Part 6 (2/2)
So, it's certainly no overstatement to say we have a long way to go. We need to hear, again and again, that in the revolution Jesus unleashed on the world, the insider-outsider way of cla.s.s-ifying people has been completely abolished. The Kingdom has a center-Jesus Christ-but no clearly defined parameters. With reckless abandon, therefore, we are to manifest G.o.d's unconditional love by ascribing unsurpa.s.sable worth to all people at all times in all conditions.
Whether they are by ”normal” social standards upper cla.s.s or lower cla.s.s, intelligent or cognitively challenged, educated or uneducated, attractive or unattractive, decent or indecent, able-bodied or disabled, male or female, talented or untalented, famous or infamous, young or old-our primary job, following Jesus' example, is to manifest the truth that each and every one of these people has unsurpa.s.sable worth, as evidenced by the fact that Jesus died for them just as he died for us. And we manifest this truth by how we welcome and embrace them, just as they are.
As we do this, we will manifest the beauty of G.o.d's cla.s.sless Kingdom and revolt against the ugly oppression of all social cla.s.sifications and the Powers that fuel this oppression.
Viva la revolution!
CHAPTER 10.
THE REVOLT REVOLT.
AGAINST RACISM RACISM.
His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity...
thus making peace...
EPHESIANS 2:15.
Several years ago i was listening to a christian radio talk show that was discussing the issue of ”racial profiling.” It was in response to a recent study that determined that in Minnesota (the ”liberal” North) black men were much more likely to be stopped in their cars by police than white men. The white host of the show expressed his opinion (citing no evidence) that the study was flawed and that racial profiling was ”in fact” very rare. He then took calls from the audience.
The arrogance of the talk show host amused me. But the next half hour of call-ins left me dumbfounded.
One caller early on identified himself as black. He gave two examples from his own life of being pulled over and questioned by police for no legitimate reason. He also mentioned that a number of his black friends had similar experiences. Not surprisingly, while he said he believed most white police officers tried to be fair and that few were consciously racist, he nevertheless felt that racial profiling was a significant problem in the Minnesota police force.
All the remaining callers identified themselves as white, and without exception, each denied racial profiling was a problem. Some even expressed anger toward the black caller for suggesting otherwise. Several said they were sick and tired of nonwhite people ”playing the race card.”
Now suppose, for the sake of argument, that the study was accurate and that racial profiling is in fact a real problem in Minnesota. How would any of the white callers know about it? By definition, it wouldn't be happening to them. The only way white people could learn about racial profiling would be to learn about it from those who actually get profiled. Yet this was the very thing the white callers on the station were unwilling to do. Instead, because racial profiling never happened to them them, they insisted it doesn't happen to anyone anyone.
In this chapter we're going to see that racial reconciliation lies at the heart of what the Church is supposed to be about. It's arguably the aspect of the Kingdom the Church in America fails at the most. And one of the reasons why, we'll see, has to do with the sort of racial arrogance ill.u.s.trated on this radio program.
THIS IS AS CENTRAL AS IT GETS.
According to the Bible, G.o.d created only one race-the human race. The idea that there are different races of humans is a myth created by white Europeans in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to justify oppressing and enslaving nonwhites. 1 1 G.o.d's goal has always been that the one human race would be united in a way that reflects the perfect loving union of the Trinity. Unfortunately, our sin caused us to be divided into different factions that are now identified as different races. But as we saw in chapter 7, throughout the Bible G.o.d spoke of a time when every tribe and every nation would be reunited under his loving Lords.h.i.+p. G.o.d's goal has always been that the one human race would be united in a way that reflects the perfect loving union of the Trinity. Unfortunately, our sin caused us to be divided into different factions that are now identified as different races. But as we saw in chapter 7, throughout the Bible G.o.d spoke of a time when every tribe and every nation would be reunited under his loving Lords.h.i.+p.
