The Church of the Highlands is a significant religious institution in Alabama. Few outside of Alabama know this non-denominational church ministry, which has 21 locations and more than 50,000 worshippers on a typical Sunday.
Why are a few social media “likes” becoming such a watershed event for this massive church? Let’s get to know the details of pastor Chris Hodges’s scandal and how he apologetic after doing this;
Context Of Pastor Chris Hodges Scandal
Hodges himself and his tastes should be our starting point. Clisby initially reported posts for being racist because they addressed the topic carelessly.
TPUSA has claimed that structural racism doesn’t exist and that the Democratic Party and the Left are to blame for African Americans’ situation.
Name | Role | Controversy |
---|---|---|
Chris Hodges | Founder and Senior Pastor of the Church of the Highlands | Accused of racial insensitivity due to his social media activity. He liked posts by Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA. This action led to significant outcry, causing him to express regret for his actions. |
Instead, cases like those involving George Floyd and Trayvon Martin got characterized by exaggeration, deception, and political play. In addition, the group’s actions got complicated by racial tensions on multiple occasions.
Because he attended an ‘Evangelicals for Trump Coalition rally, Hodges got seen as a Trump supporter.
That choice has conflicted them with the black population there in many respects.
The Church of the Highlands has tried multiple times to open campuses in economically depressed and crime-ridden areas of their town, but their efforts have not got well accepted.
Local Black leaders criticized Hodges for his attempts to establish new campuses in low-income communities around 2018; they said, “Black Folks Need to Stay Out of White Churches” and called Hodges a “slavemaster” for taking resources and attention away from other local organizations and traditions.
Some local clergy have even voiced concerns that Hodge’s actions are motivated more by franchise than by a desire to listen or serve, with one saying, “From my experience with Chris Hodges, they don’t talk to the people who are already there.”
Pastor Chris Hodges’s Apology And Feelings After
Pastor Chris Hodges of Alabama’s Church of the Highlands was accused of liking racist tweets two weeks ago.
On Sunday, he informed his congregation that he has cried “buckets” since then and is now a new man.
“Your trip’s hard to describe… Another Chris Hodges. About two weeks ago, I was. How far do I have to go? Okay, sir. But I can look you in the eye and tell you that I have been tried, stripped, disciplined, and broken. He joked awkwardly about crying twice a year, usually at the movies, in a post headlined “Becoming One.”
“I’ve got buckets and buckets of it. I recognize that this has been one of the most excruciating experiences of my life and that God is breaking and disciplining me through it.
Through discussions with four black members of his church’s pastoral team, he has understood that “a broken and a contrite heart is the pathway to the presence and anointing of God” in his life.
After severing its ties with the Birmingham Housing Authority and the Birmingham Board of Education, following the revelation that Hodges had followed and liked several social media posts by Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk in the wake of national protests over the killing of 46-year-old African-American George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, the largest church in Alabama, Church of the Highlands, preached repentance and racial reconciliation days later.
Someone posted photos of President Trump with Muhammad Ali and Rosa Parks with a caption that read “The racist Donald Trump in the 1980s.”
In comparison, another photo shows Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam with two men dressed in blackface and a KKK costume and reads “Progressive Leftist Ralph Northam in the 1980s.”
In a related thread, someone writes, “We all must do our part to defeat China Virus.”
On Sunday, Hodges suggested that God used the coronavirus pandemic and Floyd’s murder to force America to address its prejudice. Hodges had already apologized to his predominantly white but racially mixed congregation.
He believed that the quarantine period “softened” people to the meaning underlying Floyd’s death.
God led us to a place where we had to become naked. There was breaking as we sat at home. Hodges remarked, “We lost everything solely to soften our hearts so that event in Minneapolis might be history creating.
What God is doing to America. I believe he has done this to those who have never heard of God, and I think God is up to something since this has shaken us. I believe the devil will be destroyed, the disease cured, and our land will never be the same. He predicted profound change this time.
Church of the Highlands founder claims God summoned him to speak on Christian unity during his vacation.
Ephesians 4:3-6 states, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” “One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.”
Just as you were called to one hope when you got called, there is one body and one Spirit.
There aren’t many available, as we all know.
- You may also read: North Point Church Pastor Resigns: Andy Stanley
A great deal of. It’s not only the United States; various diverse communities are springing up and preexisting in people’s minds all across the globe. And as a pastor, I’m told by the Bible that I should try to win back the ones who have drifted away.
Hodges stated, “We gotta get back to one,” after cautiously approaching the topic of race and admitting that his church has difficulties staying unified.
‘I have been heading Unite 714, a prayer project to unite the body of Christ, for three months. Our nation and church are affected.’
He continued, “And while there was unity in leading unity worldwide, I had allowed the division to arise in my backyard, church, city, nation, and world.
The Lord then firmly stated, “No, no, no. You already accomplished it there; now, bring it here.
Hodges pledged to document his church’s efforts to foster better racial harmony on the congregation’s website in the coming months.
“We do it for COVID-19; why can’t we do it for racial reconciliation,” he asked.
He added, “I’ve grown,” and shared his belief that racial tensions got overcome if Christians develop in knowledge, sorrow, and love one another.
We can’t “act like it didn’t happen” or “let this moment pass us by,” he remarked. For the first time in my 56–57 years, I think we can achieve racial harmony. I’m serious.
Related Post