Dear Ren family and friends,
My heart has been heavy all week following everything happening in our nation. Another innocent black man was killed by police. Riots are happening and small businesses are being destroyed. Looting. Violence against police. Violence against protesters. Scathing political conflicts on social media related to what’s happening. Christians are divided. It’s hard to take it all in.
Disclaimers
Before I say what is on my heart I want to provide a few disclaimers. The Ren family is made up of people who are both Republican and Democrat. I am not representing a political party. My loyalty is to Jesus and to truth. The events that have happened in the last week are complex. In an effort to speak against racism toward the black community it would be easy to swing the other way to encourage prejudice toward those who serve as police. I am grateful for the men and women in blue (many who are people of color) who risk their lives daily to keep us safe. Radical reform is needed with police and legal systems but demonizing police in general is not the wisdom of God. Those who are acting violently toward police in the spirit of revenge are doing evil.
I’m (speaking) writing this piece primarily for Christians, though I’m sure many who are not Christian will read it. My aim is to help us, as Christians, to think like Jesus regarding what is happening in America. I realize that the force of my words may sting and may even divide but my heart is to unify us around the truth. It seems like Christians are struggling with how to respond in the same way they struggled in the 1960’s during the civil rights movement. The temptation is to stay neutral and remain silent. But silence is not an option.
I also want to say that I know that there are many justice issues. Even relating to the past week we could speak to the injustice against small business owners whose storefronts have been destroyed or the injustice against police or the injustice against the military. Any kind of injustice is evil and there’s a time to talk about it. This piece, however, is solely about injustice toward the black community. It’s the right time.
I also want to say that what I’m about to say is not anything new for us as a church. We have consistently spoken about black rights from the inception of the church in 2003. I’ve made strong statements at times, for example, after Charlottesville. We have celebrated the message of MLK. We have recognized that the church has a role to play in amplifying the importance of black rights in light of persistent repeated acts of racial violence.
My words are not infallible and I do not consider myself an expert on race relations. I’m a pastor. I’m a learner. I’m in process. You may not agree with everything I say. We are a church that values dialogue. I think that good and thoughtful Christians sometimes disagree. That said, my prayer is that your heart would be open.
George Floyd
I’m guessing by now you’ve all viewed the video footage of police officer Derek Chauvin, killing 46 year old father George Floyd. The footage is horrific. He’s being pinned to the ground so hard he cannot breathe. Several officers joined Officer Chauvin in ignoring Mr. Floyd’s plea that he could not breathe. Some young people even tried desperately to intervene, but were barked away by one of the officers. After being held down for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, George was placed in an ambulance, where medics said he had no pulse. This was police brutality in broad daylight in Minneapolis.
It was shameless.
There were also other very recent events impacting the black community like the news of the death of Breonna Taylor and the arresting of her boyfriend; the white woman in Central Park threatening a black man by calling the cops on him. All these incidents coming to light and happening within a short timespan, were the catalyst for the outcry we're seeing. Black people are fed up, tired, exhausted, angry, thus leading to the protests.
Hate what is evil
As I’ve listened to the collective voices of black lives pour out hurt and groan for justice, I’ve felt anger. It’s not the anger of revenge, but of love. When something hurts someone you love it is natural to feel anger. In fact, the more you love, the more anger you will experience. When things like this happen in our country I always think of the many friends of color I’ve had in my 52 years on earth and how they are affected. I’m angry because of my love for them. Can you imagine how angry God must be over the killing of innocent people He created and loves?
This murder was done in full view of the Lord Almighty. God is moved by these acts of violence. Genesis 6 tells us that God was grieved because of the violence that filled the earth. The blood of Abel cried out from the ground after he was murdered by his brother Cain. Proverbs 6 says that God “hates the hands that shed innocent blood”. What did God feel in those moments, as He witnessed George Floyd suffocate to death? What does it mean that God hates?
Hate is overused in the English language. Someone might say they ‘hate’ mushrooms or country music or technology. We say we ‘hate’ when birds poop on our windshield. Does God hate “hands that shed innocent blood” (and the racism behind it) the same way we hate when our neighbor mows his lawn early in the morning? The hatred of God is as great as His love.
It is fury. We should be furious too.
