#191 What Happened to Austin Metcalf Reveals a Shocking Church Truth?

Join us as we dive into the mysterious case of Austin Metcalf, a story that exposes a shocking need within the church today in America. What really happened to Austin Metcalf and what is currently happening with Karmelo Anthony can be avoided...if Pastors in America stop avoiding something very important. 

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Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Black and blurred Brandon here. Guys, we are in our own pace dealing with the tragedy in Texas. I know that's I guess it's old news now because of how quick the news cycle is. We're inundated with different. News stories and tragedies in a 24 hour span and then the next 24 hour span. It's a whole different list of news and tragedies, and I think that I'm not willing to really keep up with that. I've talked about that a lot on this podcast. So. And, you know, thinking and praying. About this. I wanted to share my thoughts and my insights. To how Christians at least, should be thinking about this, and then also a call for churches to engage in biblical, healthy discourse. Around current events and cultural events, in some ways the church can kind of distance itself because they're more so afraid of speaking in general here, afraid of being labeled something which that's we shouldn't be worried about that. Meanwhile, there are a lot of people worried about being labeled some type of thing, because that's the weapon of choice to label. Somebody or something so. I want to share my thoughts. I want to give a quick intro and then I want to kind of just walk through why we need to be having these conversations and how poison the well of discussions has been as of late when it comes down to ethnic discussions and current event topics. Then I want to look at some of the disappointment we may have in mainstream. Church. And here in in in America, mainstream Christianity and then get into some specifics on why the church needs to be discussing this tragedy of. Between Carmelo Anthony and Austin Metcalf, who was tragically killed by Carmelo Anthony, so in the beginning. Let me touch on this. I think it's important that we guard our hearts. It's, you know, that's something I think that we're losing sight of man. I'm looking at a lot of different. I'm looking at a lot of different comment sections on different just news pages and man the comments are getting more and more hateful like they're getting bad and not only just hateful, but directly racist. Now I'm going to do a whole different episode on why that is, but that's something to point out like people. You are being OK being overtly racist now. People who have leftist ideology and principles will probably look in this and say, see, see, I told you. See, I told you. But my short assessment is that that was brought on by, or at least exacerbated by leftist ideology. I believe that human beings by nature are children of wrath are sinful. And have hatred and bitterness in our in our hearts, and we have fanned those flames over the last 10 years, to say the least. Different episode, I'll, I'll revisit that another day. But I think as we got our hearts, we need to recognize that when these stories are released. They're not just stories for content creators to do another segment on for you to read and share and grab a point or try to stick it to your opponents on social media. We're forgetting that these things involve human beings. Man like these are human beings we're talking about here. And so the disappointment in the way that these tragedies like between. Carmelo Anthony and Austin met. Half Metcalf and and their families involved like it's just talking points that we use to wage war on our opponents and to score points and get mic drops and clap backs and stuff like that. And we are losing our humanity in the process. That's that should be very concerning. Meanwhile, Christians. Need to be able to discuss these things amongst themselves in a local body of the church, because in doing so, just the discussion itself serves as a form of discipleship, as long as it's being guided biblically by a Bingley faithful shepherd and shepherds other elders in the church and and but they need to know how to traverse to these conversations so that when they inevitably interact with other people. They can be a guiding light on these tragedies and these current events, rather than another just opponents voice now.

You you probably.

