‘They say, “Jesus was Conservative”
Tell ’em, “That’s a lie”
No, He not a Liberal either if you think I’ll choose a side
They say, “‘Crae, you so divisive, shouldn’t be a black church”
I say, “Do the math, segregation started that first!”
Hey, you want unity? Then read a eulogy
Kill the power that exists up under you and over me
I said, you want unity? Then read a eulogy’
The above are lyrics from Lecrae’s song ‘Facts’ which I think set up this discussion well.
We’re going to be notching up on the controversial dial…hold tight.
In this post, I’m going to be addressing the lack of action that is often taken in the evangelical church, to pursue genuine unity in diversity, in our churches. In many ways, I’m going to be quite critical, but I do hope that I come across as not lambasting but addressing the issue in a thought provoking, constructive and gracious way.
To begin with, I’ll be giving some considerable time to looking at what seems to be some of the source of the problems to passivity. Once I’ve looked at some of these, I’ll then be beginning to explore potential ways forward. Please do bear in mind that the context which I am writing into is predominately the dynamics of race but hopefully they’ll be some helpful parallels to draw on for other differences we see in our churches, e.g. class, age, gender.
So, let’s get started. I sense that the evangelical church has often taken minimal action to make real, authentic progress in these issues because there’s been a big lack of recognition of the sources of some of the problems at hand.
The reality of power dynamics…
Let me use the example of how I seem to view this playing out with seeking unity amongst a racially diverse church body…
The lyrics which are quoted above convey sentiments which are unfortunately reflected in the experience of many of my brothers and sisters. These are sentiments which often come from a place of ignorance which is often also coupled with a sense of superiority. In the church circles which I’ve been part of, over recent years and am currently part of, I very rarely hear views which express acknowledgement that structural injustice currently exists, within the church. When referring to structural injustice, I’m talking about when it comes to the power dynamics and influence of white evangelicalism.
To explain even more simply, the church circles which I’m part of seem to refuse to recognise that their way of doing things (often the white and western way of doing things) has been closely tied with the oppression of many others who don’t look white… and…here’s the crunch…continue to be so.
Many in the evangelical church will recognise this oppression when it was at its height…the most obvious forms of this were on display during the years of British colonialism, slavery then the Jim crow laws in the states and Apartheid, in South Africa. Then suddenly, to be brutally honest, there seems to be a failure to recognise how hundreds of years of white supremist thinking didn’t just come to an abrupt halt. The fact of the matter is that shadows of systems of white supremacist thinking, even in the church, didn’t just suddenly disappear….
Let me build on more of what I mean. I get the impression, from my experience, that it’s perceived that there’s a set way of doing, a whole range of things. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticising the church for holding onto truths of the Gospel which are found to be a primary issues. I completely recognise that there are non-negotiables in the Christian faith which need to be rightly defended from liberal understandings and interpretations. However, the problem that I often find the evangelical church falling into is when Gospel truths are conflated with cultural expressions of worshipping and doing church. Both of these are often, unintentionally, placed in the category of non-negotiables.
Any way of doing church which comes into conflict with the white and western way is so often snubbed as being liberal or charismatic and may not be taken seriously. I feel, a white, western expression of church is so often viewed as the ‘right’ way to ‘do’ church in our evangelical circles. It is superior thinking, which is wrong, domineering, colonial and needs to be challenged.
My opinion, is that once many of our churches grasp that this is one of the deeper issues, only then can genuine progress be sought. My fear is that there are many churches and institutions that aren’t dealing with some of the deeper rooted issues and, instead, attempting to move forward by implementing solutions that won’t last long. We don’t want to be placing plasters over deep wounds but instead ensuring that a wound is treated carefully and properly, in order to enable full healing.
So what next?
When churches in the evangelical sphere recognise that they are likely more prone to falling into a trap of assuming that a white, western way of doing things is the right way, then there’s a fundamental further step. The church then needs to be convinced of why seeking genuine unity in diversity is a gospel issue and not a side issue to explore when you’ve got enough time. Now, to nuance this, I’m not saying that all churches should be multi-ethnic. Churches should always match and represent the communities which they are positioned in. However, congregations, wherever placed, will find diversity along some lines, even if that’s not along ethic lines. Pursuing unity in the diversity of these other areas is just as important as pursuing a unity along multi-ethnic lines. Other areas may include class boundaries, gender and even age.
A summary so far…
So, to summarise so far, two traps that I feel the evangelical church can often fall into. Firstly, the thinking that the ‘white’ and ‘western’ way of doing church is the right way. Secondly, the thinking that pursuing unity in diversity isn’t a gospel issue or even a serious issue. I must repent when I fall into the trap of thinking these things and so must my fellow brothers and sisters, who may also fall into these traps.
The Gospel transforms…
We’ve recently been going through the Gospel of Luke in our bible studies, at church, and when we encountered Luke chapter 19, some big implications hit me. Luke 19 features the famous story of Zacchaeus the tax collector. We are told that not only is he a tax collector but he’s a ‘chief tax collector’ (Luke 19:2). He’s basically a chief ‘sell out’ who works for a ruling regime who exploits his people just so he can line his own pockets at the expense of the people’s suffering and pain. It’s striking that Jesus invites himself over the house of this dodgy individual…but what happens next is incredible. The cannon ball shot power of the gospel invades his soul. It’s here, when confronted with Jesus, that Zacchaeus confesses, ”Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay them back four times the amount’’ (Luke 19:8). The good news that has come to him has made him aware of and convicted him of participation in this systemic injustice. I also find it interesting that Jesus says ”Today salvation has come to this house’’ (Luke 19:9) – this is said after Zacchaeus’ transformed action. It would seem to be that his actions were a radical demonstration of his recent saving faith which propelled him into action.
So, what does this mean for us?
Well, firstly, let the story above, and in fact the Gospel itself, drive us to radical humility like it did with Zacchaeus. Let’s pray that we will be helped to recognise that we mess up and continue to mess up in serious ways – interpersonally and institutionally. As evangelicals reading this and particularly those who are white evangelicals, let’s begin by repenting of some of the wrong thinking we may have slipped into, in this area. But let’s rejoice that the work of Christ is enough to fully heal, restore and reconcile us to God. Let’s also rejoice that this work spills over into our relationships with each other as well. The power of the Gospel most importantly impacts our vertical relationship with God but also our horizontal relationships. What monumental hope that should give us as we seek a way forward.
Zacchaeus’ saving faith also propelled him into action. Let us be propelled into action. In Zacchaeus’ situation, his action was to seek to right the wrongs he had committed and give even more back. I wonder what we could do?
A few practical pointers to working a way forward… Let us depend on Christ as we listen to our fellow brothers and sisters. Let’s be prepared to step out of our comfort zone and be intentional with relationships with those who are different from ourselves and may ‘do’ things differently. More likely that not we’ll find we’ve got a lot more to learn than we think, if we listen carefully to those different from ourselves.
Finally, in this whole discussion, let our views be shared in love even when we feel we’re speaking truth. Let our words be seasoned with grace and I do profoundly apologise if you feel I haven’t been gracious in this post.
My prayer is that this post, and the couple that have proceeded it, will get you thinking and prompt further discussion in this area. Do feel free to contact me to share your thoughts on what I’ve said. I’d love to hear what you’ve got to say, even if you disagree with me.
So, until next time…
Peace,
Adam
Another Brit Abroad 