This is part 3 of a 3 part series. You can find part 1 and part 2 here: Part 1 Part 2

(Originally published on March 7, 2016)

Practicing Priesthood

In the previous posts in this series, we looked at the need to set the culture in regards to depression, as well as provide training for the church. Now we come to the third aspect to consider, namely, we are a royal priesthood and are called to act as priests toward one another (1 Pet. 2:9). These are the trenches of one-anothering. Our maturing and training is lived out within a culture for the purpose of aiding one another in growth. A person struggling with depression feels isolated and alone. They scream out into the darkness, “Why?!” not, “How?!” He or she is not looking for steps but for meaning. We can easily err in this priestly role and try to be engineers—dealing symptomatically to restore normalcy. In walking with someone who suffers with depression, the priest seeks to help with the deeper struggle.

Recently Jennifer (not her real name), who battles depression, told me that, “It feels like I can’t live, but I can’t die either. My heart is continually ripped out over and over again.” Such words echo Bunyan’s Giant Despair in The Pilgrim’s Progress, “Why should you choose life, seeing it is accompanied by so much bitterness?” The Proverbs tell us that, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Pro. 13:12). Such hearts need voices of hope, to speak into their pain. In endeavoring to impart hope, we must ensure that the hope we impart is Gospel hope.

We can easily impart false or trite hopes in an effort to lighten spirits. Gospel hope, however, is the sustaining wind that carries us through the storm to our desired haven (Psalm 107:30).

Below are four different ways we can seek to unveil this hope:

Befriending

Just this week, I spoke with Edward (not his real name) whose neighbour committed suicide. Edward, oblivious to his neighbour’s depression, assumed his neighbour was simply avoiding relationship. While he may have been avoiding relationship, it was expressive of his isolation. But the greater our suffering, the greater will be our sense of feeling alone. Hope says, “You are not alone.” “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Pro 17:17). Befriending one who suffers, brings Christ near to them through his Body. God said he would never leave us nor forsake us (Deut 31:6). He declares us His friends (John 15:15). We can model the hope of God’s presence in befriending those struggling with depression.

Remembering

Second, when we remember people, it tells them that, even though we are out of sight, they are still in mind. In Ed Welch’s book, Side by Side, he says, “If we are affected by someone’s suffering, we will remember it, which is one of the great gifts that we give to each other” (pg. 103). The Apostle Paul certainly communicated this in his prayers for the church, “I always remember you in my prayers” (I Tim 1:3, see also Eph 1:16; Phil 1:4). Remembering communicates,“You matter.” It is certainly true that we are created for a purpose, and we are meant to be shaped by one another (Pro 27:17). Remembering brings solidarity, and there is beauty in solidarity, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them… since you also are in the body” (Heb 13:3).

Sufferers of depression often feel that they are incapable of expressing their anguish. Our remembering their anguish says that at some level, “I feel your pain.” Knowing another feels their pain helps unbolt the doors of solitude. This too is a reminder that we have a high priest who can, “Sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb 4:15). The fact that weaknesses is plural means we cannot exclude a category of weakness (such as depression), from Christ’s sympathies.

Grace Hunting

Third, as we enter into their pain, we obtain a new vantage point. Our first response tends to be going on an idol hunt. We want to find the sin or the idol that is at the heart. Whilst there is a place for this, the depressed person is likely heavily engaged in morbid introspection and thus would be greatly helped seeing signs of God’s grace at work in them. Saying something like, “You are so courageous. God has given you grace this week to get out of bed and get the kids to school.” We want to commend manifested grace where we see it. For those who feel hopeless and alone, this is a reminder that God is near and working even in the mundane.

Jesus’ Suffering

Fourth, the suffering of Jesus is both our example and help. We may want to speak of the glories of heaven obtained by Jesus’ suffering. But there is also consolation in Christ’s suffering itself. Spurgeon, who suffered from depression, said, “It is an unspeakable consolation that our Lord Jesus knows this experience.” Zack Eswine, in his book Spurgeon’s Sorrows writes, “To feel in our being that the God to whom we cry has Himself suffered as we do enables us to feel that we are not alone and that God is not cruel.” Here we can begin to see our burden as belonging to him.

When Amy Carmichael struggled with an unbearable burden in India, she considered Christ and his burden bearing in the Garden, “Under one of those trees our Lord Jesus knelt, and He knelt alone. And I knew that this was His burden not mine. It was He who was asking me to share it with Him, not I who was asking Him to share it with me.” She found great comfort knowing that she was partaking in the sufferings of Christ. Jesus not only knows our pain, he endured it, and we kneel beside him in it.

Continuing Work

God is a redeeming God, who continually works his redemption into us. As we walk with depression sufferers, God is not only continuing to work in them, he is continuing to work in us. We mutually grow, building one another up in our most holy faith, as we await the day when all sin, sickness, and death gives way to the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rom 8:21).

The phone rang at 2am again. I knew who it was before answering. In recent weeks, Anita (not her real name) often called in the middle of the night.

She claimed to feel the fires of hell all over her body with no desire to live.

My wife or I would drive to her home and sit down and pray with her. We would speak to Anita and rally the church to pray for her. After a couple suicide attempts through overdoses, she was hospitalized for several months. We rallied around Anita as best we could. We would encourage her and read her Scripture, but it felt like talking to a wall. It was a discouraging time, but also a time when my wife and I felt utterly helpless. We were frustrated with Anita for not listening, and yet, grieved for her inability to listen. We felt defeated as if we had let Anita down.

Anita is not a unique case.

Although her depression was severe, 1 in 5 people in the UK will suffer depression. This highlights the importance of the role of the local church in helping sufferers of depression. But how do we help? Should we feel as helpless as my wife and I felt with Anita several years ago? There are many ways the church can approach depression.

In this three-part series, I would like to briefly look at three things we can do as the church by: Promoting Culture, Providing Training, and Practicing Priesthood.

Promoting Culture

A culture is the way in which groups of people live and think.

Everyone brings their culture into the church, and as the church, we have developed an Evangelical culture that is more based on moral excellence and stoicism than on the realities of our humanity. On Sundays, it is not uncommon for a family to be falling to pieces, yelling at one another in the car, and then walking into the church building with smiles, hugs, and handshakes. Typical church culture relegates life’s hardships and sufferings to behind closed doors. The emperor’s new clothes are “I’m ok, you’re ok.”

Any sufferer in that context can scream on the inside, but fear being viewed as inferior for having a quivering upper lip. In many ways we have an anti-suffering (and anti-depression) theology within the church.

The purpose of suffering is often not considered, and so when suffering strikes (and it will), many find difficulty weathering the storm. Suffering seems an obscure stranger, and our legalistic bent suggests that intense suffering comes upon those who are not trusting God. David Murray is right when he says in his book Christians Get Depressed Too that, “There is still a stigma attached to mental illness and to depression in particular.” Sometimes that stigma is not just that a person does not seem to be coping well, but that he/she fails to trust God.

In promoting a biblical culture, the local church must promote a culture of progressive sanctification. In other words, we are all in process.

We put on a sanctified show for others to see whilst ignoring the fact that we are not as together as we portray. Truly, we make sure the scaffolds of sanctification are erected on the inside of the building rather than the observable outside. This is why D.A. Carson wrote his book on suffering, How Long, O Lord? Carson begins by saying, “This is a book of preventative medicine. One of the major causes of devastating grief and confusion among Christians is that our expectations are false.” Suffering is a human problem, and depression is a form of suffering. People suffer from depression because of others (abuse, expectations, etc.), Adam (the curse, physiological factors, misery in work, death, etc.), and Satan (conspiring with the curse, spinning lies, etc.). These contributors work along the grain of our sinful hearts.

There is no single cause for depression.

Every one of us finds him/herself living amongst the same brokenness vulnerable to its effects. When Paul speaks of overcoming temptations, he points out that they are common to all (1 Cor. 10:13). Thus we must promote a new culture in the church—a culture that recognizes our likeness to one another. Truly, our struggles and temptations are more alike than different. That means that we are not a church that loves to help people with problems, but a church of people with problems.

In other words, we need a church culture that locates ourselves in the community of sufferers, rather than the community of the perfected.

Practicing such a culture would help invite openness about struggles, including depression, so that the sufferer receives care. In many cases, it may provide a preventative dynamic as the community can help hear and carry one another’s burdens before they break an individual’s spirit! This allows us to see ourselves included as sufferers; thus, we can enter into the world of the depressed without excluding them from our world.

Augustine radically changed the way the world saw the light and darkness. He boldly proclaimed that darkness was not a quantifiable material or substance but was simply the absence of light. In the absence of light, darkness begins to exist. An easy concept to understand with the physical world, but what of the spiritual world? I have experienced darkness in the brightest white marble room in a Church of Scientology. I have experienced darkness in the presence of Hindu idol worship while in loving conversation with a dear Hindu friend. In the presence of candles all giving off warm light in a Wicca shop, I could best understand what the “absence of light” really was.

Spiritual darkness surrounds us in the world.

And as we enter into Halloween, we might notice things grow less discerning as the world gets even darker. To call Halloween a season of darkness is true both spiritually and physically. With the impending time change, our days are thrown off-kilter by circadian arrhythmia and the sun being in a different place seemingly than it was the day before. During fall, Seasonal Affective Disorder begins to plague those whose mental health acts as a testament to the importance of light in our lives. As natural light becomes more scarce, our bodies sometimes react physically the way our spirit reacts in the absence of light. The often prescribed treatment for SAD is called “light therapy,” in which people sit in the presence of bright, artificial light to bring about hormonal balance.

The spiritual climate begins to grow colder too, as our attention is diverted from the light and consumed with darkness. Studios save their most gruesome horror movies for release in conjunction with the Halloween season. In 2021 we saw the 12th installment of the Halloween movie series. Horror films will make millions of dollars, where it is all but certain people will watch dramatized versions of murder at the hands of a maniacal serial killer.

In this season of darkness, even the Church turns its mind toward death. Counteracting the pagan holiday Samhain, which is full of rituals commemorating the dead, the Church historically celebrates All Saints Day to remember the lives of the martyrs and saints that have come before us. It seems that as sighting the sun in the sky becomes rarer during this season, it is natural that humans ponder death and darkness in the absence of light.

So then, what is the Christian to do at this time of year? Are we to retreat to safety in hopeful wishing for the light of spring and Easter? Do we refuse to participate in Halloween, and yet not search out the opportunity to voice the reason that our Gospel has no place for the fascination of death and the demonic?

The Church has often missed its true calling in the face of darkness.

The Biblical contrast of darkness and light is impossible to miss. In Genesis, we read that darkness at one point hovered over the formless void until the fateful moment when God said, “Let there be light.” 1 John says that God is light and that there is no darkness found in Him at all. Jesus taught His disciples that they were to be like a city on a hill whose light could be seen for miles surrounding it. Those lost and wandering should find their way in the darkness because of the light of the Church. If we were able to ask Jesus face to face what to do, He would likely encourage us with some parable that teaches us that darkness stays dark until light goes into it.

A life of following Jesus is a life of following Jesus into the dark. It is the foundation of who Jesus is to His creation. In the introduction to his Gospel, John wrote, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” It is what Jesus does.

He dared to walk into Gerasene, a place marked by spiritual darkness where the demon-possessed man was living among tombs of the dead and healed him. We understand better what He meant in Matthew 5, when He told His disciples about the city on a hill and followed it up by telling them how ridiculous it would be to light a candle and then hide it under a basket.

