Rev. Dumas: Reconciliation Requires Dealing With Insults

True reconciliation requires a commitment to withstand insults, pastor and author Rev. Dwight Dumas says in a recent interview with Valley Tough.

“If you’re going to be a change agent, if you’re going to be out in front and involved in change that involves more than one minority or ethnicity group, you’re going to have to endure the insult,” Rev. Dumas said.  “You’re going to be insulted by people. A lot of us right now are fairly thin-skinned on all fronts and not really equipped to deal with the insult… We have to be tough-skinned enough to get to the point where we can make an impact.”

The interview was part of Valley Tough’s “Words on Race” series with host Chris Gunther.

Check out the video below.

Rev. Dumas, a Youngstown State University running back in the 1970s, pointed out that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was severely insulted, as was Jesus.

Enduring insults is one of seven steps to reconciliation outlined in his recently published book, Reconciliation: A Matter of Life & Death (learn more here). The steps are based on the Biblical story about the reconciliation of brothers Jacob and Esau, a process that took 20 years. 

During the interview, Rev. Dumas also gives his take on why churches are so segregated.

Valley Tough is a community information website launched in March 2020 and managed by Pecchia Communications, a Youngstown public relations and marketing firm. Located at www.valleytough.org, the site enjoys financial support from Youngstown Orthopaedic Associates, Aim Transportation Solutions, NOMS Ankle & Foot Care Centers, the Mahoning County Land Bank and Pecchia Communications.