President Evans speaks at the 25th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast Awards Ceremony

January 25, 2017

Voorhees College President W. Franklin Evans served as the guest speaker for the Midlands Coalition of Churches breakfast held at the Word of God Ministries Banquet Facility Hall in Columbia, S.C. on Jan. 14.

The Midlands Coalition of Churches is a non-profit organization composed of 21 churches throughout the state of South Carolina committed to assisting families in improving their quality of life by developing and implementing programs and training in the areas of economics, education, socialization, and health.

Evans’ speech was focused on the theme, “Who is our neighbor?” He said that there were three types of neighbors in this world. First, he spoke of neighbors who follow the robber’s philosophy “do it to others before they do it to you.” Evans gave the example of slavery explaining that this was the most brutal form of robbery. Slave owners felt superior over their slaves and used force and control to get ahead so that they themselves would not be subjected to equal cruelty.

He described the next type of neighbor who lives by, “the way of the world.” “There are people who are too busy doing church business that they forget the business of the church,” Evans said. Evans said these individuals feel “it’s your problem not mine.” They only focus on themselves and not others.

The third type of neighbor is “the way of the brother.” This specific type of neighbor follows the philosophy, “what is mine is yours.” Evans said that these type of neighbors listen to the teaching of Jesus Christ and view everyone as their brothers and sisters instead of distinctions and labels. Evans said Dr. King was this type of neighbor, who focused on being a Good Samaritan and treating others fairly.

Evans ended, highlighting that Dr. King was great leader, but he was only following the footsteps of Jesus, who was the first leader who tried to make the world a better place. "A lot of what Dr. King went through while seeking social justices can be cited in the BIBLE, where Jesus went through the same thing,” Evans said.

“We all want to get to the promise land, but we must look beyond ourselves and assist our neighbors. It is going to take love, being a devoted brother or sister, and modeling Good Samaritan behavior.”