Belton, Texas – On Wednesday, February 6, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor hosted a special chapel service featuring two dynamic speakers. First, BerThaddaeus Bailey offered a dramatic delivery of the last speech ever made by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Following his stirring performance, Bailey’s brother, Reverend Bertholomew “Prophet” Bailey Sr., took the stage with a message of inclusion.
“Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are a family,” Bailey said. “Dr. King tells us that what effects one directly, effects all indirectly.”
Bailey examined the Apostle Paul’s concern about divisive teachings.
“He knows that bad theology produces wrongful actions,” Bailey said. “Bad ideas produce bad practices.”
Bailey drew a parallel between this intercession by Paul and the efforts of men and women who spoke out against slavery or efforts to block the Civil Rights Movement.
“What I’m going to ask today is, who is going to be the 21st century Paul?” Bailey said. “Who is going to stand up when wrongs happen? When that family member, that friend, that neighbor, that teammate, or that classmate says something, who is going to stand up for what’s right?”
Bailey argued that, while believers should all be drawn together into one body, the community of believers does not need to all look or even behave the alike.
“[Christ] died to create the multi-ethnic church,” Bailey said. “There are distinctions in our unity. Paul isn’t arguing for a non-distinct church. The beauty in our unity is our diversity.”
“We are better together, because we are stronger together,” Bailey said.
