Racism and the Church (by Chad Berry)

I have a confession to make. I keep a “book ideas” list. Yes, I do. As a journalism grad, I like to write. People have often ask if I ever hope to write a book. I always say something like, “Well, maybe, if I ever think of a good topic.” That’s really only half-true, though, because I’ve thought of several topics that I would like to write about, but none that I feel qualified to write about yet.

One of the book ideas on my list is “The New Racism.” I thought of this today as I read that John Piper is set to release a new book about race called Bloodlines: Race, Cross and the Christian. To say I’m excited about this book would be an understatement. Piper has been somewhat of a spiritual mentor to me through his books, blog and online sermons. I’m glad he’s addressing what I consider to be a deep-seated and overlooked issue in the church. He’ll do a much better and authoritative job of it than I would.

But why am I excited about this? First, let me share a little bit of my background.

I grew up in a white, middle-class family in a mostly white, middle-class suburb of Birmingham, Ala. I did not grow up in the era of the Civil Rights Movement (my parents did). My parents did not have African-American classmates until college. I, on the other hand, not only had African-American classmates in elementary school, but also had multiple African-American teachers. I grew up in the “New South.”

Furthermore, my mother was an English teacher at one of Birmingham’s inner-city, almost all African-American, high schools. I was taught well that to look down upon people with a different skin color or to call them disparaging names was wrong.[1]

And yet, as I grew up in the South, I began to detect an ever so subtle - and sometimes not-so-subtle - undercurrent of racism in my white middle-class American culture. Sure, no one spoke well of the Klan and no one used the “n” word, but I do remember quite the neighborhood ruckus when an African-American family looked at buying a house two doors down from us (“What’s going to happen to our property value?!!!”).

I became a Christian in high school and soon noticed something: Most white, professing Christians held similar views as my property value-conscious neighbors. Most didn’t trust black people; were scared of them, truth be told, and certainly didn’t want to worship with them on Sunday morning.[2] Stereotypes and demeaning jokes (again, none using the “n” word, so it was okay) about black people - or people of any color really - were common fare in social settings. Generally, while acknowledging that the Civil Rights Movement was probably a good thing, there was still a feeling that white people were naturally more moral, smarter and sensible.

It would never be said like that, of course, but that was the mindset. This is what I’m talking about when I say “New Racism.” It’s an unacknowledged level of racism that people (including, sadly, many professing Christians) justify and can somehow be comfortable with because it’s not as in-your-face and public perhaps as previous generations’ demonstrations of racial prejudice.

Truth is, I probably held this mindset as well for a long time. But as I began to read the Bible and see verses like, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:27-28), my mind - and heart - began to change. I began to see that God created us all in His image, that Jesus came to save the lost from every ethnic group and that, if we are to be like Christ, we are to be loving towards people of every race. There is no room for prejudice or racism. If any people should not be racist or prejudiced, it is God’s people!

Seeing racism in the church makes me angry. It’s become a soapbox issue for me at times. Some may say, “Well, that’s because you’re a missionary. God’s given you that kind of heart for different ethnic groups.”

But what Bible is that person reading?! It’s certainly not one that includes the story of God taking on flesh in the form of a 1st century Palestinian Jew who commanded his followers to preach the gospel to people of every skin color and demographic. It’s certainly not the Bible that includes the commandment to “Love your neighbor as yourself”[3] and then defines “neighbor” with the story of the Good Samaritan (a despised race by Jews at the time [4]). It’s not a Bible that includes the glorious picture of heaven seen in Rev. 7:9 - “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”[5]

I realize we are all - those of us believers here on earth - still in the process of sanctification. We all have blind spots and areas of struggle. Certainly, someone could look at my life and spot areas where my actions do not match up with what the Word of God says. But none of that excuses sin or gives us cause to look the other way or rationalize our actions and attitudes (as we’re so prone to do).

I also realize that much progress has been made. But there is much more still to be had, both personally and corporately in the Body of Christ, which leads me to my final point.

Ecclesia desires to be a missional church. We want to be a more diverse body than we currently are, because we want to be a missional reflection of the community around us. In case you’re wondering what that community includes, in terms of race, here is the latest Coweta County census:
75.9% White
17.3% Black
1.5% Asian
6.7% Hispanic
0.3% Native American
2.1% Persons reporting 2 or more races

Currently, we do not reflect this data. By God’s grace and enabling, one day may it be so. May we be people who love and appreciate God’s creativity as seen in the creation of people with different skin colors. May God refine us to be a risk-taking, fearless, bold and loving band of missionaries who embrace friends and neighbors who don’t look like us.

It will be great preparation for Heaven.I grew up in a white, middle-class family in a mostly white, middle-class suburb of Birmingham, Ala. I did not grow up in the era of the Civil Rights Movement (my parents did). My parents did not have African-American classmates until college. I, on the other hand, not only had African-American classmates in elementary school, but also had multiple African-American teachers. I grew up in the "New South."

It will be great preparation for Heaven.

[1] That’s not to say that blatant displays of racism were not happening. I remember driving with my family through a rural part of Alabama late one night when I was about 5 years old. Suddenly, we passed a field with a burning cross surrounded by men in white sheets and pointy hats. I remember feeling scared. My mom quickly covered my eyes.

[2] I readily acknowledge there are a multitude of reasons for the lack of diversity in most churches. With that said, sinful prejudice is one of those reasons.

[3] Lev. 19:18; Mt. 22:39

[4] Luke 10:25-37. On this point it should be said that racism is a timeless issue. People of every generation have struggled with it. It’s also not localized to the American South; it’s a global problem. I lived for three years in East Asia and can attest that racism is alive and well there, too.

[5] Sadly, of course, a “Christian” racist is probably reading the same Bible, but not seeing these incredible truths because of deeply-ingrained sinful attitudes and worldviews.