Solutions

Paul opens up the fourth chapter of Ephesians with a strong exhortation about pursuing peace:
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

In the body of Christ, with Jesus as the head, we are held together by a common bond, sealed by the Holy Spirit, who enables us to remain in a spirit of unity.  We are called to seek ways, regardless of our backgrounds, to display unity to a dying world that needs to see the love of Jesus.  The enemy would try to use our unique identities as sources of division, but God wants to take us individually and mold us together into a diverse expression of His love.

+++++

In Galatians 3, we see a wonderful picture of the body of Christ - unified not in spite of our racial and cultural backgrounds, but as a result of God using our uniqueness as individuals to mold a unique and effective body. Here are some verses to consider:
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

So, we are called to be one in Christ. The enemy recognizes that when the Church is of one mind and one purpose, we are unstoppable and undefeatable.  Now, as it's been said, unity is not uniformity - God doesn't expect us all to act the same, and we will bring different approaches to the Scriptures based on our experience and our capacity to reason.  And, that can be healthy - or detrimental.

So, we have to work at being unified, as representing Christ's body.  Racial divisions within the body of Christ will diminish our work.  And, in culture at large, racial wedges will harm our capability to function as a society.

Two U.S. Senators, who are Christians, get that.  They are James Lankford from Oklahoma and Tim Scott from South Carolina.  Lankford is white, Scott is African-American. The Gospel Coalition website reports on their effort called "Solution Sundays."  The article says that the concept was explained in TIME Magazine last year:

Americans do not really get to know their neighbors and fellow citizens at a rally or a big event, we get to know each other typically over a meal, especially in our home. What if Americans intentionally chose to put our prejudice and broken trust on the table by putting our feet under the same table? If it seems too simple and obvious, let me ask you this question . . . have you ever had dinner in your home with a person of another race? Many Americans have not.

They write: "we challenge each family to give one Sunday lunch or dinner for building relationships across race, to literally be part of the solution in America."

The Gospel Coalition article states that "Lankford says the idea for Solution Sundays arose from his disdain for hearing people say, 'We need to have a national conversation on race.'" He told Focus on the Family: "People perceive ‘a national conversation’ as being a group of politicians sitting around a table, with a bunch of media cameras around them, as those individuals talk about race and try to resolve things,” adding, “That’s not how we resolve anything in America.”

Scott and Lankford just released a video about the concept, inviting people to "venture into someone else’s territory and learn as much as you possible can about someone else.”

The video includes Senate Chaplain Barry Black, who is quoted as saying, "...it may not be the solution, but it’s certainly the beginning of a solution.”

A few observations here:

Number one is that we have to talk with each other.  Not about each other.  And, not necessarily just going to events with each other.  Understanding one another's perspective and background and even approach to God can be helpful in working to solve some of these enormous dilemmas in the area of race relations.  We can't withdraw from each other - not now.  We've come so far, but there is plenty to go.

I was touched by Stephen Mansfield's comments about race relations on yesterday's Meeting House.  He attends a predominantly African-American church and called for a measure of understanding. He said that we need to "gentle up" (never heard that phrase, but it works) with one another.

We have to also acknowledge the enemy's modus operandi to drive wedges between us.  He will do that in any number of ways, but the goal is to keep us separated - if we view each other as separate groups, at the expense of preserving the unity of the Spirit, and then parade that online for all the world to see, we make the Church look like a family feud.  It's not attractive. We have to present a unified, passionate front in order for the world to see Christ.

I also like the term, "Solution Sundays."  Scott and Lankford have a very specific initiative here, but shouldn't Sundays, our day of worship, be a time when we do find solutions - solutions for our individual lives: a greater devotion to God, help to overcome sin, wisdom to deal with relationships, and an enhanced sense of God's healing that is available.  Collectively, in our proclamation and fellowship, we can find and radiate hope and develop a Biblical mindset to affect the world for Christ.