This is the seventh talk in a series on race and social justice given at First Baptist Church of Durham to the college ministry Sunday school class (BFL). This talk considers various topics like micro aggressions and pursuing unity in the church before offering some concluding thoughts.
Previous Talks
Talk One: Introduction & Individualism
Talk Two: Welfare, Affirmative Action & Public Housing
Talk Three: Residential Segregation, Impact of Slavery & Effects of Poverty
Talk Four: Current Systemic Racism (Unemployment, Wage Gap, & Criminal Justice System)
Talk Five: White Privilege, White Guilt, Critical Race Theory and Minority Responsibility
You can listen by using the link above or download the file below.
Overview of the Series
Few people will push back against the fact that racial disparities exist currently in America. The crucial question is why. What is the cause? The reason people splinter into various beliefs about race and social justice in America is because of how they answer the question why. How you answer the why question completely dictates what you believe is the cause and therefore the solution. If we get the why question wrong we will get wrong solutions and the problem won’t get better. In fact, it will make the situation worse.
The argument of these talks is that the cause of the current disparities is multifaceted involving both white and minority responsibility. Throughout the talks I’ll examine the most popular answers to the why question and their correlating solutions. It’s my hope to point out how certain philosophies and solutions about race are out of step with Scripture, while also showing how certain solutions, even secular, have much basis in Scripture. In the end, I hope to give listeners confidence about what we can and cannot affirm about racism and social justice as Christians, while charting a path forward for racial reconciliation, helping the poor, and talking about race with others.
First, we are going to look at the four most prominent answers to the why question of racial disparities. Then we will look at who is to blame where we will consider topics like white guilt and critical race theory. Then we’ll conclude with 12 applications in light of what we’ve learned about race and injustice.
This is a complex issue. People can disagree on the cause of racial disparities and both still be Christians. Even some Christian minorities disagree on the why question when it comes to racism and social justice. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t advocate – even passionately – for certain answers to the cause of racial disparities, but it does mean we should be slow to anger and abounding in grace toward others who care about racial reconciliation but see things different.
Questions:
“How should Christians approach the conflation of racial justice and LGBT issues in modern dialogue?”
I tried to deal with this in application 7 “Be Careful Where you Lend Your Support” in talk six. We should be careful what speakers or organizations we endorse whether with our words, stickers, shirts, etc. because some of them though they may teach helpful things also teach doctrines very opposed to the biblical worldview. It seems the LGBTQ movement has tried to tie itself to the Civil Rights movement to engender compassion and a victimhood status. Since they’ve been so successful in doing so some advocates for racial justice have sought to link arms with LGBTQ community to capitalize on their cultural momentum. As Christians we must be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. We shouldn’t for instance disregard racism or the effects of it simply because some advocates of racial justice also embrace an unbiblical view on sexuality and gender. We should be more concerned with holding to truth rather than doing what is politically or strategically expedient. When Jesus was opposed by the Sadduccees and the Pharisees (who were enemies) he didn’t choose the lesser of two evils and ally with one to defeat the other as many might have done. Instead he opposed both groups. We must be loyal to Scripture and trust God.
“How would you recommend sifting through all the books/resources on these topics? Books I may agree with or not. Is it ever right to leave an institution (SBC, SEBTS) if they and you don’t agree on this topic?
Hopefully these talks and the booklet form will be a good resource! But George Yancey’s book Beyond Racial Gridlock is phenomenal if you only read one book. He gives voice and validation to the concerns of social justice advocates, but doesn’t budge on biblical faithfulness. You can definitely get lost in resources. But I hope these talks will give people a helpful overview as well as equip folks with resources to have conversations with others and think through the issues.
I would encourage people not to be quick to leave a church based on how that church handles race, provided they are a doctrinally faithful church and don’t hold to clearly racist views. A right understanding of conscience is key and a group of Christians who disagree on some issues yet hold together because of their love for Christ is a powerful thing. However, people are free to choose where they worship, again based on their conscience, and there’s nothing sinful necessarily about someone who winds up at a church that more or less agrees with that church’s approach to issues of race. We should definitely be slow to judge other Christians or denominations too harshly as if they aren’t Christians, or hold our particular view on an approach to race as if it’s the only tenable view for sincere, faithful Christians. I tackle that in the last application point: Pursue Unity in the Church, in talk seven.