Can't just end up being relegated to being an opponent? That's. Your business. Tell them the truth. Talk well about it. Be gentle. Be respectful. But be steadfast. Be truthful in the ways that you talk about these things and leave the results to the Lord. That's it. That's it. But that's why we need to be talking about these things and that's why I'm doing this episode on this now. Let's look at the way that we've discussed race issues over the past few years. The well has been poisoned and and if we're to live as faithful Christians in the age of hatred and deception and a love for what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, we better be on one accord. Because that is the day that we're in right now. This is a day of hatred, deception and a love for what is evil in the eyes of the Lord. And you know what's even worse? The church is so divided. There's a great point for you to say. Hey, look, it's always been like this, but. When we think about how divided we are in this space, as America United States of America, the church and the United States of America, because there is a comfort that we've enjoyed in this country. When you juxtapose it to Christians around the world, there's a comfort that we've enjoyed in this country that has allowed us to be overtaken by divisive rhetoric and topics. And now we are ripe for destruction. These different topics that are coming out today, we can't seem to be on one accord for anything. Apparently there are people who have pulpits who feel that they are called by God and they stand behind those pulpits to wage war on those who want to end baby killing. Yes, you heard that statement. Pause it and rewind it. I'll say it again. There are people with pulpits who feel called to those pulpits to wage war on those who want to end baby killing. Would you say that the? Church is divided on that. Now, virtually speaking, yeah, I would say the church is divided on that. Theologically speaking, I'd say no, the church isn't divided on that. I believe that the the bride of Christ knows what is evil in the eyes of the Lord. You want to get down to brass tacks and how people should vote. That's fine. But if you get a genuine believer. And you asked them if killing babies is wrong. They will definitely say yes, even if they are wavering and being bold in the public. I believe genuine believers waver and succumb to cowardice. I do believe that. I believe Peter genuinely believed Jesus was the Messiah Messiah. Yet he wavered. So I I forgot where I. Was going with that but. Oh yeah, the church is so divided. And when it comes down to this conversational ethnicity, ohh my gosh man Ed nauseam, we talk about in this podcast because this podcast is dedicated to that. This podcast is dedicated to highlighting the beauty of the Bride of Christ that is being. Defamed and deflowered, and her garments are being stained with this freaking. Excrements of the world. Sorry for such a crass illustration, but that is the reality. I don't think our hearts are broken enough for what is happening to the majesty of the Bride of Christ. I don't think our hearts are broken enough when it comes down to the way that she is going to be presented to him. Inevitably, the way that the bride of Christ is going to be presented to him versus the way that we are trying to dress her today. Our hearts are broken. We have people who are screaming about seeking justice. Meanwhile, they're seeking a justice that glorifies people rather than what glorifies the Lord. We know this. People who love the truth and recognize the truth to be a person know this. That's why in vote Balkum's book fault lines, I mean, if you haven't read that, read it, go get it and read it. But in fault lines amongst other voices, vote Balkan was highlighting the fact that those who were screaming allowed us for justice. They don't even know the name Tony Tempah people might know it now because the argument has been laughed it up. People have used this argument. But still, many people haven't heard the name Tony Temple, who tragically died in almost an identical fashion of George Floyd. Yet the reason you don't know his name, and by identical fashion, I mean at the hands of the police at the hands of non black police. But the only difference is, is that they were on his neck. I want to say longer. They were on Tony Tempehs neck longer. Tony Tempah is the one who called the police and he didn't break any laws. He was not high. He was suffering from mental disease. Also, the cops joked while on set while Tony Temple's limp dead body rest beneath their feet. And not one of them went to prison. Even more, not one of them got fired. So that we we have to highlight situations like that to say that when you see a George Floyd situation and people are at each other's throats and you have those supposed shepherds standing behind their pulpits who care so much for justice. They care so much for God's righteousness. Nay, it's not God's righteousness. It's people's glory. It's the world's glory that they care about. We have to highlight tragedies like Tony Tempah to accentuate the satanic contradictions that come out practically. That's why the well has been poisoned. So that whenever anybody wants to talk about ethnicity from this point on, people either have to trick carefully and use the words, hand it to them and prescribed by the world, or they just have to shut up in general. And that is not how the church operates our church and dwelled by a spirit of power, love and sound judgment. That's not how she is to operate. The church, led by biblically faithful men, ought to wade through the murky waters of racism, bitterness and hatred with discernment and a desire to illustrate the heart of Christ, doing so with gentleness, steadfastness, sympathy, truth and righteousness. That's necessary. So that a church, even though they can be. You know, alleged to be racist, to be misogynistic, to be hateful, to be xenophobic, whatever the label is. You say I care not what the world calls me. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Onward forward we go. Will follow Christ and will do so with his heart. Because I am seeing groups who are responding to this world, and they call themselves Christians, yet they're taking formations like they're an army prepared for battle. They're sadly mistaken. They're sadly mistaken. They're sadly mistakenly number of fronts. One the battle is the Lords. The the battle is the Lord stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. We are to do the battle is the Lords, not yours. 2nd that the Lord tells his disciples to carry your cross, not a sword. Obviously people use that thought logic to say you can't defend yourself. That's not what this conversation is about. Stand firm in that stand, firm in defense. Protection is good. That is good. But these battle formations I'm seeing from Christian groups who have got like uniforms and they're marching and they're not sharing anything with people.

There's no gospel coming.

Forward. They're just saying we're not going to cower to the culture. Congratulations. Don't cower to the culture. But the only reason you have both this and courage in this world is to profess Jesus as Lord and live as such and speak as such that the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Would be tearing down the cemented stone walled hearts that you come in contact with. And that is the way that the church kicks down. The doors of hell. Throw away that you're mistaken is that Jesus himself will come in wage war. He'll come with fire in his eyes and a tongue that's a sword with which he strikes down the nations that King Jesus, the Valiant King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the true faithful one is gonna come. So what we're doing in the meantime is making sure that we can gather as many people as possible who, when he comes, willingly bend their knee and call him Lord. Rather than who are forcibly made to do so. So we do want to be steadfast. We do want to wade through the murky waters of racism. With steadfastness and truth. Something that is very real that we need to talk about is that these ministers here in America called by God and dwelled by his Holy Spirit, but unfortunately have white skin. I'm so I'm being facetious when I say unfortunately, what they unfortunately have white skin. So what they've allowed what we've allowed as a church, the enemy to do is we've allowed the enemy to silence. The Bride of Christ. So even if you are a white American Christian. And you agree with biblical principles, yet you are afraid. I'm not ridiculing you, but I am going to encourage you soon. You, you, you. But you are afraid to say what is true. Then the church is still divided virtually, and that you have to be silent. You have to be silent on the matter, so as the entire bride of Christ is here kicking down the doors of hell, there have been academics and a bunch of other false preachers and teachers who say, hey, kicking down doors is racist and so then all the white Christians stop kicking down the door. Out of fear of being called racist. I don't ridicule you. Hear me please. But I do exhort you. One I want to lovingly admonish you into acquiescing to the identity given to you by the world. I don't acquiesce to the identity given to me. I am not a black person. I'm a son of the living God and the aspects of my blackness is something that my father gave to me that points to his glory. I am not at my essence, my skin. I am my spirit, and my spirit is his.

It's.

