The Everyday Club

3/17/10 DeAnthony, 20
Marty and I went again to a south-loop deli, where we spoke with DeAnthony, who was enjoying a snack on his break from work. DeAnthony grew up attending a well-known African-American church with a strong social justice agenda. He stopped church involvement several years ago when his family no longer forced him to go. He doesn't see his need for church, yet believes he is a good person deserving of heaven. He changed his mind, however, after a few minutes of thinking about the Ten Commandments and how he really stands before God's standard rather than the world's. "You think you are good because you've been comparing yourself to the world, but it only makes sense that God would have a higher standard than the world, right?" I went on to explain that God not only loves people, but He also loves justice and will see to it that all sin is punished, from murderers on down to liars and thieves. It seemed like DeAnthony had never heard these hard truths before. Was it that he hadn't been listening all those years in church, or was it that the church hadn't been preaching it? More and more, as churches become oriented toward a man-centered, "felt-needs" approach to ministry, I'm afraid it's the church that is not doing its job.