“How do I interact with family members who hold to racist ideas in a way that is loving and truthful?”
This will depend greatly on context. For instance, a conversation with someone who is a professing Christian who is expressing racist views would go differently than an unbeliever. I’d at least start by giving non-verbal communication that the racist comment or joke is not okay or funny. From there, I’d encourage people to ask questions. Jesus was a master at this. Questions like, “Do you think that’s true?” or “Why do you think that?” can have the effect of drawing people out to clearly articulate their views. This may be enough for them to see its ugliness in the light of day and be convicted. If we have an opportunity to have a longer conversation to confront them in line with Matthew 18, I would suggest the normal steps of having any admonishing conversation (See here). Pray for boldness and the ability to be filled with grace and truth as Jesus was.
“How will we consider race in heaven?”
Revelation 7:9 says heaven will contain people from every tribe, tongue and nation. God’s creation and his character is beautifully displayed in the diversity of people he’s made. In heaven, I believe we’ll see the beautiful differences and how they glorify God and more fully reflect his character than if he had only made on ethnicity or culture. I talk about this in talk one under Colorblindness.
“When the topic of racism is brought up, how do we respond? If wrongly accused of racism or racist acts, how should I respond?”
“Several people in my classes are determined to hate white people and say our intentions don’t matter, even if we’re trying to reconcile we are still racist. What do I do? How should I respond?”
I try to answer this in talk six under application 4: Listen, But Don’t Stop Speaking. Obviously, we should seek to listen and learn from any accusations against us. It’s an opportunity to search our hearts to see if there is any prejudice or sinful favoritism. But we must also resist intersectionality, which is a framework of thinking that assesses the value of a person’s opinion and even their guilt on their race, gender, socio-economic status, etc. In general, we must gently, but persistently push the conversation away from ad hominem arguments that simply engage in character assassination and encourage people to consider arguments.
It also may help to mention the fact that Martin Luther King Jr. did not claim that white people were all racist, neither did he refuse to hear their arguments. Contrary, he engaged with them! His Letter from a Birmingham Jail is a masterpiece precisely because of its argumentation. Also, more modern authors like Ibram X. Kendi agree that we shouldn’t take the individual racism displayed by some white people and apply it to all white people. He writes, “generalizing the behavior of racist White individuals to all White people is as perilous as generalizing the individual faults of people of color to entire races…An antiracist treats and remembers individuals as individuals.”[1] This may create some common ground for them to realize that not all people are racist based on their race.
Lastly, I’d say make sure you are spending time with Christians. It can be discouraging being in an environment where you are being wrongfully accused. It can also be wearying. You might end up admitting to it because you don’t feel like fighting or being ostracized anymore. That’s why it’s important to be around a loving a supporting community like your church to be reminded you aren’t crazy…or racist.
“How do I know my bias is racist or when it is just uninformed or unloving? How do I ‘self-diagnose?’”
I tried to answer this under assimilation in talk one. There are going to be cultural differences and we must probe our preferences as Irwyn Ince writes, to see if what we are holding to is a biblical ideal and therefore objectively better and worth fighting for, or if it’s perhaps a preference that is a matter of subjectivity. There isn’t an easy shortcut for this. It takes prayer and searching Scripture, but sinful disdain for another person because of their race or culture typically reveals itself. However, I don’t think this is a work that is always done by ourselves. Sometimes we can self-diagnose, but it’s actually very helpful to ask brothers and sisters if they see any sin in us. This isn’t just the case with racism or bias but with all sin. Scripture tells us that iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another. That verse implies that community brings a spiritual sharpening that can’t happen by ourselves. We should also remember the importance of conscience when it comes to views that have no bearing on biblical faithfulness.
“What can I do to serve others in my community?”
There are numerous ways we can serve the community around us. It starts with seeking to build relationships. Seeing the faces of those suffering or in poverty tends to engender compassion in us more than seeing statistics. We can serve at a soup kitchen, support organizations that help former prison inmates find jobs, we can serve at homeless shelters, support or serve Christian ministries that work with youth in urban settings. As Christians we should get a clear idea of the goal and that is to love others around us, resist sin in our own hearts including racism, and then use our creativity and wisdom to find ways to serve.
[1] Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist. 44.
Mike McGregor
Mike McGregor (MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary) is Director of College Ministry at First Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter at @m5mcgregor.
