Disclaimer: Before everyone thinks that you can state that I am using a race card, I am caucasian and have witnessed first hand the racial bias of the Criminal Justice System. This article is not condoning the violence done by rioters. Instead it is showing that the political right wing church has very little relevance in our communities.
Today Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of murder. Never mind the fact that he was carrying a gun under age; never mind that he had ZERO reason to be at a violent racial justice protest. He purposely carried a gun and when attacked he killed two people and injured another. There are plenty of people that want to say what he did was right and that it truly self defense. I have been taught how to respect guns my entire life, and how to use them defensively if needed. I have also been taught that you don't shoot to kill, you should to injure the other. You don't go to seek out trouble. In other words, you don't go to purposely take the law into your own hands. However, when I look at Kyle Rittenhouse, I don't see a upstanding person. I see a horrid person, someone that deserves to be in jail because of the laws he brought by his vigilante justice.
A vigilante is a person who takes it upon himself to enforce laws or to provide justice in situations where no justice seems possible. Vigilantes operate without proper legal authority, and they often depend on their own notions of right and wrong with no concern for what is truly just. Vigilantes skip due process, sometimes with the belief that law enforcement is inadequate or unavailable and that their intervention is necessary to maintain a peaceful existence. The irony is that, as a vigilante seeks to bring lawbreakers to justice, he becomes a lawbreaker himself.
In fact, the heart of most acts of vigilantism is contrary to Scripture. Vigilantes act outside the purview of the law, which is problematic for Christians. Also, vigilantism often gives way to mob rule, and the out-of-control actions of a lynch mob hardly if ever lead to true justice. “The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1). The authority in free countries is the law, which even a nation’s leaders and judges must obey. In most cases, to bypass due process is to flout the law. It is the government’s duty “to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4; cf. 1 Peter 2:14); it is the Christian’s duty “to submit to the authorities” (Romans 13:5; cf. 1 Peter 2:13). Christians should be exemplary in their law-abiding behavior. Except in rare situations, there is no need to resort to vigilantism. There are better ways to resolve perceived injustice. The Christian is obligated to “show proper respect to everyone, . . . fear God, honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:17), and he prays “for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:2).
In our town, we had protests, and the only people who were remotely violent were the right-wing supporters. In fact, when the police were called they didn't do anything to stop the right-wing supporters from hitting people and were arresting those yelling out "black lives matter." Seriously? A man assaults a woman because she is yelling on a corner that black lives matter and law enforcement arrested the woman who was yelling. I witnessed this several times.
Even the Washington Post has written about racial bias in the courts. In 2016, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) gave a powerful speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Scott talked about how he had been repeatedly pulled over by police officers who seemed to be suspicious of a black man driving a nice car. He added that a black senior-level staffer had experienced the same thing and had even downgraded his car in the hope of avoiding the problem. Given that Scott otherwise has pretty conservative politics, there was little objection or protest from the right. No one rose up to say that he was lying about getting pulled over. The thing is, most people of color have a similar story or know someone who does. Yet, there’s a deep skepticism on the right of any assertion that the criminal justice system is racially biased.
As a Christian I am not longer able to sit by and let my brothers and sisters be treated less than because of their race. Earlier in the week, before my grandmother passed away, I went to visit her and my cousin told me a story of how her mother and father (my great grandparents) used to invite the sharecroppers into the house to eat and there was one black man that wouldn't enter the house. My great-granny encouraged him to come in and he wouldn't come in. Since he didn't feel worthy to come into the house, granny set him a table on the back porch, covered it with a table cloth and gave him a chair. In the early 1930-1940s granny felt that a black man that did equal work on the farm was equal enough to come in to her home to eat.
So what is the problem today? Why aren't we as Christians exhibiting the same understanding of humanity that my great granny knew?
Of particular concern to some on the right is the term “systemic racism,” often wrongly interpreted as an accusation that everyone in the system is racist. In fact, systemic racism means almost the opposite. It means that we have systems and institutions that produce racially disparate outcomes, regardless of the intentions of the people who work within them. When you consider that much of the criminal justice system was built, honed and firmly established during the Jim Crow era — an era almost everyone, conservatives included, will concede rife with racism — this is pretty intuitive. The modern criminal justice system helped preserve racial order — it kept black people in their place. For much of the early 20th century, in some parts of the country, that was its primary function. That it might retain some of those proclivities today shouldn’t be all that surprising.
When I worked in the school system, I saw a School Resource Officer (SRO) body-slam a student of color to the ground and tell him "I am going to put a bullet in your head if its the last thing I do." I reported the incident to the school administration.
The church was designed to be on the forefront of the conversations about race. The church has been called to speak out against oppression, defend the marginalized, live as peacemakers and lead their communities in reconciliation and transformative change.
There is no group more prepared for this moment and equipped by God to delve into these divisive issues in society than the people of God filled with the Spirit of God and informed by the Word of God. We must recognize these gifts in this moment and bring the hope of Christ to what seems to be a hopeless situation.
We know all this. To do nothing would be wrong. To say nothing would negate our witness. But where do I start?
