WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.960 Many of you know already that the United States is going through a major change right now. 00:00:11.580 --> 00:00:19.679 The United States is becoming increasingly what is known as a majority-minority country, 00:00:20.339 --> 00:00:25.859 meaning that minorities make up over 50% of the population. 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:29.300 So the United States is becoming extraordinarily diverse. 00:00:29.300 --> 00:00:33.920 And in fact, Andy Crouch, who studies and writes about culture, 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:41.560 says that there may never have been a society in history with more diversity than the United States, 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:48.840 with more cultural diversity, religious diversity, political diversity, and of course racial diversity. 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:51.880 The United States is perhaps the most diverse country ever. 00:00:52.260 --> 00:00:56.719 More importantly, he goes on to say that there are very few models out there 00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:01.339 for how such a diverse society can sustain itself. 00:01:02.019 --> 00:01:05.280 But if you look at history, there are plenty of examples of failure. 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:13.680 The only society in history that comes close in terms of diversity to the United States is the Roman Empire. 00:01:14.859 --> 00:01:19.019 And in the Roman Empire, we see something very unique in history. 00:01:19.019 --> 00:01:26.500 It was in the Roman Empire that the world first caught a glimpse of the power of the Christian gospel to unite people. 00:01:27.539 --> 00:01:32.000 So even as the Roman Empire was crumbling and collapsing, 00:01:32.859 --> 00:01:40.399 a community emerged with a kind of diversity that the world had never seen before. 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:45.960 And so Paul's letter to the Galatians, which we started looking at back in the fall, 00:01:46.240 --> 00:01:49.420 shows us how such a thing is possible. 00:01:49.740 --> 00:01:54.400 It's all about the power of the gospel to transform the way we see ourselves 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:57.240 and the way we see other people. 00:01:58.400 --> 00:01:59.900 It's a total transformation. 00:01:59.900 --> 00:02:06.219 So Paul spends the first three chapters of Galatians, which we looked at in the fall, 00:02:06.580 --> 00:02:08.920 clarifying exactly what the gospel is, 00:02:08.920 --> 00:02:13.920 and then he tells us what it means in chapter 3, verses 27 and 28. 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:19.860 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 00:02:20.020 --> 00:02:21.560 There is neither Jew nor Greek. 00:02:21.700 --> 00:02:23.439 There is neither slave nor free. 00:02:23.580 --> 00:02:28.599 There is no male and female, for you're all one in Christ Jesus. 00:02:29.900 --> 00:02:34.060 You know, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the great luminaries 00:02:34.060 --> 00:02:41.060 fighting for racial reconciliation and equality and justice in our country. 00:02:41.200 --> 00:02:44.000 We, of course, celebrating his memory this weekend. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:47.620 And this verse was part of his inspiration. 00:02:47.860 --> 00:02:52.860 This was one of the references he made to Scripture in his most famous speech 00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:55.259 a half century ago in this very city. 00:02:55.259 --> 00:03:01.419 In fact, three of the four lessons we just read were referenced in that same speech. 00:03:01.539 --> 00:03:05.000 This fueled and kindled his imagination. 00:03:06.519 --> 00:03:11.579 And so today we're going to ask what the gospel has to say to us about racial division 00:03:11.579 --> 00:03:15.840 and reconciliation as things currently stand in our culture. 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:18.439 And we obviously can't say everything. 00:03:19.079 --> 00:03:22.799 There's infinitely more to say than we're going to have time for this morning. 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:28.700 But we can look at first what this means, this verse that we just read. 00:03:28.880 --> 00:03:30.219 What is it actually saying? 00:03:30.420 --> 00:03:36.020 And then we're going to draw out a few implications that God willing will speak to us where we are this morning. 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:38.200 So let's pray and then we'll open God's word. 00:03:42.100 --> 00:03:46.780 Lord, I acknowledge that I'm a white man talking about race on MLK weekend. 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:51.500 Praise God you're not limited by human limitations. 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:55.240 But you can speak through our weakness. 00:03:56.300 --> 00:04:02.439 And so Lord, I want to do what Paul did and I want you to glorify yourself through and in my weakness. 00:04:03.580 --> 00:04:07.259 So that we're not putting the wisdom of human beings on display. 00:04:07.460 --> 00:04:13.039 But the foolishness of the cross would magnify your glory. 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:18.879 And that we would know whatever fruit comes of us opening your word, that it comes from the power of your spirit. 00:04:19.699 --> 00:04:24.680 And it's in the hope of that power and in the name of your son Jesus Christ that we ask you to speak to us this morning. 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:25.399 Amen. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:32.500 So we're looking at Galatians 3, particularly verse 28. 00:04:32.819 --> 00:04:39.519 But I want to bring you up to date because this is the culmination of something that Paul has been laying out for several chapters. 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:41.339 And I want us all to have that fresh in mind. 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:43.479 The context is simply this. 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:52.099 In Galatia, certain Jewish Christians, not all of them, but certain Jewish Christians were pushing a policy of racial segregation. 00:04:53.099 --> 00:04:54.359 The idea was this. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:05:01.659 That even though you had Jewish converts to Christianity and Gentile, non-Jewish, ethnically non-Jewish converts to Christianity. 00:05:02.059 --> 00:05:08.339 That because some of those Gentile converts had not also become Jewish, there was a chance that they were still unclean. 00:05:08.339 --> 00:05:08.859 Unclean. 00:05:09.299 --> 00:05:20.819 And so the fear from the Jewish Christians was that if they were to associate with and eat with and be in community with unclean people, they would also become unclean. 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:21.659 They would be tainted. 00:05:21.779 --> 00:05:24.559 And so they were pushing a policy of segregation. 00:05:24.699 --> 00:05:32.079 We need to keep them separate until they become ritually clean by being circumcised and by coming under the Mosaic law. 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:34.060 So this is the issue at stake. 00:05:34.139 --> 00:05:37.899 It's a kind of religious racial segregation policy. 00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:48.579 And Paul gets wind of this and it infuriates him, a kind of righteous indignation because he realizes that this is a violation of the gospel itself. 00:05:48.979 --> 00:05:53.919 And so he writes this explosive response which we call Galatians. 