A letter to Greenbriar Church from our elders
Basic March 20, 2016

In light of the tragic news of the unjust killing of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, we want to share with our church body five ways to Biblically process these events. Among other things these events have reopened a door for all of us to consider the role prejudice can play in our relationships with others as well as how we can step into this conversation (see Acts 15 as an example).  

 

From the start, we want to encourage you, as a follower of Jesus, to lay down your presuppositions about any isolated matter concerning these two men. We have observed that anytime something like this occurs, some people will be tempted to disprove everything surrounding the case that would seem to put guilt back on their own head.  

 

For the believer our emotional response to any news is like a gauge on the dashboard of our heart.  This is understandable because the human heart is always striving for justification in this life – praise God that we have justification through Jesus and not our own arguments and our own righteousness.  Through the Holy Spirit’s work, God is able to use that gauge to graciously reveal the sin in our hearts (Hebrews 12:1-2).  As we humbly work through these heart issues, God blesses us with an ability to engage in a life with others propelled by a Christ honoring, gospel focused compassion (Matthew 7:1-7).  

 

Here is the problem: Unjust killings, especially those of black men and women, have destroyed what little faith many of our black brothers and sisters have that American justice is for them. And it becomes difficult for them to express with words when many people don’t want to hear or ask about their story. Our African American brothers and sisters have been facing racism and oppression for many, many years. Even if you can point to this or that case in which a person of color was legally and justly arrested or even harmed, you can’t ignore the truth that throughout history sin is easily manifested through favoritism and prejudice (James 2:1-13).  Many people of color have experienced and continue to experience tumultuous, heartbreaking, social prejudice and injustices in their daily lives. We are not just speaking to isolated cases, but we are speaking to an overall history of human beings who have faced and still face the effects of the sin of partiality and favoritism which has helped lead to much of the racism and trauma we see today.

 

Please do not hear us say what we are not saying or what you may be worried that we could be saying: we, as your elders, do not believe that only white people can be bigoted or racist; we do not believe that our law enforcement officers are absolutely or even generally corrupt; we do not believe that looting and engaging in violence is excusable.

 

Nevertheless, the sins of others, and the personal and at times social impacts of others regarding such sins, doesn’t excuse us from our responsibility to address our own sin and our need for repentance and holiness.

 

 Here are five ways we believe will help you think through racism today:

 

  1.     Love Truth

 

If, as Christians, we aren’t careful, we will tie ourselves to sources of news that are not good news; instead, our news sources become social media, influential people, articles, mainstream news, or our own fleshly thoughts. 

 

The Bible is our primary and ultimate source of truth and life. What does it say to us right now?

 

  •     Murder is sin. (Exodus 20:13)

 

  •     Favoritism, Partiality, Pre-Judgement, or Racism is sin. (James 2:1, Galatians 3:28-29, 1 John 2:11, 3:15)

 

  •     All people are created in the image and likeness of God. (Genesis 1:26-27).

 

  •     Because of the cross, disciples of Jesus from all nations, tribes, and tongues can be seen not only as sons and daughters of God but also as brothers and sisters in Christ (Galatians 3:28-29; Romans 8:12-17; Revelation 7:9). 

 

  •     Jesus stated that his disciples (many who came from diverse professions, experiences, and values) would be known by their love for one another (John 13:35). Part of what serves as a means to help the world see Jesus is the unique cultures and experiences of His followers working together (Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 12:14).

 

Injustices, like what happened to George Floyd, and the impact this has on the hearts and minds of people, especially those in the African American community, is not anything new.  The truth is that our black brothers and sisters have been hurting for a long time.  Every time they see a person of color killed unjustly, especially at the hands of law enforcement (who are meant to be agents of justice), it causes severe pain and anguish. To add to their pain is the anxiety-ridden internal question, “Who is next? Someone I love…a family member…me?”

 

This is their reality.

 

It is true that racism is a two-way street.  At the same time we must recognize the truth that grace is also a two-way street. Witnesses of Jesus respond as commanded in Scripture in humility and love (Romans 12:9-21), speaking the truth about injustice with both boldness and meekness as Paul did in Acts 16:35-40. 

 

Here is a great short article on racism from Kevin Deyoung, “Ten Reasons Racism is Sin.”

 

  1.     Look Inside 

 

When times like these are upon us, our temptation is to look away, not look inside. 

 

We will look for loopholes to get out of looking at our own hearts. Here is what that sounds like, “Let’s wait to see the evidence,” “What was he doing in the first place?” “Let’s see what the toxicology report reveals.”