In the past few years, Dr. Harold Lewis, our vice president of Biblical Diversity, has taught me a fourfold filter for personal interaction with people from other cultures, colors and classes. I have benefited from applying these actions when I engage with people who have a different view or experience in life. While this is not the primary focus of our conversation today, it may be helpful to explain these steps as a foundation for our main topic.
Listen. Learn. Lament. Lead.
Listen: Seek to hear rather than be heard. Seek to understand rather than be understood. Increased awareness will increase understanding.
Learn: While you cannot stand in another person’s shoes, you can learn from his or her experience in this world. Taking a humble, teachable posture validates that their experience can be different than yours and may empower you to walk alongside your friend more effectively.
Lament: Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. The ability to “grieve with those who grieve” as well as take responsibility for any part you may have played in their pain creates connection and trust.
Lead: Once understanding is gained, connection is established and trust is earned, you can now walk together into expanded conversations and actions that strengthen your relationship with one another and influence others in your life who need to join the journey of awareness and action.
A paradigm for the church
While these four actions are great personal steps for us as individuals, church leaders are desperate to find corporate pathways to lead others. While leading self is always the first step in leading others, the track to employ a congregation of believers with their community goes beyond personal interaction to corporate engagement.
Though I feel like I am still on the steep learning curve of this conversation, I have found the following paradigm to be helpful as both a starting point and a measure of health for churches that want to move forward on this priority and change the narrative in our communities.
1. The ministry of prayer
True change begins and ends with prayer because prayer turns our focus toward God. One of my friends tells me all the time: “What we focus on is what we move toward.” If we focus on the problems, they will get bigger. If we focus on God, we will see his power to speak into our lives.
God has the ability, through his Word and his Spirit to prepare us for this spiritual battle (Eph. 6:17). He searches our hearts (Ps. 139:23-24), speaks into our motives (Hb. 4:12), opens our eyes (2 Co. 4:4, Rev. 3:18), calls us to repentance (Acts 3:17, Rev. 2:5) and corrects our way (2 Tm. 3:16-17).
Repentance is one facet of prayer but is essential in the church in this season. Repentance always precedes repair.
Repentance, not only for ourselves but for our people, is common in the Bible. Many examples exist in Scripture of going to God to acknowledge the sins of both groups and generations (2 Ch. 7:14, Ne. 1:5-7, Ps. 106:6, Je. 14:20, Dn. 9:1-19). In 1 Peter 2:9, we are called a “royal priesthood.” Priests, by occupation, intercede on behalf of their people.
As that priesthood, we should go to God not only on behalf of ourselves but also our families and our country. We are to seek God on behalf of our leaders (1 Tm. 2:1-6). There are both examples (Gn. 18, Acts 7:60, Rm. 10:1, Lk. 23:34) and expectations (Ez. 22:30) that people would stand in the gap and approach God on behalf of others in prayer.
I encourage church leaders to develop powerful prayer ministries as an integral part of the strategy to prepare the people of God to engage their communities and prepare the people of the community to receive the people of God and their message (Col. 4:3).
2. A ministry of presence
I’ve had the privilege to oversee the celebration of life of many dear people who have gone to be with the Lord. The circumstances surrounding these gatherings are varied — some responded to the death of their loved ones with relief, while other situations were tragic and emotionally charged. Very often, before these events, I would be approached by an acquaintance who had no idea what to say or do in the presence of those who are in pain. My response has always been the same, “That’s OK. You don’t have to know what to say or do — your presence is your ministry.”
Jesus knew the power of presence. As he called his disciples, the first descriptor of their discipleship was “that they might be with him” (Mk. 3:14). Presence with Jesus was a part of their training. God uses our presence to:
- Comfort (2 Co. 1:4)
- Encourage (Rm. 1:12)
- Support (Gal. 6:2)
- Build (1 Th. 5:11)
- Honor (Rm. 12:10)
When it comes to present-day issues surrounding injustice and race, the lack of the presence of the evangelical church has been discouraging to people of color and culture, while the absence of their voice has been deafening.
As we have seen from previous installments of this conversation, the church was designed to be a voice that speaks out against injustice and a presence that intervenes for the marginalized and oppressed. The power of the church’s presence in these situations would be hard to deny or ignore. We have to learn how to stand with and speak for friends, fellow congregants and the people of our community when they have been treated unfairly. Our presence can be powerful.
3. A plan for personal growth
Spiritual growth is not automatic. A quick look through the pages of the New Testament clearly reveals that challenge and correction were a normal part of Paul’s interactions with the church. Jesus reminded us in the parable of the soils that it is not unusual for the inertia of everyday life to slow us down, choke us out or dry us up (Mk. 4:13-20).
Intentionally growing in the area of biblical diversity has many angles, but Scripture is always the first place to start. The Bible is replete with themes, passages and angles that address this subject.
However, if I had to give you advice, I would start with a thorough study of the book of Ephesians. The emphasis of chapter 2 on the reconciling work of Christ that impacted not only our relationship with God but with each other is a foundational teaching on this topic. The conversation around oneness in this multiethnic church and what it means to mature together in chapter 4 sets the tone for how the church should operate in our very diverse world.