Jesus perfectly embodied G.o.d's heart for racial reconciliation. For example, most Jews of Jesus' day despised Samaritans as racially impure and as heretics. They avoided physical or social contact with them if at all possible. Yet Jesus went out of his way to have contact with them, even touching some who were lepers. Moreover, he consistently treated them with respect, even making them the heroes in some of his stories. 2 2 Similarly, most Jews of Jesus' day looked down on Gentiles and had a particular disdain for the Romans, the group who ruled Palestine. Yet Jesus treated them as equals. Most remarkably, Jesus was willing to interact with and serve Roman centurions. These were high-ranking officials in the oppressive Roman military and were thus despised by Jews. Jesus went so far as to praise the faith of a Roman centurion as being greater than the faith of any Jew (Matthew 8:5 11)!
This sort of behavior was absolutely scandalous and revolutionary. It reveals that where G.o.d reigns, the Powers that fuel racism will be confronted and racial walls will be torn down. Where G.o.d reigns, G.o.d's vision for a united human race will be in the process of being reconciled.
We see this even more profoundly in Jesus' death. The most fundamental ethnic divide in the ancient world, at least from a Jewish perspective, was the divide between Jews and Gentiles. But by his work on the cross, Paul says, Jesus destroyed the ”dividing wall of hostility” between these two groups-and by extension, between all ethnic groups.
Not only has Jesus brought brought peace to all previously hostile groups; he himself peace to all previously hostile groups; he himself is is the peace between these groups. For through his death Jesus created ”one new humanity.” the peace between these groups. For through his death Jesus created ”one new humanity.”
He himself is our peace, who has made the two [Jew and Gentile] one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.... His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to G.o.d through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. (Ephesians 2:14 16) He himself is our peace, who has made the two [Jew and Gentile] one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.... His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to G.o.d through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. (Ephesians 2:14 16) This means that revolting against racism is not a nice addendum to the Gospel, as many contemporary white Christians seem to think. It's one of the reasons Jesus came and died on the cross. It's as central to the Gospel as anything could possibly be. We can no more refrain from proclaiming and demonstrating the reunification of humanity in Christ than we can refrain from preaching forgiveness of sin in Christ!
THE FAILURE OF THE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN CHURCH.
But let's get honest. How many churches in America are as pa.s.sionate about proclaiming that Jesus died for racial reconciliation as they are about proclaiming that Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins? The answer, tragically, is relatively few.
What makes this even more tragic is that, as is often pointed out, Sunday morning is the most segregated time in America. Fifty years after the Civil Rights Movement, the Church remains the least least racially integrated inst.i.tution in the country. In other words, the broader secular culture generally does a better job of reflecting the coming Kingdom than we Christians do. racially integrated inst.i.tution in the country. In other words, the broader secular culture generally does a better job of reflecting the coming Kingdom than we Christians do.
Some try to minimize this travesty by claiming that it's just ”natural” for people from different races and cultures to wors.h.i.+p with ”their own people.” In fact, some leading church-growth experts have taught what's called the ”h.o.m.ogeneous church growth” principle. The most effective way of building a church, they say, is to aim at building it around a single h.o.m.ogenous people-group. They point out that it's generally harder to get people to join a church if it's racially and culturally diverse.
I don't doubt that this is true. But when did Jesus ever call us to be comfortable or encourage us to make nonbelievers comfortable in order to get them to accept the Gospel? And when did Jesus ever call us to be focused on growing large churches?
The answer is, never.
To the contrary, Jesus was perfectly willing to make people profoundly uncomfortable uncomfortable and to let people walk away when they understood the high cost of following him. His one and only concern was to be obedient to his Father's will, not to be efficient at acquiring a large following. And since we are called to imitate him in all things, this must be our one concern as well. and to let people walk away when they understood the high cost of following him. His one and only concern was to be obedient to his Father's will, not to be efficient at acquiring a large following. And since we are called to imitate him in all things, this must be our one concern as well.
We are called to manifest the ”one new humanity” Jesus died to create-whether it makes people comfortable or not, and whether it increases or decreases the size of our congregations.
THE CHALLENGE OF RACIAL RECONCILIATION.
Getting people to relinquish their racist att.i.tudes is profoundly difficult-especially because most aren't even aware they have any. This isn't just a modern problem. It existed in the early church.
