Winter 2016 Volume 2, Issue 2
Russell Moore and John M. Perkins on the History of Civil Rights Jenny Yang on the Immigrant Experience Senator Tim Scott on Racial Justice
SHINING A LIGHT ON A M E R I C A' S R A C I A L C R I S I S
“FOR HE IS OUR PEACE, WHO M ADE BOTH GROUPS ONE AND TORE DOWN THE DIVIDING WALL O F H O S T I L I T Y. I N H I S F L E S H , H E M A D E O F N O E F F E C T T H E L A W C O N S I S T I N G O F C O M M A N D S A N D E X P R E S S E D I N R E G U L AT I O N S , S O T H AT H E M I G H T C R E AT E I N H I M S E L F O N E N E W M A N F R O M T H E T W O, R E S U LT I N G I N P E A C E . H E D I D T H I S S O T H AT H E M I G H T R E C O N C I L E B O T H T O G O D I N O N E B O D Y T H R O U G H T H E C R O S S BY W H I C H H E P U T T H E H O S T I L I T Y T O D E AT H .”
Ephesians 2:14-16, CSB
There are many ways to be a champion for life. One of them is providing a woman in a crisis pregnancy a “window” into the world of the child she is carrying. This is the intent of the Psalm 139 Project—to aid pregnancy resource centers in securing ultrasound machines. Donate online at Psalm139Project.org
FROM THE PRESIDEN T
THE CHURCH SHOULD EMBODY RACIAL RECONCILIATION Russell Moore
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HIS LAST YEAR HAS exposed some ugly racial divisions in America. There is a tendency, for some, to wish these discussions about race would just go away, as if we can pretend that racial injustice doesn’t exist. But as the church of Jesus Christ, this is not an option. This is why we have chosen for this issue of Light to focus on racial reconciliation. We ought to be reminded, though, that in a racially divided world, the church of Jesus Christ should not only advocate for racial reconciliation; we should embody it. We ought to speak to the structures of society about principles of morality and righteousness, but we also ought to model those principles in our congregations. The quest for racial reconciliation comes not just through proclamation but through demonstration. That’s because racial and ethnic division and bigotry are not merely historical vestiges still existing in the United States, or in the often even more violent scenes we see elsewhere in the world. These divisions and hatred are older than America, and are rooted in a satanic deception that tells us we ought to idolize “the flesh.” The gospel doesn’t just call us individually to repentance, but also congregationalizes that reconciliation in local bodies of persons who may have nothing else in common but the image of God, repentance of sin and the redemption found in Jesus Christ. The church, the Apostle Paul said, is a sign of God’s manifold wisdom to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Eph. 3:10). When God joined both Jews and Gentiles
IN A RACIALLY DIVIDED WORLD, THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST SHOULD NOT ONLY ADVOCATE FOR RACIAL RECONCILIATION; WE SHOULD EMBODY IT.
together in one church, he was doing more than negating the bad effects of ethnic strife; he was declaring spiritual warfare. When those who the world thinks should hate each other, love each other instead, the church is testifying that our identity is in Jesus Christ (Col. 3:11). We cannot be pulled apart from each other, because we are one body, and a body that is at war with itself is diseased. If more evangelical churches will consciously disciple members to see the whole, glorious, multiethnic body of Christ, we will start to reflect something of a kingdom of God made up of those from every tribe, tongue, nation and language (Rev. 5:9). And as we know one another as brothers and sisters, we will start to speak up for one another, including in the public square. American society has a long way to go in healing old hatreds. Our churches are not outposts of American society. Our churches are to be colonies of the kingdom of God. Let’s not just announce what unity and reconciliation ought to look like. Let’s also show it. ERLC. com
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CONTENTS PERSPECTIVES PLUS:
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David Prince encourages pastors to preach on racial reconciliation and urges them to ground this message in the gospel story.
Three experienced parents give helpful advice on discussing race with your children.
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APPLICATION: It’s easy to spot the bigotry of others, but harder to see it in ourselves. Counselor Lily Park offers a helpful spiritual self-diagnosis.
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FIRST PERSON: Joy Allmond profiles former SBC President James Merritt and his impassioned support of a historic resolution at the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention.
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THE ERLC THROUGHOUT THE YEARS: The ERLC pays tribute to Dr. Barrett Duke for 20 years of faithful service.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
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FROM THE EDITOR
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BOOK REVIEWS
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BOOK EXCERPT
RESOURCES
Editor-in-Chief RUSSELL MOORE Editor DANIEL DARLING Light Magazine is a publication of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission On the cover, designer Jacob Blaze illustrates, "That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it." - John 1:5 6
LIGHT
505 2nd St, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002
Managing Editor LINDSAY SWARTZ
Staff Editors
MARIE DELPH
JOSH WESTER
901 Commerce St, Ste 550, Nashville, TN 37203
Creative Director JASON THACKER
www.ERLC.com
Graphic Designer JACOB BLAZE
SPOTLIGHT
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Jamaal Williams writes on the difficult and messy work of pastoring, planting and sustaining multiethnic churches
Russell Moore sits down with legendary civil rights leader John M. Perkins to discuss Perkins’ journey of faith, systemic injustice and the way forward.
How the disturbing racial tension in America provoked Palmer Williams and her young family to learn more about the experience of marginalized communities.
Travis Wussow highlights the disturbing rise of antisemitism abroad and how the church can be a voice of opposition.
Russell Moore and John Perkins
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Jenny Yang shares her father’s story experience as an immigrant and encourages the church to come alongside the immigrants in our midst.
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Steven Harris talks to Senator Tim Scott about his famous floor speech, his experiences as a black man and the way forward for race relations in America. ERLC. com
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by Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker A VA I L A B L E N O W ! TheGospelForLifeSeries.com
Coming in April of 2017
The Gospel & Parenting • The Gospel & Work • The Gospel & Pornography The Gospel for Life is a series of short, accessible books on a range of urgent topics facing the church, intended for the church member. Editors Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issues with a gospel-centered perspective. The Gospel for Life series gives every believer a biblically-saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life.
Also Available:
The Gospel & Religious Liberty, The Gospel & Racial Reconciliation, The Gospel & Same-Sex Marriage
FROM THE EDITOR
REPENTING OF WILLFUL IGNORANCE REGARDING RACE “
THAT ’S NOT WHAT WE HEAR.” I’ll never forgot those words, spoken painfully but lovingly to me by a friend. I was in college and, while engaged in a conversation about race, revealed my own ignorance of the experience of those whose skin color was of a darker pigmentation than mine. What that brother did for me was a service and helped me repent of willful ignorance, of a callousness on race that reflected the comfort of being part of the majority culture. Conversations like these are not easy and make us uncomfortable. The easiest thing to do is to just avoid the topic of race and move on. But if we truly want to live on mission for God in the world, if we fully love our neighbors, and if we want to see embodied in our churches the kingdom ethic of Ephesians 2 and Revelation 5 and 7, we need to resist the urge to stay uninformed. From the ugly racial politics of the presidential election, to the disturbing systemic problems in the justice system, to the assassination of police officers, 2016 has forced us to confront the simmering racial tensions in American life. It’s as if this past year was a light bulb in a dusty attic, whose sudden illumination reveals the shadowy and dark cobwebs of our sinful hearts. This is why we chose to make America’s racial crisis the theme of the fourth edition of Light. We are presenting voices from across American life. Russell Moore sits down with civil rights hero, John M. Perkins for a conversation
about his history and the future of this important movement. Philadelphia pastor Eric Mason reminds us why racial reconciliation is an issue at the heart of the gospel. Jenny Yang writes poignantly of the immigrant experience, drawing from her personal story and from her work advocating for those who often have no voice. Jamaal Williams speaks of the difficult challenges of planting, cultivating and establishing multiethnic churches (Hint: It's not easy work). And David E. Prince gives pastors a framework from which to preach about race. Palmer Williams recounts how her family, moved by the tragedies associated with bigotry, determined to learn how they could be advocates for reconciliation in their relationships. While Lilly Park, an experienced biblical counselor, addresses what to do when we find bigotry making its home in our hearts. Crossing the ocean, Travis Wussow explains how racial discrimination exists in various cultures and reveals itself in the specific instance of antisemitism. And Steven Harris interviews Senator Tim Scott about his personal experiences with discrimination and how America can move forward. We hope this issue provokes two actions: repentance and surrender. Repentance for our unwillingness to see dignity in people who may be different than us and surrender to the mission of God, which calls us to speak up for those who often have no voice. We know, of course, that in a fallen world we will never fully experience reconciliation, but perhaps our obedience to Christ might help form communities in the church that show a glimpse of the kingdom of to come (Rev. 5:9; 7:9).
WE NEED TO RESIST THE URGE TO STAY UNINFORMED.