Imagine being the Son of God and not venturing to the darkest places, dealing with those who have fallen into the abyss of evil found there. What then is the call of the Jesus follower in the face of evil? Well, it certainly is not to stay in Galilee. Rather, it is to cross the sea and enter into the place where all others are afraid to go because they do not serve a God of victory, life and light. Most others have no reason for boldness, but those of us who follow Jesus of Nazareth have every reason to proclaim. To not simply withdraw during seasons of darkness and evil, but to persevere and advance, knowing that the presence of light is not an accident but is something to be fueled and stewarded. The sober-minded and courageous Church shines its light for all to see that the lost and wandering will come in from the darkness to the rest found in its welcoming warmth.

The practical questions still abound, though. “Should I take my kids trick-or-treating? Can I watch horror movies?”

The issue of “celebrating” Halloween is more nuanced than just how your children secure candy or what particular movies you choose to watch. Not that every child’s costume has to be a Biblical figure, but perhaps we haven’t realized just how pervasive horror and evil has become “ok” to observe during Halloween. The more important question to address first is perhaps, “What has my attention?” It seems so easy to dwell on those things around us that evoke feelings of fear and sadness in us during this time. If we are what we consume, what are we during the month of the year when fear is commercialized? If what has our attention is what sets the direction for our life, where is our Christian walk heading when fixated on the demonic? As the days grow shorter and less sunny, reflect on life and ask, “Is this making much of the darkness?” Some families will choose not to celebrate Halloween, replacing it with something like All Saints Day. Some parents will do their best to navigate Halloween while shepherding their children away from the more evil aspects of the culture that surround it. No matter the choice, teach your children why it matters for Christians to live differently than the world around them. To not be “of” the world is not to be the same substance, which should be the natural conclusion for a group of people who the Creator has proclaimed they are made new.

Living differently does not imply that you are superior; instead, it is demonstrating what you believe. In this case, a Christian’s caution regarding evil is not out of arbitrary morality but stems from the belief that there is a spiritual world we should not take lightly. In an attempt to live differently than the world, in seeking to honor God, ask yourself, “What would make much of light?”, and live accordingly.

So as we navigate this season where horror, fear and evil seem to confront us at every turn, we ask ourselves difficult questions about just how much we participate in Halloween. The God we serve looked at His creation and saw it in its darkest times, and He still chose to involve Himself. He was not overcome or overtaken by the sheer evil He found in the darkness, and He never will be. Take courage and follow Him as He ventures into the dark looking for lost sheep, and know that wherever you go in His name, there will be light because you’ll be there.

Aaron Campbell and Brian Brodersen discuss race, class, culture, the gospel message, and Aaron’s new book, Eyes That Seen Plenty, available now on:

Kwve.store | Kindle | Audible

I’m an Englishman living in America. In California, to be more specific. I absolutely love the people, the culture, the architecture, the food, the beach, and the unity that is so evidently engraved into the fabric of its societal structure. The Pledge of Allegiance is what I believed truly knit the American society together, a shared liturgy of unity, so to speak. As a so-called “outsider” living amongst the people, it has been fascinating to join the rest of the world in watching the response of the American people, as this current epidemic of political, racial, and religious issues has taken over the everyday conversation of the last 12 months.

I recently read a tweet that outlined Mile’s Law, which is a proposed law of human nature and a key theory within Bureaucratic Political Science. It states this: “Where you stand depends on where you sit.” Interesting, right? Mile’s Law originated as an explanation for behaviour of the people in bureaucracies, but the more I think about this statement, I believe that it could have a much broader impact. I believe that it can speak into the massive impact that our own social, religious, and cultural experiences influence our viewpoint (trust me here, my English experiences are what lead me to put these thoughts down onto paper!). Our subjective milieu affects the way we address the same words or phrases, the ways that we approach rules and sanctions, and most importantly, the way that we approach each other.

I can’t help but notice the fragility of such experiences, though. We daily boast of our unity in the church, amongst our friends, and within our political persuasions, but the moment that outrage, disruption, and accusations of injustice arise, the unified foundations extolled in “the pledge” seemingly begin to crumble.

How United Are We?

The polarising of left/right and liberal/conservative has found me questioning that, perhaps this really isn’t the “one-nation” country that I fell in love with.

Indivisible? I just have to turn on the news or scroll through my social media feeds to see that this isn’t true.

Liberty and justice for all? Thousands have had to take to the streets to campaign for both.

We are left trying to balance competing claims, navigating our friends turning on each other, and also trying to keep our eyes desperately and unwaveringly focused on Jesus. Maybe the only thing that we really do have in common right now is this deep sense of disturbance in our very core, with the overwhelming sense that something really isn’t right.

An Ageless Hope

But allow me to introduce you to the solution. Two thousand years ago,
a man named Jesus stood and addressed audiences composed of people like me and you—the right, the left, sinners, prostitutes, robbers, religious leaders, men, women, and children. He
commissioned them, he loved them, he lived amongst them, and most importantly (in relation to this article, at least), he challenged them to transformation.

One of my favourite Jesus moments in the entire Bible is where he feeds the 5,000. He both wanted to take care of the immediate physical needs of the crowd (Luke 9:13-17), but he also aimed to transcend their hunger in a way that surpassed their physical need for food. He preached the kingdom to them, demonstrated ways that he would one day bring the eternal kingdom (v. 11), and presented himself as the true bread of life (v. 22-59).

So, what would it look like for the church to mirror Jesus’ pattern of caring for the physical and long term needs of those around them?

Following A Different Pledge

As Christians, we are called to follow Jesus’ example of caring for the physical needs of others in order that the gospel witness of the kingdom may well and truly saturate the entire earth, resulting in open hearts and open conversation. Paul, by way of Jesus, had a clearer vision of what true unity looks like in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” It is my understanding that until we make it to heaven, Paul’s vision of perfect unity is only ever something we can continually strive for, and until we reach heaven, we must constantly remind ourselves, and everyone around us, that because of Jesus, we are made for much more than the division placed in front of us in this moment.

Sometimes, pledging our loyalties and allegiance to Jesus comes with very few conflicts in the areas that God has placed us in. Other times, as we repeatedly see in the life of Jesus himself, it also comes with a great risk. The risks that I have seen over the last few months include: temporarily closing the doors of the church, prayerfully marching in the name of justice, leveraging our online influence to speak up for what is right, risking the strength of the economy in order to appropriately love our neighbours during a global pandemic … I could go on and on.

It’s time for us, as Christians, to step into these risks to follow the Spirit into the uncomfortable, into the unknown, and into necessary dialogue with others about this current climate. As the body of Christ, we carry this compelling antidote to all of the issues: race, sex, rights, freedoms, and more.

A Unique Opportunity

I understand that this moment of American self-examination can cause anxiety; it can make us feel concerned for the future, and can suck every glimpse of hope out of us. It will take courage and obedience to the call and passion that God has placed in us to face up to these moments. If we play our part correctly in becoming the people that God redeemed us to be, we will leave the aroma of Christ within the fabric of this great nation. When the narrative of this time of tumult is recorded, the story of renewal through Christ will be at its core. And through his renewal, we can truly become “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

Jesus died to raise up a new, united humanity that would go out into the world and tear down the walls of hostility between humans, expose our real Enemy, and change the world with true lasting acts of reconciliation. And that reconciliation begins with us, friends.

So, where you stand depends on where you sit. My challenge to you is this: Where are you sitting today?

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:18–21).

There are aspects of teaching literature to high school students that can drive a person absolutely nuts. However, there are also amazing opportunities to weave concepts rooted in the gospel seamlessly into what you are reading and studying. I teach for the most part freshman and sophomores at a small high school in a little Utah town that is more than two hours away from any major city. We are the epitome of rural America. Many of the students that I teach will never travel more than five hundred miles from their hometown, and to be honest, that is perfectly ok. There is beauty in the simplicity of our little community. One of the best elements of teaching classic works of literature to teenagers is expanding their horizons and enabling them to see a world they may never experience themselves. There is a dynamic impact of introducing them to the lives and cultures of people they may not otherwise ever have the opportunity to know.

A large part of our curriculum for sophomores is dedicated to exploring the Holocaust. We read Elie Wiesel’s seminal work Night, and Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus. As we set the context of the Israelite people and lay it alongside the horrors they suffered throughout history to include the Holocaust, there is a move toward a depth of empathy and sacredness in the students who wrestle with humanity so devoid of common decency and respect for human dignity. These are powerful moments as a teacher, and even more so as an evangelical pastor in a tiny rural town in the US. It gives one the deep sense that all is not lost with this bewildered and divided generation.

For as long as I can remember, we have careened through a season of misunderstanding and mistrust in our culture.

One of the aspects of peace that I draw from these times of turmoil and uncertainty is that we have been here so many times before, and not merely as a nation, but also as humans existing in history. One of the saddest aspects of our current world’s condition is the impact that the conversations regarding race are having on the church as a whole. It’s one thing for a nation to falter in its way, but an entirely different thing for the Kingdom of God to suffer the heartache of friendly fire in camp. There seems to be an overwhelming push to build fortresses rather than a desire to build bridges.

One of my greatest joys this year as a teacher has been the opportunity to read and teach the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. It is the first time I have read this novel since middle school. One of the most prevailing themes of Harper Lee’s classic novel is the concept of seeing life from another person’s perspective. The narrator of the story, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, converses with her father Atticus about the idea of walking around in another person’s skin (Lee 30). Atticus says to Scout, “‘First of all…if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it’” (Lee 30). This concept is understood by a six-year-old in rural Alabama in the 1930s, yet it continues to be one of the most fleeting skills in our culture today. It would seem to be common-sense, especially for the Christian, to consider walking a mile in another person’s shoes; to live incarnationally among those we do not necessarily have life experiences in common with.

Jesus says the second greatest commandment (and really part B of the first) was to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). The principle Jesus is revealing has obvious application to those around us: We should be willing to enter into our neighbor’s suffering. Loving others gets messy. But if we’re unwilling to go deep with those who are hurting, we’re presenting a truncated Gospel. Jesus desires whole-person transformation.

As His partners of reconciliation, we need to be willing to share a deeper understanding of where people are coming from before we can share the truth with them.

A dissonance that continues to baffle me about the conservative evangelical church in the United States is the level of empathy we exercise toward the plights of the people of the Nation of Israel, yet at the same time, there exists in some a reluctance to fully accept the impact of how African Americans have suffered under similar levels of oppression, slavery, and racism. Many Americans believe that because we had radical changes brought in through the Civil Rights Movement, that there has also been a complete transformation in the realities of legal and logistical life for Blacks. Many believe that the progress made in the last 57 years is enough to fully actualize the liberties granted through the Civil Rights Act of 1964. One only needs to read the book of Ezra to understand the dichotomy amidst the mixed emotions of sorrow for the past and joy for the future. Ezra writes, “But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy” (Ezra 3:12). The concept of experiencing sorrow for the brokenness of the past, while celebrating the strides of the present, is not a strange reality for the people of God. I believe that this understanding is truly at the heart of how we should operate as the church in light of the depth of brokenness surrounding the issues of racism in our nation and the world in general.

When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, it was in large part a national acknowledgment of the horrors of Jim Crow, segregation, disenfranchisement, and a multitude of other moral and ethical failures on the part of our nation as a whole. However, the process of righting a nation perverted by centuries of inequality and injustice is an incredibly tedious and lengthy one. We have made incredible advancements in these areas, and no one with an ounce of common sense can deny the incredible progress that has been made by the overwhelming majority of the American population and its institutions. Nevertheless, we, like the elderly Jews who mourned the memory of Solomon’s Temple, must be able to acknowledge the sorrowful specter of racism that still exists in our national conscience. On the other hand, like those youthful, liberated captives whose hard labor and diligence produced the second temple, we should freely celebrate the victories won as each generation passes.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch correlates courage with someone who, in spite of knowing you are “licked before you begin…you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (Lee 112). Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson despite knowing that the deck is stacked against him: Tom is black, and the members of the jury in a little rural southern town are all white (Lee 216).

The level of courage modeled by Atticus in 1930’s Alabama has enshrined him as an integrity-filled archetypal hero for generations.

Listen to Mrs. Maudie’s words: “We’re the safest folks in the world…we are so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are, we’ve got men like Atticus to go for us” (Lee 215). Miss Maudie is trying to explain to Atticus’ children why she has hope amidst the sorrow they are all feeling after the announcement of a grievous miscarriage of justice against Tom Robinson. In one breath, she acknowledges the brokenness of her culture, and also the hope she has for the baby steps that have moved them forward (Lee 216).

This is the way forward for pastors ministering in the divergent undertow of our cultural upheavals. We must on one hand acknowledge and mourn over the devastating impact the experiences of racism have on our neighbors, loved ones, and church family. On the other hand, it is vital to our survival to acknowledge and celebrate the successful progress our nation has made toward rectifying the broken road, all the while, looking forward to a continuing city whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10).

A recent edition to the Star Wars franchise is The Mandalorian TV series. It has become hugely popular with both die-hard Star Wars fans as well as the next generation of younger viewers. The Mandalorians were a group of fearsome warriors originating from the planet Mandalore. They were bound by a code of behaviour and known for their military exploits. They show up at various places throughout the Star Wars universe. The TV series is set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi (1983). It follows the exploits of a lone Mandalorian bounty hunter who is hired by Imperial forces to retrieve the child Grogu. The Mandalorian ends up forming a bond with the child and starts his own quest to return the child to the Jedi order to be trained in his abilities to use the force.

Throughout the first two series of the show, you will often hear a phrase repeated amongst the Mandalorians – “This is the Way.” It operates as statement of belief, a code of life for the Mandalorians.

The Way and Early Christianity

For anyone versed in the literature of the early Church, the phrase “the way” will be familiar. Before the term “Christian” was commonly used to designate followers of Jesus, early believers simply referred to themselves as followers of “the way!”

In Acts 9:1-2 – Saul of tarsus is hunting those belonging to The Way:

“Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way.”

Later in Acts 19:9, when Paul is teaching in Ephesus, we read this:

“But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people.”

During his trial before Felix, Paul identified with The Way:

“But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets” (Acts 24:14) [emphasis mine].

The Creed

In the eighth episode of the first season called, “Redemption,” we have an exchange between the main character, Mando, and the former shock-trooper, Cara Dune, who often assists Mando. During this exchange, it is revealed that Mando was not actually born on the planet Mandalore – but was taken there when his home plant was attacked. This dialogue provides our next insight.

She says:

“Mandalorian isn’t a race. It’s a Creed.”

The word “creed” comes from the Latin word credo – “I believe.” They were not a race defined by ethnicity, but by a common creed, or as we would say, a statement of faith. Again, this got me thinking about the early messianic community; what a good description of the early church, a group of people from many races all united around a common creed – redemption. The song of the redeemed says:

“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God you’re your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation'” (Revelation 5:9).

The title itself gives us a clue as to what the early church unified around. Their leader spoke these words:

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).

To be a follower of The Way, in its purest form, was to be a follower of Jesus and His teachings. He is the unifying principle, the creed, which all followers have in common. This is why the early church had a creedal faith. We find small phrases similar to “this is the way” all through the Bible. In the New Testament the phrase, “Jesus is Lord” (1 Corinthians 12:3; Philippians 2:11) operates as a creed. It is a creed, which one day, every tongue will have to confess.

Other passages such as 1 Timothy 3:16 are also considered to be early creeds:

“By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:

He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

These creedal confessions continue into the writings of the Church fathers. The 2nd century father Irenaeus had his “rule of faith:”

“…This faith: in one God, the Father Almighty, who made the heaven and the earth and the seas and all the things that are in them; And in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was made flesh for our salvation; And in the Holy Spirit, who made known through the prophets the plan of salvation, and the coming, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the bodily ascension into heaven of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and his future appearing from heaven in the glory of the Father to sum up all things and to raise anew all flesh of the whole human race…”

Then, a little later, perhaps the most well know creed of all was formulated:

The Apostle’s Creed

“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic¹ Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen”

The primary themes from these creeds are worth noting. The early believers unified around the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ – the Way! They accepted his atoning death as a sacrifice for sins as well as affirming His future coming in judgement. I wonder if somewhere over the last 2,000 years, we have lost our way, and allowed these central elements to become peripheral?

The Creed Made Them Distinct

For the Mandalorians, their commitment to “the way” made them easily identifiable. The had a distinctive suit of armour and were never allowed to remove their helmets in front of people. In other words, following the creed manifested itself in certain behaviours. What they believed affected what they did. This is just how it is with us as believers. We are to be identifiable by what we do – because of what we believe.

Jesus said:

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

This radical love was to be a distinctive characteristic of followers of the way.

Elsewhere, Paul tells Titus to “adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in every respect” (Titus 2:10). That is similar to saying, wear the teachings of Christ on you as a garment for all to see. Our commitment to the way makes us identifiable. This should be seen in our actions, our speech, and our creeds. This again serves as a reminder to the church today, to honour Christ in all these areas. The early church understood this well.

The first century discipleship manual known as the Didache begins by laying out the two ways of life and then by listing identifiable traits, which will connect you to one of the two ways:

“There are two ways, one of life and one of death, but a great difference between the two ways. The way of life, then, is this: First, you shall love God who made you; second, love your neighbour as yourself, and do not do to another what you would not want done to you.

And the second commandment of the Teaching; You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit pederasty, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, you shall not practice magic, you shall not practice witchcraft, you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is born. You shall not covet the things of your neighbour, you shall not swear, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not speak evil, you shall bear no grudge.

And the way of death is this: First of all it is evil and accursed: murders, adultery, lust, fornication, thefts, idolatries, magic arts, witchcrafts, rape, false witness, hypocrisy, double-heartedness, deceit, haughtiness, depravity, self-will, greediness, filthy talking, jealousy, over-confidence, loftiness, boastfulness; persecutors of the good, hating truth, loving a lie….be delivered children from these things.

See that no one causes you to err from this way of the Teaching, since apart from God it teaches you.”

This is what Paul meant when he said we should “live lives worthy of the Gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27). We should all be willing to affirm this; we look at one another and say, “This is the Way” – our commitment, our life.

For the Mandalorian it was this commitment that meant he had to bring the Child Grogu back to the Jedi; for us, the Way is a person!

The Way is a King, a Saviour, a Friend, and an Intercessor.

So, at a time of deep division in the world and in the church, let us remember the ways of the ancient creeds. Let us again unify around the person and work of Christ, let us renew our commitment to follow all of his teaching – and let us manifest this in our words and actions so that all will know we are followers of THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE!

To listen to the podcast of this teaching, check it out on the GoodLion Podcast Network.

_NOTES:

<sub>¹ This term does not denote Catholicism as we know it today – it was simply used in the sense of “universal.”


Star Wars is known for its central theme of “the force” as a belief system and a means of gaining power. CalvaryChapel.com & CGN do not necessarily agree with every element of the Star Wars story. By sharing this article, we aim to remind people of the hope and truth in Christ Jesus and encourage others toward the hope of Christ.</sub>

_{The Mandalorian TV series is rated TV-14 in the US for Action, Adventure, and Sci-Fi.}

_{Images above credited to Lucasfilms.}

From time to time, a work of art can touch our soul. It examines us and provides a filter like a camera’s focused perspective. In this way, art captures a feeling or a truth, and makes it more relevant to our existence, as it invades our imagination. That’s the effect Georges Rouault’s paintings had on me when I discovered them. Who is this artist? How does his work speak today? First, I would like to present the man and his art, and then I’d like to take an apologetic look into one of the themes that moves me: the masks we wear. In this way, I hope to discuss what we hide from others, or even what we show, by talking about social media, lust, and eventually, resting in Jesus.

The Artist

Georges Rouault was born in 1871. His love for art came from his maternal grandfather and in 1890, he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he became a pupil of Gustave Moreau.¹

More than a professor, Moreau was Rouault’s spiritual and artistic guide. In 1895, when Rouault’s work was vetoed at the Prix de Rome, Moreau advised him to leave the academy to paint independently. Later, Moreau wrote to him: “You like a serious art, sober and, in its essence, religious, and all that you do will be marked with this seal.”

After his mentor’s death, Georges Rouault turned toward a spirituality that transfused his work. At the Abbey of Ligugé, he joined a group of artists to create art sacré of such quality that it avoided superficial tendencies. An example of this period is “Madame X: J’irai droit au ciel, disait- elle avec une assurance douce et ferme” (Madame X: I will go straight to heaven, she said with gentle and firm assurance).² Rouault captures the lady’s austerity, her prayer-shaped hands under a judgmental glare.

As Rouault confided to Édouard Schuré: “I have the fault, (perhaps fault… in any case, it is an abyss of suffering for me…) of never leaving anyone’s spangled coat be he, king or emperor. The man I have in front of me, it is his soul that I want to see… and the bigger he is, the more he is humanly glorified, and the more I fear for his soul…”³

Rouault seemed to live in a struggle with faith and doubt. He survived two World Wars, experienced the joy of friendship and partnership that ended in seeing his works burned by bailiffs over an inheritance discrepancy.⁴ Rouault knew the depths of human depravity, and yet, he still believed. Writing to Father Regamey, he explained that “art is an ardent prayer.”⁵

While his work is not limited to religious art, it pushed back the traditional boundaries, as in “Le vieux roi” (The Old King),⁶ the wealth of Solomon is portrayed in vivid colors, holding a flower, his face is grimaced with exhaustion. In this, Georges Rouault paints the reality that only a believer can see: the multidimensionality of a fallen world. But these sober subjects also give place to gleams of grace like the engraving, “C’est par ses meurtrissures que nous sommes guéris” (By His Stripes, We Are Healed).⁷

The Parallel to Today’s Age

But to link Rouault’s work to our day, I’d like to turn to the clowns he painted. Why clowns? In “Qui ne se grime pas ?” (Who Doesn’t Wear Makeup ?),⁸ we have an answer in the suffering of a man who barely tries to hide his pain, and whose provocative question denounces us all.

Rouault tells us through his letter to Schuré where the inspiration comes from:

“This nomad’s carriage stopped on the road, the old stalwart horse that grazes the thin grass, the old clown sitting at the corner of his trailer mending his shiny and variegated coat, this contrast of shiny, scintillating things made for having fun and this life of infinite sadness… I saw clearly that the ‘Clown’ was me, it was us… almost all of us…”

Effectively, we all wear masks. We all at times draw attention to the center of what we want to show and hide what gnaws at the soul. Herein is our apologetic relevance, and by apologetic, I take Yannick Imbert’s definition: “The demonstration in words and in deeds of the Christian worldview or philosophy over and against all forms of non-Christian worldview or philosophies.”