Thus is the same for you. So if someone tries to reduce you to your skin color, do not acquiesce. You are not, in essence, your skin. Your skin belongs to you as a gift from your father, and it ultimately points to his glory. If you hold true to that, then no one can wage war on you with a foundation that starts with reducing you to your skin color. No one can do that. I encourage you. Do not be riddled with guilt. Do not be riddled with shame. For however often, you should have said something and didn't say something or how afraid you are currently. But remember that even amidst your fear today, the only way for you to find joy and comfort and even be minded in such a way that you would take up your cross and be bold is to be reminded that you belong to him now. That you are not seeking to speak up merely to be his child again, that if you have trusted in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that death being a substitutionary atoning death for you, cleansing you of all your sin that you did are doing and will do, and that the life you live now has been raised through Christ's resurrection. You live it to God now. You are his now. It is only that reminder that will inspire you to live like you're his. Don't be crippled with fear and guilt. The only other thing the enemy wants from you outside of being afraid of man. Is being afraid of being removed from the palm of our father's hand. Romans 8 says it's impossible. If you are indeed truly his. It is through the Holy Spirit by which you even recognize him as ABBA father. Stand firm. Be encouraged in that. We need to discuss these ethnic divisions and the news that's attached to these ethnic divisions, because there are real people and families involved in these tragedies. These tragedies come to us as front page news and in our minds, the more and more it happens, we store them away as either entertainment or fodder. Fodder for our Facebook arguments in the comments section, where we try to read all these things to get different little points and talking points. So we can. Clap back at our opponents in the comments section or we just turn them into memes. I'm not saying that. There isn't a time and a place to be able to. Yield reductio ad absurdum. Reduce your opponents arguments to utter absurdity, or to even make fun of that which is stupid. I think that's good in some ways, but that's become our normative behavior. And Christians need to guard their hearts as it says in proverbs, for for from it flows the springs of life. You have to guard your heart as you engage in these things. And outside of our attempts at clever clap backs and one liners that put our opponents on their butts, there are real hurting grieving spiralling families in need of the loving comfort of the Lord. Yet they're going to end up on the blunt end of the affirmation realities of human depravity. That is to say. That you have and we end up conflating what it means to wage war on lofty opinions. In waging war on those who possess those opinions, see the difference? If you ask me about abortion, if you ask me about IVF, I have strong thoughts on that rooted biblically. That's why I stand against them. However, there are people who are sitting in shame and guilt for abortions that they may have had, or the fact that they might disagree with me on IVF or the fact that they don't agree with IVF and have used IVF, whatever it is. The only reason I'm against those things is because I believe that they destroy what God made to be good. And my desire is not to destroy those who disagree with me, but that they too would see that God made something good and that their hearts would conform to see that as good as well. So that's why we wage war on these concepts and these ideas. But we do so for the benefit of people. And when we don't have these conversations at our churches, not only are we not telling the truth about these evil things prevailing in our society, we aren't actually equipping the body of Christ to be able to wage wade through these. Conversational. Years. We're not equipping, we're not discipling. And guess what? Since the church isn't discipling, people are getting discipled elsewhere because discipleship will happen. It is guaranteed. Just go on social media. Everybody is a disciple of someone. Everyone is. And so when it comes down to these ethnic issues, race issues and church discussions, we need to understand that the well has been poisoned because we've allowed for the world to change definitions in order to suit its worldly instincts and desires in order to justify doing what is right in its own eyes. And the church has acquiesced to those changes in those demands and those prescriptive, didactic whatevers that are coming from it. The church is acquiescing to it, and we must not acquiesce. We must wage war by standing firm in what is true. This is so much so to the point that I know personally that there are people who sit in church pews on Sundays and they believe that Genesis is a little bit too cut and dry when it talks about God making man and woman. Huh. The Bible is too black and white when it says that God created man and woman. Huh. How do we get? There. We get there. By allowing disciples of the world to come into a church that won't disciple. That's how. And one of the main ways that you can disciple is by having discussions about the things prevailing around us. We need that desperately. And that that brings me to the disappointment that we've had. We've had genuine disappointment with the mainstream church, very loosely used here in America. And this is building off of what I was just talking about. At large, we've seen the church that's been very passive. Tiredly. And disappointing. When it comes to hot button topics in the country. The hot button topics you know what's so sad is that unless it's unavoidable, the hot button topics won't even be touched. I mean, think about. This. There was an assassination on the President of the assassination attempt on the President of the United States, but because the culture had set the prescriptive rules that says that you can't talk about this, you can't say these types of words. There were pastors all over the country who, either because of their love for the world, you know, cheered the assassination attempt. Or were terrified even mentioning it. Because they were afraid of being coupled or paired with those who are Trump voters or Trump supporters, or magas or whatever the pejorative is. Do you see how we've allowed the world to have a grip on the sacred space of the Lord and his people? Now, the reason I highlight the assassination attempt is not because of how heinous that is in and of itself. Yet no. Even if there was a one off, even if we were so unified and everybody was like. Oh yeah, Trump, I love Trump blah. Dot dot dot dot and then there was assassination attempt that would still be noteworthy to address with the flock and to talk about these things. It would be noteworthy, but not only was that not the case, the very opposite was the case. So much so that that assassination attempt was a direct result of the bubbling waters that reached the surface in the hearts of many people.

Many people.

Who were at best indifferent? To trying to kill the president and at worst celebrated and lauded the efforts of it. I'm still talking about within the context of church going Christians. I'm not even just talking about the world I'm talking about in the context of those who profess Jesus as Lord. That their hearts. Had grown so cold it's happened to any Christian on any side of the aisle, depending on the topic, whatever it is. But in this specific context, the hearts had grown cold enough to where you shrugged off the assassination attempt or applauded it. How did we let sheep get this way? It's so fitting that we're called sheep. How wayward we are. How helpless we are. How attack prone we are. And there has been great disappointment in the way that the church we look at publications like Christianity Today, all of these different things that seem to not want to take a stand against what is evil in the eyes of God. But when you see their voice, get the loudest and you see their print getting the most bold and you see their passion. Reaching the heights that it were the height of their passion is when they're talking about Christians. I find that interesting that left-leaning Christians are the most vicious, not when they're waging war on the gates of hell, but when they're waging. War on the church. And there's been great disappointment at the cowardice displayed there. There's been no discipleship and no call to display God's beauty amidst. And since we are being discipled and how to display that beauty, the church has taken a very complacent seat in the seat of reaction rather than proactivity. The height of the church is proactivity. Today, I'm speaking very generally on the East Coast Christian, so I know this is different for a lot of people in the countries and pray in the in the country. Praise God for that. But in in, in my context the height of proactivity is becoming a glorified. Kitchen, where you want to help people? You want to help them get clothes and food? I'm not saying this is bad. It's not bad at all. It's very good. But that's the height of it. Meanwhile, that's not the reason the church exists. The church exist, as Peter says in first Peter. 29 is to declare the Excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. That's why the church exists. But we'd rather be safe, and the Safeway is to give people stuff. We need a heart check on that. And so we have to be reactive. If the hot button topic is hot enough, then we reactive in a reactionary way. Well, it'll be addressed in some very politicized. Public relations way, you know, because the world demands that's the way we behave. Even in the same way where the church, like we shouldn't be practicing that and we should practice against it every opportunity. That's why the church is supposed to do things like practice confession. And I don't mean in the Catholic way, the Roman Catholic way. Sorry for those who Roman Catholic listening to this. I don't believe that that's biblical, that you have to go to a priest. We have an interest. We have an intermediary. And. We have one in Christ in between God and Man Jesus Christ, and that allows us to live lives of repentance on a daily basis, whether or not we get to go in a church and talk to our pastor that we get to live lives of our sentence. But we should also practice confessing to one another that we would be children of light and walk as children of light. We should openly confess the way that sin wants to take shape in our flesh, and that's a way that we ruled weapons against sin. That's a way that we fight against it. But another way that we have adopted the worldly principles and become reactionary is that when you have a shepherd or somebody prominent that does something unfaithful. Or defames the church on the blood of Christ that it is, is unfaithful to their congregation. And the first thing we want to do is come. Up with some PR move. In order to protect the public image, you're kidding me. The public image of what?