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:59.659 And so just to summarize the major points he makes, in chapter 1, verses 3 and 4, he says, 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:05.159 Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present age. 00:06:05.239 --> 00:06:05.959 That's the gospel. 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:14.659 Jesus Christ has delivered us from our sins and from this present evil age into a new way of being and a new way of living. 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:17.839 And as a result, in chapter 2, verse 20, he says, 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:24.000 I myself, Paul, through my faith in Jesus Christ, have been crucified with Christ. 00:06:24.500 --> 00:06:25.740 And then he makes this staggering claim. 00:06:25.979 --> 00:06:29.839 It's no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. 00:06:29.919 --> 00:06:33.060 There's been a kind of death and resurrection in my life. 00:06:33.060 --> 00:06:39.819 And then finally, this culminates in chapter 3, verses 27 and 28. 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:41.579 And then he says, so that's what happened to me. 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:42.540 Now what about you? 00:06:43.220 --> 00:06:49.340 And he says, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:53.180 So he says, you too have put on Christ if you've been baptized. 00:06:53.740 --> 00:06:55.160 There's neither Jew nor Greek. 00:06:55.259 --> 00:06:56.540 There's neither slave nor free. 00:06:56.540 --> 00:07:01.000 There's no male and female for you're all one in Christ Jesus. 00:07:01.080 --> 00:07:03.200 So what's he saying in the first three chapters? 00:07:03.760 --> 00:07:19.920 He's saying that God is building this great worldwide family where racial differences remain as a testimony to God's beautiful, limitless creativity. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:27.720 And yet the penalties and the privileges associated with racial identity are eradicated. 00:07:28.780 --> 00:07:34.160 Now that's a massive thing to say in any age, especially in Paul's day. 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:42.120 He says the reason that we can believe this is because now, regardless of cultural ethnic identity, 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:54.660 regardless of skin color, we have all been granted the same status and the same privileges as the Son of God Himself. 00:07:55.819 --> 00:08:07.600 And he says this, we cannot overestimate how significant this is because he's describing the emergence of a society that has absolute unity and diversity. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:12.120 It has absolute equality and individuality. 00:08:13.020 --> 00:08:18.020 You know, this is the kind of society that Martin Luther King dreamed of. 00:08:18.780 --> 00:08:22.240 It's the kind of society I think that we all long for. 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:27.340 And more importantly, it's the kind of society that we're called as the church to build. 00:08:28.820 --> 00:08:31.800 It's the calling of the church to build this kind of society. 00:08:32.379 --> 00:08:37.060 And so how does the gospel enable us to build this kind of society here and now? 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:40.920 And I want to talk about that for the rest of our time together. 00:08:41.060 --> 00:08:43.639 I think that we can draw a few implications out of this. 00:08:44.279 --> 00:08:49.159 I think the gospel shows us the true source of racism. 00:08:50.259 --> 00:08:51.779 Shows us the true source of racism. 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:55.639 I think the gospel gives us a way to respond to racism. 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:59.720 And I think finally the gospel calls us to the ministry of reconciliation. 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:02.680 It shows us the true source of racism. 00:09:02.680 --> 00:09:04.860 It gives us a way to respond to racism. 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:07.879 And then it calls us to the ministry of reconciliation. 00:09:08.139 --> 00:09:10.680 And by us, I mean followers of Jesus Christ. 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:14.439 The first thing it does is it shows us the true source of racism. 00:09:14.620 --> 00:09:18.199 You know, I think part of, and this is just me, my own thoughts here. 00:09:18.239 --> 00:09:24.939 But I think that part of our society's inability to really deal with racial division, 00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:29.299 to really have the conversations we need to be having, even though there's a lot of talk out there. 00:09:29.299 --> 00:09:34.199 Part of our inability to really deal with it is that we have a very rose-colored view of human nature. 00:09:36.219 --> 00:09:39.459 You know, most people today don't believe in the concept of sin. 00:09:40.059 --> 00:09:42.939 A lot of Christians today don't really believe in the concept of sin. 00:09:42.959 --> 00:09:46.879 Or if we do, it's those people, but not me, right? 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:53.139 The idea of original sin, being born into sin, born guilty, is very alien to most people today. 00:09:53.559 --> 00:09:58.620 So the widely accepted approach to racism, you know, when you look at a social ill like racism, 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:02.720 the widely accepted approach is that it is, of course, an outside-in problem. 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:04.519 Because I know that I'm inherently good. 00:10:05.700 --> 00:10:08.799 And so something like racism can only be explained as an outside-in problem. 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:12.980 I was born good, but then I was influenced in problematic ways. 00:10:12.980 --> 00:10:16.220 And, of course, the belief is that it needs an outside-in solution. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:20.539 Last year, or maybe about a year and a half ago, the Washington Post had an article, 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:24.059 title of the article, Why Are People Still Racist? 00:10:24.220 --> 00:10:27.860 What Science Says About America's Race Problem? 00:10:27.939 --> 00:10:34.279 And they trot out the Ivy League experts who kind of weigh in and give us the kind of definitive answer to this question. 00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:38.019 And luckily for us, they say, in some ways, it's super simple. 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:40.120 Well, that's good. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:41.740 People learn. 00:10:42.679 --> 00:10:43.519 Here's why. 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:47.299 People learn to be whatever their society and culture teaches them. 00:10:47.879 --> 00:10:51.039 This is not the product of some deep-seated evil heart. 00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:55.000 It comes from the environment, the air all around us. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:57.600 So it's an outside-in problem. 00:10:58.100 --> 00:11:03.220 Which is interesting because if racism were simply a product of culture and environment, 00:11:03.220 --> 00:11:10.620 then you would think that as we have worked for decades upon decades upon decades to change the culture 00:11:10.620 --> 00:11:14.019 and to educate people and to change the environment, 00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:19.800 that younger generations would be markedly less racist than older generations. 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:21.180 That's what you would think, right? 