-daniel darling ERLC. com
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Reviews
BOOK REVIEWS The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by DANIEL JAMES BROWN A book about competitive rowing didn’t sound all that interesting initially. But from first listen (I would highly recommend the audiobook!), I was captivated. Set during the Great Depression, this dramatic true story about destitution, grit, determination, hope, integrity and victory is everything you want a story to be. Daniel James Brown weaves masterfully a narrative about Joe Rantz, who was abandoned as a teen and found a measure of redemption through rowing, that will challenge you to examine your fortitude and perseverance through life and the extent of your gratitude for the “assumed” things—like a family that loves and wants you—that God has generously given. From weather disasters to economic faltering to the evil of the Nazi regime, The Boys in the Boat, if adjusted a bit, could be a tale straight out of our current time. Joe Rantz’s story—and the invisible hand of God that the Christian knows is behind the unfolding of his days—will leave you crying, cheering and undone by the sheer enchantment of a story that reads better than any Hollywood plot. -LS
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Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by JON MEACHAM Jefferson's story is a complicated one amid trials, sins and vast achievements. Jefferson was an avid learner who was well liked by many of his contemporaries. Jon Meacham writes about this founding father in a provocative and honest way, not glorifying the founder where fault is due but also not allowing certain parts of Jefferson's life to overshadow his significance to the American cause and republic. From his achievements in Virginia to his path to become the nation's third president, Jefferson saw what a diverse America could be and helped shape the nation we have today through his championing of religious liberty and statesmanship. Meacham keeps Jefferson's life in perspective and helps the reader see Jefferson in a truer light—one of a broken man who was determined to right many wrongs of his day, even as he missed many of his own. -JT
Dignity and Destiny: Humanity in the Image of God by JOHN F. KILNER Most Christians are able to articulate what makes human life valuable. Genesis tells us we are created in the image of God. But what exactly does this mean? Kilner provides an academic, but clear and readable treatment of the imago dei. One of the most important emphases in Kilner's work is the reminder that humanity’s value as image-bearers is not dependent on utility or function. He walks through ways this teaching has been distorted to destructive ends, even by Christians. Kilner's work, as someone interested in human dignity and advocating for the sanctity of life, offered me additional clarity about how to teach, speak and advocate for those who have no voice. Kilner teaches with the voice of a scholar, the heart of a pastor and the passion of an activist. He connects, well, human dignity to the incarnation of Christ and offers believers a helpful textbook for thinking about the dignity of human life. -DD
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: AN APPRECIATION OF DIVIDED BY FAITH Mark Dever
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F YOU ARE ONE of those people who thinks that racism is created mainly by the way we talk about it—or by talking about it at all—you should cancel your appointments one day in the next week, and read Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith, Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America. This almost 20-year-old book of sociological reflections helps me see our nation more as it really is. I purchased the book when it first came out (because the topic was and is of great interest to me). And I put it on my shelf. And it lived there, closed and ignored. Fifteen years later, a good friend of mine, Shai Linne, told me to read this book. I knew Shai well and knew that he knew me, so I trusted his recommendation. I took it with me on vacation and devoured it. It’s not a thrilling biographical narrative (which is my preference for vacation reading), but in helping me to perceive and explain what’s wrong in our country, and even in our churches, this book has helped me immensely. As an older white pastor, I walk around simply not having seen what so many of my friends (like Shai) have lived and known by experience every day of their lives. Empathy is part of understanding and love. And this book has helped me in that. The term “racism” is a hard word for anyone who self-consciously entertains no negative prejudices against someone because of their ethnicity. This book explains, and documents irrefutably, the simple fact of the racialized nature of our society. If racism is blatant prejudice, racialization is simply the state of race being significant enough for it to regularly be mentioned.
For example, why would I mention that John Jasper was an African-American preacher in Richmond, rather than simply a preacher in Richmond, especially if I do not introduce Billy Graham as a Caucasian-American evangelist in the 20th century, but merely as an evangelist in the 20th century? Race has not been so significant in every time and place. “Racialization” seems like a more accurate description of the thought-structures of our culture than the blunt personal prejudice that “racism” evokes. Such structures, the authors maintain, are easily invisible to evangelicals like us, who tend to see everything in individual terms. If you’re reading this as a Caucasian-American, circumstances are not arranged for you to have to engage this issue. But if you’re reading this as an African-American, you’ve never been given that choice. As our authors put it, “Not having to know the details or extent of racialization is an advantage afforded to most white Americans.” And yet, for us to live out the kind of Ephesian unity that we’re called to, we need to be able to see what is inhibiting us. If that is personal ill will, we need to see and confess it. But where there is no personal ill will, there could still be structures which perpetuate and even increase such racialization. In fact, one of the unintended consequences, our authors argue, of the church growth movement was churches that are even more racially homogenous and therefore more divided from each other. This won’t be the most exciting book you read this year, but it may have the most exciting results in your life.
FOR US TO LIVE OUT THE KIND OF EPHESIAN UNITY THAT WE’RE CALLED TO, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT IS INHIBITING US.
MARK DEVER is the senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church.
ERLC. com
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Excerpts
THE BIBLICAL MANDATE FOR RECONCILIATION Eric Mason
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AUL MAKES IT CLEAR that we have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5). What is reconciliation? One lexicon states, “reestablishment of an interrupted or broken relationship.”1 Without Jesus, we have a broken relationship with God and one another. However, the gospel restores our relationship with God and one another. Positionally, we are restored with one another, but practically we have to deal with the breakdowns that impede our attempts at reconciliation. Therefore, unity takes commitment on all fronts. At the core of reconciliation is the fact that Jesus dealt with our offense holistically before the living God. What alienated us from God and what alienated us from one another, and that which has caused hostility, has been crushed through Jesus. Reconciliation requires the restoration of friendly relationships and of peace where before there had been hostility and alienation. Ordinarily, it also includes the removal of the offense which caused the disruption of peace and harmony to begin with. This was especially so in the relation of God with humanity, when Christ removed the enmity existing between God and mankind by acting as a sacrifice on our behalf. The Scripture speaks first of Christ’s meritorious, substitutionary death in achieving the reconciliation of God with sinners; of sinners appropriating this free gift by faith; the promised forgiveness and salvation that become the sinners’ possession by grace; and, finally, reconciliation to God (Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:19; Eph. 2:16).2
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Moreover, as a church, Jesus motivates us to engage in reconciliation as a part of our identity as ambassadors. As a church, we must face what has brought and continues to nurture hostility between the ethnicities. Saying, “Get over it!” is an affront to the spirit and heart of reconciliation. Reconciliation means we face our issues with one another knowing that God offers grace to deal with our racial division through the power of Christ. Blacks must not be apathetic, and whites must not be dismissive. These
two issues in the fight for reconciliation have equally been hurtful in dealing with God’s desired ends for using Jesus Christ. In the recent days, issues in our country— from the Trayvon Martin case to Eric Garner’s—many (not all) whites have shown an unparalleled amount of insensitivity that has created deeper breaches in the church and deepened the apathy of African-Americans toward racial reconciliation. The apathy that I have seen has been in the ratio of black persons at gatherings organized around racial reconciliation over the years.
1 W. Arndt, F. W. Danker, and W. Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 521. 2 W. A. Elwell and B. J. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 1823–24.
Most events have had a minimum of 85 percent white attendance and others are just about entirely white. As I have surveyed pastors, however, they feel as though there is no desire on the part of our white brothers and sisters for a deeper understanding and commitment to reconciliation, despite high attendance at such events. As justified as AfricanAmericans may feel to walk in apathy, we can’t if there is an authentic commitment by our white brothers and sisters to seek clarity to know what to own, and repent in order that repentance may take place. Even if we feel like we’ve done all that we could to be at peace as Romans 12 communicates, we must leave the door open for the Spirit of God to work. In addition, whites must see engaging the blind spots that exist in their sphere pertaining to race as a systemic application of the gospel in our contemporary society today. . . .
At the end of the day, this issue is a spiritual growth issue. Ephesians 4 speaks of unity that helps the church as a whole to become one new man in Jesus as a fully grown community to represent His Excellency to the world. Refusing to reconcile when there is an issue brought forth or if the willingness to repent is present, we sin by rejecting the opportunity to bridge that gap . . . . Churches need to recognize that one of the Enemy’s devices is to fight against reconciliation between God’s people (2 Cor. 2:11). Paul commands us not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices. We might think of one of Satan’s schemes as a stronghold that keeps us from achieving unity. In 2 Corinthians 10:4, “stronghold” is used. It is one of the things that Satan uses to exalt something else in the mind of the believer above that of the Lord Jesus Christ. A stronghold is a
READ MORE
THE GOSPEL FOR LIFE SERIES: THE GOSPEL & RACIAL RECONCILIATION Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker, editors (Nashville: B&H, 2016)
mind-set, value system, or thought process that hinders your growth, the growth of others, and prevents you from exalting Jesus above everything in your life and maximizing the fruitfulness that best aids in God’s people bringing glory to the living God. Racism and hatred toward reconciliation are both strongholds. They are mind-sets that are beset in the life of the churches in our country and world that need to be pulled down. However, Paul says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4). Divine power verses fleshly power. Even Paul is letting us know that any stronghold that we face must be done with divine power. The gospel is the power of God and we draw strength from that gospel through seeking the face of the Lord to reveal and remove the demonic forces that war against the unifying identity of the people of God. We must not accept less than what the Lord wants.
This modif ied excerpt was taken from The Gospel For Life series, The Gospel & Racial Reconciliation, edited by Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker, B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN, pp 57-62. The excerpt’s author is ERIC MASON, founder and lead pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
ERLC. com
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Application
Evaluating Our Hearts For Signs of Bigotry
Lilly Park
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ESUS SAID THAT WHAT comes out of our hearts defiles us (Mark 7:21-23), and bigotry is a harmful example of this defilement. The challenge and problem is that we tend to view bigotry from a behavioral perspective, but it goes beyond vulgar language or violence. A behavioral approach could promote proper behavior but fails to realize that our behavior is a reflection of our hearts. As Christians, we need a biblical view of problems and responses. While external sins are more obvious in nature, God looks at our hearts. The following suggestions, while not a comprehensive answer, are meant to help you evaluate your heart for signs of bigotry.
DO I HAVE A PERSONAL BIAS? The terms “racist” or “bigot” might sound more appropriate for people who are extreme in their views, language or behavior, but any form of bigotry starts with a personal bias unchecked. Ask yourself, “Do I struggle to be kind to people because of their ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, height, weight, education or sexual orientation?” When we’re less likely to respect or listen carefully to someone because of our preconceived notions, we should pause and take notice.