It can't be of the bride of Christ.

You mean those groups of people who are following after that dude that got stripped naked, beaten, spat on and killed on a cross were trying to protect her.

Public image. Why? Are we worried about her public image?

Or are we trying to protect the public image of that corporation you built and you called it a church? That Fortune 500 that you call a church that has all these staff and you love the fact that you get to call it a church because then it gets justified. And in fact, you're just building another temple, you're building another Tower of Babel. You're trying to do that, reach the heights of all humanity is trying to reach to build a name for yourself, and it's still justified by calling it a church. And God forbid. That the church be held accountable. So we have to protect our public image through public relations. The moment the world knows your father of Jesus, they will either fall to their knees. Obviously this is a truncated view fall to their knees and profess Jesus to be Lord, or they'll call you an idiot. What it what it? Why is it worth protecting the church's image the way that we protect the church's image is by living faithfully, and you know, one way we live faithfully the confession of sin, transparency. Honoring the Lord. Everybody knows about how disgusting David is. Because we were given the transparency of the King of Israel, who points to the ultimate King. We were given his transparency. If we're truly heartbroken over our sin, we practice confession in order to honor the Lord with it. We do that in our local body. It's something that should be practiced. And man, that would serve so well for us in all of these spaces that want to. Develop the world's UM put curricula. The world says that diversity is good and also the world has told us what diversity is. It's being multi colored and it's answering the demands of the culture. That's why you have minorities and people of color POC's who are the most vicious right now. And if it's not people? Of color or or or. It's minorities when it comes down to people who identify themselves as sexual minority because they have sexual deviations and perversions, or if it's women who have adopted feministic attitudes. The feminist ideology that says that I've demand what I demand and you better meet my demands. It's the most vicious because it comes from the pit of hell. All of these things. Anybody who truly desires justice. Has a 2 fold approach to justice. That they desperately desire the Lord's justice here on Earth. If they do it with all humility and gratitude. Because they know that the Lord's justice delayed is grace toward them. That if the Lord. Delivered justice to this earth swiftly. Ohh, my phone just went off. I I got a message from somebody who said that they needed to change their phone ringtone because whenever my phone goes off, they think their phone is going. Off let me turn this down. But justice delayed. Is Grace received? If the Lord administered justice swiftly. Then I would be on the receiving. End of it. And so would you. And so our thirst for justice is not a personal man driven thirst. It's a God driven thirst for justice. And its tempered with a desire to rid the for the Lord to rid the earth of all evil. But to rescue as many evil souls as possible before it's done. And we're losing sight of that. And we see this man made justice, where people come to their churches and they demand and demand and demand and say I want, I want, I want. And they look forward for an opportunity to condemn a leader or a neighbor and say you didn't do this for. Me. And I get to hold this against you. My victimhood has power that I'll never really admit. That's why I have to be a victim in perpetuity because it feels good to wield this against you. It feels good. If you're married, you know what I'm talking about. Especially if you and your spouse have argued about something and they wrong you. Man. You have an opportunity to wield it against them in perpetuity. So the church. Has to stop being reactive and be proactive. Because what has been waging war on the church is a desire for her to be divided in a multifaceted way, divided ontologically by saying that I, Brandon and, ontologically, a black person, and that. It and there is another who might be sitting in a Pew next to me who, ontologically, is a white person, and that is it, or if, depending on the context, I Brandon, ontologically am a man, and that is it, and the person sitting next to me is a woman, and that is it, and therefore we should be pitted against each other because of those ontological differences. Meanwhile, in the front front of fundamental basis. Ontologically, we are Co heirs. Are part of the chosen race, royal Priesthood, Holy Nation. That is our fundamental. Homogeny. The superficial differences will lie in skin tone and biology. And those aren't to be ignored. You know why? Because they point to the glory of God. If you find someone who wants to wage or left up the existence of their skin or their biology for any other reason, ignore it. But the only reason a church the Church of Christ can say that racism and slavery is evil is not because the people are black. That is to ignore all of human history. It's because it defames the image in what in which these people are made, the image of God. That's why. These people are meant to bring God glory through their very existence on the earth. All people. And we've lost. Sight of that because we're not having real conversations. So that brings me to why the church needs to discuss the Carmelo Anthony and Austin Metcalf situation. If you are unfamiliar with this, then let me first tell you no, this is not Carmelo Anthony, the basketball player. These are 217 year olds, 2 high school student. Carmelo Anthony is a black American in Frisco, TX. As was Austin Metcalf regarding Frisco, TX, but Austin Metcalf was a White American, and so whenever we have these situations they will be get they will be highlighted for the purpose of dividing society. That's the number one reason why the church ought to have these conversations. That we do not allow media to weaponize narratives against people. And we have to fight against that.

We need to be aware of.

