Amid the hubbub that is more charged than usual, the Reverend Sanders emphasizes what he and the Pastors for Compton have stressed all along: accountability. If Omar has learned a lesson and is up to the task, says Sanders, that would be fine with him. “We didn’t agree with everything Eric said,” Sanders points out. “But there was communication. The difference with the mayors was the response to us and our concerns.” But the pastor couldn’t ignore the fact that in Compton, faith in change has become nothing less than spiritual. “The fight’s going to go on,” he says. “God did not mean for it to end this way.”