Believe

It's a song - and a statement of what and who I believe.

Believe

Well, this might be a good song to talk about this week—believing, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Some days it feels less like an arc and more like one of those airport luggage carousels where your suitcase never actually appears, but still…we believe.

Because if we stop believing in the future altogether, it gets a lot easier to settle for “right now is all that matters” thinking. Last Saturday night was a pretty good antidote to that.

Justin, Cindy, and I did a kickoff concert for Balm Ministries’ 40th anniversary. Justin put together wonderful footage to accompany the music and stories. He found clips of all of us through the years with people who were basically MCC royalty—Willie Smith, Jeri Ann Harvey, Freda Smith—along with beloved MCC pastors who have gone on to heaven, like Houston Burnside, Yvette Dube, and Ken Caton.

Justin also assembled footage and photos of me over the past 40 years, meaning innocent people were forced to witness every version of me: chubby, thin, curly-headed, dressed in overalls, dresses, and at least one hairstyle that should probably qualify for federal disaster relief. Cindy’s slides showed her many medical and school missions in seven different countries, including the U.S., where medical missions are sadly still needed if you happen to suffer from a dangerous condition known as “being poor.”

But honestly, one of the sweetest parts of the evening was realizing that I’ve now traversed my generation and the generation before me…and Justin is up next. Which is comforting, because the future of ministry should probably belong to somebody who actually understands technology without having to restart it three times and pray in tongues over it.

His humble heart showed itself Saturday night when he quietly cut some of his own singing because he realized the concert was running a little long for people who still had to drive home and get up for Sunday services. Nobody else even knew he did it. That’s Justin. He puts people and ministry ahead of ego every single time.

I was also happy to share that Justin has been offered major recording contracts over the years, but because they were in Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), they wanted him to sign agreements promising to stay in the closet if they were going to promote him. Apparently some folks are comfortable with artists singing about walking in the light, as long as nobody actually does it.

Justin chose honesty instead.

All of this reminded me of the last conference theme song I wrote for an MCC General Conference. To write it, I combed through old MCC websites, tracts, and flyers to rediscover what MCC has always believed. We believe in God’s lovingkindness toward all people. We want to leave behind a legacy of love and justice. We have torn down walls and built up hope. And maybe most importantly, we believe our voices and actions actually matter in this world.

Justin helps me keep believing that.

And I suspect he does that for a lot of other people too. He’s gracious with people, genuinely grateful for every kindness shown to him, wise in God’s plans and God’s Word, and deeply loving toward people—especially those in our LGBTQ+ community. His weekly YouTube/Facebook series, Southern Gospel Sissy, carries that same mixture of wisdom, humor, honesty, and grace.

So alongside all the other things I believe about Jesus and our work in the Church, I believe in Justin.

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Believe

Marsha Stevens-Pino and Chip Davis

We receive God’s lovingkindness
As a promise from our past.
We conceive we’ll build a future
Where we’ll know peace at last.

We have chosen love and justice
As the legacy we leave.
Give us courage, courage to believe.

Believe that there is power
In every choice we make,
Believe that there is value
In every risk we take,
Believe that there is honor
In every truth we speak.
Give us courage, give us courage to believe.

We have torn down walls and barriers
That divide us on this earth.
We have built up hope, and now we know
Just what our freedom’s worth.

We can almost see the promise
Of the vision we received.
You’ve given us the courage,
Courage to believe.

Believe that there is power
In every choice we make,
Believe that there is value
In every risk we take,
Believe that there is honor
In every truth we speak.
So give us courage, give us courage to believe.

We know there is a boundless love
That will always hold us fast,
And there’s an everlasting truth
Which will set us free at last.

Believe that there is power
In every choice we make,
Believe that there is value
In every risk we take,
Believe that there is honor
In every truth we speak.
So give us courage, give us courage to believe.

May we always have the courage,
The courage to believe.