The growing ethnic divide? We need to be training the sheep to be ministers of light rather than of dark, and we are not doing that. When you look at the story that in the way that this has been coming out in social media. You just take a gander at the the comments section. The ethnic divide has been exacerbated. The fans of hate, I mean the flames of hatred have been fanned through every story that comes out and it's story after story after story. I want to look at one. This is a more recent one that I saw from an account called based Latin. And it talks about a restaurant owner brutally attacked for asking a door dasher to leave the out of service bathroom. So apparently a board dasher came in and used a bathroom that was out of service and the the store owner asked him to leave it and there and then the door Dasher attacked him. The door Dasher was a black man. And I want to just look at some of the comments. I want to read you some of the comments from this thread. Sorry, I'm trying to find it here. So here's one comment says the problem is that the black community celebrates and uplifts those of their members who commit violence, especially upon white people, and then have the gall to fabricate that. They're the victims right after doing their deed. That right there is satanic behavior in your community celebrates anything that is satanic. Unfortunately, the more they're puffed up and celebrated and more violent and crueler, these men. Become and the heart of their final judgment will be when they face when they face God, unless they turn away and repent from their ways. So I just. I read that whole thing to remind you that that was directed towards the black community and they're speaking like a Christian. And so it's addressing black Americans like this monolith. And I think why? Because the conversation from black Americans over the last couple of decades has been monolithic to the point where people like me will be slandered for having a different thought process merely because of my black skin. I am assumed to think like every other black person. Demands, I think, because of my black skin. And so I think people have acquiesced to that. They're agreeing. Another comment says you can't ask them to be civilized. Another comment says, and we'll turn around and call the attackers victims and start a go fund me for them. More on that way. A meme showed up that says ways that black people define their culture. Another comment says once again, black people turn violent when they feel disrespected. It doesn't take much. One comment says always offended, never ashamed. Whoever came up with that deserves a trophy. You know, and so it just goes on and on and on. Another comment says so sick of this degenerate culture and. Usual suspects. Another comment says I think we should consider again the Liberia solution. One comment says, well, just ask Carmelo Anthony. Somehow the suspect is always the victim. That is literally the black mentality. They want everything for cheaper or free. Don't want to follow the simplest of rules or instructions. Can't even pronounce the simplest of words in English language without blacking it up. They have 0 regard for human and animal life. Ever see how they treat pets and their children? They are just more, they are just more money for their EBT every month and boy they angry, always so angry that they go right past fist fight to shooting or gang assault. Now they are and is slightly how incoherent that statement was, but that has a very degenerative racist mentality to it that comment. And there's no, you know, there there's no UM. I don't know remorse or anything. It's just it's overt now and I think people have gotten to a point where they're tired of being gaslit regarding reality. And then people, these people, like people who make those comments, will feel justified for their hatred and their bitterness, because the way the world is and the way it's been towards them. So that irony is this, that those people of those racist mentalities will blame society for the way that they think and the. Way that they are. Are you tracking with me? They will be the victims in society and the reason why it prevails is because there will be truth to it. In the same way that there is truth Once Upon a time to the way society was towards black Americans. But like I said about the power of victimhood, it must be held in perpetuity. That's why. A Black American born in 2010 has to be trained and taught about slavery so that they can be raised in a victimhood that justifies their inherent innate hatred. Dangerous and we need discipleship. And this Carmelo Anthony and Austin Metcalf situation is a perfect example for allowing and and administering discipleship. It doesn't matter if you are a biblically faithful church. It doesn't matter what skin tone you are. He ought to be trying to honor the king. And so starting with the awareness of the growing ethnic divide, that's a good start. You can't bury your head in the sand and say, oh, nothing's happening, nothing to see over here because we have to equip people on how to wait these waters. The people in your churches, they work jobs. They're in school. They have students, they have family. That share ethnic differences. And we're not being equipped because we're not even recognizing the ethnic divide. And so his the story. Overall, the story overall is that there was a track meet and I think it was rainy and there was a tent. And in that tent belonged Austin Metcalf and his and the members of their school and friends, I think and family and Carmelo Anthony went under that tent and was asked to leave. I'm going to read, maybe I will. For the sake of time I maybe I'm just gonna truncate it. I'm gonna retouch on some of these things again, revisit them. But he was asked to leave and Carmelo Anthony, the black teenager, I guess passively rejected that invitation to leave by saying he didn't like, say no. I guess he just didn't leave and then he dared Austin Metcalf to touch him. To quote, touch him and see what happens, Austin Metcalf I think literally touched him and then Carmelo Anthony dared him to punch him and see what happens. I think Austin Metcalf then began gathering his things along with Carmelo Anthony grabbing Carmelo Anthony to remove him from the tent, pushing him out of the tent in which Carmelo Anthony grabbed a knife out of his book bag and stabbed Austin Metcalf once in the chest, which also pierced his heart and Austin Metcalf. Was pronounced dead on the scene. And so there are few things in this tragedy that one we need to actually temper our emotions as Christians, not to say not to be sorrowful, but to say not to become hateful. See, even as a man, I'm not saying this is exclusive to men, but as a man, you know, I I I needed for the Lord to really decipher the difference between me being sad and angry. Because you know, as a man, sometimes when you're sad, it gets translated as anger. That's the way it gets translated. And that anger comes out with a ferocity that shouldn't be there. If you have any emotional awareness and emotional health. And I think that people need to be learn how to temper themselves no matter what, and that's what some having these conversations can do. And so I'm going to highlight just a couple of. Ways that discipleship. Can flow out of disgustingness in a local church setting. The first one was discussing it heightens your awareness of the growing ethnic divide. You can look at the articles, you can look at people's response to the articles. You can look the way people are addressing in a. Media you have people who are filing into their teams. You have many black Americans who are celebrating and defending Carmelo Anthony, saying that that you shouldn't have touched them. They started a go fund me where Carmelo Anthony raised about $500,000. His bail was set at $1 million. The judge reduced it to $250. Carmelo Anthony is now out on bail. Of $250,000 he is renting a $900,000 he bought a new car. All of this is recent. As I've recorded this. That happened since I've, I mean, I'm sorry. Before I recorded this.

Home.

