Alex Bryant is executive pastor of New Life Church (Assemblies of God) in Oak Grove, Missouri. In July 2016, Bryant posted a video on YouTube in response to recent racial tensions in America. The video, “I Have No Words, but I Can’t Be Silent,” quickly went viral and has garnered over 34 million views to date.

Influence: What prompted you to make this video?
Alex Bryant: I had taken my oldest son to the doctor, and while waiting I felt God tell me specifically to make this video. In my life, there have only been a few times I absolutely knew God was talking to me, and this was one of them. When I got home, I went to my study and started writing. I told my wife what I wanted to say, and she thought the kids should be involved too. It really only took one take from start to finish, and then I put it online.  

I have been engaging on social media for a long time now, and I really love to make videos and share them with my friends. I made this video on the day after police officers were shot in Dallas. I’m an African-American, and I’ve experienced what I feel is police profiling before. But with close friends and family in law enforcement, I think I have a different perspective, and I wanted to share it.

Was your goal for the video to go viral and be seen by so many people?
Absolutely not. I’m already very active on social media, so I didn’t have a goal. I was just doing what God told me to do. When we saw that the video had over 18,000 views and 50 shares within an hour, I was amazed!

“I learned that I can be a mouthpiece of God if I’m willing and obedient.”                                   — Alex Bryant

I like to get people thinking. That’s what it will take for real racial reconciliation to happen. It’s so polarizing! Do we really need to pick a side? I wanted people to know that they don’t have to. I also wanted to get people talking, and I think that’s happened as well.

What has been the typical response to your video?
Very positive, really. I’ve had over 6,000 personal emails from all over the world. Some of them said, “Thank you! You said exactly what I was thinking and feeling.”

There were also some negative emails. But most people understood what I was getting at, that this isn’t a black and white issue but a sin issue. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. When the enemy stirs up emotions to get us to go after each other, we have to remember we’re all struggling with sin. So, let’s stop struggling with each other.

What lessons have you learned from this experience that you’d like to share with others?
I learned that I can be a mouthpiece of God if I’m willing and obedient. This was so effortless and easy because I knew it was God leading me to do it. When you’re following God’s plan, you’ll just know it.

People are looking for some positive role models, and they are looking for messages of hope. So be hopeful and positive. I surely don’t want to mess up the message by being a messy messenger.

This article originally appeared in the October/November/December 2017 edition of Influence magazine.