For example, despite Jesus' command to take the Gospel to all nations, we find his disciples in the book of Acts still hanging around Jerusalem in the nice Jewish environment in which they were most comfortable years after his ascension. It took an explicit vision from G.o.d and coaching by some pagans pagans for Peter to finally realize that ”G.o.d does not show favoritism” and that G.o.d wanted to incorporate Gentiles into the ”one new humanity” Jesus died to create (Acts 10). for Peter to finally realize that ”G.o.d does not show favoritism” and that G.o.d wanted to incorporate Gentiles into the ”one new humanity” Jesus died to create (Acts 10).
Not surprisingly, the first major conflict the early church had to work through centered on race relations (Acts 15). The issue concerned how Gentile and Jewish Christians could get along with each other. But even after this was worked out, racist att.i.tudes persisted. For example, Paul had to rebuke Peter for succ.u.mbing to the segregationist eating practices of some fellow Jews (Galatians 2:12 14).
Tearing down racial walls was difficult for early Christians and it's difficult today. Yet if our commitment to Christ is genuine, we have no choice but to pa.s.sionately embrace this challenge.
THE MAIN OBSTACLE.
(ACCORDING TO THIS AMERICAN WHITE GUY).
I now need to confront what is, I believe, the biggest obstacle to manifesting the ”one new humanity” in America today. 3 3 In confronting this I have to acknowledge up front that I'm a white guy (of a Scottish-Irish-wee-bit-French variety). This colors my perspective on this (and every other) issue. Whenever we enter into discussions about race it's important to acknowledge the limitations of our own cultural perspective and life experience. When we fail to do this, we easily end up canonizing our limited perspective as the norm and thus dismissing differing perspectives as defective. And this, we'll now see, only serves to keep us divided from those whose perspectives differ from our own. In confronting this I have to acknowledge up front that I'm a white guy (of a Scottish-Irish-wee-bit-French variety). This colors my perspective on this (and every other) issue. Whenever we enter into discussions about race it's important to acknowledge the limitations of our own cultural perspective and life experience. When we fail to do this, we easily end up canonizing our limited perspective as the norm and thus dismissing differing perspectives as defective. And this, we'll now see, only serves to keep us divided from those whose perspectives differ from our own.
The most difficult challenge I've found as I've tried to lead a congregation that aspires to manifest the ”one new humanity” of the Kingdom is that many white people honestly don't see racial reconciliation as that big of an issue. They seem to think it's a problem America has largely overcome.
Of course they know about racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan or the Aryan Nation, and they're naturally opposed to them. And once in a while they hear about the overtly racist behavior of a police officer or the stupid racist comments made by some radio talk show host, and they object to this. The trouble is, this is all that many white people think racism amounts to.
The truth is, racism in America is far more subtle and sinister than this. America was conquered by white Europeans, was structured by and for white Europeans, and it continues to privilege white Europeans. Racism has been woven into the very fabric of our culture from the start.
This racism was obvious when many of our white founding fathers proclaimed the ”manifest destiny” doctrine, a.s.serting that it was G.o.d's will for them to conquer and rule nonwhite people. It was obvious when white Europeans acquired America's land by cheating and slaughtering its indigenous population while acc.u.mulating incredible wealth by the forced labor of millions of African slaves. It continued to be obvious even after the Civil War when whites imposed ”Jim Crow” laws that blocked blacks and other nonwhites from acquiring significant power, privilege, and opportunities.
Despite the fact that we have a black president, this racism continues today, as most nonwhites will testify. It's just that it's no longer obvious to most whites. One of the ways the social system of America continues to privilege whites over others is that it insulates us from the ongoing effects of America's racist past.
And this is why many sincere white people fail to see why racial reconciliation is a big deal.
If the church in America is going to make progress in manifesting the ”one new humanity” of the Kingdom, this obstacle has to be overcome.
THE HIERARCHY OF PRIVILEGE.
Sixteen years ago when I helped plant the church I now pastor, I naively thought that if I simply taught that reconciliation is central to the Gospel our church would quickly become a diverse, multiethnic congregation. I was baffled when our church remained 98 percent white five years into the ministry.
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