00:11:21.259 --> 00:11:24.040 Because this is the solution that we've been employing. 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:29.879 But in fact, research has found that young white subjects, 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:37.019 you take a bunch of young white people who are markedly more progressive on a variety of issues, 00:11:37.419 --> 00:11:45.860 it turns out those people are still every bit as negatively biased when it comes to race as older white people. 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:51.879 In other words, there's no measurable difference between the generations when it comes to this specific issue. 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:56.700 And in fact, human beings actually seem to be hardwired for bias. 00:11:57.720 --> 00:11:58.899 I don't know if you've seen this research. 00:11:59.019 --> 00:12:06.039 It's very interesting that researchers can take a bunch of people who look alike and, you know, same class, same race. 00:12:06.220 --> 00:12:08.240 You can take a bunch of people who look exactly the same, 00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:13.480 and you can just arbitrarily divide them into two groups, you know, odd numbers and even numbers, whatever. 00:12:13.480 --> 00:12:23.700 And within hours of doing that, people will start to exhibit significant negative bias toward people in the other group. 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:26.659 I mean, that's crazy, right? 00:12:27.500 --> 00:12:31.879 We're the even numbers, you're the odd numbers, but all of a sudden you start assuming they must have lower intelligence, 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:34.279 they must stink, they must be, you know, I don't... 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:38.899 And you begin to make all of these assumptions, and it's the in-group, out-group bias. 00:12:38.899 --> 00:12:42.579 And this seems to be deeply wired into human nature. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:51.340 And so the problem that confronts us is that the reality of racism completely blasts apart the myth of progress. 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:56.959 And it completely blasts apart this rose-colored sense that we have of human nature. 00:12:57.139 --> 00:13:03.399 It sort of confronts us with the fact that we're not the good, morally upstanding people that we pretend to be, 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:09.379 that we actually have deeply ingrained tendencies that are very harmful to us and other people. 00:13:09.819 --> 00:13:15.500 And, you know, these deep, ingrained, harmful tendencies, the word for that in the Bible is sin. 00:13:17.419 --> 00:13:19.419 Sin, the word, we don't like to talk about that. 00:13:20.439 --> 00:13:24.659 But the problem is, sin cannot simply be re-educated out of us. 00:13:25.100 --> 00:13:28.620 Sin, we can't just be re-encultured to be less sinful. 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:32.940 The only answer to sin is full spiritual renewal. 00:13:33.379 --> 00:13:37.159 It's the only thing that gives us any hope in the battle against sin. 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:40.159 So racism is not merely an outside-in problem. 00:13:40.259 --> 00:13:41.840 There are outside-in factors. 00:13:42.220 --> 00:13:44.980 That does happen, but that's way too simplistic. 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:47.700 It's also an inside-out problem. 00:13:48.779 --> 00:13:50.899 And, you know, people say, well, no, it's all the culture. 00:13:51.019 --> 00:13:52.700 Well, where did that culture come from? 00:13:53.259 --> 00:13:58.299 If we're all born inherently good, somebody out there had to create the evil culture. 00:13:59.320 --> 00:13:59.460 Right? 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:01.679 So it's like a chicken and egg kind of thing, right? 00:14:01.860 --> 00:14:03.340 So where did it come from, right? 00:14:03.659 --> 00:14:04.840 It comes from the human heart. 00:14:05.500 --> 00:14:08.740 So the gospel reveals to us the true source of racism. 00:14:09.179 --> 00:14:10.240 It's kind of a confrontation. 00:14:10.740 --> 00:14:13.500 But the good news is it also gives us a way to deal with racism. 00:14:14.500 --> 00:14:15.720 Gives us a way to deal with racism. 00:14:16.539 --> 00:14:18.779 Now, before we dive into that, I want to make this clear. 00:14:18.779 --> 00:14:22.759 When we're talking about racism, and many of you know this, but just for the sake of clarity. 00:14:23.259 --> 00:14:31.139 When we're talking about racism, we're not just talking about isolated acts of prejudice or discrimination. 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:35.379 We're talking about something that is systemic. 00:14:35.620 --> 00:14:39.460 We're talking about realities that are built into our institutions. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.240 Now, I know there are lots of opinions about that in this room. 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:46.379 But listen, there are just numbers that we have to wrestle with. 00:14:46.379 --> 00:14:46.820 Right? 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:50.960 When we're talking about racism, we're talking about systemic issues. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:15:01.939 We're talking about the fact, this is just a number, that if you apply for a job with a white-sounding name, you're 50% more likely to get a callback than if you apply with a black-sounding name. 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:03.500 Like, same resume. 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:05.419 That's just a number. 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:08.460 That's not like a liberal thing or a conservative thing, progressive. 00:15:08.740 --> 00:15:09.700 It's just a number. 00:15:09.899 --> 00:15:10.919 And we've got to wrestle with that. 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:18.740 You've got to wrestle with the fact that black people are 12 times more likely to be wrongly convicted of drug-related crimes than white people. 00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:25.539 Like, you put the same person with the same charge in front of a judge, 12 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted. 00:15:25.539 --> 00:15:26.019 Right? 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:38.219 We're talking about discriminatory mortgage lending practices that happened way back in the 30s that continue to shape communities today and lock them in cycles of poverty. 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:43.740 You know, we're talking about the fact that white families in our country hold 90% of the wealth. 00:15:44.699 --> 00:15:49.519 And that black and Latino families hold, combined, less than 5%. 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:51.579 I mean, these are just numbers. 00:15:52.199 --> 00:15:53.860 You know, and you begin to look at numbers like this. 00:15:53.860 --> 00:15:57.580 And, you know, there's lots of different narratives and we can quibble about statistics and all of that. 00:15:57.620 --> 00:16:01.879 But at the end of the day, that's deeply troubling. 00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:04.159 But here's the thing. 00:16:04.820 --> 00:16:16.419 What happens when you tell an educated, progressive, culturally savvy white person, like many of us in this room, 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:22.120 what happens when you tell an educated, progressive white person who believes that they are essentially good? 00:16:22.120 --> 00:16:25.519 Somebody who has no concept of sin. 