{"id":31323,"date":"2022-09-10T15:25:50","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-actions-to-take-when-you-dont-know-how-to-approach-race\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:25:50","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:25:50","slug":"3-actions-to-take-when-you-dont-know-how-to-approach-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-actions-to-take-when-you-dont-know-how-to-approach-race\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Actions to Take When You Don’t Know How to Approach Race"},"content":{"rendered":"
Christina photo – Unsplash <\/p>\n

By Mark Dance<\/em><\/p>\n

Can I be honest and admit that I\u2019m never sure what to say or do when cultural chaos ensues? I don\u2019t typically shake my fist or point my finger at every news update, but when sinful, systemic racism and\/or injustice takes center stage, men and women of God need to speak up and reach out, even when we’re not sure what to say or do.<\/p>\n

When any injustice takes place, we need to be good and angry. Several inexcusable racial injustices have taken place in recent weeks against black people, and my black friends don\u2019t exactly know what to say or do either.<\/p>\n

I certainly don\u2019t have all of the answers, but I do have a couple of ways pastors can be salt and light in these dark days.<\/p>\n

1. Reach out<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I want to briefly elaborate on a post that I shared recently on Facebook and Twitter:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no simple solutions for the racial injustice and hatred that plagues our nation. God\u2019s solution to Peter\u2019s racism was sharing a meal and baptisms w\/ the family of a Roman soldier in his home (Acts 10). Soon afterwards he stood up for Gentiles in the public square (Acts 11).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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My point was that interracial friendships are clearly a priority to God, and should also be to us. When Peter walked into that centurion\u2019s house and spent the night, he broke down a racial and cultural barrier that would be difficult to overstate.<\/p>\n

In the next chapter Peter was forced to defend his actions. And when he took a stand for Gentiles, all heaven broke loose and the kingdom expanded.<\/p>\n

Social and racial justice for people of color is more than a court issue; it’s also a church issue and a gospel issue, which makes it a pastor issue. For me, it’s also a friend issue.<\/p>\n

Our best friends in Nashville are black, and we miss them terribly since we moved to Tulsa in January. Nobody has been in our home\u2014or our lives\u2014more than them in the last five years.<\/p>\n

When is the last time you shared your home, a meal, or a pew with someone who doesn\u2019t look like you?<\/p>\n

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See also  Is It \u2018Ministry Failure\u2019 To See a Counselor?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2. Speak up<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Although I got several \u201clikes\u201d from my white friends on that little post, I got mostly crickets from a normally chatty tribe. By contrast, this response is from one of my black pastor friends:<\/p>\n

\u201cHow we need that today\u2014someone other than us to stand up for us! Good word bro.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Racism and injustice should make us sick enough to talk about on Sunday mornings, as well as between Sundays. The gospel is always good news, but it seems to shine brighter in contrast to bad news.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t remember a spring that packed more bad news than this one. The gospel is still good news of great joy for all people. Jesus is the only real solution to all of our sin problems\u2014including racism.<\/p>\n

3. Repent<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When I\u2019m not sure what to say, I usually don\u2019t say anything, which normally is a good thing. For a white pastor like myself to say or do nothing in light of recent events seems lame at best, and sinful at worst.<\/p>\n

Although sometimes our silence is ministry malpractice\u2014angry tweets, posts, and sermons are hardly helpful.<\/p>\n

Speak the truth in love or simply shut up.<\/p>\n

If God has arrested you for the sin of apathy, silence, or even prejudice, don\u2019t wallow in that sin\u2014repent of it. Turn away from that sin to Jesus for forgiveness.<\/p>\n

Then, turn to your neighbors and invite them over for dinner.<\/p>\n

MARK DANCE (@markdance)<\/strong> speaks at churches, conferences, and retreats\u2014often with his wife Janet. Mark has contributed to several books and offers weekly encouragement at MarkDance.net. He\u2019s currently serving as director of pastoral development for the Oklahoma Baptist Convention.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Dig Deeper at Lifeway.com<\/div>\n
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Advocates: The Narrow Path to Racial Reconciliation<\/h2>\n

Dhati Lewis<\/p>\n

FIND OUT MORE <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Related posts:<\/h3>\n
Most Pastors See Racial Diversity in the Church as a Goal but Not Reality What Do Pastors Believe About the End Times? What Do Pastors Believe About the Book of Revelation? 3 Ways to Reach Non-Religious People in Your Community <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christina photo – Unsplash By Mark Dance Can I be honest and admit that I\u2019m never sure what to say or do when cultural chaos ensues? I don\u2019t typically shake my fist or point my finger at every news update, but when sinful, systemic racism and\/or injustice takes center stage, men and women of God … Continue reading “3 Actions to Take When You Don’t Know How to Approach Race”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31323\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}