Ministry happens when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God. - Warren Wiersbe
The problem of racism is like dust in a dark room, it's present even if you don't see it. Open the window, let the sun in and it is clear as day. The result is that as a church we are failing our mission. What we can do today:
1. Recognize your privilege and educate yourself on the institutionalized biases that favor you while obstructing people of color (So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo)
2. It is not enough for an individual to claim that they are not racist—instead, we must all strive to be actively “antiracist” in order to disrupt the status quo and drive meaningful change. Go out of your way to honor a person not from your "in" group. (How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi)
3. Understand the Civil Rights movement, and glean valuable insight from one of the most pivotal voices in Black history (The Radical King offers listeners the opportunity to hear MLK's speeches, as organized and edited by activist Cornel West)
Don't let our lost brother come home only to have him feel like "I'm never coming back to this church"
Since May 25 when George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police the world has come to support black lives matter movement. a "member-led organization whose mission was to build local power and to intervene when violence was inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes." A few notable places of support have been YouTube, Google, Netflix, and Amazon - giving front-page resources to a huge daily audience.
I've been able to watch 13th which chronicles the story of black people from Emancipation to Jim Crow Laws to Segregation and "criminal justice." It's helpful to understand white privilege and the cruelty that's been inflicted on black people that continues to this day.
Harder and closer to home, I also watched a series called The Color of Compromise, a video study reveals chilling connections between the church and racism throughout American history. Jemar Tisby explores ways Christians have reinforced theories of racial superiority and inferiority, and outlines the kind of bold action needed to forge a future of equality and justice.
As I was watching I remembered all the churches I've been that are mostly empty. The church doesn't have an "empty seats" problem we have a "missing person" problem. I've experienced this when inviting black people to join my mostly white in-depth Bible study class. They were not welcomed as guest, they were questioned as trouble makers. When they left another friend of mine took down there license plate number. I met these men of God in a wealthy mall as I was having a conversation about salvation with my brother. His message was "Faith without works is dead." - we must go from seeing racism to personally ending racism like Jesus did in John 4 - even when our disciples don't follow or understand. Surprisingly I learned that Jesus demonstrates ministry in the Holy Spirit (John 4-6:21) in this very class!
At my employer-sponsored Christian network, I was encouraged to connect with our black employee network. In preparation for a prayer meeting for racial equality I read, The Third Option: Hope for a Racially Divided Nation and Gracism: The Art of Inclusion. Gracism shows many examples of "radical inclusion" from God through-out the Bible. Think of the woman at the well, the good Samaritan, the people of Ninevah. Remember Jesus said the only sign he would give was the sign of Jonah (a lot can happen in three days).
We have another prayer meeting next week for ending racial prejudice. I called out racial prejudice (instead of racism) as I learn from the Third option, that labeling people "racist" or "non-racist" is not helpful - what is helpful is giving people in your "out" group the benefit of the doubt as people in your "in" group. This is being a good neighbor, My neighbor is about opportunity not geography (James 2:1-13). In preparation for this meeting, my friend made an insensitive statement about not wanting Juneteenth to be another mandatory holiday - this statement so offended my colleague that she couldn't hear anything else. She was able to tell us that July 4th means nothing to her, June 19th is her day of freedom. My friend explained he doesn't like any mandatory holiday but the damage was done.
We need to be sensitive to one another's pain. Good advice to navigate is to have thick skin (don't take offense) and a soft heart (empathize with another pain). Don't fall for the tactics of the devil and build the church God's way.
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