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:35.779 What happens when you tell a person like that, that they have been born into racist systems and that they have benefited from those systems their entire life? 00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:36.980 Because here's the rub. 00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:47.300 You can be ideologically opposed to racism and yet tacitly supportive of racism at the same time. 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:49.740 So people say, well, I'm totally against it. 00:16:49.779 --> 00:16:51.480 I've never said or done anything racist in my life. 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:52.340 I stand against it. 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:52.899 I'm an activist. 00:16:53.060 --> 00:16:53.800 Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. 00:16:54.800 --> 00:16:58.639 But every day of your life, you also benefit from systems that are skewed in your favor. 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:02.560 And so you can be ideologically opposed and yet tacitly supportive. 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:14.019 And so when you tell somebody who has this concept of themselves as being a good person, as being a socially aware person, that induces a deep moral panic. 00:17:14.919 --> 00:17:16.279 I mean, moral panic. 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:25.399 And if you don't have the gospel to go to, you really only have two ways, two options open to you to deal with that moral panic. 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:30.359 You know, some people deal with that moral panic by simply denying that racism exists. 00:17:31.139 --> 00:17:32.980 It's an issue, but it's other people's issue. 00:17:33.259 --> 00:17:37.180 Certain pockets of the country, it's an issue, but it's certainly not me or any of my friends. 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:47.680 And, you know, I saw one book where the subtitle of the book says, black people need to stop blaming all their problems on racism and take full responsibility. 00:17:48.560 --> 00:17:48.940 Right? 00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:50.960 So that's somebody saying, you know, this is not my problem. 00:17:51.620 --> 00:17:52.299 This is your problem. 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:55.360 And you need to take responsibility and stop blaming me for it. 00:17:55.360 --> 00:17:56.880 So that's kind of denial and blame shifting. 00:17:57.539 --> 00:18:01.320 But there are a lot of other people who do acknowledge that racism is a problem. 00:18:01.580 --> 00:18:03.779 They acknowledge that systemic racism is a problem. 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:05.600 They acknowledge that there are racist institutions. 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:08.679 But then we scramble to prove that we're not racist. 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:11.240 Yeah, it's out there and it's a huge problem. 00:18:11.299 --> 00:18:13.619 And a lot of white people aren't aware of it, but I'm aware of it. 00:18:16.439 --> 00:18:17.939 I'm not like all those other white people. 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:19.439 Right? 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:24.099 And the best way to do that is to publicly shame and call out other white people. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:25.599 Right? 00:18:25.699 --> 00:18:33.559 So as David Brooks recently wrote in a satire piece, he says, when you are indignant or woke, you're showing that you have a superior moral awareness. 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:36.399 You don't actually have to do anything. 00:18:36.879 --> 00:18:40.419 Your indignation is itself a sign of your own goodness. 00:18:41.419 --> 00:18:41.500 Right? 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:45.079 And you're like, what does it have to do with Galatians? 00:18:45.179 --> 00:18:47.679 This is exactly what was happening with the Pharisees. 00:18:48.579 --> 00:18:48.899 Right? 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:51.579 What's the easiest way to prove that you're clean? 00:18:51.579 --> 00:18:55.059 It's to call out someone who is unclean. 00:18:55.899 --> 00:18:56.059 Right? 00:18:56.179 --> 00:18:59.699 By showing my indignation over Sabbath breaking. 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:04.439 My indignation over the lepers and the prostitutes and the tax collectors. 00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:12.419 I am, by contrast, holding out my moral excellence for everyone to recognize and affirm. 00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:18.600 And see, this response, this kind of, yes, there's sin, but I'm righteous. 00:19:18.779 --> 00:19:20.580 Yes, there's uncleanness, but I'm clean. 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:25.700 This is actually doing enormous damage when it comes to the race conversation. 00:19:26.620 --> 00:19:31.380 Robin DiAngelo wrote a great book about all of this called White Fragility. 00:19:31.380 --> 00:19:37.480 And she spent her entire career talking to white people about the realities of racism. 00:19:38.060 --> 00:19:40.220 And this shocked me when I read this book. 00:19:40.300 --> 00:19:45.580 She says the most difficulty she encounters in talking to white people about race. 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:48.920 She says, no, white people do not like to talk about race in general. 00:19:49.020 --> 00:19:49.460 It's her experience. 00:19:49.540 --> 00:19:50.180 Extremely difficult. 00:19:50.600 --> 00:19:54.420 But she says the biggest challenge that she runs into is not the kind of, you know, 00:19:55.060 --> 00:19:59.520 old southern white conservatives who kind of, you know, which is kind of what we all think of. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:02.139 It's the white progressives. 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:05.599 Those are the most problematic people for her. 00:20:05.740 --> 00:20:10.400 And she says, I believe that white progressives cause the most daily damage to people of color. 00:20:10.879 --> 00:20:15.460 I define a white progressive as any white person who thinks he or she is not racist 00:20:15.460 --> 00:20:19.700 or is less racist or already gets it. 00:20:20.379 --> 00:20:26.619 And she says the problem is they're pouring all of their energy into trying to prove their moral excellence. 00:20:26.619 --> 00:20:28.739 And so they are unteachable. 00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:30.699 They are unreachable. 00:20:31.159 --> 00:20:35.659 And thus they remain blind to the ways that they perpetuate the problem. 00:20:37.659 --> 00:20:39.319 Put a finer point on it. 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:48.000 In Galatia, Paul recognized that the biggest obstacle to racial reconciliation 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:53.139 was the self-righteousness of some of the Jewish Christians. 00:20:53.140 --> 00:21:00.780 I believe in our society the greatest obstacle or one of the greatest obstacles to racial reconciliation 00:21:00.780 --> 00:21:04.700 is the self-righteousness of white people. 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:07.640 It's because we won't shut up and listen. 00:21:08.740 --> 00:21:11.880 We're so intent on proving our excellence. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:15.940 And so we need to be able to admit that we're a part of the problem. 