MOULTRIE, Ga. — A group of Colquitt County pastors has issued a challenge to area residents in light of protests that have swept the nation following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

They aren’t challenging people to protest or march, but instead to reach out in friendship.

The Colquitt County Pastors Fellowship calls the challenge “Hospitality of the Heart,” according to a letter from the fellowship’s leaders, Pastor John Eubanks and Pastor Wayne Woods.

“As pastors, we remember one of the most rewarding and closest fellowship times among us was about ten years ago when we gathered in each other’s homes for a meal together,” Eubanks and Woods wrote. “Yes, black, white and Hispanic all around one table, in someone’s home, sharing each other’s stories and sharing life together. So, with that in mind, would you consider inviting someone of another race over to your house? Would you offer them the hospitality of your heart? Would you share with them a meal, a cup of coffee, a listening ear, a conversation and of course lift up a prayer for our hurting nation?”

Eubanks, pastor of Friendship Alliance Church, met with a handful of other pastors Wednesday to discuss the challenge. In many ways the meeting, over sub sandwiches, was the exact kind of conversation the challenge is intended to spark.

“The Christian community — not just the leaders — need to lead the way,” Eubanks said.

As discussions continued, two ideas emerged. 

From one angle, the invitation would serve as the first step in a friendship between two individuals, despite their differences. As their friendship progressed, over time, they’d become able to speak honestly to one another about difficult topics, including racial conflict.

The other angle encourages participants to start out trying to talk about such topics.

“It’s like evangelism,” said Pastor Donnie Lewis of Lakeside Assembly of God. “The first time you do it, it’s uncomfortable. It gets easier the more you do it.”

Lewis said as a white man he doesn’t have the answers — he hasn’t shared the experiences of black people. “I can’t identify with what Cornelius has been through,” he said, gesturing at Pastor Cornelius Ponder sitting around the table from him. But he said he wants to be part of the solution to the racial divide that’s splitting the country.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard a white man say that,” said Pastor Benji Nobles of Greater Believers Worship Center. “That meant a lot right there.”

Several of the men spoke about fears that many in the black community have of police officers. That’s been a common theme since Floyd died while a Minneapolis police officer held him down by kneeling on his neck.

Pastor Dion Brown of the Colquitt County Baptist Association repeated a comment he heard from a black mother, “I prayed every day that my boys come home safe.” Brown said as a white father, while he also prayed for his children’s safety, he also expected it — and he certainly didn’t expect a police officer to be a threat.

The conversation also raised questions about police officers’ reaction to their own authority. He wondered if people in law enforcement and similar jobs are trained to have the superior attitude — not just with black people but with everybody.

“Some people can be in authority and can handle it,” Pastor Johnny Ward of Outreach Family Worship Center said. “Some people, it goes to their head. No matter what color they are.”

Ponder, who in addition to pastoring Greater Newton Grove Cathedral is a Moultrie city councilman, said one of the challenges he sees as a minister is the divisiveness of politics. He has to be careful what he says even in his own congregation because some parishioners strongly support one candidate and others strongly oppose him.

“We don’t have to live in agreement to walk in love,” Ponder said. “God is love and doesn’t agree with us, but he continues to bless us.”