The theme for my ordination was the great cloud of witnesses from Hebrews 11-12. My theme for my sabbatical is "a web of connection." And so I am both honored and humbled to be able to say that I am connected to Bill Pannell through this great cloud, through this web.
Pannell was a long time professor of preaching and practical theology at Fuller, as well as Dean of Chapel. But even more than that, Pannell was an ardent proponent within American evangelicalism for racial justice and racial reconciliation. His book My Friend the Enemy, written in 1968, shook up the evangelical consciousness. Here was a black man, speaking the language of mostly while evangelicals, naming the subtle and insidious ways that the sin of racism undermines the message of the gospel. He courageously proclaimed the gospel mandate for racial justice in spite of much opposition and has left a legacy of reconciliation behind.
Over the past three days, Fuller has hosted a series of events in honor of William Pannell. They have also officially renamed their Center for African American Church Studies after him. It is good to see Fuller honoring Pannell's legacy by carrying on and stewarding his message to the church; especially in the wake of the unresolved racial tension that has come to the surface in this country through recent events in Ferguson, Staten Island, and other places.
Obviously, issues of racial reconciliation are important today just as they were during Pannell's active ministry. And thanks to his ministry, Fuller, and the rest of the church, is in a better position to pick up the torch where he left off and shine the light of the gospel into a dark world by proclaiming the gospel of peace to every tongue and tribe and nation, and to continue down the path of justice, healing, and reconciliation.