Wearing a mask is nothing new, but Rouault exposed a human flaw. What are the masks of our day? The types of masks that mark our times can be synthetic like social media, which is used as a projection of who we want to be and what we choose to show to the world. The mask becomes a post, a picture, a live feed or even a comment. The moment we enter the stage of the public world, we send a message that highlights something we wish to show. There is an effervescent community essence to it when all goes well. It feels good to receive accolades, to share a moment, and there is comfort in aligning ourselves with others who have similar interests.

But in the worst cases, these same internet masks can become harmful like cyber bullying or promulgating false information. Though I’m talking about our social networks like Facebook, Instagram, etc., I am in no way campaigning against them. They are just a conduit for communication, but one that reveals deeper issues brought up by Rouault like the spiritual condition of the human heart. One example is the constant comparison to others that can induce “a state of desire to have more than what is due, give rise to instability, greed,”⁹ or simply put— lust. According to Colossians 3:5 and Ephesians 5:5, the apostle Paul denounced lust as idolatry.

The Link Between Artist and Masks

What’s the link? To paraphrase Calvin in his commentary on Ephesians, it’s “replacing God with a greater desire.” The representation, which becomes our main desire to maintain, ends up being our mask. When we speak of masks, we come to hypocrisy (behind the word is the definition, “wearing a mask”), whereas Jesus invites us to transparency and to draw near to God. He asks that we lower our masks, lay down our pretensions, and come to him, even in suffering, to find peace (Matthew 11:28-30).

When we pray through a mask, be it the mask of supposed spirituality, false humility, or even expertise in theology, we are not being honest with God. This unnecessary effort drains the grace we so desperately need. In wearing the mask, we are proving our merit or shielding our hearts from the Lord’s sanctifying work. After all, only the sick need a doctor. But when we let go, especially in the suffering that comes from recognising the ugliness of our sin, we receive the peace of forgiveness from our Redeemer.

His rest will lead us to healthy prayer, not to mention a better use of social networks. No longer an idol, we can avoid being eaten up by lust. Even if the masks are part of social media, we don’t have to give ourselves entirely to the game. No one puts an ugly profile picture unless it’s done on purpose. My current profile picture is the most staged picture I’ve posted, but I kind of like it.

Honestly, we shouldn’t take our masks too seriously, nor those of others. There is a balance that we all must strike between not wearing our feelings on our sleeve and being comfortable with ourselves, mask and all. Moreover, we cannot escape our humanity, and that is not what Christ is asking for. The Christian is called to put on the new humanity in Christ (Romans 13:14), and thus, we will find rest for our soul and transparency towards others that comes from being justified. In this, Georges Rouault’s paintings show that, though we all might wear an occasional mask, through resting in the Lord, we can escape the trap of feeding into duplicity.

_{Images of Rouault’s paintings in the graphic above credited to the following:}

• _{“Qui ne se grime pas”}
• _{“Head of Christ”}
• _{“Automne ou Nazareth”}
• _{“Christ in the Suburbs”}

_Notes:

_{¹ For most of the biographical information I followed the website for “La Fondation Georges Rouault.”
² “Madame X.”
³ Taken from a letter from Georges Rouault à Édouard Schuré on Sunday, 10 juin 1904. I owe this and other quotes from the help of the artist’s granddaughter Mme Anne-Marie Agulon.
⁴ “La fuite en Égypte huile sur papier marouflé sur toile, vers 1946 Paris, musée national d’art moderne, centre Georges-Pompidou”
⁵ “If art is sometimes an ardent prayer if I do not blaspheme by saying it too loudly, it will be my consolation if some of my works sometimes bear the imprint of it or highlight it, fortunately.” I also owe this quote to Mme Anne-Marie Agulon
⁶ “Le vieux roi, 1937.”
⁷“C’est par ses meurtrissures que nous sommes guéris.”
⁸ “Qui ne se grime pas ?”
⁹ Definition taken from the Lexicon BDAG of the Greek word : πλεονεξία (covetousness )}

I have a four-year-old nephew. He’s gregarious. He’s fun-loving. He’s black.

He doesn’t yet realize color. He’s not yet saddled with the weighty history of race in this country. He is blissfully unaware as he plays with his best friend, who is also four years old and who also happens to be white.

I pray for this little guy often. I particularly pray that, like the prophet Samuel, he hears and responds to the voice of the Lord while still young. That is my earnest hope for him; but these days, I am also asking the Lord to protect him from skewed perceptions by others that could ultimately hurt him.

My fear for him mirrors my own and is compounded as I watch the recent news reports.

• In Florida, a mother allegedly drowns her autistic son, but reportedly tells authorities he was kidnapped by two black men.

• In New York’s Central Park, a woman calls police saying she and her dog were being threatened by an African American man.

• Then there are the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, the former shot while jogging near his home in Georgia, the latter dying after being arrested in Minneapolis.

We now look to the legal system “hoping” that a dispassionate review of the criminal cases will render fair verdicts. But for many of us, even a “correct” verdict may do little to disquiet the growing fear gripping many black men in this country.

Prejudices and racism are stains of a world rocked by sin. Paul tells the Galatians that the acts of the flesh are obvious and include hatred, dissensions, and factions (Galatians 5:19–20). For me, the solution can only start and end with the liberating promise of the Gospel. The spotlight of divine truth needs to shine on all areas of our society, especially where atrocities occur. But is the church failing in this area?

When I speak of the church, in this case, I’m narrowly defining it as the dominant Anglo-Saxon evangelical movement.

I’ve been part of this tribe for more than 30 years. I love these people. I am deeply indebted to the many who have invested in me and grateful for how, collectively, the church has faithfully served the kingdom. Therefore it is with love that I call upon leaders within the evangelical world to speak honestly and openly about these atrocities. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all important vehicles, but pastors shouldn’t neglect to address these travesties from the pulpit.

Pastor and leaders, it is from your platform that many will hear your passion about the issues. How you biblically frame God’s heart for injustice will be a powerful lesson for those you shepherd (Malachi 2:6, NKJV). But even as you do so, may you be sure that your house is in order.

“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17, ESV).

I believe this verse truly applies and that it’s time to ask some hard questions. Are we doing all we can as churches to foster racial reconciliation in our own institutions? My intention is not to place blame, but my sincere belief is that if we get the issue of race right, the church can and will set an example for our society.

With this in mind, I want to suggest some action points.

Encourage Diverse Teams

Encourage diversity in all aspects of ministry. From the board of elders to the worship teams, the pastoral staff to ministers working with kids and youth, diversity should be one of the hallmarks as church leaders prayerfully install people into ministry positions. A diverse background brings different perspectives and a greater ability to learn from others.

Assemble Diverse Leadership

Pay particular attention to assemble a diverse leadership team. Those men and women whom God has called to steer the church all bring their unique life experiences to the table. The cultural cacophony that results could be challenging, but the result will likely yield a rich tapestry that will only benefit any church seeking to reflect the community around it.

Celebrate Cultural Differences

Look for opportunities to incorporate cultural variety into services and programs. Whether it’s bilingual worship songs, cultural observances, ethnically diverse speakers, or accommodating language differences, these all go a long way to signal to the minorities in your church that they are valued and welcomed. Tolerance and understanding will then have the opportunity to take root as we serve alongside each other in the house of God.

Ask and Listen

To go the next step means engaging minorities in your churches about their life experiences. This best comes after a time of getting to know them, even just a little. Here is a little secret about black people—we talk about race to each other all the time. And if approached in a spirit of sincere curiosity, most people of color would gladly share their personal stories. Create opportunities for meaningful connections with minorities, and when appropriate, ask the hard questions to gain a better understanding of the things that have shaped their lives. Ask away, but also remember the importance of listening with openness.

Foster Genuine Integration

Once in a while, someone will say to me that the white evangelical movement is without cultural definition. That may be a sincere belief by some, but for others, the dominant church culture is itself a culture, and for many minorities, it’s a culture they’re often not used to. In tone and style, there are variations between churches, but the Anglo-American Protestant movement brings with it some of the same cultural expressions and predilections seen in wider society. Knowing and understanding that is important and necessary if we are to navigate the challenges of integration.

Be Intentional

None of the above happens accidentally. In fact, none of it will happen if you are not intentional in orchestrating it. For the most part, our natural tendency is to be surrounded by people with whom we culturally identify. Seeking to diversify services, programs, and staff goes against the grain for many of us, so it’s important to recognize our default tendencies and push for ethnic and cultural inclusion.

Be Sincere

Of course, none of this works if there is not an underpinning of sincerity. There is a saying, “people can smell a fake a mile away.” It can also be true with a church’s push for inclusion. It can be perceived as just lip service if not birthed from an earnest desire for true integration. Talking about it with no resulting action can be harmful and will leave many minorities in your congregation questioning if you care.

Minorities Must Play Their Part

Coming to grips cross-culturally is not just the responsibility of the white church. Minorities within these communities must also realize they have an important role to play on the road to racial harmony. They must be willing to engage and overcome any internal fears or prejudices that may be holding them back. They must also find constructive ways to channel and voice concerns to their peer groups and church leadership. It will take discernment to know what to accept and a reliance on the Spirit to be able to forgive as needed. We must be patient, knowing that the process of reconciliation is more like a marathon than a sprint. It will not go smoothly at times, but with the best of efforts and intentions and the willingness to be led by the Spirit, unity is achievable.

I’m realistic enough to know that on this side of heaven, the thorny issue of race will never really go away. But I’m encouraged by the Bible and the call for the church to walk together in unity and love. If we get it right, wouldn’t it be a model to a hurting world? What would it look like if we saw each other as image-bearers of God?

Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35 NKJV). The love of Jesus, working in and through the church and demonstrated to the world, is our only hope. Proclaiming unity through Christ is the only solution that can stop what has been a spate of racially-charged deaths and accusations.

“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands.”

Revelation 7:9 paints a beautiful picture of the harmonious diversity that will only be seen in heaven. But let us strive, here and now, to replicate that imagery in our churches. In doing so, we will set a higher standard for our communities and the nation.

I’m willing to commit to it in obedience to God for the sake of the church, for the sake of society, and for the sake of my nephew and his generation. Will you join me?

“We repeat the mistake continuously in this country of trying to address our racial animus and the violence it fosters as though it were a virus that occasionally attacks our social body, rather than seeing the truth: that racial animus is a constituting reality of our social body.”

—Willie James Jennings, Theologian “Overcoming Racial Faith.”

Did Jesus really rebuke James and John, two of his disciples, for their blatant bigoted behavior (Luke 9:52-56)? Did the Apostle Paul rebuke Peter, the very disciple whom Jesus gave the “keys of the church,” for hindering Gospel change to the ethnic status quo (Galatians 2:11-14)? So we see that even Peter, James, and John—the pillars of the early Church, and among the most “anointed” men in church history—needed correction to address their blind spots.

I write this article as one blowing a trumpet, but not to make music or even a call to arms. I write as one sounding the shofar. I write as the blast of the ram’s horns of old that brought down the mighty walls of Jericho. Indeed, in today’s racially-turbulent climate, our society has some age-old walls that need toppling. The “American Church” (meaning the Church as it originated with the European colonizers and extending to this present day) has some of these same old walls. To fully understand the implications of Ahmaud Arbery’s cold-blooded murder by two white men in Georgia, we as the Church must first reconcile with the Church’s seeming indifference to racial inequalities.

A Modern Parable

If a picture is worth a thousand words and a story is worth a thousand images, perhaps a modern-day parable will be helpful (but as a spoiler-alert, you will need to see Christ and the Bible in every word and action of this parable). Let us begin with a sweet, sage elderly white brother in the faith, and he’s sharing with a bright and eager, young black brother. He’s expositing the Scriptures—but wait!—upon closer examination, he’s actually expositing the Scriptures on the real Old-Testament economy of indentured servitude, which condemns (not justifies) American slavery and its blasphemous atrocities. He explains how the Bible declared such horrors to be a capital offense, from “men-stealing”—kidnapping, buying and selling human life (Exodus 21:16)—to the torture and murder of blacks and natives. He explains how God forbade the Israelites from entering into the capture and sale of human life, contrasting the Philistines and Phoenicians of their day.

The elder tells the younger that, for love’s sake, he’d rather him hear such a correct exegesis from him as a white man. Because by doing so, he is redeeming truth from century-old lies. Further, he is demonstrating (faith without works being dead) how as Christians, God commands us to put ourselves in others’ shoes (Leviticus 19:34)— experientially, culturally, and even racially—to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15) while always going the “extra mile.” (Matthew 5:41) He tells him that biblical Christianity is hardly for the lazy in heart, but that when it comes to this day’s race issues and evils of the past, the Church has been more than just lazy. He tells him, “Failure to acknowledge and learn from the past creates blind spots in the present—and the thing about a blind spot is that you don’t even realize you have one.”

Perverting the Gospel

But wait—this elderly brother is hardly finished. Because not only does he want the young man to interpret Scripture adeptly, but he also wants him to adeptly apply Scripture to all of American Church history. “Let God be true and every man a liar,” he reverently quotes from the book of Romans. So he moves on to share another grave error of the American Church in regards to race: When sharing Christ with the Native-Americans (or, First Nation’s people), the Church gave natives an “accursed and perverted” Galatians-based Gospel (Galatians 1:6-7). The only difference was that instead of teaching the heresy of “Christ and circumcision,” they taught natives the heresy of “Christ and whiteness.” I.e., that true Christian sanctification and spiritual growth looked like becoming a white person in worldview, customs, and culture. Thus, long hair, drums, regalia, and native languages—ironically, even the very Navajo language that was later used by our government to “save the day” against Japan during World War II—was automatically considered pagan.

The elderly brother impresses upon the young brother the importance of sharing these truths. Because despite the assertions of some that “the past is the past” or “that was then, this is now,” the fact remains that countless blacks and natives (and even some whites) still reject the Church because of these major misrepresentations of Christ and His kingdom. He says that “if the Church doesn’t try to reconcile and repair these gross failings from the past, and doesn’t take the time to listen and learn moving forward, we will always continue operating from a position of blind ‘whiteness.’”

Concluding their fellowship, the two brothers hug and pray together. The young brother thanks the elderly brother for his love, time, and especially his humility, promising that he’ll never forget how much he saw the face of Jesus in his heart and example. The elderly brother gives all the credit to the Scriptures, knowing that sharing such things is necessary. He also recognizes that he is still very much a student himself when it comes to navigating race issues (even though he’s been on many missions trips to Africa and has multiracial grandkids). That being said, before they part, the elder asks the young brother how he can do better when it comes to dealing with race in America—both for his own personal growth as well as the growth of the local Church where he serves on leadership.

Agents of Change

“Well, since you asked…,” the young brother smiles and begins. “I would say that if the mainstream Church, and especially its church leadership, truly want to progress in racial awareness, it must make engaged-listening a lifestyle, not just something you occasionally do. Simply having that one deep race conversation you had last year, or reading that one good book, or watching that one piercing documentary about race isn’t enough. It requires being taught on an ongoing basis because most people would be embarrassed to realize how little they know about real American history. It also requires asking lots of hard questions—and even asking oneself lots of hard questions.”

With that, the elder brother nods in grateful agreement. Finally, both men walk away, more equipped than ever to be “salty” agents of change in today’s volatile, racial climate. Soli Deo Gloria, as this type of honest, humble, and loving interaction fulfills one of the last requests of a sweat-and-blood-soaked Savior in a garden as He prayed for the “oneness” of His beloved Church (John 17:20-22).

A Major Disparity

Now, at this point, if I were to ask the readers—by a showing of hands—how many feel that the interaction in this parable must become a vital reality across the American Church, there would no doubt be myriads of raised hands. Conversely, if I were to ask if any felt that, while the parable might be touching, its subject isn’t an urgent action item (of comparable priority to preaching the Gospel, theological accuracy, or teaching the full counsel of God), the raised hands would be innumerous. But alas, therein lies the heart of the problem! While there would be countless hands raised for both questions, sadly, the overwhelming majority of “vital reality” hands would be from the minority folks, and the vast majority of “not an urgent action item” hands would be from the white folks.

This disparity explains why much of the mainstream Church is silent from its pulpits (and innumerable published books) when it comes to race and modern-day injustices. Whether this silence is the result of passivity, procrastination, indifference, or neglect, the silence of the Church perpetuates the age-old status quo—and its age-old walls. It leads to the continued bolstering of the “racial architecture” of the American Church, as described by theologian Willie James Jennings, in his article, “Overcoming Racial Faith.” In the article, Jennings discusses what he refers to as a “Principality of Whiteness” in the Church, and defines it as, “Whiteness [that] instigates patterns of thinking and ways of being that invite multiple people(s) to imagine their worlds through white bodies.” He shares how this “principality” is the subconscious ideal in the American Church, going all the way back to its Renaissance-inspired inception. And to this day, it is this idea that makes the final decision on what it means to be ethnically diverse, what it means to be racially sensitive, and even what it means to have multiracial-expression at a church conference. As a result, this “Principality of Whiteness” continues to leave scores of voiceless, heavy-hearted Christian minorities feeling neglected by the mainstream Christian status quo. Is it any wonder that The New York Times recently wrote a story on the growing number of disgruntled African-Americans joining the “exodus” from the mainstream American Church? This is also hardly a “good witness” to the onlooking world.

A Racial Architecture

When we say the American Church has inherited a racial architecture, this is precisely the way “leaven” (or yeast) works—quietly working beneath the surface and ever “rising” as if without permission. From slaves being required to pledge that they would never seek their personal freedom as a condition to being water baptized, to one of America’s greatest evangelists, George Whitefield, personally owning slaves, to Billy Graham preaching to segregated audiences without a word about it from the pulpit. Most Christians don’t know the atrocious witness of these facts because they’re never mentioned or researched, and they’re never redressed with the healing “balm of Gilead.” The Church continues to act as if it’s just another “normal day” in the American saga.

Saying that the American Church has a racial architecture is not an insult. Rather, it’s an observation based on an objective view of the past to furnish an informed, unbiased view of the present. For in the words of sociologist Dr. Robin DiAngelo in her book White Fragility, “White people in North America live in a society that is deeply separate and unequal by race, and white people are the beneficiaries of that separation and inequality. As a result, we are insulated from racial stress.”

Historic Leadership

The Church was pivotal in the creation of many systems that form the backbone of our American culture: from educational, health care, and social services; the Church has led the way for centuries. At present, however, on matters of racial inequities, the Church has not been leading. In fact, rather than dissecting and confronting America’s race issues and its accompanying present-day systemic ills and injustices (i.e., institutional racism), the Church seems to run from them. Issues such as employment discrimination and wage inequalities, educational discrimination, biased laws and policing practices, mass incarceration, the “school to prison pipeline,” historical omissions, media bias, and more, continue to exist.

Today’s American Church needs a real “Reformation” of its Gospel position and practice on race and inequality. And I’m not talking about a “social Gospel.” Instead, I am talking about the “Jude 3,” old-school faith that was once delivered to the saints. I am talking about the very marrow of Ephesians 2. Most of all, the same beauty and brawn which Jesus proclaimed from scrolls of Isaiah in that Capernaum synagogue at the beginning of His public ministry. More so, along with this needed reformation, we also need white brothers and sisters to start emerging with prophetic voices on this topic—one that’s been ignored long enough (to our own hurt).

Finding A Prophetic Voice

Imagine if the Church’s minority brothers and sisters didn’t even need to publish articles on the next unjust killing of a minority person, because a white brother or sister already responded. And not just a response from a place of sincere empathy, but one that prophetically challenged and enjoined the Body of Christ—and the onlooking world—so powerfully, that a minority brother or sister could rejoice and exclaim, “Wow, it’s like the words were taken right from my mouth!” You see, I believe that type of blessed scenario would encapsulate the very kind of love Jesus was referring to when He shared how the world would know that we are His true followers (John 13:35).

• • •

Loaded Phrases

In 21st century America, we have acquired a new batch of “loaded phrases.” While it may come as a surprise to some, many are the names of deceased, unarmed black people: Staten Island’s “Eric Garner” (e.g., “I can’t breathe”); Cleveland’s twelve-year-old “Tamir Rice” (e.g., toy gun in the park); Miami Gardens’ “Trayvon Martin”; Dallas’ “Botham Jean” (e.g., the “mistaken apartment”); Baltimore’s “Freddie Gray”; Texas’ “Sandra Bland”, and others. Then, of course, there is “Ahmaud Arbery.”

You see, “Ahmaud Arbery,” being a loaded phrase explains why two people can be talking about his murder, but have two totally different ideas of what constitutes a “fruitful discussion” about it. It explains why his murder can make someone so unspeakably irate about why people need to know what Arbery was doing in that new construction home before he was killed: as if there is any justification for two armed civilians stalking an unarmed man for four minutes before shooting him dead! The reality is, it doesn’t matter what he was doing— nothing granted those men the right to be judge, jury, and executioner. “Ahmaud Arbery,” being a loaded phrase is why it grieves minority Christians when they have to explain to other Christians that there is a real, biblical place for righteous, un-sinful anger (Ephesian 4:26)—the very anger Jesus exemplified when necessary (Mark 3:5).

Revisiting the Past

“Arbery,” being a loaded phrase, is why I suddenly find myself forced to reflect on the times when my own hands have been placed on the hood of a police car, strictly due to racial profiling. This is why I am forced to reflect on the racism I have faced throughout my life. It causes me to revisit the racist backlash I once received from both classmates and the administration at my predominantly-white prep school when I was one of the first people of color (if not the first) in the school’s long and cherished history to be admitted into an Ivy-League university.

Picturing those white men plotting against Arbery even makes me reflect on “Old Man Chauncey,” the white slave master who raped and impregnated one of my native great-grandmothers who was his indentured servant—only for his own son to later on rape the offspring from that first rape (yes, his very own “half-sister.”) To this day, the main road that cuts through my family’s North Carolina community is called “Chauncey Town Road.”

Arbery makes me revisit my own father’s life growing up as a poor farm boy in the South, attending substandard, “separate but equal” Jim Crow schools until he moved North for college. As the valedictorian of his class, my Dad’s dream was to be a nuclear physicist; that is, until he wrote his “A+” paper on the subject in high school. His efforts resulted in an “F”. When he asked his white science teacher why, the teacher told him, “I gave you an ‘F’ because a person of color has no business wanting to be a nuclear physicist.”

“Arbery,” being a loaded phrase, is why minorities begin “unloading” (seemingly all over again) their own racist experiences; countless day-to-day stories like mine, and countless generational histories like mine that society continues to turn a blind eye toward. All of this combined is why Christian minorities are growing more frustrated with the mainstream Church’s deafening silence (e.g., the aforementioned New York Times article).

Against the Grain

Personally, I believe that I am called to the “mainstream” Church because, despite these issues, we are still one in Christ. And we have been called to “endeavor” for true unity at all costs (Ephesians 4:2; Psalm 133). However, I remain keenly aware that when I wear my native regalia to other churches or conferences, or when I wear my most comfortable “urban” clothing (Timberland boots, a hoodie, and a black skully hat) I am “going against the grain.” But the questions that we should ask are, “What is the grain?” And “Who made the grain?” And “Why is everything still seemingly subjected to the grain?”

I even recall a time when I observed a white teacher at a Christian school use a horrendously racist statement toward a minority student. When I gently urged the man who ran the school, a fellow (albeit white) pastor, to challenge her about her remark, he responded that I was “out of place.” But what about the student? What did Jesus say about causing any of his children to stumble in the faith? Again, why is everything still seemingly subjected to “the grain?”

Seeking Racial Understanding

Here is something to consider: If the mainstream Protestant Church took all the effort it puts into studying leadership skills and growth models, Sunday school curriculums, and eschatology, and put 50% of said effort into researching Gospel love, repentance, and redemption with regard to race—we might actually begin to look like the Church in the book of Acts. Or what if the Church started taking even 50% of the budget that it puts into its Resurrection Sunday services and men’s and women’s conferences and putting it into “Gospel and Race” symposiums and workshops? Or if the Church began including America’s neglected minority-based, low-income neighborhoods and native reservations among their church mission trips—with mandatory cultural workshops beforehand (instead of always traveling to every other corner of the planet)? Who knows? Our blood-soiled land might see the type of revival everyone has been praying for.

However, addressing these things will come with a price. You may do so at the risk of losing your popularity, or not being invited to speak at certain churches or conferences. Are we willing to make that sacrifice? It’s time we start asking ourselves what it looks like to be a true disciple of Jesus when it comes to the Gospel and race matters. Isn’t thinking and acting more like Jesus what this is all about? Ultimately, there really is only one voice from God on this matter, as the Holy Spirit never contradicts Himself.

Conclusion

Ahmaud Arbery’s tragic death should not be glossed over by the Church. We must remember that we have been given “the two greatest commandments” by our Lord: to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Based on Christ’s further teaching, Ahmaud Arbery’s mother is our “neighbor.” His father is our “neighbor.” His close friends and family and community are our “neighbors.” When these tragedies happen, we need to care about people—not just doctrinal positions, as that is the very Pharisee-ism that Jesus found repugnant. We need to ask God to give us tears. We need to weep alongside a sonless mother, weep alongside a bereaved family. We need to weep for a calloused nation that not only permits institutional racism but also profits from it in many sectors. Let us care enough to speak out against injustice and begin educating those who look to us, the Church, for answers. It’s what God has called us to do. It’s what the Bible spells out clearly.

Honestly, this would be the same type of biblical relevance that made this once anti-Christian, militant-minded, hyper-racially-charged agnostic finally bow my heart to the wisdom of Scripture and the soul-saving Gospel of Christ. Let’s not waste this chance to be used by God for change.

• • •

Afterword

As I write this article, I am surrounded by a pile of books on my desk that I have either read, critiqued, reread, or am working through reading: “White Fragility,” by Robin DiAngelo (lecture by author on YouTube); “Lies My Teacher Told Me,” by James Loewen; “The New Jim Crow”, by Michelle Alexander; “The Color of Law,” by Richard Rothstein (lecture by author on YouTube); “The Christian Imagination: Theology And Origins of Race,” by Willie James Jennings; “Let Justice Roll Down,” by John Perkins; “Mañana: Christian Theology From A Hispanic Perspective,” by Justo Gonzalez; “Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian,” by John Piper.

As I write this article, I am also surrounded by many close brothers and sisters—white, black, Hispanic, and native—who have listened to my heart, added to this article their insightful feedback, and prayed for me along the way. They have also prayed for those who would read this piece. So let us begin the conversation. I make myself available for discussion, along with the leadership of Calvary Global Network—a multiracial band of men who have started discussing such topics. A group who listens to one another, who sighs together, and who prays together into the midnight hours.

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).

“Never tell me the odds,” uttered the famous words from Han Solo (played by Harrison Ford) in the 1977 blockbuster film, A New Hope, that arguably shocked and radicalized the industry, and propelled the Star Wars franchise. Forty-three years later, here we are in 2020 with the ninth film, The Rise of Skywalker, newly released on Disney+, cheekily, today on “May the 4th.”

May 4, 2019: I had a packed schedule in May 2019: conference planning at work, friends, day trips to LA, concerts, catching the late sunsets on PCH, and quite frankly, cramming every opportunity to use my annual pass at Disneyland before I was blocked through the impending summer season.

Who would have thought…? Who could have imagined…? How can I see past this…? Why did God allow this??

May 4, 2020: I’m sitting in my chair at home, “sheltering in place” for several weeks now, having one event date on my calendar this week: “May 4: watch Rise of Skywalker.” Why is this reminder on my calendar more comforting than the prayers I have said, the passages of scripture I have read and the devotionals I have perused during this season? Then I recalled a few famous “Star Wars,” quotes (not nerdy at all) that oddly seem relevant for today.

“Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi

Proverbs 15:3 proclaims God’s omnipresence. He sees the good. He sees the evil. We are definitely facing a bad season: a time of confusion, fear, panic, stress, pain and suffering….but then, when do we not face these underlying foes on earth? David Guzik quotes G. Campbell Morgan:

“Keeping watch: ‘The word employed describes a very active and purposeful seeing. The statement is far more than that God sees; it is that He is investigating, observing…He is keeping watch upon the evil. It is never out of His sight’” (Enduring Word).

Yes, we may believe that God is omnipresent, and as a believer, I should find comfort in this, right? That nothing remains unseen from Him. That He was with me through my past trials. That He promises to walk with me through my current situation. Understandably, there are many interpretations of this crisis: Some in the Church argue that this pandemic is the work of the enemy. Others say that God allowed this for a reason. Still, another group may say this is a consequence for the world’s past sins. “Why, Lord?!”, I have exclaimed more than once. “People are dying. People have lost their livelihood. Why, Lord?!”

Obi-wan encouraged Luke Skywalker to not limit himself by his own eyesight when Luke began training as a Jedi. Silly correlation; however, as the story explains, Obi-Wan had spoken from experience when having to face Luke’s father, Anakin, who had completely turned away from good in his blinded fear and hatred and had become, quite literally in the end, a killing machine.

As I have come to moments of panic and sorrow in this season, I have been reminded of Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” As believers, we are not like Anakin, but we all have the potential to be (Jeremiah 17:9). Once sin entered the earth through the first Adam, so we all follow with the same evil intent and potential. I cannot trust my own sight because, if unchecked, I can fall down toward a very dark path. I need to take comfort in God’s power. I need to cling to His promises that He sees the evil happening (Proverbs 15:3) and will avenge us all (Romans 12:19). The beauty of God’s omnipresence is that no evil will remain unpunished. Perfect and absolute, He knows me, knows all my experiences, LOVES me and has not forsaken me thus far. That is comforting.

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.” – Darth Vader (NOT GOD)

Just as this quote above is from one of the most iconic, on-screen villains, just so, Satan whispers conflicting thoughts to draw me away from God.

One of the most powerful passages in the gospels to me is when the Roman centurion sends for Jesus to heal his servant, having simple yet complete faith in Christ. This man wasn’t previously a believer. His vocation spoke this much, as his allegiance, vocationally, was to the overtly pagan Roman empire, led by the formidable Caesar.

I have to remind myself that God is beyond human complexity. As I choose to have simple faith in God’s power, His character and His promises, I want to remember His grace in my life. He does not reject me because of my lack of faith. He patiently guides me through the highs and lows.

“I need someone to show me my place in all of this.” – Rey

David Guzik expounds on Proverbs 15:3 with a quote by Charles Bridges:

“And the good: ‘The Lord’s eyes also see the good. He sees them in outward destitution, in secret retirement, in deep affliction. He pierces the prison walls. He is with them in the furnace and in the storm’” (Enduring Word).

Beyond this very real battle against COVID19, there is that deeper battle that continues to rage between the seen and unseen. The enemy is seeking and striving to use every opportunity to drag the Church down. I have felt that spiritual oppression. Yet, will I truly surrender to Jesus, my Lord and Savior, and believe that He will see me through? That He will protect me in this spiritual battle? Will I accept that He truly is my “only hope?”

If there is one thing we can believe in right now, it’s that He understands. Jesus stripped Himself of His divine position with the Father and lived the human experience on earth: felt every emotion, endured every trial and faced the ultimate suffering on the cross, to bear our sin and defeat the enemy once and for all. He has felt what we are feeling. He understands the confusion, pain, stress, panic, fear and suffering. He has already won the spiritual battle. He will see us through this pandemic.

It is very much OK to mourn over this season. We all have good reason to. The gravitas of this pandemic has been heavy, if not, straight-up scary. Yet, the Lord is so good to be with us through all emotions. He promises to never fail us and will see us through this life on earth (John 14:1-4; Matthew 28:20).

When I hear those dark whispers and lies from the pit of hell, those thoughts of despair and temptation to disregard God’s promises, I strive to cling to Jesus. God has not given us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). He has provided a way for us to face the trials, the pain, and ultimately, the enemy. He already conquered death itself on the cross. We are set free. Rest in this truth. I would encourage you to read/study the scriptures to be assured of this truth.

I am so encouraged to hear many people have tuned in to online church services and have come to faith in Christ, and that the gospel message is still being proclaimed in this season of “sheltering in place.” Our place is right where God has us. He knows the beginning from the end. We can still fulfill the calling He has on each of our lives as believers. We have the hope of heaven. We will get through this.

For those who share in the nostalgia-love of this franchise, grab a seat and enjoy the complete ninth film of Star Wars today…heck, Zoom call your family/friends and nerd-out. And by Christ’s grace and power, may the fourth be with you.

***

If you wish to read through a series of resources, we have a list titled, “CGN Sheltered in Place Resource List.”

– God bless from the CGN & CalvaryChapel.com Team!

_{Star Wars is known for its central theme of “the force” as a belief system and a means of gaining power. CalvaryChapel.com & CGN do not necessarily agree with every element of the Star Wars story. By sharing this article, we aim to remind people of the hope and truth in Christ Jesus and encourage others toward the hope of Christ.}

<sub>CalvaryChapel.com does not necessarily endorse or agree with every message or perspective in the diverse links posted. By providing these links, we hope to help you stay informed of important events and conversations taking place in the world that are relevant to the Christian faith.

