This year catapulted issues of race onto people’s radar in ways we probably haven’t seen since the Civil Rights movement.
There have certainly been events since the sixties that flared up racial issues. But from my observation, it seems white Christians in America have generally been able to ignore them.
Not anymore.
Racial issues confront us at almost every turn. We have athletes kneeling before the national anthem. We have “Racial Reconciliation” sections in our news apps and promoted by social media platforms.
Almost every major city in America has had some form of racial protests in the last few months.
The current President of the United States is constantly accused of being racist.
Every major author or podcaster has done at least one article or episode on racial issues.
Even with stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19, we can’t ignore the current cultural discussion on racism.
So, I’m curious, has your church talked about the racial issues being discussed by culture at large? Have you processed as a local body what’s going on and what role we as the body of Christ play when it comes to racial reconciliation?
It’s not an easy conversation to have. And, in some degrees, it feels overwhelming. You might not know where to begin. You might not know much about the history of racism in America, or where to go to learn about it.
In spite of this, we cannot to be silent as the church when it comes to addressing racial injustice. I’d like to give you five reasons in this article for why every church needs to talk about racial issues—even when they are not directly affected by the issues. Also, in the event that I’ve scared you too much in telling you to talk about them, I’ve included with this article a PDF guide you can download for free with some ideas and practical insights on how to talk about racial issues well.
This article and accompanying guide have been developed with feedback and insights gleaned from fellow Christian social workers, advocates, and pastors I work with through Restorative Faith.
Along with the obvious fact that racism hurts our brothers and sisters of color, here are five reasons every church needs to talk about racial issues.
#1 – The Church Is Where Racial Barriers Are Broken Down
This should not mean that we never talk about racial issues in the church. In fact, when a biblical author wants to bring out the oneness humans share in Christ, he emphasizes how there was once Jew and Gentile in order to show the transition that takes place when we take on the mind of Christ.
Paul says in Ephesians 2:12, “At one time you Gentiles in the flesh were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
Paul specifically points out theological and civil blessings withheld based on one’s race. Only Jews had “hope and God in the world.” But before we freak out and suggest God is racist, we need to consider the context God was working with.
Earthly nations throughout world history have always lived from a posture of racism.
For instance, Egypt “dealt shrewdly” with Israel because they were afraid the Israelites would grow to be more numerous and powerful than themselves. Part of their shrewd way of handling Israel was to kill off their first-born sons and make them forced-laborers for Egyptian people (Ex. 1:8-14).
Another example is how some nations, such as Assyria and Babylon, would depart the people they conquered and force them to integrate into Assyrian or Babylonian culture and society in another part of the empire. This would cause the conquered people to lose their ethnic identity and is how Samaritans came to be. Samaritans were “half-Jews.” They were not fully, ethnically Jewish people, and for this reason were often despised among the Jews after Israel regathered in Mesopotamia.[1]
Racism is not a posture God designed; it’s a posture that resulted from mankind’s choice to decide good and evil for himself.
It is within the context of mankind’s rebellion against God’s design and consequential patterns of racism that God calls forth Abraham and begins to raise up a nation that “conquers” (or blesses) all other nations (See Genesis 11-12). He raises up a nation in which all peoples can share in the theological and civil blessings of that nation regardless of their ethnicity.
He starts by calling that nation to be a people that point all nations to Himself. And while there are people throughout the nation’s history who are touched by the blessings, the unified and unreserved access to them doesn’t culminate perfectly until Jesus Christ.
This is why Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 2:3 that,
“now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” (Emphasis added)
We need to talk about racial issues in the church because there will constantly be differences we bump into based on our culture and history; yet we cannot allow those differences to foster hostility between us as the body, or any particular member of the body and God.
Sometimes we mistake cultural differences for theological non-negotiables, which begins to fragment the body of Christ. But we are the church. We are one. And we need to continually remind ourselves of this and work against such fragmentation.
#2 – The Ministry of the Church Is One of Righteousness/Justice
In his book, The Death of the Messiah and the Birth of a new Covenant, which discusses the what the Messiah’s death accomplished, Michael Gorman says,
“The prophetic promises that God will bring about a new covenant (and thus a new people), and also bring about a new creation, are both being fulfilled in and through Christ, inaugurated by his death and resurrection. Paul summarizes that covenant-effecting, community-creating act in the word “reconciliation” (2Co. 5:18-20). It is clear that this reconciliation involves forgiveness (“not counting their trespasses against them”; 5:19), but also much more. As in Matthew’s account of the Last Supper, forgiveness is the prerequisite for participation in the new creation/covenant, the start of the transformation into the righteousness of God. But Christ did not die merely to forgive sins, or to create a people who know themselves to be forgiven. Rather, he died to create a covenant-keeping forgiven people, a people that is absolutely devoted to this crucified and resurrected Lord and that embodies the kind of divine righteousness displayed in his self-giving incarnation and death (cf. 2Co. 8:9). The ministry of the new covenant is a ministry of righteousness/justice (2Co. 3:9; NRSV “justification.”). Accordingly, its effect is to create a righteous/just people.”
If our ministry as the body of Christ—the new covenant community, per Gorman—is to embody the righteousness of God and to become a people who act justly and love mercy (Micah 6:8), then we need to talk about racial issues so we are aware of the injustices around us.
We may not be able to change the system so that it functions according to the ethics of God. But we can advocate on behalf of those oppressed by the system (Prov. 31:9), and we can bring them into our community and care for them in ways worldly systems never will (see Luke 14).
