As I sit at home in the middle of the afternoon, I cannot help but think how surreal it is to see that just 50 years after 1968, we are here yet again. The emotional roller coaster I have gone on the past two weeks is unexplainable. George Floyd was murdered in spite of his compliance. Breonna Taylor was gunned down in her own home. Every act of brutal violence against those who look like me makes my heart heavy. As the days go by, I am more and more burdened by the knowledge that there is injustice waiting for me around every corner in the minefield that is this nation’s unchecked white supremacy. And what frightens me even more is the church’s compliance in this system.
When Trayvon Martin was murdered in 2012, my white Christian friend told me that black on black crime was the real problem, not police brutality. I told her she had a point and resolved never to sleep over at her house again. In the spring of 2015 there were protests and sit ins occurring on my liberal college campus to support Black Lives Matter while at the same time, the members of the church I attended were speculating about whether our first Black president was actually the Antichrist. In 2016, I watched fellow church members justify or minimize a man’s commitment to dividing our country from another with a wall as well as his blatant disregard for women and People of Color with the excuse that they wanted someone with “Christian values”. Nothing will terrify me more than the notion that Christianity values telling nonbelievers who they can marry or what they can do with their bodies more than it values preserving the lives and souls of the less fortunate and the oppressed on this earth. Even today, there are Christians who are as quick to condemn rioting as they are to celebrate the 4th of July, a holiday to remember the independence of this nation which was won through destroying property and waging war. They are sending the message that they only condemn aggression when it looks a certain way.
Whether it’s all lives matter, blue lives matter, don’t disrespect the flag, come here legally, or any other number of criticisms, the church has responded to injustice with alarming indifference. Over the years I have walked into the church with a keen awareness that I walk a very thin line of being worthy of prayer and protection. If I weren’t fortunate enough to be the daughter of legal immigrants to the US, I would not feel protected by the church. If I were not fortunate enough to have the opportunity and articulation to speak about the injustice committed against me rather than committing property damage to make my point, I would not feel protected by the church. And when I am confronted by the heavy hand of racism in this country, I do not feel protected by the church. Yet despite this, I am expected to attend service every week and raise my hands in worship of God next to the very people who make me feel unsafe. Church, this cannot go on.
It is time to step up and lead, rather than standing back in situations of crisis. There is no more time to waste because the church is losing souls. So for those in the church who are just waking up to the extent of injustice in this nation, here is what you can do:
- Repent for the sin of racism in the church in America. Church, hear me when I say we have yet to reckon with the origin of our institution in this country being embedded in oppression. It was the church after all that cherry picked verses calling for peace and subservience to authority to the people it enslaved in order to wield God against them like a weapon. In order to conquer sin, we must first confess it, and then give it over to God.
- Love Radically. Church, Jesus was a radical man. He preached a radical concept of loving your neighbor as you love yourself (Mark 12:31). Too many Christians claim to love their neighbors and yet their response to injustice in the country right now does not reflect the response that we have when injustice is committed against ourselves. Make no mistake, Jesus also said that we will always have the poor among us (John 12:8). But church, this is no excuse to sit down, pray, and then tune right into Netflix. The most radical thing the church can do in this country is to fight every injustice on this earth passionately even knowing that nothing will be perfect until Jesus comes again.
- Have Humility. Right now, there are a lot of Christians feeling discomfort. Multiple people have expressed their fear of having a conversation with their Black brothers and sisters because they don’t want to say the wrong thing or have someone yell at them. However, there is no reconciliation without humility. Every time I walk into a church to have a conversation like this, it is by the grace of God that I gather the patience and strength to calmly reconcile with people whose actions have made me feel like my life doesn’t matter. So I beg you to have the patience and strength to be embarrassed or uncomfortable in order to learn and grow.
- Continue to move forward. We are in the unique position of having many people wake up to the extent of injustice at the same time at once. Now that you have become aware, I pray that you don’t go back. Seek out more information about what is going on so that you know what Black brothers and sisters are experiencing and how you can help to fight for them. There are many books, movies, and other resources available to help and equip you. Whatever you do, do not be the seed planted in shallow soil that dies out after one hot day.
Romans 8:28 says that “God works all things together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them”. We are experiencing tragedy but the good news is that tragedy is never the end of the story with God. Trust in his wisdom and allow him to lead to you new heights of concern and compassion for others. Lives like mine are depending on it.
Resources for Learning:
- 13th Documentary - Documentary explaining the history of racial inequality in the US, available for free on Netflix
- Just Mercy - historical fiction film which illustrates the systemic racial and socioeconomic oppression in the justice system of the US as recently as the 1990s, available for free on YouTube and Amazon Prime
- Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America - a book looking at the state of race relations specifically directed to a white congregation https://www.amazon.com/Tears-We-Cannot-Stop-America/dp/1250135990
- Who, Me? Biased? - a video series from The New York Times http://nyti.ms/2hPXJsA
- Project Implicit at Harvard University - a resource to learn about implicit bias and take bias tests https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/education.html
- The Intercultural Church: Unlocking the Power of Love - a Bible study written by intercultural consultant Sharon Pitterson Ogaldez, based on the word of God and proven to train Christians how to understand how culture influences beliefs, behavior, conflicts, and the underlying forces behind racism. And how the power of love will unite and focus the church to love people from all nations and carry out the Great Commission. Contact spogaldez@gmail.com for more information
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