Read on Twitter
Our church had our 2nd worship on the lawn gathering since COVID upended our ability to gather in our normal way.
All month long we& #39;ve been exploring Luke 10, the Good Samaritan story, and today was no different.
We& #39;ve been asking, "Who is my neighbor?"
1/
All month long we& #39;ve been exploring Luke 10, the Good Samaritan story, and today was no different.
We& #39;ve been asking, "Who is my neighbor?"
1/
Honestly?
It& #39;s *hard* to preach about racism, repentance, lament, and white responsibility in the church.
Not nearly as hard as those living under the oppression of racism. I can see that.
But I just want to acknowledge that it& #39;s hard.
I understand why pastors don& #39;t do this.
2/
It& #39;s *hard* to preach about racism, repentance, lament, and white responsibility in the church.
Not nearly as hard as those living under the oppression of racism. I can see that.
But I just want to acknowledge that it& #39;s hard.
I understand why pastors don& #39;t do this.
2/
Speaking out about our complicity in structural racism is deeply unsettling to white Christians.
It& #39;s difficult to get people to stay in it.
To do the work.
The struggle is real.
The spiritual warfare is real.
I have deep empathy for pastors wrestling with this.
3/
It& #39;s difficult to get people to stay in it.
To do the work.
The struggle is real.
The spiritual warfare is real.
I have deep empathy for pastors wrestling with this.
3/
Yet, it& #39;s our responsibility to take people to the places they wouldn& #39;t go on their own.
Pastoral ministry is all about inviting and facilitating the deeply disruptive and transformative work of God& #39;s Spirit in the lives of those we serve and lead.
4/
Pastoral ministry is all about inviting and facilitating the deeply disruptive and transformative work of God& #39;s Spirit in the lives of those we serve and lead.
4/
This work, done faithfully, is not for the faint of heart.
So, we& #39;ve been asking the question all month long, "Who is my neighbor?" We& #39;ve been turning to Luke 10 to help us answer this question.
And man, it& #39;s overwhelming.
5/
So, we& #39;ve been asking the question all month long, "Who is my neighbor?" We& #39;ve been turning to Luke 10 to help us answer this question.
And man, it& #39;s overwhelming.
5/
How you answer that question will determine how and when you get involved in the lives of others, and how and when you don& #39;t.
6/
6/
If our neighbors always look like us, worship like us, talk like us, vote like us, and think like us, then we& #39;re missing something basic about following Jesus
7/
7/
We talked about how we can tell if someone has become a neighbor to us when we feel the pain they are feeling.
When your neighbor is hurting, it hurts you.
8/
When your neighbor is hurting, it hurts you.
8/
Here& #39;s the question behind the question:
What does it mean to be a white person in American in 2020, and love our black neighbors who are hurting?
Because if we& #39;re listening, if we& #39;re paying attention, our black sisters and brothers are hurting.
9/
What does it mean to be a white person in American in 2020, and love our black neighbors who are hurting?
Because if we& #39;re listening, if we& #39;re paying attention, our black sisters and brothers are hurting.
9/
Here& #39;s what I propose for white faith communities like mine, as a starting point:
1. Listen to understand.
2. Get close enough to care.
3. Repent and lament.
10/
1. Listen to understand.
2. Get close enough to care.
3. Repent and lament.
10/
-Listen to understand-
-active listening involves really hearing what the other is saying, and allowing what they are saying to change you.
I& #39;m good at listening to respond.
Our practice right now must be to listen to understand.
11/
-active listening involves really hearing what the other is saying, and allowing what they are saying to change you.
I& #39;m good at listening to respond.
Our practice right now must be to listen to understand.
11/
-Get close enough to care-
This is hard for the white church, b/c so much of our lives are built to keep us separate from our black sisters and brothers. We must be intentional about getting close enough to learn to care. This is our work to do.
12/
This is hard for the white church, b/c so much of our lives are built to keep us separate from our black sisters and brothers. We must be intentional about getting close enough to learn to care. This is our work to do.
12/
-Repent and lament-
Repentance is a turning away from something, and a turning toward something else.
Lamenting is where we bring our pain, our grief, and our loss before God, and allow God to meet us in that space.
13/
Repentance is a turning away from something, and a turning toward something else.
Lamenting is where we bring our pain, our grief, and our loss before God, and allow God to meet us in that space.
13/
The invitation to follow Jesus is to learn to love who Jesus loves, especially those who are hurting.
And if one thing is clear to me right now, as I& #39;ve been spending the past two months listening to understand my black sisters and brothers, is that they are hurting.
14/
And if one thing is clear to me right now, as I& #39;ve been spending the past two months listening to understand my black sisters and brothers, is that they are hurting.
14/
According to @BarnaGroup, "Half of practicing Christians (50%) believe the United States& #39; history of slavery continues to impact black Americans today."
When you break this down across racial lines, the picture becomes really interested/unsettling.
15/
When you break this down across racial lines, the picture becomes really interested/unsettling.
15/
79% of black Americans who are practicing Christians agree our history of slavery continues to impact black Americans today.
42% of white Americans who are practicing Christians agree our history of slavery continues to impact black Americans today.
16/
42% of white Americans who are practicing Christians agree our history of slavery continues to impact black Americans today.
16/
That& #39;s a 37% difference between white and black.
That& #39;s insane.
4/5 black practicing Christians agree.
2/5 white practicing Christians agree.
We have work to do folks.
17/
That& #39;s insane.
4/5 black practicing Christians agree.
2/5 white practicing Christians agree.
We have work to do folks.
17/
Your experience as a black or a white person will greatly influence your experience of racism in America, and will determine if you see racism as an ongoing problem, or not.
I know to many reading this, this is a no-brainer.
But it& #39;s not to many in the white church.
18/
I know to many reading this, this is a no-brainer.
But it& #39;s not to many in the white church.
18/
If you& #39;re a white Christian it is your (our) responsibility to close this gap, not by telling black Christians they are wrong to feel the way they feel, but by listening to *why* they feel the way that they do.
19/
19/
Christians get involved in the lives of their neighbors, especially those neighbors who are hurting.
If you want to follow the Way of Jesus you are invited to get involved.
This is not an option, via Luke 10.
This is who we are.
Now, go and do likewise.
end/
If you want to follow the Way of Jesus you are invited to get involved.
This is not an option, via Luke 10.
This is who we are.
Now, go and do likewise.
end/
