"All lives matter." A sentence a majority of everyone would easily agree with; there's no strain on our tongue to say it. There's nothing controversial about it, it's inclusive, it's easy to speak, because no one is being put above anyone else, at least that's what we'd say out loud. The reality is a lot of us can say "all lives matter" because it includes us--no one is being put above us or our own people.
But "black lives matter" is a different story. It comes with baggage; it's tied to a liberally funded organization. And depending on your political affiliation that might be awesome or of the devil. "Black lives matter" did come from an organization that is not completely blameless, but like most things in our world, it is worth redeeming and adopting for the kingdom.
But I believe the "liberal organization" argument is just an excuse; the heart of it is we live in a this-or-that, either/or world and to say "black lives matter" might come across as saying "whites are less" or "blue lives are bad." For the loudest voices, you're either pro-black lives and hate the police or pro-police and silent on black lives (notice I said "loudest voices" and not majority of people). The loudest ones have made it very difficult to support one without rejecting the other. However, that shouldn't hinder us from saying "black lives matter," because the truth is our current system says "black lives matter less."
Again, I understand the actual BLM organization doesn't bode well with everyone, because of its ties, however, the gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't bode well with a lot of people too, because of its fantastic ties i.e. the hollow Bible Belt. So we shouldn't let a sentence that carries so much weight be tainted with its origins when it can be used for good, like a child from a wicked family that becomes a lover of Christ and righteousness. By remembering the kingdom of God is very different from our kingdom of babel, it'll help with putting into perspective that our either/or politics are shallow and a weapon being used by the dark principality. We can support both "black lives matter" and "blue lives matter," especially now more than ever.
However, how can we do it? Just through protests and posting? Absolutely not, but it's been what we needed. True systemic change has to take place for actual change; and you might love this or hate it, but it starts with the church. Sunday mornings were insightfully recognized as "the most segregated hour" in the U.S. by MLK and, though, major improvements have taken place since he said it, the statement is still true (mainly due to de facto scenarios, but nonetheless the church is supposed to work outside de facto). So during this time of national unrest what are some things our churches can do or what should we look for in a church?
(Before I continue, I owe most of these lessons from Redemption Alhambra in Phoenix, AZ for living these out)
1. Diverse Leadership
It's hard to do anything for the multicultural, multigenerational, multifaceted kingdom of God when a church leadership is one age group, one type of culture, one type of lifestyle, one type of worldview. A church that doesn't have leaders representing several different types of culture (whether it's race, older generation, income, etc) will not be able to properly showcase the beautiful, expansive kingdom of God.
But a diverse leadership won't happen naturally; it needs to be intentional. What will happen naturally is one leader will attract and raise up another leader similar to them. In Redemption Alhambra, the white lead pastor didn't wait for someone to take his place, he intentionally carved out and made space for a co-lead (not an associate) pastor who was black, knowing that's what the church needed. And that same mindset will now be found in the congregation: we should reserve space in our lives for friends who aren't like us and do the same in our workplace for employees of different cultures--sometimes having a diverse perspective has more benefits than a team that all have masters and are all white, 26 year old guys.
In a 2019 study by Korn Ferry, they found some sobering contradictions: despite companies spending millions of dollars to build inclusive cultures to give career opportunities to black talent there were only 4 black CEOs at Fortune 500 companies. Another reason why this is contradicting, because they found black executives are some of the highest performing leaders yet aren't brought up the pipeline the same. It should be safe to infer that this article helps reveals the reality that until the inner circles themselves are diverse then there will always be a disparity in quality of life between race/cultures, because, as we know, the "top" affects the bottom/outter circles.
(https://www.kornferry.com/about-us//press/korn-ferry-study-reveals-united-states-black-pl-leaders-are-some-of-the-highest-performing-executives-in-the-us-c-suite)
A Christianity Today article talks about how churches being led by pastors of cultures other than Anglo are growing, but still extremely low. We still live in a world where people-groups prefer to remain in their ethnic bubbles or for some, have to. While it is awesome news that diversity in churches are increasing, the article shows it's still a fight that requires us to be intentional.
(https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/january/more-multiracial-churches-black-hispanic-pastors-mosaix.html)
If we want top level positions in companies, government, and organizations to be diverse then we need churches to help shepherd our hearts towards that; but for us to believe in a church's vision to be interracial then the leadership should be the first to do so.