Rise of Skywalker is rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action. The image above credited to Lucasfilms.</sub>

“Richard Dawkins’s Latest Case for Outgrowing God”– The Gospel Coalition
“‘I finally gave up on God when I was 15,’ Richard Dawkins writes in his latest book, Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide. He hopes to midwife kids of a similar age through a similarly rational rebirth. Believe in God as a child if you must. If your parents believe, you probably will. But follow the facts, Dawkins suggests, and you’ll outgrow theism like pubescent acne.'”

“History: Did Christianity give us our human values?”– Unbelievable?
“Belief in the dignity, value and equality of human beings has become a cornerstone of Western societies. But how did those values arise?”

“What is the Bible and Why Should We Read It?”– TheWeeFlea
“Some see the Bible as a book of oppression, others as a book of liberation. Some see it as outdated, others as the most culturally relevant book for our generation. Some see it as full of hatred, others as the book of love. Is it really the case that the Bible is whatever we see it to be? What if our vision is distorted?”

“The Priestly Blessing”– Theology & Apologetics
“An in-depth study of the priestly blessing: Numbers 6:22-27. The Podcast bringing you theology, biblical exposition, apologetics, bible study, and cultural commentary from a biblical worldview to help you strengthen and defend the Christian faith.”

“Expositors Collective Seminar: February 21-22, 2020“– Expositors Collective
“The Expositors Collective is a growing network of pastors, leaders, and laypeople which exists to equip, encourage, and mentor the next generation of Christ-centered preachers. Our next training seminar for young preachers (men and women 18-34 years old) will take place on February 21-22, 2020, at Calvary Chapel Las Vegas in Las Vegas, NV.”

“PEP Talk Podcast With Sarah Yardley”– Solas
“When you run one of the biggest evangelistic events in the UK, can you take a holiday from sharing the gospel for the rest of the year? At Creation Fest this summer, we caught up with the woman making it all happen – Sarah Yardley – and found out that sharing the gospel, friendships and hospitality are important year-round.”

“The Moral Universe of Timothy Keller: A Conversation with the Evangelical Pastor and Theologian”– The Atlantic
“Since that time Keller, 69, has become one of the most consequential figures in American Christianity. When he founded Redeemer in the fall of 1989, fewer than 100 people attended; in the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 2001, Keller was preaching in multiple services in three different venues each Sunday to about 5,000 people—mostly young, single, professionally and ethnically diverse.”

“Discerning the Spirits”– Back to Basics
“The ability to recognize false teaching and false teachers is an ability given by God referred to in 1 Corinthians 12:10 as the ‘discerning of spirits.’ Since false teaching is one of the greatest hindrances to the progress of the church, God has given some believers the ability to discern error so that others might be warned and protected from being led astray.”

The Link is a collection of content from around the web, discussing topics in culture, theology, ministry and current events. CalvaryChapel.com does not necessarily endorse or agree with every message or perspective in the diverse pieces posted on The Link. By providing The Link, we hope to help you stay informed of important events and conversations taking place in the world that are relevant to the Christian faith.

On Thursday, October 10, in what was billed as CNN’s Equality Town Hall, then-presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke suggested churches and other nonprofit organizations ought to lose their tax-exempt status if they opposed same-sex marriage. Though O’Rourke has withdrawn his candidacy, his statement broached a subject that’s been garnering increasing attention: Should the tax-exempt status of religious groups be revoked? Atheists have long called for it. Adding fuel to the flame of debate is the Equality Act, which many traditional religious groups oppose.

In arguing the 2015 Obergefell decision legalizing same-sex marriage, Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., conceded in questioning before the Supreme Court that colleges and universities that oppose same-sex marriage could lose their tax-exempt status. “It is going to be an issue,” he acknowledged. Judging the winds of political change as now favorable, Beto O’Rourke made the revoking of tax-exempt status for churches and other religious organizations a part of his campaign.

If the Equality Act passes, the contest between the sexual revolution and religious liberty that’s run since the 60s will be over. The sexual revolution will have won, and religious liberty will be a thing of the past in the United States.

This won’t be the first time Christians are marginalized in the society in which they live. Historically speaking, the freedoms believers have enjoyed in the United States for the past couple hundred years is an anomaly. Even during the centuries in Europe when Church and State were joined hip and thigh, it was only a preferred sect that was accepted. Other groups were persona non grata. Religious liberty was something only enjoyed by those who towed the party (denominational) line.

Excuse me for getting personal, but a challenge we must address is this: If churches lose their tax-exempt status, will you continue to give? It’s best to ponder this question now.

Let’s be honest. Some give because of the tax break it yields. If that break were to disappear, they’d no longer give. Others give with dual motives. They know they ought to give to support the work of the church but also because of the handy deduction it provides. These may continue to give if that tax advantage were to go away, but not as much or as often. Still, others give with little thought to the deduction it affords. They may claim it on their returns; they may not. It’s a moot point to them. They give as an act of worship and will continue to do so whatever the IRS does.

Pondering what we’ll do if the tax-exempt status of our church is revoked due to its faithfulness to a Biblical morality of sex is an important consideration because it helps sort out the motive of our current giving. Knowing why we give now is important. We ought to give as an act of worship and obedience, obedience shaped by love for the One Who gave all for us. That we are able to write off donations to nonprofit organizations is a plus. It ought not to factor into when, where or how much we give.

_{CalvaryChapel.com does not necessarily endorse or agree with every message or perspective in the diverse web links shared. By including these links, we hope to help you stay informed of important events and conversations taking place in the world that are relevant to the Christian faith.}

Dear Kanye,

Along with the rest of the buzzing world, I recently heard about your conversion to faith in Jesus. Like many, I was initially struck with curiosity. I wanted to find sources presenting you personally explaining what is going on in your life. As I did, my opinion is that the things you have been saying sound like what people should say when they have come to know and follow Jesus, according to the New Testament.

Next, I heard you dropped an album that is exclusively about your new faith and intended to drive others to become followers of the biblical Jesus as well. I checked it out and was really encouraged by the lyrical content, and I enjoyed it very much from a musical/artistic perspective.

What I really want to talk about, though, has to do with the ways people are responding to your faith and some important stuff to consider at this moment of change for you. What caught my attention most in responses to your public statements about conversion to Jesus, and the content of your new album, is the suspicion and doubt that has been cast on you from professing Christians (though people who are not professing Christians have also doubted your sincerity in all of this). This line from, “Hands On,” on your new album, particularly grabbed my heart as I listened to it for the first time:

“What have you been hearing from the Christians?
They’ll be the first one to judge me
Make it feel like nobody love me”

Sadly, as I survey the internet, it is clear that those lyrics reflect your genuine experience in the wake of your public profession of faith in Jesus. In light of this, though I likely never will, I want to share a few things I would want to say to you at this important moment:

1. You’re in Good Company

You stand in a long line of genuine followers of God who have been met with suspicion and rejection while walking in the path God has for them. Two of the most notable are Jesus Himself and the Apostle Paul. When Jesus came to be the gospel to humanity, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:11, NIV et al). When Paul tried to join the community of Jesus’ people (the Church) after he met and became a follower of Jesus, church people were scared and skeptical and said stuff like, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done… Isn’t he the man who raised havoc…?” (Acts 9:13a, 21a). Luke, the guy who told this part of Paul’s story in the New Testament book called Acts, said peoples’ hesitance was rooted in fear: “He tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple” (Acts 9:26).

Beyond suspicion and rejection from God’s people, Jesus and Paul also had other more important things in common, most of all the approval and support of God the Father. In addition, Paul also had a couple Christians who were willing to embrace and encourage him in his new faith, even in the face of what seemed to be an overwhelming response of doubt from the Christian community (Acts 9:27-28).

My hope for you at this crucial time in your life is that you would have patience with the doubters while finding encouragement and community in your God and those Christians who are ready to embrace you and help you down the path of spiritual maturity that is before you.

2. Be Patient with Your New Friends & Family

When you became a follower of Jesus, you didn’t just get a new God, but a new family (1 Peter 2:9-10; Hebrews 12:22-24). You are now part of a global, multicultural, multiethnic family of people, from every tribe, tongue and nation, and from every culture and social strata (Ephesians 2:12-13; Galatians 3:28; Revelation 7:9). The most important thing we have in common is Jesus and His plan and message of reconciliation (Romans 1:16-17). Local churches are full of non-Christians, new Christians, cynical and jaded Christians, suffering Christians, thriving Christians, good theology and bad theology, true Christ-likeness and gross hypocrisy, victory and defeat. You will fit nicely into each of these circles at different times while you walk the path of your new faith.

What I would encourage you to remember as you struggle with yourself, and with the conduct of others, is that we are all midstream in a life-long, slow-cook process of personal transformation, from the inside out (2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Peter 1:5-8). God is remaking us all to be more and more like Jesus in our affections, emotions, thought patterns, words and actions (Romans 8:29). It would be nice if this happened automatically when we first believed in the Jesus of the Bible, but it doesn’t. Welcome to the journey. But while we are on this journey together, all of us are going to be hypocrites from time-to-time, and we will need God to give us un-human levels of patience for each other in the process. You will be disappointed by how slow the process of change unfolds in yourself, and in others at times. Who is doing the transformation (God), and the inevitable certainty of it (Phillippians 1:6), is our collective hope, and source of mutual humility (Ephesians 4:2).

3. Be Patient with Your Historic Friends & Family

Something that many people go through when they first meet the true Jesus is they get what we call, “zealous” (i.e. hyper-passionate, stoked). They want to tell everyone they know about the Jesus they have met. This zeal is a good thing, but it often gets expressed in spiritually immature, condescending tones, words and actions. Some have called this, “the cage fighter stage,” of coming to faith. These well-intended but misguided ways of interacting often lead to the early experiences of our faith that we end up feeling embarrassed about later in our life with Jesus.

It will be important to remember that the things God has used to draw you to Himself are kindness, truth and love, not the arrogance, judgmental posture or condescension of professing Christians (John 3:16; Romans 2:4). Honesty about Jesus with others is essential. However, sharing His message in humility, patience and love will help you avoid the unnecessary burning of relational bridges. God wants to use relational bridges in your historic friendship groups, community and family to reach them as well. So while you stoke the fires of your new zeal to tell the world about the true Jesus, do what Paul said and, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6).

4. Keep the Real Standard Straight

There are probably some Christian leaders in your life you have already begun to value and look up to in special ways. This is a good thing. However, it is important to understand early on that even the most reputable, helpful Christian leaders will fail us. The Apostle Peter’s story in the New Testament is a great example of this if you haven’t checked it out yet (Luke 22:31-34; 54-62). It is important that you learn how to value and glean from Christian leaders, but that you do not get them confused with Jesus in the process. Otherwise, when (not if) they fail you, your faith can get twisted because your hope and expectations in human leaders were already twisted. Look to Jesus and His Word for the true standard and pattern of faithful Christianity and Christian manhood. In Him, you will never be disappointed (1 Corinthians 11:1; Hebrews 12:1-3).

