A Second Open Letter: To Leaders

By: Lorine Spratt
Executive Assistant at First Bossier in Bossier City, LA

Editor’s Note: This is a copy of a letter that Ms. Spratt has personally mailed to both Dr. Akin and Mrs. Beth Moore.

To: Beth Moore, Danny Akin, and others who share their mindset…

I’m listening to and paying great attention to several leaders in the evangelical arena
and I do not agree with their perpetuated narratives.

As a born-again, conservative, black worshiper, who attends a predominately White
Southern Baptist Church, it’s disturbing to hear a very biased narrative, especially from leaders
who have the potential to influence the masses.

Please allow me to share why from my personal experience. I grew up during the latter
part of the desegregation era. I saw the “Colored” signs that hadn’t come down yet and I was a
little girl when my mother delivered 4 of her 6 children at a “white hospital” and could not have
a bed in the same maternity ward as the “white mothers”. Also, in 1975 while at work, I
experienced public verbal prejudice for the first time in my life. Now, by the voice of Dr. Moore
and his cohorts, I should demand an apology for the treatment I received but I say, “No apology
necessary!” There’s no need for anyone today to apologize to me for something their
forefathers did 43 years ago. More importantly, the Holy Spirit has shed His love abroad in my
heart and I hold no one hostage for an apology. Numerous sincere, repentant apologies and
resolutions have been made. Those apologies and resolutions have been accepted and we
should continue to move forward and press on together seeing people as people – not color –
being fully devoted to sharing the gospel with every people group, and every nation until our
Lord returns.

In the Word of God, there are many non-negotiables such as the sanctity of life, marriage
between one man and one woman, the command to share the Gospel with the world, the
command to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and many, many, others and we
dare not waver on any of these.

The problem comes when we try to urge or coerce others to think as we do on issues that are
not among these non-negotiable commands that God gives us in His Word.
We can have different opinions and will definitely have different opinions because God, in His
infinite wisdom, made us all different with various backgrounds.

The job of a good leader, in my estimation, is not to point out our obvious differences but draw
from how much we are alike and motivate by pointing out the positive. He or she should lay
out facts with the positive and negative and let others make their choice.

Every leader will have personal convictions about any given subject but their personal
convictions should not become the plumb line or standard for everyone. A leader should not
address subjects, as we are discussing, with such a broad stroke and heavy hand to provoke one
side or the other. Dr. Moore’s comments are very heavy handed. A leader of his caliber should
know how to express himself without using terms that will antagonize. Rather, he should speak
healing truth, unifying truth, truth that will point us toward the Savior — not rhetoric that will
cause us to look at skin color before we get to know one another. That’s the kind of leader that
I desire and expect to follow.

Dr. Moore’s words, tweets, and articles will set us back. They won’t move us toward unity. His
words add to the unrest and not peace in our society. I have not been the first to bring this to
his attention, but he continues.

I say again, Dr. Moore does not speak for me or represent me and I stand by my convictions.
Sowing discord among the brethren is wrong and that’s what Dr. Moore is doing. I will NEVER
be ok with that and I will speak against it at every juncture.

Please, let’s strive to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace!

A sister to all believers,
Lorine Spratt