As originally printed in T.D. Jakes’ MegaFest 2015 Souvenir Magazine:

With violent assaults on historically African American churches resurging in recent months, many in the Body of Christ are searching for a faithful response from Christian leadership and community. Attacks on these churches are not a new thing; the Emanuel African Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina had experienced its own violent history nearly 200 years prior to the June 17 massacre of nine people. White residents in Charleston burned down the same church in 1822 after Denmark Vesey, one of the founders of Emanuel, organized a slave revolt that was later thwarted. Continue reading →