Can I Hear You?

This week marks 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, TN. Dr. King was a strong voice for those that were voiceless. He was a presence for those who would otherwise been invisible. He took a strong stand for the rights of all Americans. He did so through applied theology, reason grounded on the idea that all men are made in the image of God and, therefore, not “separate, but equal”.

One of his better-known works is his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. In this letter, he addresses white church pastors and questions their reasoning for not standing for social justice in their communities. His sentiment is succinctly stated as, “I felt that the white ministers, priests, and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows.”[i]

This is not meant to be a discourse on what MLK wrote in 1963, rather I want to open a dialogue with you over the coming weeks about how we have progressed in 55 years and to take a realistic look at what we still have to do. I believe that our church is far ahead of many other churches in how we view and embrace diversity. Let me be clear to say that just because we are a diverse church, churches who are not diverse are not necessarily wrong. If there is a heart issue of separation and division among ethnic differences, there must be repentance and forgiveness sought to see God’s glory. A church must reach its community, and often times the community is mono-ethnic. A church can fully glorify God and be of one ethnic make up. I see it all the time. The issue is not the what, but the why.

But for now, let’s talk about us. Let’s talk about how we press further beyond the “anesthetizing security of stained glass windows” and see how we can better hear and understand one another. Let us dialogue.

Truth: when we actually bridge into a dialogue, it can get uncomfortable. It can get messy. And it can get emotional. So, I want to set some boundaries and ground rules for how we are going to do this over the coming weeks. Below, there is a comment section that I will be moderating. So, here are the parameters:

1. We are not here to foster politics. This is a discussion within the church on how we can best be a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2.9). There are too many shortcomings of both Republican and Democrat platform and policy for us to rest our hope on a political party. Politics are man made devices that divide. We are not seeking division.
2. We are not here to elevate individual ethnicity. Paul’s words in Philippians 3 help us to see how much greater our identity is in Christ, as opposed to our birth order. He says in verse 8 “I consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”[ii] In other words, it is better to lose my ethnic identity if it hinders my ability to see and know Christ better. It is a shame that the church has followed the pattern of the world in elevating ethnic heritage that we didn’t earn to the detriment of others.
3. We are not here to goad into guilt. There is a difference between guilt and remorseful conviction. We can use our words to drive someone into man-made guilt so that they will seek to please us. It is a completely different task to help someone come to remorseful conviction over an undiagnosed sin in their lives. This is what Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians when he says: “Even if I grieved you with my letter, I don’t regret it…I now rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed…For godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation without regret, worldly repentance produces death” (2 Cor 7.8-10 CSB, emphasis added).
4. We are not here to silence what makes us uncomfortable. This is the beauty of dialogue. We wrestle with the discomfort in order to progress forward. Think of your cellphone. Remember 30 years ago when no one had one?*[iii] Then came the bagphone. You would not have the smartphone in your pocket, or on which you are reading this, if someone was tired of the discomfort of carrying a giant purse with them to stay connected. Similarly, we will not bridge into a greater diversity and true family bond as a church if we do not discuss through discomfort. With 14 nations and a myriad of socio-economic background, we will have some points of discussion that come from our perspective that makes life a little uncomfortable for a time. Remind me later to tell you about a police and community group I was part of in Anderson that bridged this discomfort beautifully!
   
5. We will pursue reconciliation and peace. In order for us to have a healthy dialogue, we must remember that we are brothers and sisters in Christ first. Shameless plug here…DON’T MISS “BIG CHURCH” ON SUNDAY! Our passage will be Ephesians 2:14-18…guess what happens? The Gospel reconciles us in peace to one another no matter what barrier we have set between us. “[Christ] tore down the dividing wall of hostility”! I do not believe we have hostility, but as a family in Christ we must work through issues that may divide.

I am excited to see how God will use this in our church. The more we understand one another, the better we will be able to love one another in Christ and serve one another. In understanding one another, we will see ways that God has shaped us, how our backgrounds are affected by the Gospel, and how we can present to Fairburn a church bent on the unity and peace of Christ.

To begin the dialogue, I want you to know that I can hear you only if you speak up. So, look a the comment section below and leave some feedback about where you feel divided. Share how the church (in general) has let you down or how it has assisted you in growing to love those different than you. Give me some ideas on topics to bridge the next few weeks. Share your story!

I am listening.

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[i] Martin Luther King, Jr, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” in Letters to a Birmingham Jail: A Response to the Words and Drams of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ed. Bryan Loritts (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2014), 33.

[ii] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publisher. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible ® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

*Yes, millennials, there was a time when cell phones were RARE.