Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil opened the Faith Forum in chapel by introducing Eastern to her friend Sam. “I call her a friend because her story makes sense to me,” McNeil said. She understands that, like many, Sam satiated her desire for fulfillment with her lusts, running away from her true calling to be God’s child despite her ethnic background.
As Dr. McNeil began her interpretation of John 4, the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, she went into invocation singing, “I’ve Got a River of Life Flowing Out of Me.”
Dr. McNeil’s company, Salter McNeil and Associates, works with schools, businesses and other organizations to explore the conversation of reconciliation and race relations. Through a vastly diverse staff, they practice to be credible witnesses to those they are working with.
Under the impression that ministries had to be non-profit organizations, Dr. McNeil began her company as Overflow Ministries. Later she decided to change directions becoming Salter McNeil and Associates LLC. which reduced some of the work that it took to be an NPO so that she would be able to focus on her mission of uniting people.
During the second session held in McInnis Auditorium, Dr. McNeil talked about cultural diversity from a Biblical perspective. “I clearly believe that a call for reconciliation is a Biblical one, I believe this is a spiritual issue. This is the
church’s responsibility,” McNeil said.
From the time of Abraham until now, according to McNeil, we have become too thoughtful about following Christ and that following God in his sovereignty should not be a matter of decision but of action, including in the area of social justice and reconciliation among races and ethnicities.
“God’s will, purpose and plan are eminent,” McNeil said. As she stood in front of the auditorium, she explained that God’s plan was not for us to sit in our comfort zones, but to reach out to others, and go beyond the normal boundaries that are set before us, sharing Christ’s love “so that the earth will be filled with God’s glory.”
She continued to speak the unfortunate truth. “We don’t want all the families of the earth to be blessed, I want to be blessed,” McNeil said, illustrating the self- serving thoughts of humanity.
The message that Dr. McNeil most earnestly conveyed is that as the people of God, there is a responsibility to make peace with those that we find to be different. Even if one group may lack commonalities with another, it does not mean that they have any less of a right to be considered. This is not only a social justice issue, but an issue of Christ.
With this in mind, Dr. McNeil ended, “Let’s do a better job of evangelism.”