Why is the Church So Fragile on Issues of Race?
The Civil Rights movement was largely led by a coalition of churches and Christian leaders along with the participation of other faith communities. Why is it so hard then for many Christians today to discuss the fact that there may still be work left to be done?
Many pastors report that they can preach on the most challenging topics to the congregations, but when issues of racial injustice or racial reconciliation are the focus – even when taught from a Biblical perspective – many congregants will leave the church. Attacks on a pastor’s faithfulness, theology and personal integrity are all too common. Nothing seems to animate congregants to such a degree as the issue of race, causing many churches to avoid the topic altogether and abandoning any voice on the issue.
And yet, the issue of racism is much more complex and deeply entrenched than human efforts alone can resolve. The church should be leading prophetically and spiritually to pray against the powers and principalities that have embedded themselves into unjust laws, power structures, and even into the brokenness of our own fears and prejudices.
Many young people will actively stay away from a church because of the reality that the church appears incapable to speak with authority on these issues. But this episode also reminds us that there is no institution in American society that is not impacted by these issues, and there is nowhere other than the church where the healing and restorative power of Jesus and his kingdom will ultimately resolve these issues, breaking the hold of every dark force, and calling to himself a united people from every tongue, nation and tribe. While pastors reel from the wounds inflicted by openly hostile congregants because they have spoken Biblically on these issues, incredible positive momentum for the mission of God results when others commit to being part of a movement of Jesus-following people propelling this work forward.
Discussion Questions
The civil rights movement was largely led by a coalition of Christians and churches. Do you agree that there is work that still needs to be done to address racism in America? Should the church have a role in those efforts? Why do you think Christians today have so much difficulty seeing that there is still work to be done? Why, in some cases, might some actively oppose this work?
Many who leave a church over the church’s desire to address racism from a Biblical perspective appear to be worried about something. What might they be concerned about, and are there valid concerns that we should pay attention to? Are there other areas where this fear might be based in a desire to preserve the dominant culture or the implications of the changes that would need to be made?
If Jesus’s public ministry took place in the 21st Century in the United States, would Jesus have attended a rally for racial reconciliation? Would he have attended a protest? Why or why not? If he were asked to speak, what would he have said?
There’s pain in Aaron’s description of the cost required to raise issues about race while serving at a predominantly White church. Have you personally had similar experiences? Do you have friends who have had similar experiences? If not, how might we be sensitive to understanding how others experience what might seem very normative to us about the dominant culture?
Do you agree that there is a spiritual component to racism, that it is not purely a human evil, but one which is infused by the dark forces that are called out by Jesus and the Apostle Paul in the New Testament? (Ephesians 6:12) If so, does the church have a particular role in addressing the evils of racism and the oppression that is caused by these spiritual forces?
Are you someone who has stayed away from the church because of the real or perceived stance the church has taken on racial justice? How would your faithful presence be a positive contribution that strengthens the body of believers trying to address these issues in the name of Jesus?
