SMA Stories
Dear Dr Salter McNeil: This Thank You is a few years over due. MY APOLOGIES!!. The reason I'm writing to you now is that I am in the process of re-listening to the sermon you gave at a plenary session at the CCDA conferance conferance in 05. It was the night of your 30th Birthday as a believer. You gave an alter call (sort of) and spoke powerfully about reconciliation and the Samaritian woman in John 4. I became a Christian that night. I didn't stand up BUT prayed with you and every one else with all of my heart. It's been an adventurous couple of years. I have been working in the area of cross community reconciliation in Northern Ireland for many years and this summer had the privilege of taking three months off to work in the Anglican diocese of Gahini in the eastern province of Rwanda. It was a LIFE changing experiance. It has also been a direction changing summer. With out rabitting on with too many details it has been agreed upon by the diocese of Gahini and my employers in Belfast that they will "share" me so for the forseeable future I will be working eight months of the year in Belfast with the same communities I've lived with and worked among for the last 14 years (I was born in Belfast. Because Of the Troubles in Northern Ireland we emigrated to the States after my father was killed) The other 4 months of the year I will be in Gahini supporting the on going work of youth leadership development. I have been given the gift of challenging opportunities in BOTH places.
I've gone on longer then I meant to but I wanted to say thank you very much for your faithful obedience the night you spoke to us. My life began to change forever that night and you are part of that gift of God.
Some day I will meet you face to face and give you a hug from a greatful heart. For now accept my long distance thanks and know that you , your family and all those called to work along side of you are in my prayers.
— Jodie S.
At Urbana 2006, God used you to speak to me about not settling. I was beginning to feel the need to take the easy route and pursue planting an African-American church and hope that others came instead of being intentional as I was called to do in the beginning to plant a multi-ethnic church. You specifically asked the question, “Where have you settled?” and you addressed that specific area of settling. God used you to speak to me.
Later in the conference, my wife attended one of your sessions and shared about her challenges with ethnic identity development. It was the first time she spoke openly about some of the challenges she has had during her life in embracing her ethnic identity. She grew up in the suburbs, private Christian school and happens to like Rock more than Gospel or R&B. She is connected more with things that are typically related to the “white” culture. During that session, God began to do a work in her life. Over the past year it has continued. She has recently come to embrace that she loves being black, she just does not like the way she is treated by others because she is black. This was a huge revelation for her because she realized that her issue was not as much related to how she felt about herself as to how she felt about how others felt concerning her ethnicity.
Since, we saw you at Urbana I have enrolled in Rockbridge Seminary and began taking classes that are helping me to articulate and form my theology and practice of ministry in the context where I am serving at my church. God has continued to bless our ministry. We are now nearly 4,000 members and I have been given the privilege of leading our church in membership, discipleship, adult ministries and missions...
This summer, I traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, Busia, Kenya and Addis, Ethiopia gaining a heart for God’s world. I met the most amazing leaders I have met in my life while I was there. They are doing so much with limited resources. We were able to visit orphanages, schools, NGO’s and meet the president of Ethiopia. I came back more committed to leading a church that has a heart for the world and not just for our community. I believe that we can serve God in both areas...
God is opening doors that I could not have opened on my own. I have friends that have recently planted in Central Texas that are offering wisdom and advice concerning our ministry. I am gaining relationships with Pastors and Christian leaders who want to support our ministry through people and financial resources. I even had the opportunity over the last month to speak at the chapel services for the University of Texas football team, opening up a chance to speak to diverse group of men who are in positions of influence on the campus and in the city. I can see our church being a place where students who gain a heart for multi-ethnicity while college can remain in the area and serve in a church that encourages them to continue living out their values. I can see us being a leading community in this area of racial reconciliation in our city...
So, I just wanted to write again and say thank you for all that you are doing to continue the ministry God has placed on your life. Continue to allow God to use you to call out this generation of leaders to this great call of loving God and loving one another. I still hope to bring you to Austin one day to assist churches in our region in this area of racial reconciliation. Keep serving God with the gifts that he has given you. Know that your labor is not in vain.