AM I GROWING IN LOVE FOR GOD? The remedy for hating others is not loving them more or even being nice to them, but loving God more. Loving others is a good desire and goal, but it’s inadequate to motivate us on a consistent basis. People will fail and hurt us. We need to know God more, because he is love, and it’s difficult to practice what we don’t know. 14
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AM I SEEKING OTHERS’ INTERESTS? The biblical concept of love is less about rosy feelings and more about seeking the best interests of others. Thus, bigotry is the opposite of love. It’s self-seeking. Love is othersoriented, rooted in our love for God. In fact, the greatest commandments are to love God with our whole being and to love others as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-39). Loving others is possible even when our feelings don’t follow, because love isn’t dictated by our feelings. This thought contradicts our human nature and is difficult and unappealing in our own strength and will. But by
God’s grace, we can love people who are different than us, offend us, hurt us or seem unlovable. Who do you struggle to love as yourself ?
DO I SEE ALL PEOPLE AS BEINGS CREATED IN GOD’S IMAGE? Ask God to help you. This spiritual perspective puts our external or internal differences into context. Rather than seeing a person solely in terms of skin color, we see a person who has been created in God’s image, whose worthiness of respect isn’t defined by superficial qualities or views.
AM I SPENDING TIME WITH PEOPLE DIFFERENT THAN ME? I used to teach a group of college students and adult learners that consisted of mixed racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. As a non-white, non-black female, it would have been easy to focus on our differences, but it was evident that our deepest needs and struggles transcended ethnic or any other divisions. We talked about ethnocentrism, unconscious bias and more, but those issues were not “the” problems or explanations for what we were witnessing in our neighborhoods or reading in the news. Spending time with each other was a powerful way of challenging our assumptions and learning about one other.
AM I ALLOWING PAST EXPERIENCES TO FORM MY ASSUMPTIONS? Negative experiences might have shaped our perception of certain people, but we cannot blame our past for our biased views. It’s easier to generalize a group of people based on their external similarities, but each person is unique. Try to understand them by asking questions and listening carefully.
A BEHAVIORAL APPROACH COULD PROMOTE PROPER BEHAVIOR BUT FAILS TO REALIZE THAT OUR BEHAVIOR IS A REFLECTION OF OUR HEARTS. AM I MEDITATING ON GOD’S WORD AND PRAYING? Our love for others displays our obedience to God and the work of his Spirit in our lives (Gal. 5:22). The more we dwell on God’s thoughts and depend on the Spirit for change, the less likely we’ll be controlled by our sinful thoughts, emotions and desires. Ask God to search your heart, and thank him for revealing sin. The solution to our guilt is genuine repentance, not more works. If we have sinned against someone in words or deeds, then we need to confess our sins to God and to that person. For those of us who tend to dwell on mistakes, sins or regrets, we can find peace by remembering God’s forgiveness for those who seek it. God loves us and desires our best, even when he convicts us of our sins.
DO I HAVE ACCOUNTABILITY?
Ask people to help you. The heart is deceitful. Even when we think we’re doing well spiritually, we’re still blinded to our weaknesses and sin. We need people who fear God more than our opinions. Real accountability involves tough questions that could be uncomfortable to discuss, yet are welcomed IS MY SPIRIT HYPOCRITICAL? because we know they’re asked with the right motives. Bigotry is a form of hypocrisy that can’t be hidden from God. Bigotry weakens our testimony for Christ and the unity of the It is often reflected in a critical spirit (Matt. 7:1-5). God doesn’t forbid judging others for sin, but we must take the church. As we grow in our knowledge of God, our goal should log out of our own eyes before we can see clearly the fault be a heart change that sees people through God’s eyes and cares of others. We need to uphold God’s criteria of godliness in more about his kingdom, rather than outward appearances of judging people, instead of our standards, views or experiences. being nice, politically correct or religiously clean. This isn’t possible with man. But with our great God who has entrusted us with A helpful exercise is writing down our reasons for not an unifying message of hope, all things are possible. liking someone. Then, compare them to God’s perspective in his Word. If our judgment is based on that person’s sin, then we should speak the truth in love—not because we’re better but because biblical love compels us to do our part and leave LILLY PARK is a writer and adjunct professor of biblical counseling and women's studies. the outcome to God’s control. ERLC. com
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First Person
THE SBC &
RACIAL RECONCILIATION THE STORY OF AN U N L I K E LY A D V O C AT E Joy Allmond
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t this year’s Southern Baptist Convention
on June 14, a scene played out that never would have been dreamt of—let alone tolerated—a century ago. Or even a few decades ago.
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Two pastors—a white man with a Georgian accent and an AfricanAmerican—embraced as the AfricanAmerican wept and uttered this phrase on replay: “Thank you, thank you.” The white southern pastor humbly responded to the black man: “I’m the one who should be thanking you for being patient with us—for being so forgiving of the injustice we did to [African-Americans].” The white pastor is James Merritt, a long-time SBC pastor and former denominational president. He had just finished proposing a history-making amendment to a resolution that claimed that some Christians fly the Confederate flag out of respect for their fallen ancestors. Hours earlier, he and other SBC pastors and leaders discussed the resolution’s language. They agreed it did not convey the denomination’s posture toward racial reconciliation.
After a few exchanges with others, Merritt decided he should propose an amendment to this resolution, calling on Christians to “discontinue the display of the Confederate battle flag as a sign of solidarity of the whole body of Christ, including our African-American brothers and sisters.” Since pro-slavery church leaders formed the SBC prior to the Civil War, this was a monumental shift from denominational roots. In light of the racial tension that had permeated the nation through recent events, Merritt knew he needed to be part of the solution. “I just went to the microphone and waited in line. I prayed and asked the Lord what I should say,” he remembered. “As a sovereign God would have it, I was called upon and able to speak to it.” Most of the thousands sitting in the room affirmed their agreement with their loud cheers, particularly after he said,
Convention Photos Courtesy of: Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee
“All the Confederate flags in the world are not worth one soul of any race.” The amendment was overwhelmingly adopted, and history was made. Or, at least it will be. “I got mostly positive responses, but not everyone was happy with me. I
kitchen table to say the blessing over the meal, they noticed she was missing. Merritt’s father walked into the next room and saw Emma sitting with a plate in her lap, getting ready to eat. Merritt remembers it like it was yesterday: “My dad then said to her, ‘You need
"WE SHOULD LET IT BE KNOWN TO THE WORLD THAT THE ONLY REAL BASIS FOR UNITY THAT WILL LAST AND WILL OVERCOME RACIAL DIFFERENCE IS A LASER FOCUS AND INTENSE LOVE FOR JESUS CHRIST." have no doubt that what I did was the right thing,” said Merritt. He recalled a denomination executive sharing that this would be remembered as one of the SBC’s finest moments.
A FATHER’S EXAMPLE On paper, Merritt seemed the least likely person to put forth such an amendment. He is the great-great grandson of two Confederate soldiers. However, his racial reconciliation work has been in progress for decades. The first lesson in reconciliation— learned from his father—is still burned into his memory. It was the late 1950s, and both of Merritt’s parents worked outside the home. They hired an African-American nanny named Emma to watch their two sons five days a week. “She became like my grandmother. I hugged and kissed her every day. The fact she was black never occurred to me,” Merritt explained. It was Emma’s first day on the job, and Merritt’s parents had come home for lunch—only to be surprised by a wonderful meal Emma cooked for them. As the Merritts sat around the
to come eat with us.’ She responded that her place is in a separate room. But he wouldn’t have it. He told her, ‘Emma, if you are good enough to cook it for us, you are good enough to eat it with us.’” Emma promptly brought her plate into the kitchen and ate with the family. That moment would prove to shape the way he viewed people who looked different from him. It would determine his personal posture toward racial reconciliation, and it would set the tone for his ministry. More than 20 years later—when he was the pastor of a church in Mississippi—he had the opportunity to put his posture to the test.
THE GOSPEL BRINGS UNITY “I may be the first white pastor who baptized a black person in a white church in Mississippi,” he quipped. A member of that church—a man named Ray—had a local prison ministry, and Merritt would often accompany him on Sunday afternoons to visit with the inmates and preach the gospel. There was one particular prisoner— a black man named George—who had given his life to Christ as a result of the ministry visits. He had been in jail for
many years and was getting released the next Sunday. “I said, ‘George, you’ve trusted Christ. I want to baptize you next Sunday at our church.’” “I told our church about George the next Sunday. Lots of them said, ‘Amen,’” said Merritt. “Then I said, ‘There’s one thing you need to know: George is black.’ You could hear grass growing outside.” There was still very little comfort in integrated worship services when Merritt pastored this church in the early 1980s. As the congregation sat in stunned silence, he reminded them there are other churches to visit if they didn’t want a brother in Christ with a different skin color to enter their house of worship. “As it turns out, there was no issue at all. I baptized George that night. The church was excited. That sealed in my heart that we show no favoritism toward anyone. If God isn’t going to show favoritism, how can we?” Today, as the pastor of one of the most multi-ethnic churches in the SBC, Merritt says that now, more than ever, the church should lead the way when it comes to racial reconciliation. “We should let it be known to the world that the only real basis for unity that will last and will overcome racial difference is a laser focus and intense love for Jesus Christ,” he said. “Legislation is not going to solve our racial problem. The only thing that will solve our problem is the gospel of Christ. The gospel is the fuel that fired up the engine of abolitionists. It is the same gospel that moved men like William Wilberforce to fight for the dignity of other human beings—people made in the image of God. And it is the same gospel that will abolish slavery in the hearts of men and women.” JOY ALLMOND is a Charlotte-based writer and editor. ERLC. com
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The ERLC Throughout the Years
CONGRATULATIONS
Dr. Barrett Duke Editor’s Note: We offer congratulations to our colleague, vice president of policy and research, Dr. Barrett Duke, on his recent appointment as executive director of the Montana State Convention. Dr. Duke recently celebrated 20 years with the ERLC. We will miss Dr. Duke’s steady and faithful witness in our Washington, D.C., off ice. As a way of saying thank you, we offer these highlights, among many others, of his career.