#3 – It Broadens Our Perspective of the World So the Narratives We Live by Are More Holistically Accurate of the World in General
Sunday is still statistically one of the most segregated days of the week. You are likely not an ethnic minority in your church. Which means, it’s quite likely you are not an ethnic minority in your social life. The more of only your ethnic group you have around you, the more likely it is that the narrative of that ethnic groups is the only narrative you have of the world.
Yet, think about how even within our own ethnicities our worldviews can be slightly different. And the difference increases when we compare our worldviews with the worldviews of other ethnicities. If our churches are made up primarily of people with our own ethnicity, we have a rather narrow understanding of the world.
Let me take this a little further. Broadening our relationships to include people of other ethnicities not only widens our worldview but help us better understand the Gospel. Speaking to my own church tradition for a moment, we as a conservative Anabaptist culture are rapidly moving away from valuing suffering servanthood. Hearing and grieving with our marginalized brothers and sisters may help us relearn some of that.
Taking time to grieve the death of George Floyd—even if our church is not directly affected by it—and seeking to understand the pain of those who are affected by it helps us gain a more accurate understanding of the world and our Messiah because we recognize that many people have different experiences with it from our own.
#4 – Most of the People in Your Church Probably Don’t Know the Various Dynamics of Racism in Past and Present America
If you are a middle to upper class white American, you do not face racism as you move throughout American society. And middle to upper class white Americans make up most of the churches in America.
Unless we intentionally seek to learn the various dynamics of racism in past and present America, we are going to remain out of touch with many people of minority ethnicities. As we addressed under reason #1, we as the church are the place where racial barriers break down. But if we’re out of touch with someone’s civil experience in the country we currently reside, those barriers will inevitably build up again.
I recommend this eighteen-minute video by Phil Vischer as a great place to get started in better understanding the dynamics of racism in past and present America. If you want a more in-depth study of racism and the church’s complicity to it, check out the The Color of Compromise series by Jemar Tisby, included with your Amazon Prime membership. Another great, free resource is the Restorative Faith community on Facebook.
#5 – Many in the Church Have Only Heard Conversations about Racial Issues from a Political Perspective (whether it be the Far Left or the Far Right)
It is important the church talks about racial issues because, first of all, racial issues aren’t just political issues. What causes humanity to compare themselves with each other and determine people’s value based on the color of the skin is a matter of the heart, not of someone’s political perspective.
So the answer to racism is the Gospel.
The Gospel confronts the self-centeredness of the heart. The Gospel points to the One who transforms hearts from self-centered to God-centered, from caring only about one’s self to caring about others.
If people only ever hear about racial issues from politicians and political pundits, they will get the impression that those who experience or see racial issues are only those of a particular political persuasion.
And if they don’t agree with that political persuasion, they will refuse to acknowledge the issues that persuasion seeks to address are real.
For instance, Democrats have picked up the mantel of fighting against racism. As a result, Republicans purport a narrative that racism as discussed by Democrats is a lie. Many conservative Christians in America have bought into the Republican persuasion of politics, and so they too believe what Democrats say is a lie.
But then what about people of color who personally experience racism, who face prejudice against them based on the color of their skin?
If Christians are only hearing racial issues discussed at a political level, the “wall of hostility” within the church will only increase between members of Christ’s Body. It’s possible to call out the fallacies and sins of any political party while acknowledging the reality of issues they are seeking to address and offering Kingdom solutions to the issues.
The church doesn’t have to fall into the political binaries of America. But it will if we don’t talk about human issues, such as racism.
Bonus – There Are Likely People in Your Life Dramatically Affected by These Issues (only, you don’t realize it because you aren’t)
I’ll leave you with one final reason for why your church needs to talk about racial issues even if it’s not directly affected by them. This final reason is that you are likely trying to connect with someone who is affected by them.
Maybe it’s a co-worker you’re trying to understand, or a neighbor you keep bumping into conflict with, or someone who attends your church but only seems to have negative things to say. It could be any number of persons in your life—but because you haven’t taken the time to understand the issues, you don’t realize the emotional roller-coaster they’ve been on the last few months.
For me, I live in North-East Los Angeles. By far, the majority of people in my community is Latino. Next is probably various Middle Eastern ethnicities.
There have been stories of black youth vandalizing older Latina food stands in various parts of the city. So, under the larger issue of racism towards black people in America, we now have another layer of racism towards Latinos—by blacks—to work through with those in our community.
I’ve heard youth express, “Why are they doing to us the very things they don’t want done to them?”
If we are going to have a response for such youth that helps anybody listening grow in love for others, we are going to have to talk about racial issues so we can better understand all the dynamics.
Furthermore, the church seems just as polarized as the world on this topic. If that is the case, are we giving the enemy a foothold for division in the church by not talking about it?
The church ought not to remain silent on such crucial matters of the heart.
Jesus wasn’t.
Paul wasn’t.
So why should we be?
If you are ready to take the next step in learning about racial issues as a church, but aren’t sure how to do it well, I’ve provided a free guide you can download called, How to Talk about Racial Issues as a Church without Destroying It in the Process. Click here to access your own copy.
Does your church talk about these issues? If so, what have you found to be helpful in creating a safe environment? If not, why do you think that is? Share in the comments below.
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[1] See Part 4 of Encountering the Old Testament by Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer
