For the sake of the gospel, not politics

In today’s politically charged climate, some advocates of racial reconciliation lump together that great need with controversial political policies and positions. On Feb. 1, though, the first day of Black History Month, I ran across two gospel-centric articles that explain how Christians, both pastors and lay people, can help to heal America’s racial wounds for the sake of the gospel—without the political baggage.

Daniel Darling, vice president for communications at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, who I plan to interview for WORLD Magazine in April, wrote the first, originally published in Lifeway Pastors in 2015. The second is an InterVarsity Press interview with George Yancey, a University of North Texas professor. (Also see my interview with him from 2015.) We are republishing both by permission.

Daniel and George would also say, I suspect, that man’s work alone won’t break down walls of separation. As the great hymn proclaims, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” But our efforts might remove one brick in the wall. —Marvin Olasky

The role of pastors

by Daniel Darling

How do individual, local churches begin to embody racial reconciliation in their own communities? It must begin, I believe, with pastors—particularly white pastors—prioritizing it in their preaching and teaching. Those called to teach the Bible carry a weighty responsibility (James 3:1) to feed the people of God (1 Peter 5:2-4).

I didn’t fully recognize this until I became a pastor. It was while serving my congregation that I realized the influence of the office. Church members value what their pastor values. In many ways, they depend on their church leaders to help them understand what is and what should be important. Those of us who spend our working hours analyzing the news, reading theology, and learning from a variety of sources help filter these things for church members who are busy working long hours, raising their families, and doing their best to study the Word and evangelize.

Church members value what their pastor values.

For most white evangelical pastors, racial reconciliation hasn’t been a primary emphasis of their teaching. This may be for a variety of reasons. First, as the majority culture, white Christians don’t feel the sting of prejudice. It’s not that all white evangelicals are insensitive; it’s that many are not in proximity to racism or injustice. Because most of our friends are white, we aren’t forced to empathize with our minority brothers and sisters in Christ.

Second, there is likely some fear of addressing race. Racial issues are delicate. Pastoral leadership is already a tightrope act; why stir up more trouble? Third, it could be that pastors might view racial reconciliation as a worthy goal, but not a gospel issue. Russell Moore reminds us that it is: “The church, the Apostle Paul said, is a sign of God’s manifold wisdom, to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Eph. 3:10). When God joined together in one church, those who are both Jewish and Gentile, he was doing more than negating the bad effects of ethnic strife. He was declaring spiritual warfare. When those who the world thinks should hate each other, instead love each other, the church is testifying that our identity is in Jesus Christ (Col. 3:11). We cannot be pulled apart from each other, because we are one body, and a body that is at war with itself is diseased.”

So how do pastors begin to preach on racial reconciliation in a gospel-centered way? Here are three ways I’ve found helpful in my own ministry and in observing the ministries of others:

1. By faithful exposition of the Scriptures

The best way, in my view, to embed the priority of racial reconciliation into the everyday lives of our people is through the faithful application of the text. By this I mean through expository preaching. I’m a firm believer in the systematic, Jesus-centered preaching of whole counsel of God. The task of a pastor is to declare what God has already said in His Word.

Racial reconciliation is not something that has to be forced onto the text. In fact, if you are preaching systematically through Scripture and you do not preach on it, you might be skipping it. The thrust of God’s promise to Abraham and the promises to Israel are His desire to be made known among all nations. And almost every New Testament book embeds its presentation of the gospel with its unifying, reconciling power.

You can’t do a series on the book of Revelation and not behold the majestic beauty of the diversity around God’s throne in Revelation 7 and 9.

Sadly, I’ve heard many messages from many “New Testament churches” that never touched on the priority of racial reconciliation found in Scripture.

Sadly, I’ve heard many messages from many “New Testament churches” that never touched on the priority of racial reconciliation found in Scripture. Why is this? It could be that we, as white evangelicals, don’t see it as a priority because we don’t see the problem of racial tension in our midst. It’s time pastors start seeing and preaching what is already there in the text. The heart of God’s people must be stirred to make this as much a gospel priority as Christ has in His inspired Word.

2. By faithful discussion of history and culture

We’re not only reminded to preach on racial reconciliation when the text demands it, but faithful pastors should take the opportunity to preach on racial reconciliation either when the calendar reminds us or when a cultural issue is so big it becomes necessary to address it. My preference is to do this kind of topical preaching sparingly. The best way to address racial reconciliation and other cultural issues is to be faithful to them when they are specifically referenced in the text. This way your people understand that racial issues are gospel issues, not merely political or cultural issues. But exceptions can be made, as we do on issues like abortion with events like Sanctity of Life Sunday.

It’s important when we do a special emphasis that we still adhere to good hermeneutical practices and avoid a sloppy, proof-texting approach. It simply means we choose a text like Ephesians 3 and exegete it faithfully. What a special Sunday like this signals, to the congregation, is just how important an issue is. It also sends a signal to our minority brothers and sisters that we are seriously thinking through, studying, and learning their heritage.

Sundays like this might also be accompanied by resourcing the church through blogs, newsletters, and handouts. We might recommend good books to read on civil rights and encourage people to have meaningful conversations with people of other ethnic backgrounds. Your church might also consider hosting a roundtable with leaders from the community, maybe even a local civil-rights leader.

3. By faithful sensitivity in application and attribution

I’ve often found it is in the types of applications made during preaching that demonstrates pastoral sensitivity to the people. This is where pastors can offer leadership on an issue like racial reconciliation.

When we talk of forgiveness of sin, perhaps we might not only name sins that are common: sexual sin, financial impropriety, and church gossip. We might also include prejudice, pride, and racism. When we speak words of comfort to our people during trial, we might not always include the same kinds of suffering stories. We might instead include a story from the perspective of a minority fighting oppression in the civil rights era.

Application is a subtle teaching tool. It personalizes, for the congregation, the abstract things we are preaching from the text. It sends a message; this is the kind of thing the Bible is talking about. We should be specific, original, and diverse in our use of application. This means we shouldn’t only draw from our white majority status, but from the experiences of minorities.

It also helps if we quote, non-white pastors and theologians and acknowledge their contribution to the shape of Christian history. This kind of preaching, however, has to be shaped by a pastor who has the curiosity to read outside of his tribe and experiences. White pastors should read biographies of civil rights heroes, histories of the era, and should engage in regular conversations with minority pastors and leaders.

This is about more than merely adding some diversity to the message. It’s about serving your people by cultivating a growing, learning, changing mind.

This is about more than merely adding some diversity to the message. It’s about serving your people by cultivating a growing, learning, changing mind. You, as the pastor, will model for them what it looks like to work for racial reconciliation. And you will see your people, over time, begin to emulate what you display.

Encouraging mutual responsibility

an InterVarsity Press interview with George Yancey, based on his book Beyond Racial Gridlock

What are the two prevalent views of racism among Americans? One view is that racism only happens between individuals, so overt racism is all that matters. This is the perspective of most white Christians.

The other view is that racism is structural and a part of our society. In other words, we do not need racist intentions for people of color to suffer from racism. This is the perspective of most Christians of color.

Briefly describe the four models for solving racism. One: Colorblindness insists that racism can be solved if we just start ignoring racial differences. Colorblindness is useful for dealing with some types of overt racism and helps to deal with the tendency of some people of color to look for racism where it does not exist. However, it also does not take seriously the fact that whites still benefit from oppressive racial structures and ignores the pain and suffering of people of color.

Two: Anglo-conformity encourages people of color to adopt the cultural tools that whites have used to succeed in society and endeavors to rid our society of racism by encouraging economic empowerment by people of color. Anglo-conformity helps racial minorities to get the tools they need to succeed and allows them to take responsibility for themselves. However, it also tends to place unwarranted blame on people of color and reinforces the idea that Christianity can only or best be expressed within a European-American context.

Three: Multiculturalism emphasizes the value and worth of cultures of color. It helps to correct some of the overemphasis on majority group culture and can help minorities to celebrate positive aspects of their culture. However, multiculturalism sometimes ignores the accomplishments of majority group members and makes it hard to make real critiques of cultures of color.

Four: White responsibility contends that the responsibility of dealing with racism lies at the feet of European-Americans and European-American culture. It is useful for helping us to recognize the ways racism continues to plague society, such as through white privilege, and does not allow racial problems to be easily ignored. However, it also tends to totally ignore the responsibility of people of color and tends to alienate whites who do not already feel a certain amount of guilt.

Because of human depravity both whites and people of color have sins that make our racial situation worse in this society, so all Christians have responsibilities in helping to bring about racial healing.

You suggest the model of mutual responsibility in solving racism in America. What is the mutual responsibility model? The mutual responsibility model is based on the notion of human depravity. Because of human depravity both whites and people of color have sins that make our racial situation worse in this society, so all Christians have responsibilities in helping to bring about racial healing. The responsibilities of whites differ from those of people of color, but if Christians do not engage in solving this problem then it will not be solved. This model allows us to apply Christian truths to the problems of racism, whereas the other models are secular models that are sometimes adopted by Christians, that all fall short of providing total solutions in their failure to recognize human depravity.

Why is it so important for Christians in particular to be a part of the solution in solving racism? If our faith has something to say about the social reality that we live in, and I believe that it does, then our faith should offer solutions to the problem of race that differ from those of the world. I believe that if we are going to find a lasting solution to racism then we are going to look at our faith. In doing so we will offer unique solutions that will help to heal our society. This healing will be a powerful witness to a society that is still plagued by racial pain.

What does the mutual responsibility model mean for Christians today? It means that we will have to be proactive in healing our damaged race relations. It is vital that both white and nonwhite Christians work at developing meaningful relationships with each other. By demonstrating the type of unity that Christ asks of us we will show members of the United States how powerful our God really is and provide an awesome witness to this society. We will then also be able to speak to the rest of our society about racial issues, and I believe will find new avenues by which we can share our faith.