"A Time To Speak": Where Do We Go From Here?

Photo courtesy of Kainos Movement

A panel of black and white Christian leaders gathered at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee last night for a discussion about race and the Church that was carried live on the Internet. If you it, you can watch a recording of the panel discussion by visiting live.kainos.is.)

I joined with a diverse group of over 30 leaders from Cru at our Orlando headquarters to watch the two-hour livestream together and to participate in a 90 minute discussion afterward.

I won't attempt to comment on all that happened during the event (a couple of worthwhile summaries can be found at Reformed African American Network (RAAN) here and here) but, overall, I was pleased that this type of discussion was taking place. I would have preferred more woman on the panel and greater diversity in the ethnic and theological backgrounds of the panelists but those that participated did an admirable job.

In a country that has been historically divided along racial & ethnic lines, many of our churches have often trailed behind the broader culture in responding to racial injustice and actively moving towards unity across ethnic lines. I appreciated the emphasis that was placed on the importance of individual action and friendships in order for us to see healing in the Church. Although most panelists acknowledged the existence of systemic injustices, there was agreement that we each have a role to play.

In live-tweeting the event, there was a number of good comments that I captured. Here are a few that I felt were particularly poignant:

• "Real change will happen around the dinner table. We have to do it where others may not necessarily see it." @trillianewbell
• "Our immaturity as it pertains to the gospel and race has been exposed." @pastoremase
• "At the end of the day, we don't know each others' stories. If we lack proximity, we will lack empathy." @bcloritts
• "We're here at the Lorraine Motel where MLK was assassinated not because we've gotten it right but because we've gotten it wrong." @alberttate
• "What changed for me? My friendships with African Americans has grown exponentially." @MattChandler74
• "If we can't have those conversations in the Church, how can we expect the world to?" @darrinpatrick
• "These stories are American stories. Our collective stories." @ThabitiAnyabwil
• "The Church has allowed our racialized society to influence us more than the Christ." @DerwinLGray
• “Preempt the issues on abortion, on racism, and others, biblically. Go there first, and capture the vocabulary.” @JohnPiper

On a personal level, I was especially encouraged that a number of Cru leaders participated in this event within the context of multi-ethnic community. We had a healthy discussion after the livestream concluded and I trust that those dialogues will continue and, ultimately, will result in positive action. The discussion was great but the its true effectiveness will be measured in changed hearts and increased friendships across ethnic lines.

For me, I've already seen positive results. Just this morning at a men's small group Bible study through my church, we had a vigorous discussion about "A Time to Speak" and the current realities of race in America. As we shared our opinions, I realized that one of my friends in the group held a much different perspective than me. We had a tense, yet respectful, interaction where our perspectives were shared. 

After the group was over, this friend and I took the time to talk further. We listened to one another more fully and sought to understand where the other was coming from. We looked for common ground and challenged one another's assumptions. Our conversation ended with him asking for suggestions on practical ways that he can learn more about these issues with different perspectives than his own. 

It was a gracious dialogue between two Christian brothers with differing viewpoints yet both seeking to understand the other. Though we share the same ethnic background, we do not view these issues in the same manner. But we were able to talk about it and, hopefully, it will result in greater understanding on both our parts as we relate to those that live in different worlds than our own.

And that is my hope for what happens after "A Time to Speak." That honest and vulnerable dialogue will translate into greater empathy for one another. And that, eventually, that empathy turns into concrete loving action where people of various ethnicities build real and lasting friendships with one another. 

As much as I support the fight against unjust systems and structures, we could end up on an equal playing field yet still hating one another. Yes, let's fight inequality and injustice, but let's do so spurred on by the gospel and in the context of friendship and Christian brotherhood. We'll be all the better for it.

[If you're interested in learning more about what led me into caring so deeply about these issues, please check out a previous post of mine, How A Small Step Of Faith Started My Journey Into Ethnic Minority Ministry.]