— Corey T.
Who rocked chapel September 10th 2007, Brenda Salter-McNeil that is who. I loved the way you talked to us, in a way that connected to us. So many people talk to teenagers like they are teenagers, and you just added in lingo for us to relate without talking down to us. Your words were truly blessed tonight. I would love to hear you speak again, you should come back next year :hink: It was a pleasure to hear you speak, I have truly been moved by your words. Thank you.
– Kayla B., Freshman, Abilene Christian University, Texas
Dear Dr. Brenda:
I want to thank you for your ministry and the message you shared last Saturday at Day Set Apart in St. Paul, MN. It meant so much to me that I had to do something that I've not done before - look someone up to thank them. You were quite easy to find.
I may not be "memorable" to you, but you sure were to me. I was a tall (fluffy:) blue-eyed blonde in a black suit that told you after your Saturday message that it was "prophetic to me." You signed my book and then you stepped out from behind the table to look me in the eyes...you were my height...I loved that! When you spoke that God was "changing my season" the Holy Spirit's power surged through me. I was shaking as I tried to speak with you after and could hardly talk. I wanted to convey that God was healing and taking care of something in your life that concerns you. (I kind of regret trying to speak at all)
My husband and I have given our lives to the ministry but over the past 5 years he has been struck with a rare neurological disorder that causes him extreme, unrelenting pain in his testicles and kidneys. We have been to dozens of specialists (including the Mayo clinic) and there is no cure. The only treatment is strong neurological and narcotic pain medicine. It is almost like a "Job" story. Every dream, area and part of our lives has been impacted by this intense and painful journey. But I must profess...for every blow of the enemy God has counteracted with a blessing. I do not love the Lord less, but more. I am unrelenting in my belief that he will be healed and restored.
I want to tell you what was "prophetic" to me - YOU! Your life, humility and how you communicated. The power of the prophetic coupled together with an equally powerful love - was inspiring and humbling. It is no wonder that God has called you to a ministry of reconciliation. The anointing you possess is so deep and rich...the atmosphere was filled with bondage-breaking deliverance. No doubt you have paid a price for the anointing that you walk in.
Tears were coursing down my face as you spoke, even when the point was really "not about me" and being honest, I don't cry real often, but I felt like God was saying, "It is time to rise up, women of God!" You called me up higher! I have access to LIVING WATER what am I holding back for? I brought back to Jesus my brokenness, my dreams and my deep insecurities from being ashamed due to the opinions of "Christians" who supposedly have "more faith" to elude these greater trials.
Last night, as I tried to convey my heart to my husband, because I have been reflecting on what God is speaking to me. I felt the presence of the Lord so strongly again. I truly believe that my encounter with you left an impartation in my life. When you hugged me, It was like the Lord was loving me and reassuring me at the same time He was exhorting me to "be what I've called you to be, don't be ashamed, rise up because the time is now." I said these words to my husband, "It is as if the Lord was equipping me to be a restorer of the breach an establisher of paths to dwell in" - I began to weep. I'm seeking the Lord to see what this means to me and us and our ministry. These words were spoken over our lives many years ago and we have only skirted around their potential and have been marginal effectiveness in this area.
Well, I've certainly blathered enough. I just wanted to sincerely thank you for being a faithful servant. I feel honored to have had an encounter with someone of your "excellence of spirit."
May the Lord continue to open doors before you to speak deliverance and reconciliation into the lives of those who belong to His kingdom no matter the nation, race or gender.
— Karen T.
Share Your Story!
Has an encounter with Salter McNeil &anp; Associates made a significant impact in your organization? Have you had a powerful experience of reconciliation? Do you see yourself or others differently? Has there been a change in your soul? Tell us about it!
Your story has the power to encourage and inspire others (including all of us at SMA) as we journey together towards racial reconciliation. Your story makes a difference. Share it below:
