We are to be ready to open the door, whether on the second or third watch of the night.  We are to be ready to open to the Master no matter what time it is. So, again and put simply, we are to have our loins girded so that we might be ready to open the door for the Master!  Now, what is being said? What is being taught? The lesson is about saving faith. In other words, Jesus is telling us that we must have faith. Faith alone saves (Romans 3:22, 25; 10:30-32; Phil. 3:9). Now, this behooves us to ask about the nature of faith. What is it?

When the Lord says in Luke 12:35, “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning…” we immediately begin nosing around the text looking for what it means to “stay dressed” and keep the “lamps burning.” In other words, what is the action we are looking for that requires us to steer clear of bedclothes and keep the energy bills high?  What are we being charged to do?  What is required of us in this text? Such questions deserve our mental energy.  So, take a minute to open your Bible to Luke 12:35-40 and ask yourself, “What is the action for which I am to be prepared?” What is the thing I must do?
Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Did you find it?  Yes, we are to “gird our loins” or tuck our robes into our belt so as to be ready to move and we are to keep the lights on so as to be ready, even in the night. But ready for what? Ready to do what? The fact of the matter is the text doesn’t say. So, Biblical scholars often go backward in their search for the action.  Thus, girding up our loins means ready to tackle anxiety (v. 22ff), being ready to fend off greed (v. 13ff), or having the boldness to acknowledge the Lord before men (v. 8ff). All of these things come earlier in chapter 12, but the fact is they are not part of the 12:35-40.  So, what does that text say about the action for which we are to be ready?
The answer is simple. We are to be ready to open the door, whether on the second or third watch of the night.  We are to be ready to open to the Master no matter what time it is.
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This was a building where former slaves had worshiped, where planning meetings were held in advance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s arrival for the Selma-to-Montgomery march, and where the church’s pastor served as a peacemaker in bringing blacks and whites together during the Civil Rights era.

–Civil rights landmark is a total loss–Three worshipers escape–Leaders say they will rebuild
(Selma, Alabama) There’s nothing left standing of the Selma Reformed Presbyterian Church building except a portion of the basement. The wood-frame landmark that had been built for freed slaves to worship in, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had planned civil rights initiatives, and whose members had started a school, a hospital, and a YMCA when equal access to public services was still a dream—that landmark is dust.
In that building three people were studying the Bible and praying in a basement classroom on January 12, 2023 when a tornado struck.
Rev. Winston Williams, a supply preacher for the congregation for the past five years, had heard a forecast for severe weather but decided not to cancel the prayer meeting because a new couple had come the previous week, and he knew they would be there at 11:30 a.m. looking for him. Some members of the church decided not to leave their houses after hearing the forecast.
So it was just the three of them, and they opened the Bibles to the book of First John. Just after noon there was a sudden quiet that was quickly followed by a sound like a rushing train. Rev. Williams’ first impulse was to lead the group to a room he thought would be safer. “We tried to get into the room and couldn’t. The suction wouldn’t let me open the door.” It all happened fast, he said.
They hit the floor as the building rumbled. Dust circulated in the air, and papers flew around. But their senses didn’t fathom the gravity of the tornado’s impact.
Before long, they heard voices outside, and the sound of chain saws. They left the building and saw that the building above them had been flattened. “I was shocked when I went outside and saw the destruction.”
“At no time did I ever feel any fear or that I would die,” Williams said. “I put that to our confidence in Christ.”
The woman who had been in the church building injured her leg as she hit the floor, but otherwise the three were OK.
Rev. Williams’ next thought was for the children at the school next door—the school that the Reformed Presbyterian Church had founded to provide education for children of freed slaves. Later, Knox Academy became a public school and is now known as the School of Discovery. Williams said there were over 300 children in the building when the tornado struck.
He found the children all safe, but scared. Some cried. Three trees had been toppled, and large air conditioning units had been picked up by the storm, but the classrooms were intact. Williams and the other adults stayed with the children a long time until parents came for them.
Next Steps
“Our plan is to rebuild,” said George Evans, clerk of session for the Selma Reformed Presbyterian Church and a former mayor of Selma. “We do not plan to call it quits.”
This was a building where former slaves had worshiped, where planning meetings were held in advance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s arrival for the Selma-to-Montgomery march, and where the church’s pastor served as a peacemaker in bringing blacks and whites together during the Civil Rights era.