5. Develop Tight, Christ-centered Friendships

All followers of Jesus simultaneously stand alone before God (Galatians 6:5), and as one of a large community before God (Acts 2:42-47). One of the most important things for you to develop at this transitional moment in your life is a small band of vulnerable, Jesus-loving Christians, who are committed to each others’ well-being and growth (Hebrews 10:24-25). You need a crew of friends and mentors who are committed to helping each other love, serve and be transformed by Jesus, to journey with throughout the rest of your life. We all need these kinds of tight, Christ-centered relationships. I encourage you to pursue these kinds of relationships with people who display the following characteristics:

• They love the gospel of the grace of God (Ephesians 3:7)

• They know you best (Phillippians 2:22)

• They love you most (and in authentic humility, Galatians 6:2-3)

• They are not afraid to say things you don’t want to hear (Colossians 3:16)

• Their motive is always your restoration (Galatians 6:1)

6. JESUS Really is King

I love the name of your new album, “Jesus is King.” It is true! That truth needs to shape our hope for humanity and be the hope for global peace we point people toward. Your relationship with Jesus has ramifications in every sphere of life, including politics. However, what God is doing in your life and in His world is not dependent on politics or politicians. Partly, I say this because I have learned that you feel it is important to publicly declare your political perspectives and support for certain politicians. I would never take that away from you, but it is important to remember that Jesus is the only One who is going to bring this world into a state of absolute peace, goodness, harmony, wholeness, etc. (Revelation 21:1-5). But He will do it through the work of His Spirit, gospel, people and direct presence, not primarily through legislation and human political authority. The relationship between your faith and politics is something you will have to work out for the rest of your life. What is most important is where we place our emphasis and ultimate hope. I hope you will continue to focus on loving and promoting the gospel, ways and works of Jesus, knowing He is going to take care of the rest.

7. Stay Immersed in the Gospel

The gospel message is beautiful, simultaneously simple and profound. Every day we need to remind ourselves that Jesus lived a perfect human life on our behalf. He never sinned or messed up in any way at the level of desire, imagination, thoughts, attitudes, words or actions. He died the death we deserved to die. He rose from the dead, which we could never do, defeating death for us. If we know and have embraced Him, we are no longer guilty in His eyes, but innocent. We are no longer shamed, but our honor is restored before the eyes and kingdom of God. We no longer need to be enslaved to fear, but we are filled with power to truly change and overcome the evil we encounter on the inside and around us.

Kanye, all of this is part of the good news of the gospel you have believed. And there is much more to the gospel than what I have said here. But what I want to say is the gospel is not Christianity 101, which you will now move beyond into deeper and better things in your faith. The gospel is forever the motivation, fuel and hope of your relationship with God, personal transformation, peaceful and authentic human relationships and future. Please spend the rest of your life dwelling deep in the implications of God’s love for you in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and that organizing principle for life will bring all other things into proper orbit (Romans 16:25; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2).

8. Welcome to the family.

Of the eight studio records that Kanye West has previously released, seven have gone “platinum.” Over the course of his career, he has been nominated for 68 Grammy Awards, leading to 21 wins. From publicly criticizing President George W. Bush’s relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina, to interrupting Taylor Swift’s Grammy acceptance speech, to scores of controversial tweets and comments, Kanye West’s public life has been less-than-subtle, to say the least. True to form, a new development in his life has been announced with equal subtlety: This past Friday, Kanye West released his ninth studio album, titled “Jesus is King.” Note, there is no irony here, no sacrilegious double-entendre or mockery. The contents of the album support that simple, powerful, title statement: “Jesus is King.” By releasing this album, Kanye is presenting the most controversial subject ever to the world, the media and the culture: the preeminence of Jesus Christ. And by tapping into such explosively divisive and uncomfortable subject matter (to this secular age), he has exposed himself to the suspicion, contempt and rejection of the people that he needs most right now: the Church. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Should the Church embrace Kanye West?”

What follows are a series of questions to develop a helpful framework as we consider our next move as “the Church.” Following that are key, objective evidences to consider, namely, verbatim excerpts of songs from “Jesus is King.” Finally, as we consider Kanye West’s blatant professions, thoughts and confessions, I present my conclusive thoughts. You may find yourself in total disagreement with my resulting thoughts on the matter. However, my desire isn’t to attack what I consider wrong-thinking or un-Christ-like perspectives with a corrective scriptural apologetic. My hope is to ask some basic questions, pressing into a deeper philosophy of love. I want to call the Church to prayerful thought and meditation about Kanye’s statements, and thereby, develop a healthy framework and a compassionate ethic that we could apply to similar “high profile conversions.”

The Questions We Should Ask

Can the Church embrace Kanye West? Should it? Should we keep him at “arm’s length?” How long do we have to keep him outside before we invite him into “the family?” Is “our family” of our own making? Did we establish it? Do we maintain it? Who is the one who invites outsiders into our intimate family fellowship? Who invited us in when we were outsiders? Do we have the right to exclude anyone from it? Or to deny their status before Jesus? On what grounds can we make judgments about their status?

Does Kanye need to prove his devotion to Christ any more than he has? Are we waiting for “time to tell” about his professions? Are we waiting for “time to tell” about ours?

Is it “time” that validates the legitimacy of a conversion? How long did Jesus wait before bringing Matthew “the tax collector” into the camp? What did Zacchaeus have to do to get Jesus, the Son of God, to validate his conversion?

What proofs are given in Scripture to test if one is genuinely saved? Are those verses good enough to satisfy ourselves in our own moments of doubt? Are those verses sufficient to meet our doubts about Kanye? What does it take to convince us that someone has fallen before the cross in repentance? Are their words enough? Will it also require actions? What would those actions need to look like? Are those actions enough to prove the changed condition of the heart? Is it valid for Christians to be suspicious of a person’s clear profession of faith in Jesus? Are those suspicions helpful? Or fruitful? Is suspicion of conversion something we’re called to? Is this how we cultivate disciples? Does it draw seekers in? Does it drive them away?

Do we misrepresent the common grace we’ve received by denying acceptance, fellowship or love to one who has confessed Jesus as Lord?

The Evidence to Consider

The following quotations are sections of lyrics taken directly from Kanye West’s new album, “Jesus is King.”

Excerpt from “Every Hour:”

“Sing every hour (Every hour, ’til the power)
Every minute (Every minute, of the Lord)
Every second (Every second, comes)
Sing each and every millisecond (Down)
We need you (We need you, sing ’til the power)
We need you (We need you, of the Lord)
We need you (Comes)
Oh, we need you (Down)”

Excerpt from “Selah:”

“Before the flood, people judge
They did the same thing to Noah
Everybody wanted Yandhi
Then Jesus Christ did the laundry
They say the week start on Monday
But the strong start on Sunday
Won’t be in bondage to any man
John 8:33
We the descendants of Abraham
We should be made free
John 8:36
To whom the son set free is free indeed
He saved a wretch like me
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah…”

Excerpt from “Follow God:”

“Tell me what your life like, turn it down, a bright light
Drivin’ with my dad, and he told me, ‘It ain’t Christ-like’ (Stretch my hands to you)
I’m just tryna find, l’ve been lookin’ for a new way
I’m just really tryin’ not to really do the fool way
I don’t have a cool way, bein’ on my best, though
Block ’em on the text though, nothin’ else next though
Not another word, letter, picture, or a decimal (Father, I stretch)
Wrestlin’ with God, I don’t really want to wrestle
Man, it’s really lifelike, everything in my life (Stretch my hands to you)
Arguing with my dad, and he said, ‘It ain’t Christ-like'”

Excerpt from “Closed on Sunday:”

“…Follow Jesus, listen and obey
No more livin’ for the culture, we nobody’s slave
Stand up for my home
Even if I take this walk alone
I bow down to the King upon the throne
My life is His, I’m no longer my own
I pray to God that He’ll strengthen my hand
They will think twice steppin’ onto my land
I draw the line, it’s written in the sand
Try me and you will see that I ain’t playin’
Now, back up off my family, move your hands
I got my weapons in the spirit’s land
I, Jezebel don’t even stand a chance
Jezebel don’t even stand a chance”

Complete lyrics from “God Is:”

“God is
My light in darkness, oh
God, God is
He, He is my all and all (And I’ll never turn back)
God is
Everything that I felt, praise the Lord
Worship Christ with the best of your portions
I know I won’t forget all He’s done
He’s the strength in this race that I run
Every time I look up, I see God’s faithfulness
And it shows just how much He is miraculous
I can’t keep it to myself, I can’t sit here and be still
Everybody, I will tell ’til the whole world is healed
King of Kings, Lord of Lords, all the things He has in store
From the rich to the poor, all are welcome through the door
You won’t ever be the same when you call on Jesus’ name
Listen to the words I’m sayin’, Jesus saved me, now I’m sane
And I know, I know God is the force that picked me up
I know Christ is the fountain that filled my cup
I know God is alive, yeah
He has opened up my vision
Giving me a revelation
This ain’t ’bout a damn religion
Jesus brought a revolution
All the captives are forgiven
Time to break down all the prisons
Every man, every woman
There is freedom from addiction
Jesus, You have my soul
Sunday Service on a roll
All my idols, let ’em go
All the demons, let ’em know
This a mission, not a show
This is my eternal soul
This my kids, this the crib
This my wife, this my life
This my God-given right
Thank you, Jesus, won the fight

Excerpt from “Hands On:”

“Told the devil that I’m going on a strike
I’ve been working for you my whole life
Nothing worse than a hypocrite
Change, he ain’t really different
He ain’t even try to get permission
Ask for advice and they dissed him
Said I’m finna do a gospel album
What have you been hearin’ from the Christians?
They’ll be the first one to judge me
Make it feel like nobody love me
They’ll be the first one to judge me
Feelin’ like nobody love me
Told people God was my mission…
…Make you feel alone in the dark and you’ll never see the light
Man, you’re never seein’ home and you never see the domes
I can feel it when I write, point of livin’ in the right.”

Complete lyrics from “Jesus Is Lord:”

“Every knee shall bow
Every tongue confess
Jesus is Lord
Jesus is Lord
Every knee shall bow
Every tongue confess
Jesus is Lord
Jesus is Lord”

A Few Closing Questions

Many within “the Church” remain skeptical of the legitimacy of Kanye’s repentance and of genuine reconciliation with Jesus. Do Kanye’s songs reflect enough? Is it even possible for someone to make the declarations that he makes without having experienced spiritual rebirth and regeneration? Can we move forward and embrace Kanye West as a brother in Christ, as a fellow disciple and as a fellow seeker? Do these lyrics declare Jesus boldly enough for Jesus to declare Kanye? Do his lyrics declare enough for me to accept Kanye? Should the Church embrace Kanye West?

The Bible has an opinion on this matter:

“…If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved'” (Romans 10:9-13, NKJV).

“…Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).

“…No one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).

Has Kanye said enough? Scripture makes it simple: Yes, he has. The Church should embrace Kanye West. The Church MUST embrace Kanye West. At this point, with as much as has been declared, it would be sinful, even shameful, to do anything less than rejoice with the Angels of God that a sinner has repented, and as the Church, to extend our most heartfelt welcome to him. Will he make mistakes in his sanctification process? Sure. Will the road ahead be ugly at times? Absolutely. He is going to need the same patience, compassion and love that we all need as we progress through our own sanctification.

My Conclusion

I would be happy to fellowship with Kanye West. I would be grateful to be a part of his community of faith and would be happy to accept him into mine. I would be honored to spend time with him as a fellow disciple. I pray the Church gives him the welcome embrace that he needs to continue down this new path. I pray that the Church supports him in the same ways that I need support. I pray for a lifetime of growth, maturity, fruitfulness and joy, in and through Jesus, for him just as for myself. I invite him to warm himself by the same fire that warms me, which is nothing short of Jesus Christ Himself. I want to welcome him into my family, the family of Jesus.