Book by Pastor, New School Board Member Says It’s About Being, Not Just Doing

being the believing (475x800)A military veteran, the pastor at CommUNITY Church in Salem, a new Roanoke County school board member – and now an author: Thomas McCracken has just released Being the Believing: Living out the Beatitudes, which he says is about “everything being done for and through and by our faith. It’s not doing good – on Sundays or Wednesdays its being good at work [for example] … your actions, your reactions wherever you are, whatever you are doing – doing it for Christ. Not just doing church, but being church.”

The Beatitudes originated from the Sermon on the Mount – “the greatest sermon ever preached by Jesus,” notes McCracken. He says the Christian majority has “become so quiet and silent … we’ve allowed the Godless minority represented by organizations like Freedom from Religion … to quiet us and stifle us.” One of the eight Beatitudes is “Blessed are the meek,” which McCracken feels has been misinterpreted. “We as Christians have become complacent and quiet and scared and silenced by the minority.”

Even being elected to the county school board from the Catawba district, after making no effort to hide his faith showed McCracken that Christians “are not alone” and can raise their voices. “I don’t think we should be ashamed anymore – we should start living out Christianity and not being a doormat.”

Becoming upset with complacency among Christians is why McCracken said he wrote Being the Believing, which is available through online booksellers like Amazon.

“Lazy, self-absorbed … as a nation,” he adds. He points the finger at established churches for allowing much of that attitude – that what happens within those four walls is the be all and end all. “We’re supposed to be out in the world.” The Beatitudes can get people outside of the church and into the community, said McCracken.

That’s the focus of his book – which includes a foreword by Pastor Jonathon Falwell of Thomas Road Baptist Church – one of the few by the son of the late Jerry Falwell Sr that has been written for a book, said McCracken.  He had a connection to Falwell through a church where he used to pastor – Airlee Court Baptist – later taken over by Thomas Road. The two reconnected years later after meeting at a convention. He showed up with his manuscript when they finally met again – hesitant to show it to Falwell. When he finally worked up the nerve to ask Falwell to look at it “he was most gracious” and wound up writing a 2-plus page foreword.

McCracken said it took him time to “be good” himself, coming short for years after youthful brushes with drugs and alcohol.  Being good versus doing good also meant standing vigil outside the WDBJ-7 studios in late August after journalists Allison Parker and Adam Ward were shot dead on live television – rather than just meet at the church in Salem to pray for them – as was his original thought. McCracken wound up being interviewed by CNN as his congregation stood with others and prayed for several days.

“We surrounded those people and I think we made a lot of difference. [Others] were so amazed that all these people were just coming out.” He tried to recruit other pastors but McCracken said they preferred to remain at their churches. McCracken also says his Christian beliefs won’t interfere with his work on the school board, instead “it’s a great opportunity to platform that ideal,” that is to stop telling people “what we are against … and [tell them] what we are for.”

Gene Marrano

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