A Story of Resilience by Rev. Bill Lamar

When Bill Lamar was appointed Senior Pastor of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C, which sits on the longest continuously held piece of property by persons of African descent in the District of Columbia, the Bishop asked him how he felt. Rev. Lamar said he felt like he had 200 years of history on his back. The Bishop agreed and said, “Now go do something with it.”

Rev. Lamar, now in his seventh year as pastor of Metropolitan, draws resilience from ancestors of the past and visions of future generations who will continue the church’s ministry. This story is a powerful account of the church’s capacity to be more loyal to what God is doing in the world than to anything or anyone else. “The church has to be resilient enough to understand our power is not generated from the government of the United States but our power is generated from the one who defeated death.” Rev. Lamar’s story will inspire and challenge you to discover the depths of your resilience and lead with purpose.

 

QUOTES

• “You don’t know what you have until you get there, until you live among the people.” -Rev. Bill Lamar [03:03]
• “Being in the presence of God, living in the divine life frees us and that liberation is not just spiritual. That liberation is physical, emotional, economic, politically.” -Rev. Bill Lamar [12:24]

 

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00] Intro
• [02:08] An address change
• [05:21] Understanding what had come before him
• [08:53] His source of resilience
• [13:12] What it looks like today

 

RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS

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Rev. Bill Lamar is the co-host of "Can These Bones," the Faith & Leadership podcast, and can be reached on Twitter @WilliamHLamarIV.

Rev. Lamar mentions the book, Eyewitness: The Negro in American History (A Living Documentary of the Afro-American Contribution to U.S. History) by William Loren Katz

Reservoirs of Resilience is inspired by the monograph written by Bishop Janice Huie. Read the full publication here.

This podcast is brought to you by TMF’s Leadership Ministry. Leadership Ministry connects diverse, high capacity leaders in conversations and environments that create a network of courage, learning, and innovation in order to help the church lean into its God-appointed mission. For more information and to support TMF’s Leadership Ministry, visit https://tmf-fdn.org/leadership-ministry.