00:21:15.940 --> 00:21:22.279 And so the question becomes how can anyone endure the moral panic that that brings with it? 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:24.660 And that's where the gospel comes in. 00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:27.680 Isn't this what Jesus is for? 00:21:28.340 --> 00:21:28.460 Right? 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:30.440 So Paul says in Galatians 2.16, 00:21:30.820 --> 00:21:35.840 A person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:38.840 In other words, stop trying to convince the world of your righteousness. 00:21:39.640 --> 00:21:41.140 We all know it's a sham. 00:21:41.140 --> 00:21:47.660 The only source of true righteousness is faith in Jesus Christ. 00:21:47.940 --> 00:21:49.480 That's the only way you're going to get it. 00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:51.040 So then the question becomes, 00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:52.700 Well, okay, well, how do we deal with racism? 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:53.940 Long buildup, right? 00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:55.540 Well, first we need to repent. 00:21:56.460 --> 00:21:57.460 We need to repent. 00:21:58.220 --> 00:22:00.240 And let me say a few things about repentance 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:02.400 because this is often misunderstood. 00:22:02.600 --> 00:22:05.660 When it comes to racism and sin, 00:22:05.980 --> 00:22:07.560 what does repentance look like? 00:22:07.660 --> 00:22:09.060 Well, it looks like a few things. 00:22:09.059 --> 00:22:11.500 It's repentance needs to be a lifestyle. 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:14.460 It's not just a one-off thing. 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:15.359 I don't realize it. 00:22:15.419 --> 00:22:16.379 Read a couple of articles. 00:22:17.220 --> 00:22:18.059 Realize it's a problem. 00:22:18.159 --> 00:22:18.480 Repent. 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:19.460 Move on with my life. 00:22:19.859 --> 00:22:20.599 It's a lifestyle. 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:25.039 And a lifestyle of repentance means that every day we respond to racism 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:28.019 the way we respond to all sin in our life. 00:22:28.179 --> 00:22:29.119 We look at it. 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:30.079 We admit it. 00:22:30.259 --> 00:22:31.279 We confess it. 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:34.220 And then we rely on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 00:22:36.119 --> 00:22:37.319 Not our own excellence. 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:42.559 We allow his work on the cross to be the testimony of our righteousness. 00:22:43.379 --> 00:22:46.759 And when we do that, we can stop being so defensive. 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:51.480 And we can start actually listening to and building relationships 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:53.259 with people of color in our lives. 00:22:55.639 --> 00:22:57.099 A lot less talking. 00:22:58.299 --> 00:22:59.220 A lot more listening. 00:22:59.220 --> 00:23:02.900 I know it's ironic with me saying that, being the guy with the mic, 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:04.400 but you get what I'm saying. 00:23:05.900 --> 00:23:06.920 Our repentance needs to be a lifestyle. 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:10.620 Number two, our repentance needs to be color conscious. 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:14.799 A lot of people read Galatians 3.28, and I have for years, 00:23:14.900 --> 00:23:18.200 and we think that this is meaning that we need to be colorblind. 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:20.759 You know, there's no longer Jew. 00:23:20.819 --> 00:23:21.500 There's no longer Greek. 00:23:21.579 --> 00:23:22.279 There's no longer black. 00:23:22.380 --> 00:23:23.019 There's no longer white. 00:23:23.079 --> 00:23:24.180 There's no longer Latino, right? 00:23:24.180 --> 00:23:26.080 We need to be blind to color. 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:27.920 That's what the application would be. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:32.900 But in fact, if we understand what's actually being said here, 00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:35.000 this is not about the eradication of race. 00:23:35.840 --> 00:23:40.620 This is not about us all becoming non-racial, right, or trans-racial. 00:23:40.820 --> 00:23:44.120 Or this is not about the eradication of physical differences. 00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:48.459 This is about the eradication of the penalties and the privileges, 00:23:49.259 --> 00:23:54.519 the status and the hierarchy that we associate with physical differences. 00:23:55.479 --> 00:23:58.399 And so it doesn't mean we need to be colorblind. 00:23:58.599 --> 00:24:03.439 We actually need to become more conscious and aware of the meaning 00:24:03.439 --> 00:24:07.639 of surface differences in our culture. 00:24:07.899 --> 00:24:10.979 And it's interesting, you know, Michelle Alexander wrote a book, 00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:11.859 The New Jim Crow. 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:14.000 All these, I mean, you've got to read that book. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:14.779 The New Jim Crow. 00:24:15.160 --> 00:24:17.359 It says, here's what she says. 00:24:17.819 --> 00:24:19.339 Far from being a worthy goal, 00:24:19.660 --> 00:24:23.019 colorblindness has proved catastrophic for African Americans. 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:27.920 It's not an overestimation to say that systematic mass incarceration 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:31.980 of people of color in the United States would not have been possible 00:24:31.980 --> 00:24:36.380 in the post-civil rights era if the nation had not fallen under the spell 00:24:36.380 --> 00:24:39.200 of a callous colorblindness. 00:24:40.140 --> 00:24:41.359 And that'll open your eyes. 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:41.799 Right? 00:24:41.799 --> 00:24:42.700 Right? 00:24:42.700 --> 00:24:47.019 So for white people, I think that part of the application of this verse means we become 00:24:47.019 --> 00:24:49.980 more aware and thoughtful about color. 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:54.259 If you're in the room and you're white, we need to think about what does it mean to have 00:24:54.259 --> 00:24:58.319 a black skin, brown skin in this culture. 00:24:58.660 --> 00:25:00.200 You know, you think about some of those statistics earlier. 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:03.819 What is the meaning of growing up as a young white man in our culture? 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:09.819 And then we need to think about what does it mean to be white in this culture. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:13.380 You know, one of the biggest challenges, I think, and obstacles for those of us in the room who are white 00:25:13.380 --> 00:25:15.819 is that we're not aware that there's such a thing as whiteness. 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:22.339 Because we think in terms of whiteness as being normative for everybody. 00:25:23.460 --> 00:25:31.019 And so becoming more aware simply of what it means to be white is a part of applying this verse 00:25:31.019 --> 00:25:36.000 because we need to understand the role that skin color plays in the old self 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:43.779 before we can then put off the old self and then begin to put on the new self that we gain in Jesus Christ. 