Restless About Race

God is calling us to grasp the concept of being one body, united in Christ - it is a spiritual fact that we are the body and He is the head, but we have to live like it.  In Ephesians 4, we see that Paul addresses God's desire that we are...
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

We can each examine our hearts to discern what God would have us do in the pursuit of unity - a unified Church contributes to the strength of society; a divided Church loses credibility and the message becomes muted.  Perhaps we need to repent of attitudes toward others that are not pleasing to God; maybe we need to make a greater effort to understand the viewpoint or the background of another.  From our commitment to Christ flows a commitment to walk in love.

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Jesus prayed that we, His people, would be one.  And, as we uphold that example, we invite those that are not part of the body of Christ to unite with us.  Bitterness will tear us apart and disrupt that
unity. Hebrews 12 speaks to the notion of unity:
14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled...

On this day following the commemoration of the death of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. 50 years ago, I thought it would be instructive to examine what people are saying about the state of race relations in America.

There was a piece from USA Today in the Montgomery Advertiser that included some sobering statistics:

For much of the past two decades, race relations has been the issue that Americans say they have been least worried about, according to the polling firm Gallup. The question hit a nadir for American anxiety in 2010 as President Obama — the nation’s first black president — settled into his first White House term: Just 13% of Americans said they were greatly concerned.

But last year, 42% of Americans — an 18-year high — said they had a "great deal" of concern about race relations. Thirty-seven percent said they were greatly concerned in the most recent Gallup survey, published last month.

There has been plenty of analysis with regard to why this could have been so - the promise of a "post-racial America," deteriorating into a more racially-conflicted America.  Many looked to the former President as someone who could unite America despite racial barriers, a hope, I believe, was reflected in that data.  But, while a President can certainly impact how we relate to one another, we also have to recognize it's up to each of us to demonstrate charity and good will to people who are from different backgrounds.

There has been discussion over the impact that Mr. Obama had on race relations.  CNN reported toward the end of his presidency:

Overall, 54% say relations between blacks and whites have gotten worse since Obama became president, including 57% of whites and 40% of blacks. That's up sharply compared with last June, when 43% said things had gotten worse shortly after a racially motivated shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina.

That is from a CNN/ORC poll.

I would offer that primary factors included Ferguson and the continued rise of social media have contributed to the corrupted landscape of race relations.  Add in more incidents and the subsequent fanning of the flames and you have an explosive rhetorical mix.

In some of its analysis, Gallup states regarding the survey released in March, showing 37% of those surveyed worry "a great deal" about race relations:

Most often, race relations has been the issue Americans worry least about. However, that has not been the case in recent years, as concerns about the issue spiked after several highly publicized cases of deadly confrontations between police and young black males.

Also, Gallup noted last March, regarding the 42% number, that those concerns resulted from that factor, as well as another:

The political success of President Donald Trump -- whose comments on racial matters, including his recent feud with Rep. John Lewis, have sparked outrage among some black leaders -- could also be a factor in Americans' heightened concern about race relations.

I do believe the Church has an opportunity to change the narrative and speak to the hearts of individuals who are involved in harboring or even acting on racial tensions. But, Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, said last year regarding a survey his organization had conducted on race relations: “It seems like most congregations are eager for somebody else to do the work of reconciliation...rather than embrace it for themselves.”

That is a quote from a ReligionNews.com story last March about the survey.  It said:

The vast majority of pastors (90 percent) said their churches would welcome a sermon about racial reconciliation. But almost three-quarters of pastors — 73 percent — say they have not been encouraged by church leaders to preach about reconciliation. A quarter (26 percent) said they have been urged to address the issue.

Protestant pastors were asked about what they had done in the last three months to encourage racial reconciliation.  The story says:

• 57 percent spent time at social activities with neighbors of other ethnicities.
• 53 percent led corporate prayer for racial reconciliation.
• 51 percent talked about reconciliation with church leaders.

4-in-10 said they "met regularly with clergy of other ethnicities." Only 2-in-10 "led a public lament over racial injustice or unrest."

As McConnell suggests - it's not somebody else's job.  We can ask God to search our hearts and direct us, each of us, regarding what we can do to improve how we treat people from a different ethnic group than us.  Surely, there will be organized events and opportunities to express our desire for Biblical unity, but the most effective means of bringing about the oneness that God desires is for each of us to take the prayer of Jesus in John 17 seriously and allow Him to create that mindset in us, that we might be brought together as one.  There is a disturbing trend that has crept into evangelical Christianity that seeks to blame and condemn some for not doing enough to bring about racial reconciliation - we have to be careful as Christians that we don't shame one another; we are called to love one another and keep our eyes on Jesus, the Redeemer.

The survey data is there - even though there has been a 5-point drop in concern over race relations, still over 1-in-3 people worry "a great deal" about the issue.  About a-third worry about the topic "Only a little or not at all."  So, there is great concern, but there is also a significant amount of indifference.  This is not a matter that can be treated with indifference; some might think it does not affect them - well, it does.  The betterment of our communities - where we live and work, where we raise our children, and participate in activities - it's on us.  Christians can become salt and light in addressing how we relate, providing the moral foundation upon which these communities can carry on in the future.