Leaving The KKK Behind

God can change anyone for the better. Former KKK hate group member, Richard Harris, left the organization, touched by the grace of God, compelling his heart to make a change. Today he in an author and pastor of the Living Hope Community Church in Lakeland.

The Bible says of Jesus, "Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved" - meaning through faith in Jesus and changing one's unethical ways, salvation can be obtained. It is a guarantee that when this life is over, you will go to heaven forever in the next one.

Gospel Delivers Lakeland Pastor From KKK to God

Last Modified: Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 11:14 p.m.

Richard Harris, pastor of Living Hope Community Church in Lakeland, wrote "One Nation Under Curse" about his days as a member of the KKK in Indiana and how he was called to his religious faith.

The photo shows a skinny, shaggy-haired teenager with huge 1970s-era glasses. He's wearing a white satin robe and on it is the insignia of the Ku Klux Klan.

The Rev. Richard C. Harris shakes his head slightly. "It's hard to believe it was really me because I don't have those beliefs anymore," he said...

Harris, pastor of Living Hope Community Church in Lakeland, has been out of the Klan for more than 30 years now. He has been speaking out against the Klan and its racism for a long time, but he just published a book about his years in the KKK, "One Nation Under Curse," which has landed him guest appearances on numerous nationally syndicated radio talk shows.

The "curse" he refers to - a word employed by the Klan with pride - is racism. With the election of Barack Obama as president, some might think that racism in America is a thing of the past, but Harris emphatically disagrees.

"The Emancipation Proclamation didn't do it. The Civil War didn't do it. The civil rights movement didn't do it. I'm sorry, but a black man in the White House is not going to change the racial tensions inbred in this country," he said...

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