The press has been replete with claims of exclusion because of remarks made by our newly elected governor.

The greatest act of exclusion was committed by the Rev. Jay Wolfe as he asserted that Gov. Robert Bentley’s remarks relative to brotherhood were relegated to Southern Baptist dogma.

Bentley took special care during his inaugural speech to quote from the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal..” He referenced the dream of the beloved community as envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He further declared that all 4.4 million citizens of Alabama were his bosses.

Although the governor’s oratorical skills do not quite match those of pastors John Hagee, Jay Wolfe, Michael Thurman, and other renowned rhetoricians, his words had the power of an idea whose time had come.

Come now to the church setting, where after the sermon, an invitation is given. Dr. Bentley declared what many ministers from various faiths declare often. In simpler terms he declares that Christ brings every believer into a spiritual brotherhood that is open to all who will receive it. It is the wish of the governor that all will receive it. Those who refuse that invitation exclude themselves.

The media has magnified a debate that is as old as the debate between Jesus and Jewish leaders relative to fatherhood (John 8).

While many citizens heard words of exclusion of those who would rather die than be included in his faith, I heard the implicit declaration of inclusion of all who would come into a brotherhood and sisterhood by faith in God through Jesus Christ.

During the sesquicentennial of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1995, an apology was issued to African Americans for the stance that the denomination took on slavery in 1845. The resolution asked for forgiveness from blacks who had been long oppressed by errant practices of Christians of that fold.

Now, during the holiday celebrating the birthday of a black Baptist minister who worked and died in pursuit of a dream that a time would come where race would not be the determining factor in deciding the worth of a man, a Southern Baptist deacon makes the invitation for all who would choose it, to become his spiritual brother in Christ.

In 1985, while serving as pastor of historic Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, I was invited to offer a prayer at a commemoration of the Holocaust. As I approached the podium, a Jewish woman approached and whispered in my ear, “Please remember to refrain from praying in the name of Jesus.” While giving deference to those who chose not to believe as I believe, I could no more exclude Jesus from my prayer than Bentley can put his faith in the closet while he works to serve all 4.4 million bosses in Alabama.

Joseph Rembert Sr.

Selma