00:25:43.779 --> 00:25:49.359 If we remain ignorant to the meaning of color in our old identity, 00:25:49.980 --> 00:25:52.579 we'll have no idea of what it looks like to put that off. 00:25:52.660 --> 00:25:53.539 We'll be blind to it. 00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:56.559 And so this is a part of what it means to repent. 00:25:56.759 --> 00:26:00.220 Lastly, I'd say our repentance needs to be corporate. 00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:03.059 It needs to be corporate. 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:05.299 You know, I was shocked. 00:26:05.859 --> 00:26:09.960 We did a study of the book of Daniel not too long ago. 00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:11.200 Some of you were here for that. 00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:13.700 But I was shocked studying through Daniel, 00:26:13.740 --> 00:26:16.319 which I had never really deeply done until that sermon series, 00:26:16.500 --> 00:26:17.720 to get to chapter 9. 00:26:18.660 --> 00:26:20.440 And in chapter 9 of the book of Daniel, 00:26:21.019 --> 00:26:27.100 Daniel falls to his knees and he repents on behalf of his race, 00:26:27.259 --> 00:26:29.519 on behalf of the nation of Israel. 00:26:29.700 --> 00:26:33.420 He repents for sins committed by previous generations 00:26:33.420 --> 00:26:35.519 that he had nothing to do with. 00:26:36.140 --> 00:26:38.100 Sins that he wasn't even close to. 00:26:38.099 --> 00:26:41.699 And yet he repents on behalf of his entire race. 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:45.039 And this really challenged, 00:26:45.919 --> 00:26:47.500 well, it challenged me in a lot of ways, 00:26:47.579 --> 00:26:52.599 but it made me realize how individualistic I am when I think about sin. 00:26:53.379 --> 00:26:59.199 As though God only thinks of me in terms of the isolated incidents that I've committed. 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:03.240 Rather than seeing that I stand on the shoulders of, 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:03.940 inherit, 00:27:04.660 --> 00:27:05.600 benefit from, 00:27:05.660 --> 00:27:08.420 and in many ways represent the sins of generations. 00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:09.960 Right? 00:27:10.059 --> 00:27:10.940 And so you and I, 00:27:11.059 --> 00:27:11.259 you know, 00:27:11.299 --> 00:27:14.660 we may not be actively racist in our thoughts or behaviors. 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:17.039 We are very ideologically opposed to racism, 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:20.200 but we do live within and benefit from racist systems. 00:27:20.200 --> 00:27:24.779 And we've inherited wealth and privilege in a country that was built on the backs of slaves. 00:27:24.860 --> 00:27:26.940 And that's a reality that we can't ignore. 00:27:27.059 --> 00:27:29.779 It's a reality that we can't just kind of like close our eyes to. 00:27:30.340 --> 00:27:30.600 You know, 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:31.600 another book, 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:33.720 Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:37.500 one of the lines that was most haunting to me from that book was this. 00:27:37.559 --> 00:27:37.880 He says, 00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:41.920 the enslaved were people turned to fuel for the American machine. 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:46.779 The enslaved were people turned to fuel for the American machine. 00:27:46.779 --> 00:27:49.879 And just recognizing that we are all part of the American machine, 00:27:50.139 --> 00:27:51.859 and it was fueled by people, 00:27:53.160 --> 00:27:54.079 ground up, 00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:55.759 burned up, 00:27:55.980 --> 00:27:58.480 so that we could sustain ourselves and flourish. 00:27:58.619 --> 00:28:03.200 That's something that we may not feel or see in any way that we are complicit in, 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:06.960 and yet we can't deny the legacy of it in our lives. 00:28:08.299 --> 00:28:08.440 Right? 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:09.500 And so let me, 00:28:09.579 --> 00:28:09.779 you know, 00:28:10.940 --> 00:28:12.420 I'll just be more personal. 00:28:12.619 --> 00:28:12.759 You know, 00:28:12.779 --> 00:28:13.399 I need to repent. 00:28:14.619 --> 00:28:15.059 You know, 00:28:15.099 --> 00:28:15.839 I need to repent. 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:17.079 Because for years, 00:28:17.199 --> 00:28:18.519 this has just not been on my radar. 00:28:19.819 --> 00:28:19.959 You know, 00:28:20.019 --> 00:28:20.579 for me, 00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:23.059 like Ferguson was a watershed. 00:28:24.459 --> 00:28:24.659 You know, 00:28:24.899 --> 00:28:26.939 I remember one time, 00:28:27.199 --> 00:28:27.379 you know, 00:28:27.399 --> 00:28:28.419 I made this pot of stew, 00:28:28.579 --> 00:28:30.159 and I left, 00:28:30.259 --> 00:28:30.980 and I got distracted, 00:28:31.119 --> 00:28:32.439 and it started to burn and smoke, 00:28:32.519 --> 00:28:33.579 and so I took the pot out, 00:28:33.779 --> 00:28:34.799 and I set it out on the porch, 00:28:34.839 --> 00:28:35.799 and I put a lid on it, 00:28:35.899 --> 00:28:37.379 and I went back inside to the party, 00:28:37.459 --> 00:28:39.099 and I just kind of forgot about it for like a week. 00:28:41.819 --> 00:28:42.839 Those of you who know me are like, 00:28:42.879 --> 00:28:43.439 of course you did. 00:28:43.440 --> 00:28:46.259 And I went back out like a week later, 00:28:46.360 --> 00:28:47.160 the pot looked fine, 00:28:47.220 --> 00:28:47.960 and it actually rained, 00:28:48.019 --> 00:28:49.279 so it looked even cleaner than before, 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:51.340 but then I took the lid off, 00:28:51.900 --> 00:28:53.600 and the stench, 00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:55.059 and the maggots. 00:28:55.299 --> 00:28:56.680 It was rotten, 00:28:56.680 --> 00:28:57.600 and disgusting. 00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:00.019 In my experience, 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:01.779 at least for me, 00:29:01.799 --> 00:29:03.279 and a lot of white people like me, 00:29:04.080 --> 00:29:06.320 Ferguson lifted the lid on our country. 00:29:07.539 --> 00:29:07.660 You know, 00:29:07.660 --> 00:29:09.700 you sort of like from the outside, 00:29:09.800 --> 00:29:10.500 everything looks fine, 00:29:10.560 --> 00:29:11.200 looks clean, 00:29:11.540 --> 00:29:11.700 you know, 00:29:11.779 --> 00:29:13.180 and then it was like this, 00:29:13.259 --> 00:29:13.980 it lifted the lid. 00:29:14.040 --> 00:29:14.960 It wasn't the first time, 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:16.240 and I'm not sure why it was Ferguson. 00:29:16.560 --> 00:29:16.680 You know, 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:18.380 things like that have happened all the time, 00:29:18.860 --> 00:29:20.340 but something about that event, 00:29:20.380 --> 00:29:21.900 it catalyzed something in me. 00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:23.440 It made me realize that this is not an issue 00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:24.740 that's mostly in the past. 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:25.940 You know, 00:29:25.960 --> 00:29:26.300 in fact, 00:29:26.340 --> 00:29:27.120 it's alive and well. 00:29:27.340 --> 00:29:27.860 It's here. 00:29:28.259 --> 00:29:29.060 It's in me. 00:29:29.660 --> 00:29:29.880 You know, 00:29:29.900 --> 00:29:31.380 and I look at the last 10 years of our church, 00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:32.320 and I just need to repent. 