And then you have people in the Austin Metcalf situation that says, well, you, you saw some of the comments that are related to that. That's the that's the angle they're taking. When will this ever stop? When will people tell the truth about these disgusting black people? Look at these misbehaved black people who have what they say. Underdeveloped prefrontal lobe lobe, lobe, cortex or whatever. All of this very recycled racist language towards black Americans. But then you have white Americans who are just sorrowful and black Americans who are sorrowful. For the tragedy that happened, all the Mecca from which he was killed and died in his brother's arms, he was a twin. And he died in his brothers arms. And the one overwhelming thing we don't see is people just being even killed about this. And I think an even kill approach can say. That this is evil. But I'm going to break it down for you in a couple of points. And that first being, we need to know the awareness of the growing ethnic divide, because the church in a divided country is what will flourish. The reason slavery does not exist, no matter what book you read, is largely due to the church. And the beauty of Christ's bride is that she won't get a plaque, she won't get awards in this world. She's not going to have some big ceremony where the world congratulates the Church of Christ for doing these things. No, that's not why we do it.

In the first place.

But in the same way, on that wedding day, when everybody stands up and turns around and watches the bride of Christ presented to her groom. That is the way the church will be presented to Christ when he returns. And the world will marvel. And the medallions and the trophies and the awards that people. Want to receive in this world? What those will be for the church? It'll be the orphanages built. It'll be the faithful local bodies who stayed faithful to Jesus Christ and did ministry in their local context. It'll be the husbands and wives who poured over their children, raising them in the knowledge of the Lord. It'll be the homeless shelters that they built. It'll be the hospitals that they built. It will be the ending of slavery that happened. It'll be the war being waged on abortion and the proliferation of death, however oxymoronic, that is that will be her medallions. And rather than collecting them for herself. She'll scoop them up and give them to her groom. Because they point to his glory. That's why we do it. And it is necessary for us to deal with these things for that sake.

So let me.

Move through these quickly. I know we're, we're we're we're getting to high time here 1. This tragedy can disciple manhood. And when you deal with Discipling in manhood, that is something that men and women need to hear. Why? So that men can know how to disciple younger men and why for women, because they're the ones who bathe the men. You see how we're in this thing together? Regardless of who holds the microphone? You see why the enemy would love for us to be battling over who gets to stand on the stage, who gets to have the title, who gets to have the reserved space for pastor, and see how futile that is? OK, let. Me. Stop. To get to these points. You disciple manhood. You teach real strength to young men, emotional awareness to men. When you teach real strength to men. Then you don't have to prove you're strong. See how that works. If ever you want to. Go and find them. If they're available, go and find a video of a random person taunting and getting aggressive with a trained fighter. Obviously don't find a video where the trained fighter is inebriated. But go and watch a video of someone taunting and getting trying to get an altercation with a trained fighter. And watch the discipline. Watch the discipline they have. That's what real strength is. You see, real strength is doing that. What you feel you're justified in not having to do. Quick story I've told this before I was a senior in high school and I was a part of this thing called a beautillion. There was a group of men who young men being trained to be. And teaching etiquette, things like that. And we had this final ceremony. We had a little date with us. My date was my sister. Yuck. It was fun, but we had a little dance that we had to do like this waltz or whatever it is. And we were going with the dance moves in my living room. And my parents got into this. Big argument, probably the biggest argument I've ever seen them get in and. You know, my mother was saying the dance move is this way and my father was saying, oh, it's this way. And obviously there was something else they were dealing with at the time. Whenever it was, you know, couples are and and and that that disagreement manifested in the disagreement about the dance. And he end up shouting at each other and saying you get on my nerves. And my father, like, you get on my nerves and they split ways. Now here's the reality. My mother was wrong. I I knew the dance moves. I knew them all. I was sitting there just watching them argue. But my mother was wrong. In the morning I saw flowers. On our dining room table. An apology from my father. And him admitting that he was wrong. See real strength is only leveraged to destroy yourself. Don't seem shocked in hearing that. What do you think Jesus was doing? As the King of glory. Who sat on the throne, and eternities past and sits on it now, yet for salvation of humanity, he leaves that throne and puts on the futility of human flesh coming in the likeness of sinful flesh, to be mocked by those he formed and created and breathed life into. To be struck. By them to be ridiculed and slandered and boozed and killed by them. Because real strength. Is meant. For self denial. Men need to know that. That's why the toxic masculinity crowd is wrong. But it's also wrong in the Red pill society. That's like, no, we're strong, and we're going to use to find what we want. We're going to get as many women women as we want and have sex with whoever we want, and we're going to get jobs by any means necessary and get money and do all this stuff. No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no. The purpose of your strength is to leverage it for good, and the only way you can actually be good is by self denial. Why would anyone ever be willing to deny themself? Only when you're affirmed. By the creator of the universe. See how that works. When the creator of all things looks at you and calls you son. Then you can live a life of self denial. This is also true for women. But I'm highlighting strength that I'm highlighting men right now. And so when you want to show yourself to be strong AA man who is strong in who he is in identity, he's a man who has no problem apologizing. He's a man who never has a problem admitting his faults. And let me change that. He might have a problem admitting his faults, but he does it anyway. He destroys that part of himself for the sake of others. We need to teach real biblical strength. You teach real strength to young men. You teach real awareness to young men. So is it wrong for us? The Metcalf to have wanted this man out of his tent? No. If there was an altercation. Then one you need to be aware of the false intents and purposes. This dude. This dude is a very, very young man. He was a very, very young man, but at this age when you getting 1718 that awareness, we want that to be there for these young men. You know why? Because now they act as men and there are manly consequences. That's why men in general have a larger threshold for conflict. I'm talking about real men. When there is conflict, there's a larger threshold between the the words and conflict than there is for women. Because for men, generally speaking, it can turn deadly fast. Fast and just to discuss real strength, mental awareness is strength. Emotional awareness is strength that if you're somebody who wants to protect those under your tent and you want to make sure they're safe, you can have the strength of awareness without that translating into anger. And the same is the case for Carmelo. If someone's asking you to move and you feel disrespected, you can need to have mental awareness rather than that translating into anger. We need to teach this to our young men. Closely associated to that is humility rather than pride. That we teach humility. That Carmelo felt, quote UN quote, disrespected. I'm gonna. I'm gonna highlight why that is real quickly, but in a general sense, Carmelo felt disrespected merely by being asked to leave a tent. The same young man or the man in the the story that I read earlier being asked to leave the public washroom felt disrespected. It hurt his pride. But you know what? I think that pride cost Austin Metcalf the most. Because Carmelo, rather than adhering to Austin's demands to leave, he dares Austin to touch him, and Austin begins playing the game out of pride. However hard that is to hear. That Carmelo bares him to touch him, so Austin touches him. Darlo dares him to punch him or do whatever more in Austin obliges. He doesn't punch him, but he begins. He puts his hands on him and he removes him. And it cost him his life. And it's not worth it. Do you know what? They both suffered from. Is an idolatry to the culture. That says that pride. Over everything. Which is deeply rooted in a hip hop culture gang culture, which is why you will find no matter how you feel about me saying this, you will find a lot of black American men who act the way Carmelo acted. Because not only is it deeply rooted in hip hop, in game culture, it is celebrated and perpetuated. So if I'm a black American that condemns hip hop culture, other black Americans will jump on me because I'm going against my own. But that hip hop culture. I'm gonna quote it. So guard the ears of young ones who may be listening here essentially. To prove to the world that you're not a *****. That is what it is. That is the mentality. And so the very. The very act of being asked to move from one place to another makes you feel like someone's treating you like that, and you have to stand your ground to prove that you're not one. That's why you have gang violence. That's why you have people dying when they step on your shoes. It's not because someone gets so angry. That their shoes got dirty, though that may be something because they spent a lot of money on these dumb tennis shoes. But it's because when you step on. Someone's shoe. And you don't say sorry, you disrespected me. And guess what? I ain't no *****. That's what that is. Something is remedial and simple minded. We've allowed to prevail in the hearts and minds of growing men so that death is the result simply because we don't want to talk about what's happening around us and disciple them. Shame on us. And we need to address pride. That I don't need to prove something in front of people that if somebody wants me to prove that I'm man enough and I think that they could be a threat, I don't need to prove it. Police come here. Security. Come here. Austin. Metcalf could have easily taken that route. But guess what? He would have been seen as soft. Because Carmelo challenged him to manhood in that moment where he dared him and Austin had to oblige. But if you have true strength and you know your manhood won't come from the applause of your opponents or those watching, but excuse me, your manhood comes from the one who made you a man. You have nothing to prove. We need to teach humility rather than pride. And we have to teach holiness rather than worldliness. That is what will. Garner more men towards the Kingdom rather than the world. There is so much around us that says that the world has to offer you way more than the Kingdom of God does when it comes down to your manhood. That true strength is about being able to hit. That is not what the Kingdom teaches. But another misconception is that the Kingdom teaches that there will. Be no hitting.

