{"id":10214,"date":"2019-01-19T17:49:10","date_gmt":"2019-01-19T23:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/?p=10214"},"modified":"2019-01-19T22:07:05","modified_gmt":"2019-01-20T04:07:05","slug":"transformed-nonconformist-celebrating-martin-luther-king-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/2019\/01\/transformed-nonconformist-celebrating-martin-luther-king-jr\/","title":{"rendered":"Transformed Nonconformist: Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"e2ma-p-div\">\n<p><span class=\"\" style=\"color: #333333;\">The Transforming Center is closed today in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his courageous leadership in championing racial justice and equality through the use of non-violent resistance. \u00a0In particular, we\u00a0celebrate the fact that he provided this leadership, not merely as a social activist, but as a minister of the Gospel, proclaiming the good news of radical equality for all God\u2019s people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Today we encourage you to take time to pray\u2014alone and with others\u2014that God will expose the sin of racism in our own hearts and systems, and show us what it looks like to be \u201ctransformed\u00a0nonconformists\u201d as we minister in Jesus\u2019 name.<\/strong> \u00a0During these tumultuous days, Dr. King\u2019s challenge to\u00a0us\u00a0to become &#8220;transformed nonconformists\u201d is as relevant as when he first preached this message so many years\u00a0ago straight from Romans 12:2.<\/p>\n<p>How grateful we are for\u00a0this transformed nonconformist who never yielded to the passive sort of patience that is an excuse to do nothing. May God speak freshly to our souls this day as we reflect on his life, his deeply\u00a0spiritual teachings, and the actions that flowed from them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e2ma-p-div\">\n<hr \/>\n<h2><span class=\"\"><span class=\"\">Transformed Nonconformist<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"\"><em class=\"\"><span class=\"\">\u201cWe as Christians have a mandate to be nonconformists. The Apostle Paul, who knew the inner realities of the Christian faith, counseled, \u00a0\u00a0\u201cBe not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your\u00a0mind.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0We are called to be people of conviction, not conformity; of moral nobility, not social respectability. \u00a0We are commanded to live differently and according to a higher loyalty.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Nonconformity\u00a0itself, however, may not\u00a0necessarily\u00a0be good\u00a0and\u00a0may at times possess\u00a0neither\u00a0transforming\u00a0or\u00a0redemptive\u00a0power.\u00a0\u00a0Only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to\u00a0fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit. \u00a0The transformed nonconformist, moreover, never yields to the passive sort of patience that is an excuse to do nothing. \u00a0And this very transformation\u00a0saves him from speaking irresponsible words that estrange without reconciling and from making hasty judgments that are blind to the necessity of social progress. \u00a0He recognizes that social change will not come\u00a0overnight, yet\u00a0he works as though it is an imminent possibility.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This hour in history needs a dedicated circle of transformed nonconformists. \u00a0Our planet teeters on the brink of atomic annihilation; dangerous passions of pride, hatred, and selfishness are enthroned in our lives; truth\u00a0lies prostrate on the rugged hills of nameless calvaries; and men do reverence before false gods of nationalism and materialism. \u00a0The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent\u00a0adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2ma-p-div\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"e2ma-p-div\">\u2013 Martin Luther King, Jr<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2ma-p-div\">excerpt from <i class=\"\">Strength to Love<\/i><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>What would \u201ctransformed nonconformity\u201d look like in your life today?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-size: 80%; font-family: montserrat, sans-serif;\"><a href=\"#respond\">Leave a comment below.<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>For further reflection:<br \/>\nMartin Luther King, Jr and the Soul of Leadership<br \/>\n<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/2012\/01\/opposites-in-fruitful-harmony\/\" data-type=\"url\">Part 1: Opposites in Fruitful Harmony<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/2012\/01\/inner-strength-for-outer-action\/\" data-type=\"url\">Part 2: Inner Strength for Outer Action<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/2012\/02\/love-in-action\/\" data-type=\"url\">Part 3: Love in Action<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Transforming Center is closed today in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his courageous leadership in championing racial justice and equality through the use of non-violent resistance.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beyond-words"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.2 (Yoast SEO v26.2) - 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