D
r. Duke was recently awarded the 2016 Richard Land Distinguished Service Award by the trustees of the ERLC. In presenting Dr. Duke with the award, Dr. Russell Moore said, “[he] has done many things, but one of the things that I’m grateful for is that he has always been a prophetic voice speaking up for the least of these that others are forgetting.” Citing unborn children, immigrants, widows, orphans and prisoners, Dr. Moore said Dr. Duke “has consistently not only spoken up but lived out a commitment to the image of God in the least of these.” Most importantly, Dr. Duke has demonstrated this in his family and church. Here are some key pieces of legislation that passed thanks to Dr. Duke’s advocacy: • 2015 | Justice for Human Trafficking Act of 2015 (S. 178/H.R. 296)
• 2006 | Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (H.R. 4411)
• 2015 | United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2015 (S. 2078)
• 2006 | STOP Underage Drinking Act (S. 408/H.R. 864)
• 2015 | Religious Freedom Amendment to Trade Promotion Authority (S.Amdt. 1237 to H.R. 2146) • 2014 | Establishment of Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia (S. 653/H.R. 301) • 2008 | William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (H.R. 7311/H.R. 3887) • 2006 | Children’s Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2005 (The Adam Walsh Act, H.R. 4472)
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• 2006 | Healthy Marriage Initiative (part of Deficit Reduction Act) • 2004 | Unborn Victims of Violence Act (Laci and Conner’s Law) • 2003 | Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 • 2003 | Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act • 2002 | Born Alive Infants Protection Act (H.R. 2175) • 2000 | Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 • 1998 | International Religious Freedom Act
PREACHING ABOUT RACE KEEPING THE BIG PICTURE IN VIEW David E. Prince
A
BOUT THE TIME I RECEIVED THE REQUEST
TO WRITE THIS ARTICLE, A PASTOR CONTACTED ME THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA WITH SOME QUESTIONS. THEY WERE SINCERE AND HUMBLE QUESTIONS HE HAD AS A WHITE PASTOR ABOUT RACE AND RACIAL INJUSTICE— QUESTIONS HE PROBABLY DID NOT WANT TO ASK PUBLICLY.
Photography by Neuestock
Here is a small sample of his questions, “As a pastor, my heart breaks when I hear about people dying and being mistreated or taken advantage of. Is there scriptural support showing that God recognizes or validates race as a biblical concept, as defined and categorized by skin color? Is striving for earthly and temporal racial reconciliation stopping short of and obfuscating the true message of the gospel, and promising too little?” I was glad he asked, and I know his questions are ones other pastors have as well.
IS RACE A BIBLICAL CATEGORY? Our English word “race” is a subset of ethnicity, and today it is often associated in popular culture with skin color and has been used as a way to classify groups of people. Tragically, this has sometimes been used to argue that some people are superior and others inferior based on skin color. We have typically referred to people who advocate forms of ethno-supremacy as racists, racial supremacists or racial nationalists. Shamefully, churches
have embraced and advocated racism on occasion, even attempting to use the Bible to do so. Scripture views humanity as a single race: “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). The Bible emphasizes the unity of humanity as God’s image bearers in both creation and redemption (Gen. 1:28, 5:1-2, 12:13; Matt. 28:19; Col. 3:11; Rev. 5:9). The primary biblical subdivisions of humanity relate to ethnicity, which are a variety of commonly shared attributes; geographic location, geopolitical identity, dialect, religion, material wealth, education and observational features like skin color (Num. 12:7-9; Song of Sol. 1:5; Jer. 38:7; Acts 8:27, 13:1).
RACE IS A GOSPEL ISSUE While we must be careful not to read all of our contemporary ideas about race into the biblical text, we must also understand that it directly and pervasively deals with sins related to ethnicity and race. Scripture confronts “peoples” ERLC. com
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Preaching
and “nations” who view themselves as inherently superior to others based on distinctions of culture and identity. The biblical storyline highlights the constant post-Fall danger of using any of these distinctions as a form of sinful self-justification. Issues related to ethnicity are fundamental, not incidental, to the unfolding gospel story in redemptive history. Sociologist of religion, Rodney Stark, notes in The Rise of Christianity that the city of Antioch during the days of Roman rule was divided into 18 different and intensely antagonistic ethnic groups with almost no social integration. It was the followers of Christ in the multi-ethnic church of Antioch who were first called Christians (Acts 11:1926) and who took the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world (Acts 13:1-3). The Greco-Roman world stood in awe of the people who formerly hated each other because of ethnic distinctions and now loved each other as family, worshipping and serving together in the name of Jesus ( John 13:35). I believe the reason many white Christians in America fail to see the implications for issues related to racial injustice in the Scripture is the same reason we often read past famine in the Bible without thinking much of it—we have never experienced it. White Christians are the dominant majority, so we think of ourselves as the insiders, and as the norm. But awareness of and sensitivity to ethnic and racial issues is not some foreign issue for social justice warriors. It is Christianity 101.
THE BIGGER PICTURE IN PREACHING Preaching on race is not merely a matter of addressing current cultural issues, a few specific biblical texts or an occasional sermon series. While all of those things are necessary, I contend that preaching 20
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ADDRESSING SPECIFIC CULTURAL ISSUES ABOUT RACE, POINTING TO SPECIFIC TEXTS AND AN OCCASIONAL SERMON SERIES ON RACE SHOULD BE ADDENDUMS TO CONSISTENT SERMONIC REFLECTION ON RACE.
learn from, honor and be sensitive to the concerns of ethnic minorities. A genuinely Christian attitude toward ethnic and racial diversity is not one of on issues related to sinful attitudes regard- toleration, but celebration. The incluing otherness, including race, racism and sion of ethnically diverse peoples in the racial injustice, are simply a regular part of Church is God's intention, fulfilling his faithful biblical exposition throughout the gospel promise (Gen. 12, 15; Eph. 2, 4; canon of Scripture. Addressing specific Rev. 5, 7). The glory of the triumphantly consummated kingdom of Christ will cultural issues about race, pointing to be demonstrated by the multi-ethnic specific texts and an occasional sermon diversity of worshippers from every series on race should be addendums to tribe, language, people and nation. These consistent sermonic reflection on race. The congregation should understand that categories must help frame our sermons. racial bigotry in the church is the fruit of How should we preach about race? a spirit—the spirit of antichrist. As a whole Bible issue, related to every The gospel tears down all sinful, aspect of redemptive history: creation, self-imposed barriers between God’s fall, redemption and new creation. Race image bearers and makes them one should be addressed as a gospel issue new man in Christ—the household of God (Eph. 2:19). Gospel reconciliation and racial reconciliation as being at the is to be proclaimed and on display ver- heart of what it means for a local church tically (God-to-man) and horizontally to be faithful as the bride of Christ. The (man-to-man) in local churches (Eph. Lord Jesus said the most important 2:11-22). We are to have the mind of commandments of all are to love God Christ, which looks to the interests of and our neighbors. So, we must preach others (Phil. 2:3-4). The “others” Paul and model the Word accordingly. mentions includes all categories of otherness, including ethnic and racial DR. DAVID E. PRINCE is Pastor of Preaching distinctions. In Christ’s kingdom, the and Vision at Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Lexington, KY. ethnic majority has a responsibility to
R O U N D TA B L E
Teaching Kids About Race and Racial Reconciliation ROUNDTABLE CONTRIBUTORS T RILLIA NEWBELL
is the director of community outreach at the ERLC.
T I M OT H Y PA U L J O N E S
is a professor and associate vice president at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
ERIC A HO
is a wife, mom, and the community coordinator at One Orphan.
Photography by Emil Handke
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s children witness instances of racism, how would you help them understand and process what they are seeing?
TN: I think it starts with them understanding the basics of our faith and the depravity of man. Teach kids that God is the Creator and has made every person. Make sure they know that he delights in his creation and that Jesus died for every tribe and tongue and nation. The gospel is for all people. Make sure they know that because of sin, people do mean and evil things and that we all need a Savior. So, when our kids see the evil in this world, they will be grieved and sorrowful, but not surprised. TPJ: When your children witness such an event, the resulting conversation should be part of a dialogue that you began long before they heard that first racist comment or saw a news report that mentions race. In other words, our first conversations with our children about race should be proactive, not reactive. One word that I try to work into every conversation with my children about race and ethnicity is beauty. The Apostle John’s description of a glorious multitude from “every nation, tribe, people, and language” is embedded in a text that is filled with beauty and worship (Rev. 7:9). That’s where I want these ERLC. com
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Roundtable
conversations grounded. I don’t want my children merely to accept people from other races; I want them to seek and see the divinely embedded beauty in every ethnicity and hue of melanin. And so, my children hear some variation of this refrain repeatedly: “God made people in many colors and cultures, each one is beautiful, and the more we listen to each one, the better we understand our world.” That way, when they do see an expression of racism, I can say, “The reason we don’t use that word is because it doesn’t recognize the beauty of that person.” One of the best defenses against racism is recognizing beauty in those who are different from us instead of feeling discomfort or fear.
"DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO HELP YOUR CHILDREN SEE BEAUTY IN EVERY RACE AND PLACE."
EH: Unless children are exposed to racism by adults in their life, they will likely be confused when they hear about race related discrimination. It is important to teach children about the history of our country and the horrific events that still fuel modern-day racism. They need to understand that sin leads people to hate their fellow man for something as simple as skin color. We must be careful to teach them to judge people by their character and not to presume upon racial stereotypes. How would you advise parents to respond to a situation where their children make a comment about someone’s race?
