i’m used to. since that sermon, the way i see people is completely different…just realizing that while there are earthly cultures, there is a greater one: the Jesus culture (a nod to the band named above!) suddenly, everybody has an eternal soul, the nameless become named, the different are now the same as me, and when i see others, especially of cultures and ethnicities different than my own, i am aware of the creativity and multi-facetedness (is that a word?) of the Creator. it is almost like i see a reflection of myself in every person i look at…because they, too, were created by the same God that created me, and in His image, just like me.
i am currently in the process of opening a business, and my idea of a well-rounded staff of employees has changed into an intentional effort to have a diverse group of people.
the body of Christ is not one dimensional, and thank God for that!
please don’t misunderstand my comment, brothers and sisters. God didn’t change me from racist to not, He changed me from comfortable to intentional.
I have to agree with the writer of the letter. Me and my wife have spent years at different churches in Durham trying to find a place that not only taught the Gospel but lived it. I still must admit to not being familiar with all the worship songs.
(I’d never heard of K-Love until I joined the Summit.) But still, I appreciate the intentional approach to have the Summit resemble the diversity in Raleigh-Durham, and of the body of Christ as a whole.
Mary thanks so much for your honesty. I moved from Fl 8 months ago and still in transition and seeking where I belong even to the point wondering if moving here was a mistake. But I am really loving Summit. I’m a baptist raised-non denominational influenced Haitian woman trying to get a foothold in NC. Everytime I leave service, I leave with something new to digest and coming to terms with this new journey God has me traveling. It’s easy to think I’m alone here bc essentially I am. My family is down south and I’m learning what it means to be utterly disappointed in friendships yet have a strong desire to “reconnect” but afraid to do so in this foreign place. Regardless of this issue, I am loving Summit and taking steps one day at a time.