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:34.820 This has just not been on my radar. 00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:35.839 You know, 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:37.079 it hasn't. 00:29:37.419 --> 00:29:38.279 And I would love to say 00:29:38.279 --> 00:29:39.779 that all of that is past tense, 00:29:40.200 --> 00:29:42.220 but I feel like when it comes to, 00:29:42.399 --> 00:29:43.460 especially this conversation, 00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:45.099 I am still every day 00:29:45.099 --> 00:29:46.139 learning what it means 00:29:46.139 --> 00:29:47.339 to rely on the grace of Jesus 00:29:47.339 --> 00:29:48.859 so I can drop my defenses, 00:29:49.439 --> 00:29:51.299 so I can actually hear what I need to hear. 00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:53.399 And praise God, 00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:54.480 he's being faithful in that. 00:29:55.259 --> 00:29:56.220 But for me, 00:29:56.220 --> 00:29:57.700 this is where, 00:29:57.799 --> 00:29:58.359 if you want to ask, 00:29:58.460 --> 00:30:00.200 like where's God working on your heart right now? 00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:01.439 Bullseye. 00:30:02.339 --> 00:30:03.859 That's where the work is happening right now. 00:30:05.259 --> 00:30:06.700 So this is the reality 00:30:06.700 --> 00:30:08.480 that I think that we are born into. 00:30:08.859 --> 00:30:09.659 This is the reality 00:30:09.659 --> 00:30:11.700 that we need to recognize 00:30:11.700 --> 00:30:13.539 as followers of Jesus. 00:30:15.659 --> 00:30:16.720 The good news is 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:19.279 we have more work to do 00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:20.500 than just repenting. 00:30:20.619 --> 00:30:22.379 Repenting is necessary 00:30:22.379 --> 00:30:23.679 before we can do anything else. 00:30:24.399 --> 00:30:25.059 But lastly, 00:30:25.220 --> 00:30:25.559 thirdly, 00:30:25.599 --> 00:30:26.639 at a very short point here, 00:30:26.980 --> 00:30:28.259 the gospel calls us 00:30:28.259 --> 00:30:29.439 to the ministry of reconciliation. 00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:32.200 These days, 00:30:32.359 --> 00:30:33.639 diversity is a prize. 00:30:33.640 --> 00:30:35.860 diversity is a way 00:30:35.860 --> 00:30:37.220 that institutions and churches 00:30:37.220 --> 00:30:38.300 can build our brand. 00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:41.640 And what we need to recognize 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:42.740 is that in the early church, 00:30:42.820 --> 00:30:44.120 in places like Antioch, 00:30:44.540 --> 00:30:46.060 diversity was not a value 00:30:46.060 --> 00:30:46.980 that people cared about. 00:30:48.100 --> 00:30:48.259 You know, 00:30:48.300 --> 00:30:50.240 diversity was not a thing. 00:30:51.040 --> 00:30:51.180 You know, 00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:52.340 nobody started a church 00:30:52.340 --> 00:30:53.880 in the Greco-Roman world 00:30:53.880 --> 00:30:54.240 and said, 00:30:54.300 --> 00:30:54.420 you know, 00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:55.880 one of our main vision goals 00:30:55.880 --> 00:30:57.480 is to be diverse and multi-ethnic. 00:30:58.000 --> 00:30:59.580 That just didn't happen anywhere. 00:30:59.579 --> 00:31:01.159 Nobody cared about it, 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:01.519 right? 00:31:02.099 --> 00:31:02.619 And in fact, 00:31:02.659 --> 00:31:03.099 they would have thought 00:31:03.099 --> 00:31:04.439 that was odd and weird. 00:31:04.980 --> 00:31:05.619 And so that's why 00:31:05.619 --> 00:31:06.839 it's so striking to see 00:31:06.839 --> 00:31:07.659 that the early church 00:31:07.659 --> 00:31:08.939 was incredibly diverse. 00:31:09.159 --> 00:31:10.299 It never would have occurred 00:31:10.299 --> 00:31:11.480 to the earliest Christians 00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:13.079 to build a multi-ethnic church. 00:31:13.279 --> 00:31:14.240 The only reason 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:15.299 that it became multi-ethnic 00:31:15.299 --> 00:31:16.679 is because God kept 00:31:16.679 --> 00:31:18.119 inconveniently converting 00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:18.899 the wrong people. 00:31:20.299 --> 00:31:20.559 I mean, 00:31:20.599 --> 00:31:21.319 isn't that crazy? 00:31:21.639 --> 00:31:21.779 You know, 00:31:21.819 --> 00:31:22.980 God converts Simeon, 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:23.939 who's a black African. 00:31:24.099 --> 00:31:25.579 He converts Saul, 00:31:25.659 --> 00:31:26.199 who's one of the greatest 00:31:26.199 --> 00:31:27.779 persecutors of Christianity 00:31:27.779 --> 00:31:28.599 in existence. 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:29.960 He converts Cornelius 00:31:29.960 --> 00:31:32.019 and his entire Gentile family. 00:31:32.259 --> 00:31:33.000 He converts all 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:33.879 of the wrong people. 00:31:34.139 --> 00:31:35.180 And so all of these people 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:36.180 start showing up 00:31:36.180 --> 00:31:36.879 to the apostles 00:31:36.879 --> 00:31:37.279 and saying, 00:31:37.559 --> 00:31:38.339 I believe in Jesus, 00:31:38.599 --> 00:31:39.480 I've been forgiven, 00:31:39.720 --> 00:31:40.839 and I have the Holy Spirit. 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:42.240 And they're scratching their heads 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:42.359 like, 00:31:42.460 --> 00:31:42.819 what do we do 00:31:42.819 --> 00:31:43.460 with all these people? 00:31:44.740 --> 00:31:44.899 You know, 00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:46.160 most of the epistles, 00:31:46.359 --> 00:31:47.160 when they're talking about race, 00:31:47.220 --> 00:31:48.339 they're talking about this issue. 00:31:49.180 --> 00:31:49.740 Christians kind of 00:31:49.740 --> 00:31:50.299 scratching their heads 00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:50.460 and saying, 00:31:50.539 --> 00:31:51.059 oh my gosh, 00:31:52.099 --> 00:31:53.500 we didn't care about diversity, 00:31:54.299 --> 00:31:56.119 but it's clear that God does. 00:31:56.119 --> 00:31:58.559 So now we have to figure out 00:31:58.559 --> 00:31:58.939 what to do. 00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:00.299 So they're problem solving. 00:32:00.719 --> 00:32:02.419 I think that's absolutely beautiful. 00:32:02.959 --> 00:32:03.079 Right? 00:32:03.399 --> 00:32:04.859 So even though no one in the world 00:32:04.859 --> 00:32:05.619 cared about diversity, 00:32:05.719 --> 00:32:06.939 it was obvious that God did. 00:32:07.539 --> 00:32:08.639 And quite frankly, 00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:10.959 the only reason 00:32:10.959 --> 00:32:12.419 anyone in society today 00:32:12.419 --> 00:32:13.419 cares about diversity 00:32:13.419 --> 00:32:15.219 is because the Enlightenment 00:32:15.219 --> 00:32:16.079 stole the clothes 00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:16.639 off Christianity. 00:32:18.119 --> 00:32:20.099 I will go to my grave 00:32:20.099 --> 00:32:21.000 making that claim. 00:32:21.939 --> 00:32:23.859 So Paul drives this point home 00:32:23.859 --> 00:32:25.019 in several of his epistles. 00:32:25.019 --> 00:32:27.480 including Galatians. 