- T I M OT H Y PA U L J O N E S
There’s another level to this as well: If your child sees their encounter as something strange, it would be worthwhile to ask yourself how you can broaden your palette of relationships. Does your family regularly interact with people from a variety of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds? If not, where and how will you develop these relationships?
EH: I think it’s important not to overreact when a child points out another person’s race. After all, ethnicity and culture are beautiful things to celebrate. If we can model this to our chilTN: Kids are kids and will likely say something like, “She’s dren, they will learn to speak about differences in a positive way brown, Mommy,” or, “Why does she have a dot on her forehead?” and feel free to dialogue about race and society. There’s no reason to be embarrassed. We need to make sure that we don’t make our kids feel like they’ve done something What are some practical ways that you've helped your children awful. Part of our own problem is that we think it’s strange to engage with people of different ethnicities and cultures? talk about culture, ethnicity and our fear, which actually divides and alienates us further. Instead, you can simply say, “Yes, she is TN: I’m at an advantage because our home is made up of two brown. I love how God made all of us with various colors,” or, ethnicities—I am black, and my husband is white. But I believe “She wears a dot on her forehead because of the cultural tradiit’s important for our kids to know about the beautiful diversity tions in her country.” Let’s take the weird out of it. Instead, we of God’s creation beyond black and white. So, for example, this should teach and celebrate the differences. summer my kids and I cooked dishes from various countries, listened to music, and learned about their history and culture. TPJ: Children make comments about anything that seems We also make sure to engage our neighbors who are from other different to them. If the shade of a stranger’s skin or the texture backgrounds and countries. of someone’s hair seems out of the ordinary to a child, it’s not surprising that they will feel compelled to point that out. Don’t TPJ: We have three children adopted from three different let your embarrassment drive your reaction to your child’s racial and ethnic backgrounds, so every meal in our household observation. Be prepared beforehand to say something like, is a multiethnic event! And I serve as an elder at a church “Yes, God made people in lots of different colors. That makes that is located in a diverse neighborhood. But I want my the world beautiful!” children to be exposed to more diversity than our household 22
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What are some ways parents can mark off moments to talk about race? TN: I believe wholeheartedly that we should be learning about various cultures and people throughout the year. I love that we have a month designated to black history in the U.S., and yet I also cringe that we have to have a month like this. I want kids to be exposed to as many cultures as possible, not just the ones we celebrate during designated holidays—that’s too narrow. So, please use designated holidays, but don’t limit it to just dates. Every day is a good day to teach our children about others.
and church are able to provide. So, when we travel, we worship at churches where some or all of us are an ethnic minority. This has included a bilingual Hispanic church, a second-generation Korean church and an AfricanAmerican congregation. We are also intentional about visiting museums that focus on minority experiences. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City can all spark important family discussions about race, privilege and systemic structures that prevent equal opportunities for advancement. I'm also looking forward to taking my family to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Most importantly, nothing can take the place of developing deep relationships with persons from other races and ethnicities. Ask yourself honestly, "Does my family have friendships with people from other ethnic backgrounds that run so deep that these individuals are able to challenge prejudicial assumptions or attitudes in our lives?" If you aren’t certain, you probably don’t. Do everything you can to help your children see beauty in every race and place. EH: We are a multi-cultural family, so this is a priority. There are great cultural festivals year-round that your family can attend. Spend time in a bigger city. Make friends that don't look like you. It's not difficult in today's globalized world to spend time with people that represent the nations, and our families will be enriched by this.
TPJ: Start by choosing books from the library to read together during dates like Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Black History Month. A few of my favorites are Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine, Moses by Carole Weatherford, Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport, Robert Coles' The Story of Ruby Bridges and Sharon Wyeth's Something Beautiful. What are some good resources in the discussion and ministry of racial reconciliation? TN: I think that parents need to be equipped. For adults, I’d recommend starting with thefrontporch.org, raanetwork.org, resources at ERLC.com and The Gospel & Racial Reconciliation, edited by Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker. TPJ: For white Christians, one essential foundation for moving toward racial reconciliation is understanding the history and experiences of persons of color. You can begin developing an understanding of the African-American experience in America, both in the past and in the present, by reading books like Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum, A Stone of Hope by David Chappell, Michael Emerson's Divided by Faith and United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity by Trillia Newbell. EH: Some great books to share with your children are: The Story of Ruby Bridges, The Colors of Us, The Skin I'm In and Last Stop on Market Street.
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SPOTLIGHT
Intentionally Cultivating Multicultural Churches
I N T E N T I O N A L LY C U LT I VAT I N G M U LT I C U LT U R A L CHURCHES
JAMAAL WILLIAMS
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HERE WAS A TIME when the church was very powerful. It was during that period that the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was the thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Things are different now. The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo. –Martin Luther King, Jr., Letters from a Birmingham Jail
These prophetic and powerful words could have been true in any decade of American history. Sadly, this includes today. As a young boy growing up in the Chicago area, and learning of Dr. King’s work in that city, I’ve had a profound respect for him and his commitment to disturb the status quo. His influence has encouraged me to seek to break barriers as a pastor.
Building bridges to racial reconciliation In 2016, I was called as lead pastor of the Sojourn Community Church Midtown congregation. Sojourn is a predominately white church that is nestled in an inner city with a half-black, half-white demographic. I saw this as a unique opportunity for a vibrant church in the Southern Baptist Convention to model reconciliation and the unity of the Spirit. The level of intensity and weightiness of this assignment has felt overwhelming at times. However, the Lord is gracious, and so are his people. Together, we press on as ministers of reconciliation and are looking to be faithful and pursue diversity with three goals in mind: 1. Our vision is to present our members “mature in Christ” as Paul preaches in Colossians 1:28. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. Part of presenting the body mature in Christ is helping them to see that in Christ, “there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythians, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (Col. 3:11). This means being faithful to teach that God has already shattered the ethnic and class barriers in and through his Son's body. The “dividing wall of hostility” has been broken down. Multiethnic churches are God’s eternal purpose in Christ, and we must help our members to see that. In August 2009, I was able to practice this when I became interim pastor of a 148-year-old predominately African-American church in Louisville, Kentucky. The church is named Forest Baptist Church because the church’s founders were once slaves who used to gather in the forest to worship Jesus, away from their slave owners, as the “invisible institution.”
During my time there, the Lord brought the pastors of the church under deep conviction to obey the Great Commission by working toward having our congregation reflect the demographics of our community. Though the surrounding area was mostly African-American, it had a substantial Latino population. Being committed to multiethnic ministry at Forest Baptist Church didn’t come without criticism. While the majority of our members were in support of our desire to reach every ethnic group in our neighborhood with the gospel, some were not. I was confronted by one member who aggressively asked, “Who gives you the right to have this black church welcome all these other people?” My response was, “Jesus.” Diversity is his idea. 2. We want to build bridges as God’s church while we seek to grow as a multiethnic, multicultural congregation. As a church, we must be unapologetically committed to some core values to accomplish this. Inspired by Leonard Sweet’s Aqua Church 2.0, we’ve developed an acronym to explain what building bridges is all about.1
Building into one another as family Reconciliation is for all who believe Inclusive corporate worship gatherings Devoted to the Word Guided by the Spirit Empowered witness Sacrificial servants and stewards 1 Sweet, Leonard I. AquaChurch 2.0: Piloting Your Church in Today's Fluid Culture. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2008, 286. Washington, D.C.
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Intentionally Cultivating Multicultural Churches
reconciliation means that we reject the temptation to only target people who look and think like us. We want to be a church on the move that’s impacting all demographics of our surrounding campuses, schools and neighborhoods, even reaching the nations, with the message of reconciliation. This message tears down all –isms: racism, classism, ageism, sexism, consumerism and more. If we are going to grow in diversity, we’ll also need to express the gospel in different ways that help people appreciate other cultures. If monoethnic and monocultural churches are serious about diversity, they will have to acknowledge their preferences while embracing new expressions throughout their ministry. This is hard and requires that a congregation is shepherded with patience and wisdom. Since Sojourn is located in a white and black area, one of the ways that we specifically model reconciliation is by having our founding pastor, who is white, share the pulpit with me. This gives our congregation a chance to see ethnically different pastors rightly divide the Word. Since January 2016, we have also been intentional about diversifying our staff by 3. We want to be a burning movement. bringing in a Latino worship director and partnering with our not-for-profit ministry to bring on another African-American pastor. As we see with the church in Acts, we believe that God has called us, not to Overcoming challenges be stagnant and spiritually scarce, but The pursuit of diversity is not an easy path; if it were, multicultural churches would to continuously sow seeds and look be the norm. The process is painful for pastors and congregants, alike. Not only does it to expand his kingdom. So, pursuing
These core values help root us as a congregation and pursue diversity by giving our church a common language and pursuit. It helps us understand that the church isn’t a building—it is who we are. Understanding who we are as a church is vital to the pursuit of diversity. This acronym is based on the five identities that we believe describe us: family, worshipers, disciples, witnesses and servants. To develop a multiethnic, multicultural church, we must operate out of our identities, rather than our preferences. Our identities are what unify us when our preferences threaten to divide us.
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challenge heart-level issues of prejudice, but it challenges lifelong preferences regarding music, expressiveness in services, preaching style and more. We’ve faced significant challenges in this journey and certainly don’t have all the answers, but here are a few things we’ve tried to do to overcome obstacles along the way:
PURSUING RECONCILIATION
1. Shepherd your people toward diversity; don’t force it on them. Becoming a multicultural church is a journey. And when it comes to issues of race, people are in different places on that journey. Each person in your church has a story that shapes how they view the world. For many in our context, the issue of race is only a political issue. Because of that, when we address issues of racism or have a service of lament for injustices going on in the world, we have been accused of “moving away from the gospel” or “becoming a liberal church.” So, in the pursuit of diversity, it is imperative that you gently shepherd your people to understand that diversity is actually at the heart of the gospel.
