“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,” Acts 3:19
As someone who is from a very racist town and had a racist background (of which I am very ashamed) before Jesus changed my life in a revival, I am very interested in what is happening for the Kingdom of God in Jena, Louisiana. The REVIVAL IN JENA is in its 7th Week and over 100 people have been born-again. (I like the born-again term, it is biblical see John 3). The following excerpt is from Baptist Press News.
The extended revival meeting started at Midway Baptist Church on Feb. 17 and continued there for two weeks. For the third week, the services moved to East Jena Baptist Church where John Hebert, regional strategist for the Louisiana convention, is the interim pastor. The crowds had increased so much that the only building large enough in Jena to accommodate the number of people attending was the Jena High School gymnasium where racial tensions erupted last year putting Jena in the national spotlight. For the revival’s fifth week, services moved to Temple Baptist Church, and week six, at First Baptist Church in Olla.
During the past six weeks, more than 100 people have come to know Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. The majority of those decisions have been by adults. At least three have surrendered to a call to the ministry, while hundreds of other decisions have included fresh surrender to the lordship of Christ and reconciliations both relational and racial.
The meetings are marked with extended invitations of confession of sin and repentance and requests for personal forgiveness. Many have testified during the services and asked for forgiveness for their personal role in damaging the community.
See the whole article at BPNEWS “Jena Revival to enter 7th week“
When Jesus’ love comes into a person’s heart – there cannot be any hate. The whole book of 1 John (5 chapters) describes both true and false Christ followers. A true Christian (Christ follower) cannot have hatred in his/her life. It is impossible. When I truly turned from sin and turned to Christ as Lord and Savior – my life was radically changed – immediately. There was nothing gradual about it. When Jesus enters a person’s life the love of God fills that person, changes that person, overwhelms that person, and he/she is so overjoyed to really serve Jesus and live for Jesus.
I was a senior pastor 12 years in Bible belt churches and racism was rampant in every one of them. But is was also rampant in the other old main line denominational churches I knew around me as well. Now that is not to say there were some good and very God-fearing people in those churches who were grieved at racism and stood against it. However, it seemed like you were trying to light a match in a hurricane. Our Bible belt churches are full of unregenerate pseudo-Christians who are deceived in thinking they are truly saved.
We have a generation who has bought into some pseudo-Christian southern fried gospel of morality and easy-believism, that has caused this problem. We need prophets of God in these types of churches, not chaplains.
I rejoice that God has moved us to a church family that is truly not racist. It is refreshing to belong to a church family where people of all races are welcome, black and white, Asian, Hispanic, and interracial families. Obviously we are not in the Bible belt – we are in foreign country 
, South Louisiana and more specifically below I-10 where 80% of the population of Louisiana lives. This church has an open door policy not just in words but in deeds. I know churches in the Bible belt that not many years ago had in their constitution and bylaws that a black person could not join their church. When they found out that they could be sued and have the doors of their pseudo-gospel social club closed, they changed the documents, destroyed all the old ones, and did away with the business meeting minutes. Just what do you think Jesus thinks about that?
I prayed that God would not send me to a racist church again, and I am so glad I get to serve Jesus in Houma. Every church that has a racism problem has a love problem and is full of lost people thinking they are saved. Many of those are in leadership positions. Can you imagine what the members of the early church would say if they peered from the past into the future to see the state of some of the churches today? Every person who has a race problem has a love problem with Jesus – their relationship with God is quite likely non-existent. Jesus said, by your love all men will know you are My disciples. (see John 13:35) And none of the disciples said, “yeah, but…”
