I was invited to attend the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church here in Topeka by my friend Pastor TD Hicks. The ceremony was Sunday night, 6pm.

Truth be told, I wanted to watch the AFC Championship game, but TD invited me. What do you do when your brother asks you to go? You go.

The service recognized two African-American leaders in our community. One of the highlights of the night was the incredible words of former Judge Joe Johnson. For all the rhetoric that pervades our media, I found his words much needed. Some of his words still ring in my head this morning:

“I was conscious to help the young black man, and sometimes helping the young black man is to make him accountable when he did something he had no business doing.”

“I was told when I started my own law firm that the black community couldn’t pay me and the white community wouldn’t trust me. What I learned was if you fight for justice and win for your client, they don’t care what color you are.”

“I’m old and retired. It’s time for the younger generation to step up and lead with integrity and honor. It’s time for us to give the mantel over.”

The keynote speaker was Mr. Alvin Brooks who reminded the room of the primary motive and message of Dr. King: love. Love of all people.

The music…oh good gracious. I can’t say anything to do it justice. I think the hair on my arms is still standing up.

The other highlight of the evening… TD took a few moments to introduce the visiting dignitaries. I was surprised to find out that list included me. TD called me his “twin brother who I had to move to Topeka to find.” His gracious and warm introduction was not necessary, but I appreciated it. He’s a dear, close friend, a true brother.

I never once felt uncomfortable or like an outsider, even though I was one of only a few white people there and the only white pastor in the room. I didn’t feel that way, not because of the incredible introduction TD gave. It’s because we really, truly are close friends. Before the service, his son came up to Amy and I and gave us the biggest hug…well, the biggest hug that a freshman in high school will give in public. Joan, TD’s wife, sat and talked with us about how crazy she’s going to be if the Patriots go to another Super Bowl. André, their associate pastor, talked to us about his job and how his Christmas was.

In short, there’s a relationship there. I’m not foolish enough to think that these little interactions will solve the racism schism in our country. But I do believe it should give all of us a window of hope to look through.

What are the odds that the son of a Birmingham, Alabama firefighter, who grew up in arguably one of the most racist cities in America, who had relatives on the hoses and wore white robes, would be sitting in a black church on a Sunday night in the city famous for Brown vs. The Board of Education?

Actually the odds are pretty good, because racism is learned and my parents never tolerated any of that in the house. Despite where we lived and our environment, my mom and dad modeled something different. I watched them work with African-Americans, watched them have their African American friends over for dinner, played on the same teams with them, pray with and for them. Don’t think for a minute that they didn’t take some heat for such behavior. They did.

But my parents, even after their divorce, lived out the reality that every person is made in the image of God and worthy of respect. Character means more than color.

So I’m hopeful. Because if the racism cycle can be broken in just one generation with a white boy born in Birmingham, then it’s also possible for a lot of other people as well. And it won’t be the education system or the judicial system or the government that leads the way. It will be and must be the Church. Not the compromised church that is more in love with politics and power, but the real Bride of Christ that is on His mission to redeem the world.

I’m so thankful He’s included me on this journey.