TARGET PEOPLE WHO LOOK
2. Listen to your people. Part of shepherding your people is having one-on-one conversations with them. The old pastoral adage is, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I’ve had people send scathing e-mails and threaten to leave the church. But, instead of sending them our theological position paper on racial reconciliation, I’ve invited them to come to my office so I could listen to them. I’ve seen the eternal value in having personal conversations with people about diversity; listening has a way of disarming the hardest of hearts. 3. Ask for grace and forgiveness. Many of the challenges we’ve had to overcome are the result of the man in the mirror.
MEANS THAT WE REJECT THE TEMPTATION TO ONLY
AND THINK LIKE US. Sometimes, as pastors, we’ve gone too fast or too slow and we’ve spoken too strong and too soft. I’m sure that everyone has been annoyed at some point. I sin and offend members, just as they sin and offend me. We all must depend on the same Savior. Yet, as a pastor, when you hurt people on this journey toward diversity, you should be the quickest to repent and ask forgiveness
Conclusion Many stipulate that by 2050, non-Hispanic whites will no longer be the majority in this country. From a pragmatic perspective, our churches must begin to take steps toward diversity now, or in the near future, we will be obsolete. We’ll become monocultural silos. From a theological perspective, if our churches pray “on earth as it is in heaven,” yet don’t reflect—or worse, don’t care about—the portrait of heaven we’re given in Revelation 7:9, then I fear we will hurt our witness. On the other hand, one of the greatest apologetics in the next 20 years will be multiethnic, multicultural churches. As cultural divides continue, and likely deepen, I believe people will ask “Why?”
when they look at our churches and see blacks and whites, Hispanics and Asians, young and old, women and men, rich and poor, haves and have-nots, standing, living, laughing, weeping, walking— together—and worshipping the King of kings. These will be the kinds of churches that will be, as Dr. King said, a thermostat that will transform the mores of society. And these are the kinds of churches we must strive to be. JAMAAL WILLIAMS is the lead campus pastor of Sojourn Community Church’s Midtown Campus in Louisville, KY. ERLC. com
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The Civil Rights Movement After Fifty Years
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AFTER FIFTY YEARS
Interview with Russell Moore and John M. Perkins
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RUSSELL MOORE: John Perkins has been actively involved in gospel ministry and community development for years. He is the founder of the Christian Community Development Association in Mississippi and has been a prophetic voice for many years. Mr. Perkins, it is such an honor to have you with us today. Can you tell us how you became a Christian? JOHN M. PERKINS: I grew up without a mother and father. My mother died when I was seven months old. And I didn’t have the foundation and the understanding of morality that comes from the church. I would go by big white congregations and see a sign that said “everybody welcome.” But if I would have gone, there would have been a riot. “Everybody” didn’t mean everybody. Then, I’d go to a black church. I would see people going through emotional discourses, but it had very little to do with the socio-economic progress of the people out in the society. I didn’t have a deep appreciation for the church. I left Mississippi after my brother was killed, went to California and started my family. In 1955 or 56, my oldest son got involved in a neighborhood Bible study. He was learning things that I had never heard and never -JOHN M. really believed. I began to see something in him that was different. I went with him because I wanted to understand what they were teaching him. Then, he invited me to a Sunday School class. There, for the first time in my life, I heard the fullness of the gospel. The passage was Galatians 2:20. Galatians is explaining that in Christ there is neither black, white, Jewish or Gentile. Paul was having a discourse with Simon Peter, who was practicing racism within the church. This was the first time
in my life I ever felt the depths of God’s love. I said, “If there is a God in heaven that loved me enough to send his only begotten Son into the world to die for me, I want to know that God.” And I came to know that God. God was preparing me to go back to my home state of Mississippi. I went to a prison in California and began to see too many young blacks there that looked just like me. That’s when God called me to go back to my home state and give my life there. I went back there believing that the gospel could burn through racial and cultural barriers and reconcile us to God. I never believed that it shouldn’t be that way.
“WE HAVE PUSHED RECONCILIATION OUT OF THE GOSPEL AND MADE IT A SECONDARY EVENT. BUT THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD, AND RECONCILIATION IS THAT POWER.”
Photography by Allison Rader
RM: In the the 1960s, Mississippi was the most dangerous place in the country, wouldn’t you say? What did your ministry look like when you arrived back in Mississippi? What were you trying to do?
JP: When I arrived, they were trying to avoid the Supreme Court ruling of integration. The schools were not integrated in Mississippi until 1970, so I had 10 years of going into the black schools sharing the gospel on a monthly basis. Five years prior to that, Emmett Till had been killed. That was a pivotal point in the awarePERKINS ness of black people. Then, Ms. Rosa Parks was locked in jail three months later. That galvanized the northern people to come with the resources to the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. had been there a few months. He was trained in philosophy and using words, so they selected him to be the spokesman for the group. I went to Mississippi believing that the gospel that had changed me would work in the environment in which I was discipling. But, as I got into the schools, I could see the ERLC. com
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SPOTLIGHT
The Civil Rights Movement After Fifty Years
crippling effect of how our people were being molded into consumer values. Success meant getting things, going away and coming back to show us those things. We were migrating to the north and emptying the south of creative leadership. That’s when I said to my wife, “If we are going to make a difference in this town, this is what we’ve got to do: We’ve got to stay in this community long enough that we can win some of these young people to Jesus Christ. We’ve got to disciple them.” That’s the mission element today in our urban communities. Racism has damaged us, and the solution is God’s people confronting and discipling people. We have pushed reconciliation out of the gospel and made it a secondary event. But the gospel is the power of God, and reconciliation is that power. So the task today is putting reconciliation in its right place. If we don’t believe it, we’ve got to repent and turn from our sins. Then we’ve got to live our faith. We have to believe in reconciliation, put it back in the gospel and intentionally preach it by faith. The best way to do that is to develop multiracial churches and be absolutely intentional. RM: You’ve lived through a lot. How do you learn to forgive when you have an entire system that is working against you? JP: When I was beaten in the Brandon jail of Mississippi and tortured, on the floor in my own blood, I saw the damage of white folks—how it had affected them; they were like animals. But if I would have had an atomic grenade that night, I would have opened it and been like Samson. 30
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I began to see that my reactions are as deadly as their actions.That’s when I re-committed my life to God. I know I was bargaining a little bit with God. But I said to him, “God, if you will let me out of this jail alive, I want to preach a gospel that is stronger than my black interests and stronger than my economic interests. I want to preach a gospel that can burn through these racial barriers and bring black and white into the kingdom.” I committed myself. It was hard, I couldn’t look at white policemen, but God put me in relationships to white people who loved me beyond my race. See, love is transferred; it is given as received. These folks were giving me love that I didn’t even want to take. My redemption was their love that I received. RM: Switchfoot has a John Perkins song that says, “John Perkins said it right, love is the final fight.” I think that’s what I’m hearing from you—the final fight we have is to love God and to love each other. JP: We are in a new family of God, and we’ve got to see that within the church and be known for our love. We should have a sense of value, worth and thanksgiving for the grace of God. We don’t serve God for what he gives us now, though we’re grateful. We serve God for what he brought down from heaven in his redemptive work for us. It makes my blood run hot when I think that this God of heaven came down, redeemed me, a third-grade dropout, brought me into his kingdom and gave me this opportunity to be working together with him in his redemptive work for all ethnicities in the world. I feel absolutely honored, and I’m glad that he took the bigotry away from me so that I could have the strength to love.
DR. JOHN M. PERKINS is an American Christian minister, civil rights activist, Bible teacher, author, philosopher and community developer. RUSSELL MOORE is the president of the ERLC.
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SPOTLIGHT
The Church & the Immigrant Experience
Jenny Yang
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HE SUBJECT OF REFUGEES is deeply personal to me. My father was born in war-torn South Korea. He remembers the time soldiers banged down his door when he was just three years old. They were looking for his father because he was a journalist. When they found my grandfather upstairs, they pulled him out in the middle of the night, and he was never seen again. My father lived with his mother until she suddenly became sick and died when
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he was seven years old. He became an orphan overnight. But before his mom died, she passed on the faith of Jesus Christ to my dad—a faith that was shared by American missionaries. My father always had a dream to move to the U.S., where he felt like he wouldn’t be defined by his poverty. He became good at fixing cars, entered a national car repair competition, won first place, and eventually, was able to immigrate to the U.S. through a visa at the Ford Motor Company. It was my dad’s story and faith that fueled my family’s own story in the U.S.
TODAY’S REFUGEES But my father’s story isn’t unique. There are millions of people today who are fleeing persecution, conflict and poverty and settling into another place. It’s estimated that a person is forced to flee from his home every 24 seconds. And for the first time in recorded history, the number of people who are being forced to flee their homes has
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN RECORDED HISTORY, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING FORCED TO FLEE THEIR HOMES HAS SURPASSED 60 MILLION INDIVIDUALS. surpassed 60 million individuals. This is the largest number of people displaced since World War II. The reason why we are seeing the largest number of displaced people around the world is because conflicts are longer and more frequent. One example is Syria, which is entering its sixth year of civil war. Syria was a country that was relatively stable and wealthy, with a high-level of education among many of the people. It was the second largest refugee-hosting country in the world, providing a safe haven for Palestinian and Iraqi refugees fleeing war.