Organized in 1875 as a place for freedmen to worship after the Civil War, the Selma Reformed Presbyterian Church arose out of Knox Academy. That school eventually grew to over 600 students and trained many future leaders. The first principal was George Milton Elliott, first black pastor in the Reformed Presbyterian Church and first pastor of the Selma congregation. Nearby, a hospital was started by one of the church members to provide equal access to good medical care.  The local YMCA grew from the boys’ club founded by Selma pastor Claude Brown and was eventually named for him.
Dr. King was present at some of the planning meetings in the church building. The building had also held the only planning meeting for a group of whites who went on the Selma-to-Montgomery march. The church was later honored for “courageous support of the voting rights struggle in the ’60s,” and a plaque was installed at the back of the auditorium. The plaque was recovered from the rubble. The church building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (https://www.ruralswalabama.org/attraction/reformed-presbyterian-church-selma-al/) .
Church members don’t say much about their past accomplishments or present ministry, preferring to live quiet lives for Christ. “We’ve always been a low-key church,” George Evans said.
Leaders have met once with the insurance company, and another meeting is scheduled next week to form an action plan. Some debris removal needs to be done before they can assess the full extent of the damage. When they do rebuild, they’ll have many guidelines to follow for a historic building.
Insurance will cover the depreciated value of the building, so there will be some costs to be borne by the church, as well as a lot of work. In the meantime, Selma University has offered its cafeteria space to the church for their services, and another Presbyterian church has offered its chapel for future services as needed.
There was no loss of life in Selma, and no member of Selma RP Church was injured or had dwellings damaged. George Evans is grateful for the mercy of God in that. Of course there is no way to replace, with lumber and nails, the unique history of the church building or to reproduce the courage and sacrifice to which the building was a testament.
Along with the collapse of the 145-year-old wood-frame church building, the manse next door received major damage, as well as Rev. Williams’ car.
When Williams left the school building and returned to the church basement to gather his belongings, he could look up and see nothing but air where a tall church structure had once stood. When he entered the area of the basement that had protected him and two others, he found the Bible he had been using still open to the same page in First John that they had been studying when the EF2 tornado blew through.
Selma Reformed Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (reformedpresbyterian.org), a 230-year-old denomination that banned slaveholders from membership and that supported the Underground Railroad. That story, and where the Selma church fits into it, is told in the book A Candle Against the Dark.
In the next several days, an account will be set up for anyone wishing to donate online to the church. Information will also be available for anyone wanting to help in person once arrangements are made. Currently, checks for Selma relief can be sent to the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208.
Drew Gordon is editor of Reformed Presbyterian Witness. 412-805-4999

PHOTOS AVAILABLE AT THIS LINK OR BY REQUEST
https://assets.adobe.com/public/95bf0061-a579-4e05-50c4-b04faf37ddfd
SelmaBasementRoom.jpg—Where Rev. Winston Williams and two others were meeting when the tornado struck (credit: George Evans)
SelmaChurchSide.jpg—Basement with church structure collapsed into it (credit: George Evans)
SelmaChurchAndManse.jpg—Original buildings, pre-tornado
SelmaInterior.jpg—Looking from the basement into the collapsed sanctuary (credit: George Evans)
SelmaManse.jpg—Showing the manse and Rev. Williams’ SUV (credit: George Evans)
SelmaPlaque.jpg—civil rights plaque mentioned in the article
HistoricGraduation.jpg—Knox Academy students on graduation day in the Selma RP church building (credit: Reformed Presbyterian Witness)
HistoricChurch.jpg—Old photo of the church when it had a steeple (credit: Reformed Presbyterian Witness)

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The major controversy that surrounds the book is that it contradicts the narrative of identity politics presently dominant in this country. We are told that racial injustice is only a problem with minority groups who are non-white.  White men are, by definition, oppressors.  That is the standard presupposition of identity politics.  Because the book portrays many white people who came from poor and uneducated backgrounds, the book betrays the current narrative of social justice. The book indirectly tells us that whites can be the victims of so-called inequality too.
[Editor’s Note: This book (and movie) review of the Hillbilly Elegy first ran on The Aquila Report on December 29, 2020. Since its author, J.D. Vance, has been chosen as the Republican candidate for Vice-President, we thought it would be timely to post it again.]
Among upper middle-class white suburbanites, at least in their circles, the book Hillbilly Elegy has become a must-read.  As a result, some of them may view it as the standard for understanding the Appalachian culture.  During its early release the popularity among its readers was reinforced by its rise to the top of the New York Times best-sellers list.
While the book may have minimal interest among many Christians, its narrative and especially the modern public reaction to the caricature of poor white Americans in Appalachia should arouse interest in those who seek to apply the Christian faith to the culture in which we live. It is especially important in our days of critical race theory and identity politics. I will discuss this more below.