Christian response
What is so disturbing in times like this, is that many people who identify themselves as Christians seem to be on the wrong side of things. Yes, the rioting—that is morphing into the destruction of local businesses and even injuries to police trying to control things—is evil. Everyone serious about protesting has condemned this counterproductive behavior. But many professing Christians, strangely, seem hesitant to sympathize fully with the message of the peaceful protesters. I’ve even heard some complain this week that there are other important issues besides black rights and all this attention shouldn’t be on just black people. Oh my merciful God in heaven! What are we thinking?
When members of the black community are regularly brutalized and killed, when officers often don’t even get sentenced, when our black brothers and sisters live in fear of being pulled over, when the prison and legal systems favor whites and mistreat blacks, when racism and police brutality happen over and over in incidents that are public (and incidents on dark streets that few are made aware of)—what should be our response as people of faith? When the black community is weeping and wailing and crying for justice, are we going to close our ears? There’s a proverb that says that if we close our ears to the cries of others, the Lord will close His ears when we cry to Him. In fact, we are commanded by God to not only listen to the cries of those who aren’t being heard, but to amplify their voices.
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. - Proverbs 31:8-9
On the wrong side of things
Christians, not all but many, in America, have been on the wrong side of civil rights. Think of how many Christians owned slaves in early America. How they fought vehemently against the abolition of slavery that happened in 1865. They even went to war over it! Many white Christians did nothing to support the powerful civil rights movement in the 1960’s led by Dr. King and others. Many opposed it Monday to Saturday and then went to church on Sunday! I cannot help but think of the words of Amos the prophet, speaking for God—
"I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. - Amos 5:21-24
Today—in our day—we are seeing the brutal killing of members of the black community by police. In some cases, young boys! What will this generation of Christians do in response to the murder of innocent people? Will we be remembered for our silence when our black neighbors were pleading for help? Will we be remembered as the generation that allowed police to commit violence against black people and not be held accountable? How will we be remembered by our grandchildren?
God amidst the pain
MLK once said that “a riot is the language of the unheard”. The overwhelming majority of the protesting has been peaceful but there have been some who have become reckless. Things are getting burned to the ground. People are getting injured and killed. But may we not be quick to say that God is not present in the midst of it all. God is not inspiring vandalism and violence—we can be certain—but He is near to the broken-hearted. He hears the cries of the oppressed. He rises with fury to support the victims of injustice. He is in the midst of those who are groaning, and not a tear falls to the ground that he does not see. God is moving and uprooting racism. He is shaking systems of inequality. He is exposing evil. He is raising up an army of people who are united in the cause of justice. He is calling us to join Him in the great work of promoting peace and equality.
Dr. Martin Luther King wrote, while sitting in an Alabama jail, that “the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.”
Let us start by taking a posture of listening. Don’t read news and articles from only one perspective. Read especially the authors of color who share their firsthand experiences. Don’t be “flash in the pan” advocates but continue to promote justice steadily, even when the fires on social media die down. Bravely speak out. Sacrifice pleasing “your people” to say what is right. Come alongside members of the black community; stand with them.
The Gospel triumphs over racism
I’m not sure the Christian Church as a whole is doing this very well. We live in a day when some of the most ignorant, insensitive, racist comments are made by so-called “people of faith.” I’m not talking about common church folks but prominent powerful Christian leaders. This has done much damage to the testimony of the Church. This must stop! When I look at younger Christians 15-30 I see a new day dawning. They are separating themselves from toxic faith expressions and are rising as beautiful displays of Christ. So I’m hopeful.
We need to show that the Gospel crushes racism. That’s what being a Christian is all about: love! The Gospel changes the heart. It doesn’t just make us a little nicer, it makes us brand new creations—God takes up residence within us! He sheds His love into us. We come into union with the God who loves all people regardless of race or color. We come into union with the God who hates injustice and takes up the cause of the oppressed. We come into union with the God who weeps over the murder of innocent black people. We come into union with the God who confronts evil in the world. This God fills us and lives through us. Racism cannot live in the heart of a Christian. It may not immediately die, but it cannot survive in a life continuously filled with the Holy Spirit.
So may we not be silent in exposing evil and holding out the gospel that can and will bury racism once and for all. We will not see the complete eradication of racism until Christ returns but in the meantime we are to pray that His kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. Of all people, the Christian should be set ablaze in promoting justice and peace in our world. May we be faithful to do the will of God in our generation!