 

As followers of Jesus, we must slow down to look inside and not use loopholes to look away. It is helpful to ask tough questions of ourselves: Do I show favoritism or partiality? Am I prejudiced? Am I indifferent? Do I have compassion for my fellow man? Even if the person in question is guilty of breaking a law, am I to withhold compassion and a desire for mercy for the law-breaker, even as justice is served? Who did Jesus come to save? Any Christian who has taken part in prison ministry understands this.

 

David prays this way, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Ps 139:23–24.  We would be wise to follow his pattern of prayer as we look inside our hearts.  

 

Here is a helpful article from The Village Church, “Is racism really sin?”

 

  1.     Lament

 

What does it mean to lament? It means to mourn, to weep, to be broken over tragedy, disaster and sin. This is the same groaning that the natural creation takes part in, under the terrible and terrifying pain and torture that sin brings with it.

 

Lamenting means to hate sin and what comes with it, crying out for relief and rescue.

 

Instead of using up all our emotional energy on thousands of articles and pictures each day via emails, social media, television, etc., let’s use it by engaging emotionally through genuine friendships with others. It would do all of us good to refrain from social media for a while and let our brains rest from the dopamine hits that equalize every event our eyes look at. 

 

When tragedies occur, we need to stop, consider, empathize, and finally lament over the fallen world we live in and how it is clear that sin still exists – not just the sin of others, but our own sins. 

 

We lament FOR others who hurt; not look for loopholes.

 

We lament WITH others who hurt; if you have no friends to lament with, that should be both a gut check and an encouragement to prayerfully seek out someone you could lament with. 

 

We lament OVER our own sin, idols, and indifference. 

 

Here is a great article on lamenting from Desiring God, “Dare to Hope in God.”

 

  1.     Listen

 

James says it best, “let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;” (James 1:19). 

 

I (Tim) went to an Acts 29 conference a few years ago where a panel of African American men came together to answer questions about what it was like growing up and what they faced in our country. (You can watch it here.) All of these men were pastors and spoke with a Biblical worldview. 

 

It didn’t take long for me to realize I had no idea what many black men go through growing up. 

                                    

For the first time, I listened. I was convicted. I had empathy. I even lamented. 

 

Let’s listen to what our African American brothers and sisters have to say. This takes humility and boldness. It leads to empathy and unity. 

 

If you have no African American friends, then maybe going back to point 2 would help. 

 

  1.     Love your Neighbor 

 

We start with love and end with love. 

 

We love our neighbor because we love truth. 

 

Have you ever considered why God says for us to love our neighbor and not simply love others? Neighbors are close. Neighbors are people we can actually interact with face to face. We can know them. We can love them with our actions much easier because of our close proximity. 

 

Maybe it’s time to make our own communities our primary focus where we can have direct, face to face contact with those who are hurting, those in need and those who we can actually help. 

 

Jesus is the prime example of this. He came close. He left the comforts and glory of Heaven to come close to us, to save us. He did for us what we could not do.  He is the ultimate neighbor who came not to be served but to serve. 

 

He was just. He was innocent. He was victimized. The unjust nailed the One who is just to a cross. 

 

Here’s the kicker: we are all the unjust. No matter your race, you played a role in the greatest injustice ever.

 

Yet, through this injustice, through His suffering, Christ died in our place that we should be liberated, set free from sin and death (Luke 4:18-19).

 

Jesus served us in the way we all (black, white, red, yellow, ALL) should serve one another – with love and humility.  

 

How can I love my neighbor (especially a neighbor of color) right now?

 

  •     Call or text a friend. Ask how he/she is doing.

 

  •     Pray with and pray for your neighbors who are suffering.

 

  •     Pay a visit to your neighbor. Listen. Be slow to speak and quick to listen. 

 

  •     Be generous to your neighbor. Give them a gift, send flowers, write them a hand-written note. Find out what their needs are and attempt to meet them. 

 

In conclusion, and for our white partners in particular: none of you should feel white guilt. There’s no sin attached to your skin color, just as there’s no sin attached to other skin colors.

 

We HAVE made progress over the last few decades toward racial unity and equality. Many of our African American brothers and sisters simply want us to know that news like the events that recently happened affects them deeply….as deeply as if that person was their own family.  Many of them simply need an ear to listen, empathize, and be a voice of truth to our world. We can do that!

 

If you would like to process any of this further, please reach out to your shepherding elder or take time to talk through these things with your missional community.  We are praying for you and are grateful for the opportunity to walk through this with you as we all seek to bring glory to God in this situation and all of life. 

 

We love you,

 

Greenbriar Church Elders

Tim Bice

John Schroeder

Chris Baker

Brandon Bryan

David Goodson