My wife and I received a telephone call from the principal that afternoon before Frank even got out of school telling us about the incident. I told my wife, \u201cI sure hope they don\u2019t fire the coach over that. If they try to, I\u2019m going to go up to the school and speak with the principal, hoping to change her mind.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of my favorite television shows is the science fiction series Star Trek<\/em>, especially the versions that feature Mr. Spock. Mr. Spock was considered a \u201chybrid.\u201d His mother was an earthling and his father was a Vulcan. Vulcans are logical beings who have learned to suppress their emotions because a long time ago their out-of-control emotions led to a civil war that nearly destroyed themselves and their planet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Spock has his emotions under control 99 percent of the time. But there are times in his life when he is under stress or genuinely happy that he will cry, fight, laugh, or say something out of character for him. Sometimes the human side in him comes out because he is a hybrid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The truth is that we are hybrids. There is a new man inside of us that receives assistance, power, and guidance from the Holy Spirit. There is also still some of the sinful old man inside that we keep trying to dispel.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n I believe this is what happened to my son\u2019s coach. After Frank\u2019s next basketball game, the coach, with tears in his eyes, told me what had happened. I believe he loves those kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I told my son, \u201cThe coach is a great encourager to you guys. Sometimes words slip out, not out of malice but simply because we do not have it all together as much as we would like to think we do. The words that slip out are not always edifying words or wholesome words.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Apostle Paul admonished the Christians in the church at Ephesus, \u201cLet no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear\u201d (Ephesians 4:29, ESV). <\/p>\n\n\n\n I said, \u201cThe situation is that corrupt words came out of the coach\u2019s mouth. I have also heard words come out of his mouth that build up the basketball team.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whenever we find ourselves in intense moments, such as \u201cdiscussions\u201d with our spouse, driving down the street when someone cuts us off, or with a neighbor who drives across the corner of our grass while pulling up in his driveway, we really should not have corrupt words come out of our mouths, but sometimes they do. The truth is that we are hybrids. There is a new man inside of us that receives assistance, power, and guidance from the Holy Spirit. There is also still some of the sinful old man inside that we keep trying to dispel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Stevie Wonder sang a song with the words, \u201cSkeletons in your closet itchin\u2019 to come outside.\u201d The skeletons are the unholy things that we struggle to keep inside. We have got to stop throwing one another under the bus because of a mistake. Jesus had the option to curse those who nailed him to the cross. Instead, He chose to forgive them and die on the cross for their forgiveness and ours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My mother used to repeat an old Mississippian saying: \u201cEvery tub has to stand on its own bottom.\u201d It simply means that you don\u2019t lump any race of people together based on the behavior of one person. You judge everyone one at a time for how they treat you individually. We are all tubs, and we must stand on our own bottoms. We are also hybrids, a combination of human and spirit, old man and new man, earthly occupying and heavenly bound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My son may have never heard what his coach said, but he did realize his father was willing to go up to the school and go to bat for someone who had made a racially insensitive mistake. I told him, \u201cThis will probably happen in your life again. When it does, don\u2019t throw the person under the bus. Go to bat for them in the name of Jesus Christ. After all, He went to bat for all of us hybrids!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frank Collins Jr. is the lead pastor of Breath of Life Christian Church in Harper Woods, Michigan. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, he is a retired skilled trades teacher and journeyman plumber. A certified human behavior counselor, Frank holds a B.A. degree in Biblical Science and is currently a graduate student at Moody Theological Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan, pursuing a Master of Divinity Degree.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Frank genuinely loves God, God\u2019s people, their families, and the lost. It is his heart\u2019s desire to help others become growing disciples for Christ so that they can enlarge His Kingdom on earth and subsequently take their place in heaven. He has been happily married to Renita since 1998. They have five beautiful children: Andrew, Kimberly (deceased), David, Frank III, and Raina.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/em> <\/em><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Frank Collins Jr. When I was approached to write a story concerning racial relationship barriers, I had a lot of material I thought I could use. I am a former construction worker and have had a plethora of life experiences dealing with racism to pull from. The topic I was specifically asked to write about, however, was what I taught my children about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":17044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[179,235,237],"class_list":["post-15393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-articles","tag-may21","tag-racial-reconciliation","tag-racism"],"yoast_head":"\nAbout the Author<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n
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