I worked for an urban non-profit in Richmond, VA, that among other goals, was striving for racial reconciliation. One day, a friend of mine, who is black, was explaining to a group of interns what it really means to have black friends. He said, “It’s not enough to have one black friend. You have to have two black friends… and they have to not like each other.”
He brought up a valid point. For many Christians, racial harmony is idealized personal hope of ours, but we make token personal daily efforts towards the realization of that goal (i.e.: I sometimes vote for black political candidates; I once went on a mission trip somewhere they don’t speak English; I occasionally listen to Gospel music; I play tennis with the Korean kid in my gym class; I had a crush on the Swedish foreign exchange guy in Western Civ.). While these are certainly steps in the right direction (mostly), it’s often much easier to just not make the effort.
In Acts, chapter 6, they were having disputes between the Jewish Christians and the new Gentile members (a minority at the time). They were worried about food distribution and equality. What was their solution? They appointed leaders to be fair distributors (administrators). What’s interesting is the list of names of these new admins: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolaus. Now if your Greek and Hebrew is as rusty as mine, it may take you a minute. None of those names are Hebrew. They’re Greek. Yup, every single one of the people the Apostles chose to be one of the new administrators of policy (after much prayer) was a minority. The fascinating thing is that for all the times in Acts that "many were added to their numbers," this is the only place that even priests were converted. Racial reconciliation can have powerful consequences.
What does this mean for you? For your church? Maybe it means that to gain a real perspective on things, you need to go put yourself in places where you are the minority. Maybe it means you need to visit a place where you’re the one with the strange accent and funny way of dressing, and I don’t just mean leaving Nashville for Newark for the weekend. Maybe your church needs to appoint leaders on session who represent your smaller groups (youth, children, elderly, handicap, single people, people who read the newspaper or this blog). Or perhaps, just inviting people from the neighborhood next to your church or holding your worship service at the soup kitchen once a month. The answer could very well be right under your nose.
A recent video from Improv Everywhere shows a humorous way one man tried to broaden his experience and those in a small town in my own state:
What are you doing to bring this part of the Gospel to life in your own church?
He brought up a valid point. For many Christians, racial harmony is idealized personal hope of ours, but we make token personal daily efforts towards the realization of that goal (i.e.: I sometimes vote for black political candidates; I once went on a mission trip somewhere they don’t speak English; I occasionally listen to Gospel music; I play tennis with the Korean kid in my gym class; I had a crush on the Swedish foreign exchange guy in Western Civ.). While these are certainly steps in the right direction (mostly), it’s often much easier to just not make the effort.
In Acts, chapter 6, they were having disputes between the Jewish Christians and the new Gentile members (a minority at the time). They were worried about food distribution and equality. What was their solution? They appointed leaders to be fair distributors (administrators). What’s interesting is the list of names of these new admins: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolaus. Now if your Greek and Hebrew is as rusty as mine, it may take you a minute. None of those names are Hebrew. They’re Greek. Yup, every single one of the people the Apostles chose to be one of the new administrators of policy (after much prayer) was a minority. The fascinating thing is that for all the times in Acts that "many were added to their numbers," this is the only place that even priests were converted. Racial reconciliation can have powerful consequences.
What does this mean for you? For your church? Maybe it means that to gain a real perspective on things, you need to go put yourself in places where you are the minority. Maybe it means you need to visit a place where you’re the one with the strange accent and funny way of dressing, and I don’t just mean leaving Nashville for Newark for the weekend. Maybe your church needs to appoint leaders on session who represent your smaller groups (youth, children, elderly, handicap, single people, people who read the newspaper or this blog). Or perhaps, just inviting people from the neighborhood next to your church or holding your worship service at the soup kitchen once a month. The answer could very well be right under your nose.
A recent video from Improv Everywhere shows a humorous way one man tried to broaden his experience and those in a small town in my own state:
What are you doing to bring this part of the Gospel to life in your own church?
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