2. Diverse Language
In the kingdom of God, not everyone speaks English 🤯. Not everyone knows what a Floridan means when we say "sun showers;" the same way a native Floridian can't name 7 types of snow. In the kingdom of God, all languages, dialects, accents, and slang is accepted--and good. All languages are worthy to be heard and learned. Believe it or not, it wouldn't be sinful if a Haitian church member sang a hymn in their tongue despite us not understanding, we would just relax and appreciate that God is being worshipped in a different language.
But, funny enough, language itself is so diverse that the phrase "diverse language" has another meaning: that we speak about diversity. The church should talk about the different struggles a particular people group might be facing; how "black lives matter," that we should help the immigrant/foreigner, and remember the majority of law enforcement is good. Unless a congregation is consistently exposed to a language that appreciates the variety of life God has made then that church body won't be able to live it out.
3. Diverse Actions
Don't talk the talk if we can't walk the walk. Diverse leadership and language should lead to diverse actions. Whether it's a small group focused on ministering to the homeless, a church-wide demonstration in front of city hall for the black community, honoring blue lives through care packages, visiting hospitals and nursing homes, investing into the local community in some way, and so on; the church needs to walk in a way that doesn't only serve one group of people.
However, without a diverse leadership and language it will be difficult to do so.
4. Diverse Politics
Oh my goodness, everyone's favorite...
I personally studied politics in college, helped in campaigns, and loved this subject, because of the role I believe it plays in our system and the impact it has. But as I've gotten older it is the most divisive expression of our humanity; next to religion, it's the biggest religion. Which is why the church can't cheer for one side like a hometown sport team.
We as the church have to remember our political camps are man-made and not completely anointed by God. There are aspects ordained by God, but not one is God's party. Some of the DNC's beliefs reflect God, some of the GOP platform will be found in his kingdom, even some socialist philosophies can be considered biblical, but the point of view should be "my party has some kingdom aspects," not "the kingdom has some of my party's aspect."
The church should carry itself in the context that we don't belong in any one party, left or right wing, progressive or conservative, not even centrist. The good news that Jesus preached showed us a political philosophy of humility and a government structure of servant-hood. Not of subjugation; that is reserved for Christ.
Read more: (&) Campaign
5. Preferential Treatment
This one is probably the hardest to live out. "Preferential treatment" is one of those concepts that is tough to say whether you like it or not until you see it a couple times. Someone might say that they believe in it at first, but after 2 or 3 instances of it, they might change their mind. However, it is vital for the church to have this in their values and true systemic change can't take place until we humbly walk in it.
By definition preferential treatment is "giving or having a preferential attitude that shows that you are partial to one person or group of people. And if you act in a preferential way, it gives the person you prefer an advantage over everyone else." Initially it comes across as liking one type of person more than others, but we know that doesn't fit with the spirit of God; what it does mean within the context of the gospel is we help level the playing field by giving support and going an extra mile with those who are systemically behind: the orphans, widows, marginalized, foreigners, the poor, the oppressed, etc.
In the Bible, God constantly shows us that preferring the outcast in particular circumstances is part of his culture (James 2). So, during this time when there is clear evidence that the black community has yet been released from a type of oppression then we as the church should come together and say "black lives matter." We should prefer the black community at this time and fight for ways to help level the playing field considering they as a people-group are centuries behind the majority that has controlled systems and leadership. And this doesn't mean "letting them win" and everyone else lose, this means giving them a chance and not comparing by the same standards, because truthfully the marginalized are lifting heavier weight. So as an individual we could go and search for a black owned restaurant, don't wait for one to pop-up in a premier plaza, that's how you show preference. Don't wait until someone from another race applies for your job, make a hiring event at a spanish church. Take extra time to make friends with a culture we don't have in our circle.
As a church, preferential treatment will look different, but we should be seeing it. We should see a mission and hear a message that helps humble the proud, but lifts up the humbled.
I wanted to write about these 5 ways a church can help with racial reconciliation and systemic racism, because at the heart of Church Socialist is the belief that the church is the chief agent of redeeming everything to God. Prior to experiencing Redemption Alhambra, I was thankfully apart of chur
ches that had a diversity in culture and language, but my understanding of racial tensions was limited by my Hispanic-American worldview and I had only read a few books on race and the church. But after my time with Alhambra and witnessing what a gospel-centered church can be like and how one should walk, I believe every church should be leading the way for Christ-centered justice.
These 5 things don't have to be explosive or loud, like everything the church should mostly do, these 5 things should be prayerful and humble. The church doesn't live out its mission in a big arena for the world to see, but in our living rooms and daily lives. These 5 things will gracefully shape the congregation, which will gracefully shape the world around them.
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