There will be. It just doesn't need to happen by us.

But guess what? Men of the Kingdom do get to hit, but we hit in order to protect. I don't have anything to prove in this world. However, you've heard me talk about this on this podcast when someone is in my home and they pose my family a threat. They will have to get through me. There is no retreat in my home. That's why I don't believe in shark attacks y'all. There is no such thing as a shark attack. Unless you're in your shower and as you're washing up a. Shark comes out. That's a shark attack. A shark attack. But if you're swimming in the ocean, that's not called an attack. That's called Defense A. Little aside there. But the same thing is the case. That if I'm in my home and someone poses a threat to my family, I defend. And that is an aspect of manhood. But when I'm outside of my home, the only thing that makes me want to punch if my family is not an immediate threat. That'll be my pride. And the only reason I would want to obey my pride rather than humility is my allegiance to the world. My wife and I used to go to the inner harbor on date nights a lot. That was our favorite place and very early on I had this rule. And the rule was. That if there are guys who try to start trouble because let me let me say this. I'm sorry for all these tangents, but this is something that really prevails in black American culture. So much so that gang mentality and that pride and that, you know, prove your pride over whatever else it it it is really heightened in gang culture so that when I was in high school and doing the. Dumb stuff like going to parties. Dudes would really go to parties to try and beat up other dudes. Now ask me if women were at these parties, they were. It's just a part of the culture that needs to be shamed and locked away forever. But not only does it get celebrated, it even gets celebrated by black Christians. And this needs to be addressed. But it's because of that prevalence of that of that aspect of culture that I would tell my wife that, hey, if we're downtown, if there's a group of guys who sees me with a woman for some reason, they take that as an opportunity to try and test me. And I would tell my wife that if that were to ever happen. Where it's like that test is, you know, maybe one of them will call my wife outside of her name. Maybe one of them. Will either smack her ****. Some dudes hear that and they're like, oh, no, it's time to fight. Guess what? For me, it's time for both of us to leave. And for women who demand a man to defend her honor, that's between you and your husband. But my role as a husband is to be present for my wife and our children. So if a man smacks my wife's **** as angering as, that will make me, I will have to swallow my pride and get my wife home safely. Now, if they are approaching us, the second phase of our rule was for her to immediately leave my presence and go to the car and go home and leave me there. Because death will happen this evening. And it is my desire that it is either between me or these men that breath will happen. And under no circumstance will it happen to her. And the same is the case if I'm on my own. If I'm on my own and there are men who are saying things to me or trying to arouse me to get them to fight me, I'm going home. I'm leaving.

I why do I have to engage? Will people tease me for running away? Yep. So what?

If I stay and fight and I hold my ground, what award? Do I get? As slight as it is for you to hear that award will be either the one that Carmelo gets right now. Were that Austin received, both of which I do not want. I don't want. We need to teach holiness. Holy men know what good force is. They know what being dangerous for good means. They know what that means. And if I'm with my wife and I'm armed, which you can just assume that's the case, then that means that I know that I wield the opportunity to take someones life. I need to remove myself from this circumstance as quick as possible.