Recently, it has been made into a Netflix movie directed by Ron Howard.  It is rated R for the language; however, it is void of the typical Netflix nudity and on-screen sexual immorality. The movie review geeks of “Rotten Tomatoes” gave it a 26% favorable rating while it garnered an 86% favorability rating among the average public audience.
If you are offended by hearing bad language, then this is not the movie for you.  However, if you are able to handle the language while seeking to understand the cultural nuances in the movie, then it may be worth reading the book or watching the movie.
The movie traces the life of J.D. Vance as he was raised in an industrial city in Ohio.  His family had its origins in the hill country of Appalachia (Kentucky), and as many industrial workers did back in the latter part of the 20th century, they had to move out of the hill country to find jobs.  Many of them lived in Ohio during the week and drove home (hundreds of miles) every weekend.  Some purchased homes in Ohio.  J.D.’s mother was a drug addict, and his strong-willed, cussing grandmother (Glenn Close) was the stability factor in his family.  In spite of his difficulties of being raised in a highly dysfunctional family, Mr. Vance eventually went off to Yale and became a successful lawyer.  This is partially his autobiography.
The book derives its title from the stereotypical name of “hillbilly” given to those who were raised in Appalachia.  It is also called an elegy (a lament about the past).  Mr. Vance’s life was very hard and he had to endure much stress and embarrassment in regard to his family. He certainly has an interesting and heart-warming story to tell.
There are several take-aways from the book.  First, in my view, it is really not so much a book or movie about Appalachia and its culture, but more about the consequences of sin in any culture. One could take the same story-line and transfer it to any geographic part of the country and there would not be much difference.  However, curiosity about Appalachian culture gives the book an inviting and magnetic drawing power for outsiders (and insiders, too).
Being raised in Appalachia myself (about 40 years before Mr. Vance), I could identify with some of the tidbits in the movie (like pronouncing the word syrup as “surp,” and not knowing which eating utensils to use at a fancy dinner).  I can attest that there was grave poverty among both whites and blacks in the mountains, especially in the coal fields.  I know of both black and white men walking the railroad tracks looking for lumps of coal that may have fallen off the coal trains.  Coal provided heat for the family in the winter time.  This was before the welfare system and EBT food-stamps.  There were no free-loaders, only survivors. In the early 20th century, miners were often treated like slaves by the mine-owners.  Some of them worse than slaves.
Secondly, it is obvious that in Mr. Vance’s immediate family, there was little influence of the Christian faith.  It seems that no one ever goes to church, except for weddings and funerals. Such Christianity may be more harmful and dangerous than an outright denial of the Christian faith.  Nominal Christianity is deceitful and a harmful curse.  It gives a false assurance of being a Christian with little evidence of the new birth.
Contrary to the portrayal of this family, I can attest that there were many dedicated Christians in those hills and valleys.  The Bible had a major impact on the people and its culture.  It permeated the life and morals of the people as a whole.  Marriage between a man and a woman was held in high esteem.  Adultery was scandalous. At least, that was the Appalachia I knew.
Thirdly, as I noted above, the major controversy that surrounds the book is that it contradicts the narrative of identity politics presently dominant in this country. We are told that racial injustice is only a problem with minority groups who are non-white.  White men are, by definition, oppressors.  That is the standard presupposition of identity politics.  Because the book portrays many white people who came from poor and uneducated backgrounds, the book betrays the current narrative of social justice. The book indirectly tells us that whites can be the victims of so-called inequality too.
The idea of a white family being poor and being treated as the outcast in society is not acceptable among the modern purveyors of critical race theory, thus the low rating by “Rotten Tomatoes.”  A coal miner who was treated like an animal in days past does not fit their narrative. White children raised in poverty who made their way out of their circumstances without government aid or help do not fit their narrative either.
The people in Appalachia that I knew would rather die than take a hand-out from some government welfare system or from some redistribution-of-wealth scheme.  They were proud men whose work defined who they were.  They wanted to be independent, and any hand-outs were associated with degradation and shame.  This was part of their Christian culture.
Again, the book is much more than a story about Appalachian culture.  The book and the movie do not pass the evil white man smell-test of modern cultural warriors.  It does not fit their narrative and it challenges their presuppositions.  Therefore, it is a threat to them.
Christians today need to be aware of the philosophies of the world.  Reading books like Hillbilly Elegy can be profitable, not only in seeing how hard life was in days past even for white people, but also in recognizing how our cultural elites react to narratives that do not fit their political hegemony.
Larry E. Ball is a retired minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is now a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tenn.
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