John Piper Cautions Young, Reformed Christians

In case you're not familiar with Reformed theology, it is essentially a Christian belief system that focuses on the sovereignty of God, with a heavy emphasis on the five points of Calvinism -- total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace & perseverance of the saints -- and the five "solas" -- Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone"), Sola fide ("by faith alone"), Sola gratia ("by grace alone"), Solus Christus ("Christ alone") & Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone"). A more detailed description on Reformed theology can be found here.

There is a growing movement of young Christians that have embraced this theology in the midst of growing biblical illiteracy and religious pluralism in this country. It is a hearkening back to the Reformation era movement, led by Martin Luther, which was a response to the teachings of the Catholic Church during the period in which Luther lived, and a desire to view God, His Word and the death, burial and resurrection of Christ in its proper perspective.

Although I don't necessarily label myself as Reformed in my theology, I am probably more Reformed than not. I come from an Arminian church background but have served with a ministry, Campus Crusade for Christ, that has been heavily influenced by Calvinism and I am a member of a local Presbyterian (PCA) church. So I share all that to say I am likely part of this movement whether I claim to be or not.

With all the strengths that I believe comes with Reformed theology there are also some concerns that I have had which I was pleased to see John Piper address recently. Piper is one of America's leading voices for the modern day Reformed movement and is a well-respected voice among many young Christians, no matter what their denominational background. With a movement that places such a high priority on right theology, there is a natural danger to become focused on our study of God rather than God himself.

In response to the following question regarding this topic, Piper had this to say:

"Would there be any cautions that you would have for the New Reformed/New Calvinist Movement you referenced earlier?

Yes.

I will give you one that is from a prophetic word given to me yesterday—take it or leave it. I'm cautious when people come to me with these kinds of things. But this rung true, and you can see that it is true without making a claim to special divine authority.

My caution concerns making theology God instead of God God. Loving doing theology rather than loving God.

Sam Crabtree said to me once, "The danger of the contemporary worship awakening is that we love loving God more than we love God." That was very profound. And you might love thinking about God more than you love God. Or arguing for God more than you love God. Or defending God more than you love God. Or writing about God more than you love God. Or preaching more than you love God. Or evangelizing more than you love God.

Reformed people tend to be thoughtful. That is, they come to the Bible and they want to use their minds to make sense of it. The best of them want to make sense of all of the Bible and do not pick and choose saying, "I don't like that verse. That sounds like an Arminian verse, so we will set it aside." No! Fix your brain, don't fix the Bible.

The kind of person that is prone to systematize and fit things together, like me, is wired dangerously to begin to idolize the system. I don't want to go here too much, because I think the whiplash starts to swing the other direction, and we minimize the system, thinking, and doctrine to the degree that we start to lose a foothold in the Bible.

But that would be a big caution. We should be intellectually and emotionally more engaged with the person of Christ, the person of God—the Trinity—than we are with thinking about him. Thinking about God and engaging with him are inextricably woven together. But the reason you are reading the Bible, and the reason you are framing thoughts about God from the Bible, is to make your way through those thoughts to the real person.

The danger on the other side is to say, "All that intellectual stuff, no, no, no. Doctrine, no. Intellect, no. Study, no. Experience, yes!" People who do this wind up worshiping a God of their own imagination. It feels so right, so free, and so humble because they are not getting involved in all those debates. But it isn't. It is losing a grip on reality. So we are compelled to think hard about God and the Bible.

Hanging on with the danger I am speaking of is pride—a certain species of pride. There are many species of pride, and this is just one of them. You can call it intellectualism. There is also emotionalism, but that isn't the danger we are talking about right now. Intellectualism is a species of pride, because we begin to prize our abilities to interpret the Bible over the God of the Bible or the Bible itself.

When I asked Rick Warren, "What is your doctrine of the Bible?" He said, "Inerrant and authoritative. But I don't mean all my interpretations of it are inerrant and authoritative." And that is of course right. We should talk that way.

So that would be my flag, the danger of intellectualism. And maybe the danger of certain aspects of it becoming so argumentative or defensive that it becomes unnecessarily narrow. That is funny for me to say because I think I am a really narrow guy, and a lot of other people think so too.

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

Some very good thoughts from a wise man.

(h/t to Justin Taylor)