Hush! (Somebody’s Calling my Name)

I saw the clip of Pastor Keion Henderson that is making its rounds on the interwebs. The pastor is standing up before his congregation, seemingly in worship, singing “Total Praise”. ‘ His hands were lifted. His eyes were closed. At one point, he was speaking in tongues. In the background, we can hear a woman crying out. We can’t see her face for a majority of the video, but I assume she was also in worship. Besides the pastor’s voice, there was a smattering of clapping, and singing, but this lady was louder than the rest. Things take a nasty turn after that.

First he shushes the woman. Now, nobody loves a good shush more than me. The Bible says there is a time to be quiet, and some people need to be reminded of that. Heck, I need a reminder on a regular basis. I would almost be okay with the shush, but what came next was worse. He then snapped and pointed at this poor woman and told her to be quiet again. He told someone to stop her then he snapped and pointed a second time. An unknown voice says “Silence” and the pastor repeated “Silence, in the name of Jesus,” and then he walked away, still singing, but his hands were no longer raised and his eyes were noticeably open.

The pastor has since gone on a national television program to explain his actions. The internet seems divided on this one. And while I certainly have feelings about this, I’m going to set those aside for a moment, because honestly, since I first heard her cry, my focus was on her. This whole incident reminded me one of my favorite Fred Hammond songs.

Dear Sister in Christ,

Even if nobody else wanted to, the Lord heard your cry. I don’t know what you need or what your heart desires, but God does. I am praying that you receive the answers you are desperately seeking. I am praying that you have people around you who will cry out to God on your behalf when others try to silence your voice. Be encouraged on your journey. Know that you’re not walking it alone.

Now to the rest of us:

Y’all remember this song? Now imagine it as if it’s the Lord singing it to us, his beloved church. Don’t let our noise and nonsense be an obstacle to any one who is trying to get a prayer through. Sometimes, it’s us that need to hush!