I recently spoke with an evangelical pastor who argued that Colin Kaepernick's "National Anthem protest" is the modern day equivalent of Rosa Park's heroic 1950's bus protest. After listening to this individual's line of argumentation I went away completely unconvinced. When Christians disagree about the Ferguson riots, perceived racial biases within the American judicial system, and/or "National Anthem kneel down protests" does this mean (by implication) that "racism" is alive and well within the gospel-centered Church in America? Does this indicate that the "other side" is not listening? In many cases, the answer is no.
Whenever good and godly men disagree it is wise to return to the ultimate source of wisdom as everything we say and do should be measured against the backdrop of God's holy Word. Thankfully, all true evangelicals agree that the inerrant Bible is the sole rule of faith (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Psalm 119). As such believers need to go back to the Word of God and sincerely ask, "What sayeth the Scriptures?"
The most important verse in this on going debate may well be Mark 12:30-31. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. And you shall ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’
The logical follow up question is: "Who is MY neighbor?" We do not have to guess because this very question is taken up by our Lord and Savior in the famous (and often misunderstood) parable of the Good Samaritan. In Luke 10:25-37 Jesus reminds his disciples that everyone we come into contact with is our "neighbor." We are called to love all "image bearers" and to "treat others the way you want to be treated" (Luke 6:31).
Here are some of ways these biblical principles have played out in my personal life and in the life of the congregations I have helped pastor the past 13 years: 1) By choice, my last roommate in college was a black athlete from the Bahamas. I treated Jimmy the same way I treated my previous roommate (who happened to be my older brother). I was not a perfect roommate but I strived to be a faithful friend to both (in the spirit of Philippians 2:1-4).
2) After graduating from seminary my wife and I moved to Indianapolis. It was here in Carmel, Indiana that we purchased our first starter home. As a local church pastor and as a believer I worked hard to "have a good reputation with outsiders" (per 1 Timothy 3:7) and to demonstrate the love of Christ to our neighbors. My wife and I had three different next door neighbors during our time in Indy. A single white (male) neighbor. A single black (female) neighbor. And a Muslim family neighbor. Andrea and invited all of these individuals into our home and enjoyed great relations with Chris, Kim, and with Saad and Rolla. I was even able to discuss Christianity and Islam with our neighbors from Turkey without ruining our neighborly relationship. These relationships are not uniquely praiseworthy as this is the way it "ought to be" (see Luke 17:10). God expects believers to be loving and kind to their neighbors (whether they are black or white, Muslim or Christian).
3) After three years in Indy the next decade of our lives was spent in Freeport, Illinois. During our first year of ministry we lived in a parsonage that was located right next to the church sanctuary. We eventually got to know many of the school-aged children who walked through the church parking lot in order to get to Blackhawk elementary school (which was behind the church parsonage). Most of these school children were low income minorities. By providing cookies, snacks, and love we had a line of kids at our door almost every single school day. This gave us a great platform to invite these children to our Wednesday evening Awana program and to children's church on Sunday; (Awana is a Gospel-centered evangelism and discipleship program). I served in Awana for many years and developed personal relationships with most of the kids. During this time we quickly discovered that the same behavior issues that the public school teachers regularly experienced often became our challenge on Wednesday nights. By the grace of God, we established boundaries and demonstrated the patient love of God in Christ. By the time I transitioned in 2017 over 70% of our Awana program and close to 95% of our Youth Group consisted of unchurched kids. From this platform, Andrea and I invited quite a few of the children over to our home, especially on holidays, like Father's Day. The vast majority of children in FBC's Awana program received financial scholarships from the church in order to participate in the program. Pulse youth ministries and Awana required a team effort from the entire congregation. What drove this labor of love? It was Mark 12:30-31 and John 3:16.
Suffice it to say, in Freeport I witnessed Galatians 3:28 and James 2:1-7 being fleshed out on a consistent basis. James 2 reads as follows, My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
What the Lord God wants from his Church is not rocket-science (Matt. 22:37-40). In King Jesus' Church we believers are all spiritual equals (note Galatians 3:28). Near the end of my ministry in Freeport it was a great to witness a predominately white congregation overwhelmingly affirm a gifted and biblically qualified Indian Christian to serve in spiritual leadership (Heb. 13:17; 1 Timothy 3). It was also a joy to see the flock come along side other minorities during my time at First Baptist Church.
When we moved out of the parsonage to Benson Blvd. our new neighbors were now predominately widows and widowers. What these neighbors needed was for someone snowplow their driveways, bring over home-cooked meals (we had our own "meals on wheels" ministry), and to have regular conversations with them in their home; (loneliness is an all too common experience). We also had a black couple who lived across the street from us. Our family was as gracious and kind to them as we were to Gaylord, Rosemary, and Sandy. Why? Because that's what the Savior expects from His redeemed children (Mark 12:30-31). Along the way these relationships/friendships provided a natural platform for us to tell our "neighbors" about the true saving gospel (see Romans 1:16-31).
4) Now that God has brought us to Lake Country we have a new neighbors. The scenery has changed but the mission of biblical reconciliation remains the same. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Galatians 6:10 sums up today's blog post quite well- Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