Once a biblical foundation is laid, our personal growth plan can include many other facets of exploration.
- Consider reading books and blogs on the subject that are recommended by trusted friends who are biblically faithful and culturally astute.
- Consider reading on topics like the history of our country, racial reconciliation and increasing cultural intelligence.
- Watch sermons and listen to podcasts of pastors from other cultures to get their perspective on the application of Scripture to current events.
- Consider taking trips to experience the many historic sites around the country that give you a better understanding, like the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., or the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.
Regardless, do something. You can’t grow if you don’t know.
4. Participation in good
Paul emphatically calls the church to overcome evil with good (Rm. 12:21). James challenges us to not only be hearers of the word but doers (James 1:22). Jesus calls the church to “let our light shine” in such a way the world sees our good deeds and glorifies our Father in heaven (Mt. 5:16). Participation in good should be a normal part of every believer’s experience and every church’s ministry.
In the days following the death of George Floyd, the churches of Converge did just that — they converged on the communities that were devastated by destruction and riots. Christians swept up streets, cleaned up communities, swept up glass, prayed with the hurting, fed the hungry, housed the homeless and spoke the truth in partnership with other local congregations and community leaders.
Others were too far away to have a ministry of presence but sent prayer, supplies and finances to rebuild these areas. All these partners know that once the crisis is over, what remains is not only a cleaned-up community but the possibility of ongoing relationship and ministry.
Partnership is the pathway to relationship. Relationship is the pathway to trust. Trust will open the door to the depth of receptivity, vulnerability, understanding, compassion and commitment necessary to begin steps toward lasting change.
Every church should consider developing long-term relationships and partnerships with other churches in their community to care for, learn from, work with and walk beside each other.
Your community may not have a crisis on the streets like they did in Minneapolis, but I promise you that there is a crisis in the hearts of people from different backgrounds. Our society teaches us to question people who look, act, speak or live differently than us.
Scripture tells us to embrace the beauty of God’s diversity of color and culture, reminding us that there is only one way to salvation (John 14:6, Acts 4:12), one body of believers (Eph. 4:4, Col. 3:15) and one life to make a difference in this world (2 Co. 5:10, Hb. 9:27) and that he wants the transforming power of Christ to not only impact believers but also change communities. This all begins with participation and partnership.
5. A focus on policy change
God calls the church to make their communities better. In the Bible, we see the church impact communities in powerful ways (Acts 17:6, 19:17, 1 Th. 1). The Bible tells the people of God to defend those who cannot defend themselves and speak out on behalf of the marginalized (Pr. 31:8-9). It tells us to think about others first (Ph. 2:3-4), sacrifice (1 Jn. 3:16) and be generous (1 Tm. 6:17-19). Societal heroes have these same traits, and I believe God would love for the people of the church to be seen as the heroes of our communities!
These principles not only apply to personal life but also societal power constructs. Unfortunately, way too often, Christians have allowed their party views to blind them to biblical responses to society.
For example, the Bible is just as clear in its language asking the church to speak for the oppressed and serve the under-resourced as it is about the sanctity of all human life and the preservation of biblical sexuality. Why are we letting a binary political system divide God’s church over four clear calls to his people?
What I am about to say is my opinion and my observation on society. Some of you will agree, while others will cringe at the thought. We have a wonderful system of law in our country. While it is obvious that no system of oversight in this world is perfect, ours has a built-in opportunity for us to make adjustments.
Our founding fathers could not have anticipated all the changes becoming an independent country would bring, but they knew that they wouldn’t! They also couldn’t see the social blind spots and spiritual strongholds of their society (For example, as they wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal,” they could not see the dehumanizing act of slavery was directly opposed to this thought). Knowing this, they developed a system that provided opportunity to change things to better serve this forming nation.
While we have a good system, no human system is perfect. Human law is systemic. It is built on the precedent of previous generations and upheld by the powerful in the present generation. Politics, by nature (fallen nature in this case), are used to develop policies that protect the power and preferences of the dominant group or culture. Policy is designed to teach people to obey, not to think or question. Long-standing policy is designed to maintain the status quo and, if a society is not careful, instinctively dulls and desensitizes people to needed change.
If culture is unhealthy, unaware or unwilling to see inequity, it taints the system. In such cases, it often takes crisis (and often tragedy) to bring the attention of all to the need for change. Christians, informed by God’s Word, led by his Spirit and sensitively engaged in their communities, can be a great force in leading to God-honoring systemic change.
Christians should filter the strengths and weaknesses of their communities and culture through the lens of Scripture.
As citizens, we have rights, but as Christians, we have responsibilities to intervene on behalf of others. Our voice and our vote are both stewardships in a democratic society with freedom of speech.
[1] Roger Bruns, Billy Graham: A Biography (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004), 86.
[2] Ibid., 85.
[3] Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, and Donna Lee Toney, Billy Graham in Quotes (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011), 181.
