In our sermon on the gospel, race, and unity from Ephesians 2, we have 5 applications to walk in unity and fight for oneness in diversity. The fourth is being an ally and advocate for the injustices suffered by brothers and sisters who are different than us. A couple years ago the pastors of our church took a staff retreat to Memphis. During our time there, we spent a day at the National Civil Rights Museum. One powerful exhibit that I saw in the museum was a picture of all the people who had been arrested in Jackson, Mississippi for their part in the "freedom bus rides." These rides were protests because the newly instituted laws of desegregation on public bus transportation were not being enforced. Of the hundreds of black and brown faces pictured in mugshots, there were a handful of white faces among them as well. These were whites who had chosen to lay down their privileges and embrace the struggle and scorn of the oppressed. It was a tangible expression of loving thy neighbor. These were people whom I never met or heard what they believed, but their commitment to reconciliation and unity showed by being allies in the struggles of minorities.
Dhati Lewis says that "a problem is not really a problem, until it's my problem." In other words, unless we choose to own the sufferings of the people we love, we will never truly see what they go through as a problem, thus never being able to be unified with them. In our pursuit of racial unity, we must figure out how to own each other's problems by becoming allies and advocates.
There is an age-old conversation around the issue of social justice as it relates to the gospel. Some argue that the gospel deals only with the salvation of the soul, therefore physical and social conditions of people are not the primary concern of the church. Others argue that it is impossible to believe the gospel and not actively work to change the social conditions of people. (There are many great volumes that express differing viewpoints on this.) The greatest volume though is the Bible, which has much to say about the horizontal application of God's image and the gospel towards fellow man. JD Greear makes some very good comments on the biblical idea of Justice that I believe is critical to this conversation. He shows that Justice in the Bible "is equated with lifting up the oppressed." "Justice is always connected to the vulnerable, foreigner, widow, and fatherless." God is saying to Israel that if you are going to be a just people, you are going to leverage your position of strength and privilege to help others enjoy those same benefits." All people experience privilege at some level, benefits that others don't have access to. Justice is about taking initiative on behalf of those who don't have access to rights, equality, dignity, and human flourishing. See full conversation with JD Greear here. https://vimeo.com/272385496/4e6906a5f0
The issue of justice is a major sticking point for racial unity. There is no doubt a long, sordid history of injustice and suffering endured by minorities in this country. There are current systemic issues that are shaped by that sordid history which affect people's everyday lives. The sticking point it appears is that Christians from the majority context are being accused of silence concerning these issues, and believers from minority contexts are accused of overemphasizing them. It's the inability to see it as a shared problem that causes much division.
I have had conversations with some of my white brothers who have the sincere question, "Since I haven't done any injustice to another person, what do I have to repent from?" Others have said, "Besides, even if I wanted to get involved, I'm not sure what I could do." I would simply say that one of the major contributors to the racial divide isn't necessarily suffering you cause, but suffering you see and fail to acknowledge or jump in and help with. Or, to borrow from Greear's biblical view of justice, not leveraging the privileges and strengths we enjoy to help others enjoy them too.
Consider two calls from God on this idea.
"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." (Isaiah 1:17)
"Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed. Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy." (Proverbs 31:8-9)
Also see the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) for a practical example of taking initiative for the cause of the vulnerable.
These passages and others compel us towards being allies and advocates for our brothers and sisters around of all different ethnicities and cultures when they face injustice. If we are truly the body of Christ, then when my brother or sister experiences suffering, I also experience that suffering. If my physical body has an infection in the arm, I don't have the luxury of saying, "That's my arm's problem, it doesn't have anything to do with the rest of me."
We have seen this at work positively and biblically in the cause of the unborn. Majority culture churches like ours have long taken up the fight for life in the womb. We partner with crisis pregnancy centers, we raise awareness and finances through Sanctity of Life Sundays, we encourage our church members to engage with the issue through voting for parties that are going to be strong on pro-life policies. These are all right and good applications of life being made in God's image. This is justice. What would it look like if we took the same stances on human flourishing for immigrants? What if we raised awareness about mass incarceration (largely of black and brown men)? What if, when a black man was murdered by police and there's a question of if race was a factor, we were able just to lament corporately over the death of an image bearer without choosing a side on the "facts"? I believe these small steps of being advocates and allies would go a long way in making the problems of our brothers and sisters become our problems, strengthening community, and oneness. We must learn to speak out when brothers and sisters experience things that are not right. We must help them overcome disadvantages and get in the trenches with them. We must say more from the pulpit. Teach on it more in our discipleship. Learn, at the very least, how to weep with them when they weep. We may not always see the issues the same way or agree on how they are fixed, but to be silent and or dismissive will always keep us divided.
Stories in Discipleship w/ Josh Reed
In this episode of Stories in Discipleship, we sit down with Josh Reed. Josh is a member at Fegenbush Campus. He and his wife are both involved in disciple making through d-groups, and he shares his experiences here.
https://www.highview.org/discipleship/blog/762/stories-in-discipleship-josh-reed
6 Things Jesus did to Equip His disciples for Ministry
Jim Putman gives great insights on things we need to focus on to best prepare the people in our d-groups to be sent to make disciples themselves.
http://jimputman.com/2018/07/08/6-things-jesus-did-to-equip-his-disciples-for-ministry/