Week 1: Making Room (Has Made Room)
Earlier this year, I stepped away from a creative project because God told me to make room. At the time, I didn't have a clear idea of what that meant, but I knew making room required that I step down from my role on The Wretch and The Righteous podcast and fill that time with what God would have me do next. Little did I know that a few days after walking away from the podcast, God would set me on a new path, ultimately giving me a more in-depth and yet painful realization of my "calling."
Over the last three years, I've devoted a large portion of my free time to diving deep into the Bible, trying to figure out what God has to say about race, ethnicity, equity, diversity, and reconciliation. I've read books and talked to different people groups with the hopes of understanding my relationship with faith and God's link to humanity. Throughout this process, I've learned two practical things and come to believe one about race issues in the United States.
The problem isn't a lack of solutions; it is either the lack of willingness to confront racial issues or a misunderstanding/miseducation of U.S. history.
What initially sparked my interest in reading the bible from a racial equity lens and feeling a deep desire to help churches with this area of equity work emerged out of a time when I was desperate in my own life. It was either God had something to say on this issue, or I was done with religion altogether. Thankfully, I was surprised to find themes of race and equity written throughout all 66 books of the bible.
Without any doubt, I believe the church is the answer to the race problem, and the church is the perfect place to start taking steps towards reconciliation between Whites and marginalized communities of color. However, the church has to come to terms with and own its part in the story of racism in our country and around the world. The hardest part about doing this work has been realizing that church history, specifically Christian church history in the United States, sheds light on an establishment that has been a staunch supporter of racism, whether in participatory and vocal racist rhetoric or complete and utter silence. Yet, as much as I don't want to invite Uncle Tom to Christmas dinner, the reality is he, she, they, them, whomever, might be sitting next to me at the dinner table or, better yet, across, beside, or in front of me on Sunday morning.
For the next few weeks, I will post a thought every Monday that I've become enlightened to during my hunt for clarity. The "enlightenment" or "revelations" I've had have strengthened my faith, but of course, after wrecking it first. I'll dive into the wrecking a little later, but for now, I'll share what I've come to realize and expand on these in the weeks to come...
When doing equity work from a biblical perspective, remember this: the Gospel and salvation are for everyone. Many agree, but few treat people differently from themselves as if they believe this.
God continually chooses imperfect people and unexpected people to do His will.
God has used people carrying prejudiced ideologies. NOTE: I am not proselytizing the notion that we need to have tolerance for bigotry and racists. NO! Jesus was very vocal about how he felt, and he did not condone the behavior of the Pharisees or even the individuals He chose to use. However, in a world lacking diverse representation, I've asked myself a few questions. Who gets to stand in the gap even if they don't have the best street credibility, or maybe they do, and they get a seat at the table? Do we support them, forgive them, and turn our backs on them, especially when we aren't in any position to sit at the table? Do we build our own utopia and call it a day? I want to talk about that; we have to talk about that. Which brought me to this reality...
The circumstances surrounding the killing of Stephen in Acts taught me something about Saul turned Paul and our humanity. What we don't heal from, we pass down, individually, nationally, or on a global level. As the philosopher George Santayana put it, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.
What is the future of the church? I will talk about some research I did a few years ago on sense of community and racial identity in the church and how Black congregants' sense of community affects their racial identity in predominantly white churches. I will share those results here, but if you're curious about what sparked my desire to research this in grad school, you can read an older post introducing my interest in the topic. I'll also expand on what the church of Antioch taught me about how we need to redefine how we reach people different from ourselves.
Be sure to check back next week Monday for the next post. In the meantime...
Stay tuned. Stay blessed. Stay WOKE.
Eunice