Now, Syria is producing the largest number of refugees in the world. There are four million refugees from Syria settling into places like Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. In Lebanon, a small country of about four million individuals, a quarter of the entire population are refugees. That’s equivalent to all of Canada and a third of the population of Mexico coming into the U.S. within the span of five years.
REFUGEES AND THE WEST The refugee crisis is unprecedented in magnitude. And the West is awakening to it because we are realizing that this ERLC. com
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The Church & the Immigrant Experience
crisis can affect us. It became relatable when we were gripped by the photo of Aylan Kurdi washed up on the shores of Turkey. Wearing a red t-shirt, jean shorts and velcro sneakers, he was a little boy who could have been one of our own children. Over the past 35 years, World Relief has resettled 270,000 refugees into the U.S. from all corners of the world—some from places that have seen conflict for even longer periods than Syria. A church in Nashville was eager to welcome some of these refugees—a group of traditionally Buddhist people from Bhutan. Many of these refugees have trusted in Christ and have become more eager in their faith than their American counterparts. Examples like this demonstrate that refugees are not just changing the face of our country; they are changing the face of Christianity and the church in the U.S. They have gone from being the recipients of mission, to the agents of mission. We are seeing revival within the church and developing a deeper understanding of what God is doing through the migration of people because of these refugees’ lives.
But this can’t happen outside the context of relationships. Relationships are critical to breaking down barriers where those different than us can become friends. It will take a radical hospitality lived out in community to see walls come down and genuine, Christ-centered relationships thrive REFUGEES AND THE CHURCH (Matt. 25:31-46). In fact, Christians are followers of a The American church has often turned Middle Eastern refugee. He was a young, the idea of hospitality into a Martha single male from a minority religious Stewart magazine, but biblical hospitality group and was persecuted because of his is when we welcome the stranger into our nationality. Jesus fits every category of a communities and places of worship (Heb. person that many of us want to keep out 13:1-2, 12-13). We will advance the kingof our country today. dom of God when we choose to love and Acts 17:23-24 says that God created welcome the very people the world wants many nations out of one man, and he us to fear, and even hate. It will somedetermined the places and times that times require sacrifice and will always they should live so that man could require replacing our fear with faith. reach out to him and perhaps find him. The church has an incredible opporOur communities and the demograph- tunity to respond, not to what’s easy or ics of our country are changing because comfortable, but to what’s true and right God wants to move people into places at this moment in history. We have an where they will encounter him, often invitation to demonstrate to the world for the first time. that the church’s doors are open and that a 34
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radical hospitality lived out in community is good news, not just for a few, but for all. Growing up in an immigrant home, I know what it feels like to be a minority and to grow up in a community where you don’t know if you belong. I know what it’s like to constantly feel like you have to prove you have something to offer. And I know how transformational relationships can be in creating a sense of security and belonging. Welcoming refugees is not just about offering a place to live but creating a community to belong to where we share and live out the truths of the gospel. Jesus has shown us that he is the ultimate answer to the brokenness and suffering that we’re seeing in the world today, and it’s in the context of relationships in the church that we’ll see more stories of lives transformed by the power of our Savior.
JENNY YANG is senior vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief.
Palmer Williams
LEARNING ABOUT RACIAL INJUSTICE: MY FAMILY’S JOURNEY
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ACH TIME I HEAR about another shooting of a black person by police and see the subsequent protests around the country, my heart aches. It aches for the families who have just lost loved ones, and the communities who do not feel safe. It aches for the families of police officers who are now fearful to send their loved ones to work. It aches for the centuries-old wounds and divisions each incident exposes. But underneath it all, it aches for the brokenness and injustice that is ever-present in our fallen world. Yet, if I am brutally honest with myself, once the news cycle moves along to the next week’s story, the heartache is shamefully pushed to the back of my mind. I am not black. I am not a police officer, nor do I have any in my immediate family. I am a white woman who
grew up in a predominantly white community, whose primary understanding of modern racism comes from living for several years in post-Apartheid South Africa. I do not understand what it’s like to grow up in an urban environment, scared for my safety and fearful of those whose sworn duty is to protect me. I have never been looked at differently by a store clerk because of the color of my skin, nor have I been asked to do a job where my life is put in danger every day. I struggle to truly empathize with those losing lives, facing dangers and living in the constant shadow of the deadly consequences of sin in our world. Yet, Romans 12:15 makes it clear that God’s people are to “mourn with those who mourn.” My fleeting heartache is not enough. In the wake of the tragic deaths in Louisiana, Minnesota and Texas, my husband and I began to wrestle with our own ERLC. com
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SPOTLIGHT
Learning About Racial Injustice
ALTHOUGH WE MAY NEVER UNDERSTAND THE FULL BREADTH OF THE CHALLENGES SURROUNDING RACIAL RECONCILIATION IN AMERICA, OUR FRIENDS HELPED US WALK ONE STEP CLOSER TOWARD BEING A PART OF THE SOLUTIONS.
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lack of understanding. One Sunday following a shooting, we wept silently at church as our pastor challenged us to move beyond the sin-drenched divisive debates and talking points in order to love our neighbors in the midst of their pain. My husband and I resolved to no longer allow our hearts to be unchanged as those around us mourned. We longed to have a deeper understanding of their pain so that we could authentically mourn alongside them as Scripture instructs. We set out on a sometimes awkward, but ever fascinating journey of asking honest questions and listening. The next time we had close black friends over for a meal, we asked them how they were doing in the wake of the shootings. We asked what it was like for them to grow up in predominantly black neighborhoods and what experiences they and their neighbors had with law enforcement. We spoke with our black church friends and asked what they thought white Christians needed to understand. We connected with black colleagues at the forefront of racial reconciliation ministries and asked what we could do to help. We also reached out to friends who work in law enforcement, asking how they were handling increased tensions and pressures. We asked what their perspectives were on each shooting and what solutions they saw to the current unrest they were facing. Our first attempts at broaching these challenging subjects were not seamless. We fumbled with the right wording, tone and timing. But the wisdom we gained in spite of our clumsiness was immeasurable. In each conversation, our friends could see past our inelegance to the heart of our questions. Can we sit with you in your pain? Can you help us understand your hurt? Can we help be a solution in any way? Through the gracious candor of our friends, we were given a glimpse into the depths of the pain. As we sat and listened to their powerful stories and raw perspectives, our heartache began to give way to heartbreak. At the end of the day, we didn’t come away from each conversation agreeing on tactics, policies or even where blame should be laid in each particular tragedy. But listening to our friends, and entering into that deep hurt with them, united us with them in their mourning. Although we may never understand the full breadth of the challenges surrounding racial reconciliation in America, our friends helped us walk one step closer toward being a part of the solutions. In her seminal book on racism in the south, Harper Lee wrote that you can never truly understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. For white Christians like me, the burden is on us to realize the limitations of
our perspectives, to seek out our black brothers and sisters and to learn how to view the world as they do. There is no easy way to enter into someone else’s pain. When Jesus Christ entered our fallen world to pay the price for our sins, he modeled this concept to us and proved just how costly it can be. He now calls his redeemed to take up our crosses and enter into the pain of others so that we may bring his grace and redemption to the darkness. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in Letters from a Birmingham Jail, There was a time when the church was very powerful—in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. May we be a people who suffer and sacrifice alongside one another. May the gospel bring us humbly to our knees so that we may hear the cries of our brothers and sisters. May our actions of walking alongside each other in the midst of deep grief be a thermostat that transforms our broken and hurting society.
PALMER WILLIAMS is associate counsel for public policy at the American Center for Law and Justice. ERLC. com
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SPOTLIGHT
Antisemitism & the Middle East
ANTII SEMITISM & THE MIDDLE EAST W H Y R A C I A L R E C O N C I L I AT I O N M AT T E R S A R O U N D T H E W O R L D 38
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by Travis Wussow
T HAS BEEN CALLED the oldest hatred. It produced the greatest atrocity in living memory. The hunger to wipe out an entire people group has existed before, but the Holocaust industrialized murder to a level that is still unimaginable three generations later. In the United States, racial reconciliation evokes a specific set of categories, such as black and white. But leaving American shores, myriad ethnic categories and complexities emerge. Racial reconciliation is an issue that stretches across oceans and cultures and nations and cities. Indeed, when we consider Paul’s vision for breaking down the “dividing wall of hostility” between Jew and Gentile, we often analogize to other situations.
ANTISEMITISM HAS BEEN ON THE RISE IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS IN EUROPE AND THE U.S., RIDING THE TIDE OF NATIONALISM AND NATIVISM THAT HAS CHARACTERIZED WESTERN POLITICS. But in the Middle East, this specific case still exists as we wait for the reconciliation God intends to accomplish in history. After the horror and abominations committed by the Nazi regime during the Third Reich, it would be reasonable to hope that antisemitism would be dead forever. But of course, it’s not. Antisemitism has been on the rise in the last several years
in Europe and the U.S., riding the tide of nationalism and nativism that has characterized Western politics.
ANTISEMITISM IN THE OIC This rise has been widely reported. What receives much less news coverage is the rise—and persistence—of antisemitic attitudes across the countries that make up
the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). According to the Anti-Defamation League1, 63 percent of people living in the Middle East and North Africa believe that the Holocaust is either a myth or has been greatly exaggerated. The next logical step is that the Holocaust was invented by Western powers to justify the formation of the state of Israel. But this dynamic does not just end with the denial of the Holocaust. Indeed, the OIC utilizes the power of the United Nations to condemn Israel at nearly every possible turn. Israelis are understandably frustrated that the UN General
1 http://global100.adl.org/public/ADL-Global-100Executive-Summary.pdf
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SPOTLIGHT
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Antisemitism & the Middle East
THE OIC UTILIZES THE POWER OF THE UNITED NATIONS TO CONDEMN ISRAEL AT NEARLY EVERY POSSIBLE TURN. Assembly perennially singles out Israel, ignoring abuses around the rest of the world. During the 2015–2016 session, the General Assembly adopted 20 resolutions aimed at the state of Israel. There were three resolutions concerning the rest of the world2, combined. Of course, Israel is not a perfect country—no country is. But critique of the state of Israel and antisemitism are not the same thing. Critique of the state is legitimate; antisemitism is a dangerous hatred that must be opposed wherever it appears. And unfortunately, often critique of the state of Israel is used to ferry in a boatload of antisemitism. This is certainly the case within some grassroots movements, but antisemitism can also be found in plain sight, within the organs of the United Nations.