No.

That's what needs to happen. We need to teach that. And a discussion of this tragedy would breed that conversation in a faithful context.

Lastly.

We disciple we can disciple good thinking and this is what I'll close with. Anthony's Carmelo Anthony's legal team says that he acted in self-defense when he allegedly stabbed Metcalf to death during the track meet following an argument over seating. Every Texan, Anthony's legal team said every Texan deserves the right to defend themselves when they reasonably fear for their life. Howard told reporters outside the courthouse on Monday. So let me give my thoughts on that really quickly. If Carmelo Anthony feared for his life, he had the opportunity to leave the. Tent when asked to leave. He should have left the tent. Think well. You cannot use that legal discourse now. Because you did not utilize the opportunity to leave in real time. That that gets that gets, I mean that gets brought up all the time in a lot of different police shootings where it's like, why do they have to use force? I mean the policemen can be getting beat in the face in real time and they can shoot somebody and still have to face charges of murder. Meanwhile, Carmelo Anthony was inside someone else's tent was asked to leave and he dared the person to do something about it. Saying touch me and see what happens and now I want to park there for the rest of our podcast. Touch me and see what happens. If we unpack that statement, it is Carmelo Anthony and implicitly warning Austin Metcalf that if he's willing to act, he better be prepared for the consequences as a matter of fact, the cause and effect is addressed when Carmelo says in a statement he shouldn't have touched me. He says this to the police as he's being taken away. He shouldn't have touched me as a matter of fact, that is the refrain of a lot of people even defending Carmelo Anthony and saying he shouldn't have touched him. He shouldn't have touched him. Austin Metcalf was the aggressor. He shouldn't have touched him. He shouldn't have touched him. And what they're addressing implicitly is that there is a cause and effect. To our actions that Austin Metcalf should have known that if he was willing to do something to Carmelo Anthony, he also better doubly be prepared for the repercussions of it. The consequences of having touched Carmelo Anthony, which Austin probably didn't know at the time, would be his very life. As callous as that statement is, I actually agree. But I'm not partial with my statement. What do I mean by that?

The reason I went.

Saying to this entire list is because there are consequences to our actions, and young men need to know that, and they need to know it from an early age. My sons get disciplined now. They are 4, three and one and every single one of them gets disciplined and the magnitude of the context. Of their age. Obviously, but they get disciplined so that they know if there is a cause and effect to their actions that their actions have consequences. And when you do not discipline your children, they are raised thinking that they have an entitlement. To do whatever they want without consequence, and they might not even have a direct thought that, hey, I get to do whatever I want, but they might just have a thought that is neglectful of the potential consequences of their actions. And tragically, Austin Metcalf acted while neglecting the potential consequence of his actions. And you know what the irony of that is? Everybody who is rooting for Carmelo Anthony is doing the very same. By Carmelo Anthony making the very statement he shouldn't have touched me while also out of his mouth or out of his own heart and out of the mouths of those who defend him, demanding that he be released. You cannot demand that. He killed a man unjustifiably, so you shouldn't have stabbed him if you didn't want to go to prison, you shouldn't have stabbed him. You shouldn't have stayed in the tent and threatened for him to do something you shouldn't have brought a knife into the tent. You shouldn't have done so many things. That got you in the position that you're in now, which you were not trained to think well. And now there are consequences, mainly consequences for you to deal with. And you must deal with them in the same way Austin is dealing with his. We need to bring these conversations in our local church. Discipleship is necessary, and we can use these tragedies and talk about them. First and foremost, foremost to mourn together over these tragedies. That Austin and Carmelo have families that are now engrossed in tragedy. And we can be the church by lifting them and praying for them. Do you know what would be better than for Carmel to be released from prison is if he came to know the Lord in prison. Because there's something greater than prison. And I don't know if Austin knew that before he died. There's something greater than prison coming for us. And it's a spiritual prison. And when the church neglects these circumstances? We are being. Careless. And what it means to be? The Bride of Christ. We need to have an awareness of the growing ethnic divide. We need to teach real strength. We need to teach humility rather than pride, and we need to teach holiness rather than worldliness. When I think about the context that I want to plant this church in. None of these things are being taught in a grand in the grand scheme of things. But the opposite. Because the culture is what's prevailing. In the Church of Christ rallies. To wage war on that reality, and we do so as those who are sweeping the dungeon. I use that imagery because that is what we do for the sake of Christ. We sweep the dungeon. No one's going to see you. No one's gonna care that the floor of. The dungeon is clean. The dungeon owner will care. Will will care. Our Lord cares. That's why I'm calling people to prayerfully join me and partner with me in raising funds to bring this to fruition. Implanting a church the prospectus will be in the description again. You'll be able to click and read and I'm not saying that you click on the perspectives to read it to therefore support. I'm saying you click on the perspectives to read it to be able to reach out to me and and have a personal conversation about it where I can tell you more about this. I can tell you what the process will be, what the timeline will be. But I want to bring the beauty of a faithful local body to these hard contexts. That right now seems to be moving more and more towards an allegiance to the culture. And in the same way that the entire church. I'm talking about the church. That is like people like Harriet Tubman who.

Knew the Lord.

And those who had family members who were slave owners, who knew the Lord, that church. In the secrets of the sin and the I'm. I'm sorry in the secrets hidden beneath the reality of sin in this world, the church was moving in this country, and it waged war on the gates of hell in unison. And we need to get back to that. And you, O. Christian are a part of that church. And so if your way of sweeping the dungeon won't be in partnering with this church plant here that I'm doing here in Baltimore, do it in another way. Find ways in your local body to be present and faithful in your community. If not, and not in your community. So local body zooms into community, zooms into household. Be faithful and let's be in unison in waging war on the gates of hell. Thank you guys for listening to this episode of Black and Blue, where you're guaranteed to hear one of two things, the humble opinion or the facts, holler at me…