Local action: First interview with Darian Blue

Today, I am joined by Darian Blue, Executive Director of the Phillis Wheatley Center in Greenville, SC. This is a community center that serves the underprivileged members of the community. Darian Blue is also pastor of Nicholtown Baptist Church.

In this first post about local concerns, I try to inform and help people in Greenville County think about where religion and community needs connect. I ask Director Blue not only about the center but also about his own life and beliefs and about how those inform and motivate his service to the community. We talk about the experience of extreme poverty and about the challenges that the poor in our community face. We talk about what the community and Christians in particular can do to help. We also talk about what gospel preaching has to do with social services.

I feel that there are several reasons it is important for Christians in Greenville to be familiar with Darian Blue. First, he is a black (or African American) pastor of a black church in the area. If your church's demographics are very different from those of the community at large, your church is like most in the area. I think it is important to try to understand why that is. Unless there is a language barrier, there are probably factors driving the self-segregation on Sundays that can and should be changed. I did not raise this issue in this interview: Pastor Blue did. Whether or not you agree with Pastor Blue's theology or his social views, I hope you will take this opportunity to evaluate how effective the church in the area is at bringing people together.

Second, Director Blue is on the front lines of community service. He is helping people that others are not helping. Concern for the poor and the underprivileged is a gospel issue. Because of that, I take an active interest in those who are serving them, especially if they are serving them in the name of Christ. I hope you will do the same.

Take action:

1. Commit to pray for the center, its staff, and those it serves.
2. If you have not done so already, look for opportunities to form ongoing relationships with people of another race or social background.
3. Check out the PWC's website  to learn about opportunities for service.
4. Consider purchasing tickets to the student fundraiser production The Sound: A Motown Tribute. Here is a sample of the students' work. The production will be at 7 pm on Thursday, December 29 at the TD Convention Center. For ticket information, call (864)240-4242.
5. Share this interview with everyone you know in the Greenville area.

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