THE UNESCO TEMPLE MOUNT RESOLUTION In October, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee approved a resolution3 to retain the Old City of Jerusalem on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It appears, however, that the resolution was merely a vehicle—under the auspices of the United Nations—to deny the Jewish connection to Judaism’s holiest site, the Temple Mount. That hill in the Old City of Jerusalem is one of the most important religious sites in the world. Jews call it the Temple Mount, as it is where the first two temples stood. Muslims call it the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, as it contains Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Sunni Islam, and the Dome of the
Rock, where Muslims believe the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The connection three major religions share to that hill is not seriously in dispute. An incredible amount of archaeological work demonstrates the existence of the First and Second Temples. And yet, the UNESCO resolution refers to the site only by its Muslim name. Why? Part of the reason is that Palestinian nationalists have been spreading the falsehood for 60 years that the avalanche of evidence supporting the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount is all a part of a Zionist conspiracy to take Jerusalem from Muslims. This conspiracy theory is now widely believed. Another element is an effort to delegitimize and embarrass the state of Israel over issues of access to Al-Aqsa by Muslims. But another underlying motive for the UNESCO resolution is antisemitism. Again, according to an ADL survey, 65 percent of respondents in the Middle East and North Africa agreed that “Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars.” Seventy-four percent agreed that “a lot of the people I know have negative attitudes toward Jews.” Ultimately, the resolution was successfully passed by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, by a secret vote of 10 to two, with eight abstentions.
NEVER AGAIN Throughout the historical revisionism project at UNESCO, the U.S. supported and stood by Israel. The U.S. did the same for many of the resolutions that came before the UN General Assembly, but many smaller, less powerful countries
fear retribution by the OIC and simply go along with the vote. This is why the resolution was nearly scuttled entirely4 when Croatia and Tanzania requested a secret vote for the resolution, allowing the members of the committee to vote freely. The Arab countries were then faced with the decision of whether to pull back the resolution or allow the vote to move forward with far less than the consensus they hoped to achieve. Ultimately, half of the committee did not accept the resolution. The OIC and Israel are regional and global competitors. There are real economic and political issues that divide Israel and the Arab world. But when geopolitics crosses into the hatred of or animus toward the adherents of a particular faith, simply because they adhere to that faith, a dangerous line has been crossed. Let us remember that this line has been crossed before, and had the aspirations of the Nazi regime been given full berth, the Jewish people might have been completely wiped out. So when the OIC seeks to deny the historic connection of an entire people to its holiest site, let us stand together and say: Never again. And let’s look beyond our borders and fight for the recognized dignity of every ethnicity and nation, praying for the day that we see the dividing wall of hostility come down once and for all.
TRAVIS WUSSOW is the vice president for public policy and general counsel at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
2 http://www.unwatch.org/un-to-adopt-20-resolutions-against-israel-3-on-rest-of-the-world/ 3 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_ east/unesco-to-vote-on-new-controversial-report-onjerusalem/2016/10/26/8e930164-9b4f-11e6-b552b1f85e484086_story.html 4 http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israelraces-to-thwart-consensus-approval-for-UNESCOsJerusalem-resolution-470883
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Striving For Racial Reconciliation in the U.S. conversation, we will start to bridge the gap that has weakened our communities. I want to encourage everyone to be a part of the solution. Open your hearts, and engage in conversation with your neighbors and your local police officers. In the last several months, I have joined other lawmakers in finding productive ways to bring different groups together. Trey Gowdy and I have held community meetings where we brought in local leaders and police officers from various communities to talk openly about local concerns. We had productive conversations where we listened to differing points of view on some of the prevalent issues facing our country.
STRIVING FOR RACIAL RECONCILIATION IN THE U.S. An Interview with Senator Tim Scott
by Steven Harris
S E N A T O R T I M S C OT T I S T H E J U N I O R U N I T E D S TA T E S S E N A T O R F O R S O U T H C A RO L I N A STEVEN HARRIS: There is a long list of cities affected by the ever-growing tension between the African-American and law enforcement communities. How are you personally processing these events and encouraging other people as they seek to grapple with this issue? TIM SCOTT: Personally, it saddens my heart when I see incidents that seem to show that a dark cloud exists between law enforcement and some of our communities 42
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of color. The tragedies we have seen in the past several months have shown us the magnitude of the challenges we face as a nation, but the solution should never be to become angry. We cannot let our frustration and sadness lead to more heartbreak. There is no denying that we are experiencing turbulent times in our country, but we must remain hopeful. I am an optimist, and wholeheartedly believe that if the American family comes together to engage in honest and transparent
SH: Whenever there is an officer-involved shooting or some other related news item, people immediately retreat to one side or the other. How would you advise people to learn from others who might have different opinions and experiences? TS: As Matthew 5:9 tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” We should all strive to promote peace, and I believe that part of being a peacemaker is to take the time to understand first, and then seek to be understood. It is very natural for us to see the world from our individual perspective, but picking a side only further alienates us from understanding someone else’s point of view. If you really want to make progress, it will require us to walk a day in another person’s shoes to really understand and gain an appreciation for who they are and what they have experienced. SH: In mid-July you gave a speech on the Senate floor on the topic of race and law enforcement. You shared your own personal experiences with law enforcement as an elected official. What were you hoping to accomplish with that speech, and how was it received? Have you found common ground with other senators on the issue?
"IF YOU REALLY WANT TO MAKE PROGRESS, IT WILL REQUIRE US TO WALK A DAY IN ANOTHER PERSON’S SHOES." TS: My goal was to validate many of the concerns of African-Americans who have had similar experiences I described. The good news is that it not only opened the door to a meaningful conversation among my Senate colleagues, but I also noticed it has opened the door to similar conversations across the country. After having a discussion with my good friend and peer, Senator Lankford, he approached me with the idea to start Solution Sunday. It is an initiative where we encourage fellow Americans to break bread with people from a different race. It is a simple concept of “praying and playing” together, where we have a meal with friends to get to know one another to gain a true appreciation for their story and their experiences. I have also recently teamed up with several Republican senators to launch the Senate Opportunity Coalition where we are addressing poverty by putting a human face to an issue that continues to affect more than 40 million people in our country. We all have a passion to help people in vulnerable situations and understand that investing in our people and our communities will help bring long-term stability. SH: In what ways have we not reckoned with the history of race in this country? And how is that related to our current crisis? TS: I think it is clear we have not totally appreciated the magnitude of these unresolved issues in our country. However, it is incumbent upon us all that at the same time we acknowledge the truly amazing transformation of the American heart that has occurred over the past 50 years. You can have unresolved issues, and at the same time notice the incredible gains we have made.
But we cannot let unresolved issues fester over time and manifest in negative ways. Our nation certainly faces challenges, but my family’s story shows what is possible in our great nation. My grandfather left school in the third grade to pick cotton, yet his grandson went on to become the first African-American in the South to be elected to both the House and Senate. We went from cotton to Congress in one lifetime—only in America. SH: You're currently a cosponsor of the criminal justice reform bill in the Senate. Can you tell us a little about the bill and why you support it? Are there any other policy areas that you think touch on the issue of race? TS: The goal of criminal justice reform is to help improve the justice system and help us balance the scales of justice. And we must recognize that while there are government solutions to mending race relations in America, the real solutions are nested within our own communities. Love, trust and compassion cannot be forced through legislation. I want to encourage everyone to take the time to get to know one another and work together to establish a more unified and peaceful future. I also believe that the policy solutions we do work on should start with helping to create opportunities for those who may feel disconnected and disenchanted. That is why I initiated the Senate Opportunity Coalition where we are focused on addressing poverty by promoting school choice, encouraging apprenticeship programs and investing in our low-income communities. SH: As a senator you’ve been explicit about the role of faith in your life and
Photography from Senator Scott's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SenatorTimScott
congressional work. Why should the issues of racism and racial reconciliation be priorities for the church, and what can churches be doing to address them? TS: The Bible itself gives us many references on how different communities have been able to work together and truly shows God’s unconditional love. For instance, Galatians 3:28 tells us, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ.” It is such a powerful message that really should encourage all of us to put aside our differences and seek a common bond in knowing we are all children of God. STEVEN HARRIS is the director of advocacy at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
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RESOURCES
RESOURCES Oxford University Press, 2001
Removing the Stain of Racism from the Southern Baptist Convention: Diverse African American and White Perspectives Jarvis J. Williams and Kevin Jones
Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian John Piper
United: Captured by God's Vision for Diversity Trillia J. Newbell
The Gospel for Life Series: The Gospel & Racial Reconciliation Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker, editors B&H, 2016
Letters to a Birmingham Jail: A Response to the Words and Dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bryan Loritts, editor
A Stone of Hope: Prophetic Religion and the Death of Jim Crow David L. Chappell
One New Man: The Cross and Racial Reconciliation in Pauline Theology Jarvis J. Williams
Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America Michael O. Emerson
Crossway, 2011
The University of North Carolina Press, 2005
B&H Academic, 2017 (forthcoming)
Moody Publishers, 2014
B&H, 2016
B&H Academic, 2010
More resources available at ERLC.com 44
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