This guy took $5 from me. I didn’t even have money to ride the bus.” Enculturation in Tyrell’s situation at different times would affect him both destructively and advantageously. You see, Tyrell didn’t go to church. In fact, when it came to God he said, “at that point I thought, if He’s there He doesn’t care, and He’s probably not, so I don’t care.” A definite void in his life created this borderline agnostic to begin the search for truth, meaning, and understanding. Tyrell began to ask questions about life and even hung out with some Muslims looking for answers. He never would have guessed the answers he longed for would come from a girl at a bar. Tyrell met his now wife Marquita at a bar in St. Louis while out with a group of friends one night. As he first approached Marquita, he laughed saying, “She was like, ‘get away from me’.” “My friend actually got her number and I stole it from him and texted her. So for the next two months I really just kept bothering her until she caved in.” As you can see, perseverance is one of Tyrells strong suits. After dating for a while, the couple moved to Paducah. It’s evident that Marquita was put in Tyrells life to guide him to the answers he had been seeking. Marquita’s father was a pastor and had taught his daughter what it meant to look beyond other’s exteriors, pasts, and faults in order to see the good in them. Marquita was steadfast; she was in church every Sunday with or without Tyrell. This later become a major authentication of Christianity to Tyrell since her father would be hurt by the church. Tyrell said, “even with her being wounded it was a huge testimony to me that she would still go to church; cause’ I’d be like let’s go to iHop instead.” After much persistence, Tyrell finally gave in and went with her to church one Sunday. With no previous church background, the lack of instruments at the Church of Christ confused him. He thought, “man, these people can’t even afford any drums.” After the initial experience, Tyrell didn’t return. He confessed, “I was probably hung over on Sunday mornings to be honest.” Previously associations with others led to Tyrell dealing drugs, now affiliations with Christians would lead him to the answer he had been searching for. Because of his curiosity Tyrell began to regularly attend Broadway Church of Christ. He still wasn’t sold on “church” until Pastor Dan Owen invested in him. Tyrell said, “he’s the whitest of white guys, but I love him like a father.” As Dan initiated a relationship with Tyrell, the two began getting together to meet, talk, and just hang out. He reflected, “No church had ever done that for me; he actually cared enough to start a relationship with me.” It was actually Pastor Dan who counseled the couple on their marriage and showed them what it meant biblically to be “one”. Tyrell later gave his life to Christ and was baptized. “at that point I thought, if He’s there He doesn’t care, and He’s probably not, so I don’t care.” Today, Tyrell serves as an Assistant Minister at Broadway Church of Christ and attends school. He’s been on staff for nearly two years and serves in a variety of roles: teaching, preaching, social media, web management, visiting people, and other typical pastoral duties. Tyrell commented on his transition into the ministry, “I think it’s easier for me to relate with others because I didn’t grow up religious. I am just really sold on this Jesus thing, that’s my starting point so I can relate to a lot of very different people.” Tyrell has finally found the truth and his purpose now is to “change hearts and minds with the gospel.” He says, “I’m not concerned about getting people from other churches, but I think there is a uniqueness in Christianity that you can serve people with multiple methods in different places. I think the church is meant to be more like a hospital than a country club.” Tyrell has faced many challenges in his life, such as the death of family members, major culture shift, and his son Elijah being born two months premature. Throughout various uncertainties, Tyrell is committed to standing in declaration of the real truth amongst a crowd of voices. Tyrell, being a young African- American man, commented on some of the recent tragedies in the news saying, “I’m not a fan of large media. It’s hard to have a real conversation on that platform with things like #blacklivesmatter or #alllivesmatter. How can we expect to achieve unity when we’re constantly getting fed the message of hate and distrust?” As a result, Tyrell has been mobilizing people in the Church to get together to open up these lines of racial reconciliation. He says, “I want to hear from them, for them to hear me; hear the fear and realize we don’t have to take sides. If we can do this, I believe some really positive things can happen, even in this community right here.” Tyrell champions a shared idea that through the lens of Christ there really isn’t the black race or the white race. There isn’t the Native American, Latino, Korean, or Jamaican race. Instead, there is the human race, just as many Pastors have said lately, this isn’t a “skin issue”, this is a “sin issue”. If you don’t particularly like people who are different than you, I want to submit to you that you probably won’t enjoy heaven very much. Revelation speaks to a day in this place where individuals from every nation, tribe, and tongue will come together worshipping God, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…” – Revelation 7:9a (ESV) I never realized until now the solid theology in the old children’s song, “Red, yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” Tyrell and I are praying for your eyes be like Christ, and we hope you might look at all of God’s children a little differently from now on. Amen. ʄ AUGUST 2016 21
