by Wayne Faison, BGAV executive director

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As my wife and I engaged in some of the MLK Day festivities in our local community last month, I began to ponder what it would be like if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were still alive today. I also began to ponder, if Dr. King were still living today, what would he have to say to BGAV pastors, churches, and leaders? I believe his words would likely be both bracing and hopeful—rooted in the gospel, shaped by courage, and animated by love.

I believe Dr. King would first remind us that the church’s calling has never been to mirror the culture, but to transform it. In a time marked by polarization, fear, and fatigue, he would encourage BGAV leaders to resist the temptation of silence or safe neutrality. He would say that faithfulness—not comfort—is the measure of the church’s witness in the world. The gospel, he would insist, still has public impact for justice, dignity, and the sacred worth of every person created in the image of God.

I believe Dr. King would encourage pastors who feel weary. He would acknowledge the burden of leading congregations through cultural change, declining trust, and internal disagreement. Yet he would urge us not to lose heart, reminding us that moral progress is often slow and resisted—but never wasted. “Keep preaching,” he would say, “keep loving, keep standing,” even when the results are not immediately visible.

To churches, I believe Dr. King would speak about the beloved community—not as a slogan, but as a covenant of kinship topped with unconditional love. He would challenge BGAV congregations to cross lines of race, class, and ideology, not for the sake of relevance, but for the sake of obedience. Unity, he would remind us, is not uniformity, but a shared commitment to truth, justice, and sacrificial love.

Finally, to leaders across BGAV, I believe Dr. King would offer us hope. He would affirm that God is still at work through courageous, humble servants. He would urge us to trust that when the church walks faithfully—choosing love over fear and justice over convenience—the arc of God’s purposes will bend toward redemption.

I believe if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were speaking to BGAV today, his encouragement would be clear: Do not grow weary in doing good. Kingdom work matters. God is faithful. And BGAV pastors, churches, and leaders still have a vital role to play in our world today.

Rev. Dr. Wayne Faison is BGAV’s executive director.

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