00:32:28.339 --> 00:32:28.839 And the gospel 00:32:28.839 --> 00:32:30.160 not only removes 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:31.299 the barrier of sin 00:32:31.299 --> 00:32:32.460 between us and God, 00:32:32.660 --> 00:32:33.279 but it removes 00:32:33.279 --> 00:32:34.220 all of the barriers 00:32:34.220 --> 00:32:35.440 between us and other people. 00:32:35.559 --> 00:32:35.720 I mean, 00:32:35.799 --> 00:32:36.639 in Ephesians 3, 00:32:37.019 --> 00:32:37.779 Paul actually says 00:32:37.779 --> 00:32:38.759 that racial diversity 00:32:38.759 --> 00:32:39.480 in the church 00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:41.920 is what manifests 00:32:41.920 --> 00:32:43.319 the wisdom of God 00:32:43.319 --> 00:32:43.839 to the world. 00:32:44.660 --> 00:32:45.099 In other words, 00:32:45.139 --> 00:32:45.639 when you see 00:32:45.639 --> 00:32:46.960 a multi-ethnic church, 00:32:47.059 --> 00:32:47.680 especially in the 00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:48.519 Greco-Roman world, 00:32:48.799 --> 00:32:49.599 that is putting 00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:50.559 the manifold wisdom 00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:51.359 of God on display. 00:32:51.500 --> 00:32:52.480 That's what people look at 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:52.799 and they say, 00:32:52.900 --> 00:32:54.039 that must be supernatural. 00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:57.379 And Christians are, 00:32:57.500 --> 00:32:58.159 by definition, 00:32:58.659 --> 00:32:59.659 ministers of reconciliation. 00:33:00.899 --> 00:33:02.059 So I believe 00:33:02.059 --> 00:33:03.099 that part of our calling 00:33:03.099 --> 00:33:04.079 here in D.C. 00:33:04.119 --> 00:33:05.659 is to actively build 00:33:05.659 --> 00:33:07.779 a more multi-ethnic community 00:33:07.779 --> 00:33:08.420 that reflects 00:33:08.420 --> 00:33:08.980 the great 00:33:08.980 --> 00:33:10.039 and the beautiful 00:33:10.039 --> 00:33:10.559 diversity 00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:12.079 of D.C. 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:14.000 Not because diversity 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:15.480 is a badge 00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:16.619 to use 00:33:16.619 --> 00:33:17.839 to build our brand, 00:33:17.839 --> 00:33:19.459 but because 00:33:19.459 --> 00:33:20.679 God's vision 00:33:20.679 --> 00:33:21.459 for humanity 00:33:21.459 --> 00:33:23.059 is one worldwide 00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:24.459 multi-ethnic family 00:33:24.459 --> 00:33:25.699 in Christ. 00:33:26.379 --> 00:33:27.079 And if we want 00:33:27.079 --> 00:33:27.500 to be aligned 00:33:27.500 --> 00:33:28.039 with his heart 00:33:28.039 --> 00:33:28.559 and his vision, 00:33:28.639 --> 00:33:29.079 that's got to be 00:33:29.079 --> 00:33:29.699 our vision too. 00:33:30.740 --> 00:33:31.619 And so this is going 00:33:31.619 --> 00:33:32.500 to require us 00:33:32.500 --> 00:33:33.220 to change 00:33:33.220 --> 00:33:33.699 and it's going 00:33:33.699 --> 00:33:34.179 to require 00:33:34.179 --> 00:33:34.759 that we all 00:33:34.759 --> 00:33:35.119 be willing 00:33:35.119 --> 00:33:35.599 to embrace 00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:36.079 a kind of 00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:36.919 holy discomfort. 00:33:38.199 --> 00:33:38.839 It's not going 00:33:38.839 --> 00:33:39.279 to be easy. 00:33:40.159 --> 00:33:40.299 You know, 00:33:40.339 --> 00:33:40.779 praise God, 00:33:40.899 --> 00:33:42.119 I have a growing 00:33:42.119 --> 00:33:43.119 network 00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:45.000 of African-American pastors 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:45.539 who are willing 00:33:45.539 --> 00:33:46.279 to be my friend, 00:33:46.279 --> 00:33:47.700 willing to put up 00:33:47.700 --> 00:33:49.039 with my stupid questions 00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:50.160 and my ignorance, 00:33:50.779 --> 00:33:51.319 willing to let me 00:33:51.319 --> 00:33:51.920 learn from them. 00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:52.700 You know, 00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:53.200 praise God, 00:33:53.259 --> 00:33:54.899 we have this small group 00:33:54.899 --> 00:33:56.399 called Race in the Gospel 00:33:56.399 --> 00:33:57.879 that is focused 00:33:57.879 --> 00:33:58.759 on exploring 00:33:58.759 --> 00:33:59.960 these questions 00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:00.839 on behalf 00:34:00.839 --> 00:34:01.500 of our church. 00:34:02.139 --> 00:34:02.740 Praise God, 00:34:02.799 --> 00:34:02.960 we're going 00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:03.440 to be starting 00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:04.539 this three-year cohort 00:34:04.539 --> 00:34:05.240 with the Institute 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:06.299 for Cross-Cultural Missions 00:34:06.299 --> 00:34:07.480 this summer. 00:34:07.599 --> 00:34:08.079 Some of us 00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:08.960 as representatives 00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:09.639 of the church, 00:34:09.759 --> 00:34:09.900 you know, 00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:10.779 these are not 00:34:10.779 --> 00:34:11.300 disconnected, 00:34:11.480 --> 00:34:12.000 disparate things. 00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:13.019 All of these things 00:34:13.019 --> 00:34:13.900 that we're doing now 00:34:13.900 --> 00:34:15.539 are part of our preparation 00:34:15.539 --> 00:34:16.480 to make some 00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:17.599 significant changes 00:34:17.599 --> 00:34:18.400 to the way we go 00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:19.099 about building 00:34:19.099 --> 00:34:20.880 gospel-centered communities 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:21.360 in the city, 00:34:21.719 --> 00:34:23.519 which is our mission. 00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:25.139 Because I believe 00:34:25.139 --> 00:34:26.059 that part of what it means 00:34:26.059 --> 00:34:27.059 to be gospel-centered 00:34:27.059 --> 00:34:29.000 is to be multi-ethnic. 00:34:31.019 --> 00:34:31.279 And you know, 00:34:31.340 --> 00:34:32.139 Martin Luther King Jr. 00:34:32.300 --> 00:34:33.400 was murdered, 00:34:33.519 --> 00:34:34.719 he was assassinated 00:34:34.719 --> 00:34:35.900 because of this dream. 00:34:37.500 --> 00:34:38.079 And yet, 00:34:38.199 --> 00:34:38.719 praise God, 00:34:38.779 --> 00:34:39.300 the dream 00:34:39.300 --> 00:34:40.679 is still alive 00:34:40.679 --> 00:34:41.559 and well. 00:34:41.679 --> 00:34:42.279 And the reason 00:34:42.279 --> 00:34:42.860 for that 00:34:42.860 --> 00:34:44.760 is because God 00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:45.380 is the one 00:34:45.380 --> 00:34:46.640 who dreamed it first. 00:34:47.900 --> 00:34:49.800 And only by His grace 00:34:49.800 --> 00:34:51.599 will any of this 00:34:51.599 --> 00:34:52.480 come to be 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:54.260 so that there will be 00:34:54.260 --> 00:34:55.140 no question 00:34:55.140 --> 00:34:56.620 who gets the glory. 00:34:57.280 --> 00:34:58.700 And it's in the name 00:34:58.700 --> 00:34:59.480 and the glory 00:34:59.480 --> 00:35:00.420 and the hope 00:35:00.420 --> 00:35:01.840 and the promise 00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:03.440 of Jesus Christ 00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:05.019 that we say 00:35:05.019 --> 00:35:06.120 all of these things. 00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:08.200 And it's in His power. 00:35:08.200 --> 00:35:09.700 Amen.