A Friend’s Letter to His Pastor and Church after George Floyd Was Murdered (second half)
Continued from yesterday’s blog:
Here it is. Racism, alive and well at the highest level of the church. On your board.
George Floyd was someone’s son, a father to five children, a grandfather and most importantly, he was loved by Jesus.
There are so many people in the world who are hurt and suffering and many in our own community. Our job as Christ followers is to love and to serve. We don’t care if the person is black, white, bi, trans, disabled or female. Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. People are inherently selfish, so loving someone like one loves oneself is a ton of love! Or in Matthew’s words, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”- Matthew 5:43-47
But this is not what we are hearing. You told us that “Jesus is the answer” and your job is to “preach the gospel,” but WE are the body of Christ. Jesus’ disciples didn’t stand around and wait for people to come to them, they went out and lived the good news. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” - James 1:22 “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” - James 4:17
“We only have one black person at our church,” you said, ignoring the fact that one of us sitting before you has two black daughters. “I don’t know what else you wanted us to do. We don’t think we needed to say any more than we did. We did an instagram video the next day and said a prayer at church.”
You want to know why we don’t have more black people at our church? Look at the black woman who had previously visited who commented on that very post.
@________ “As a black woman, I think reaching out to the black community and inviting them to your events and to church services can be a start. I have been to services and not many members speak to me or try to even build friendships because they stay where they feel comfortable. That was one of the main reasons I felt out of place at church and left immediately after services when my family attended. Thank you for addressing these issues and I hope you take more steps to ensure the changes are more than a post.”
@__________ “We’re very sorry you did not feel a part of the community. We really believe every person matters and we’ll endeavor to do better in the future.”
Much like the white supremacist pastors MLK wrote to, you aren’t listening. This is what we’ve been trying to tell you. Others have been telling you the same thing.
Every house is not on fire! This is the entire purpose of the Black Lives Matter message. BLM isn’t a message that needs to be repeated by black people. It’s a message that must be repeated by white people TO white people. White people have the power to perpetuate the sin and white people have the power to stop it. In the words of pastor Matt Chandler, “By refusing to participate we have turned over our inheritance to dark ideologies. You cannot point out all the flaws in this current movement when you’ve abandoned the place we were meant to play . . . and ignore the sorrow and lament of 12-13 million image bearers in our country.”
Instead of acknowledging our true role as believers, your Board member then said, “It’s black people who are killing black people. And what white people don’t want to accept is that real racism is that brown people hate white people.”
At that point, we got up and left.
This is our ask:
Make your actions match your words or as John 13:15 says, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." If you are going to say our church mission is “to live and love like Jesus” then you as the leaders should be front and center living and loving like Jesus. Saint Teresa of Avila used more specific words, “Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now."
There is a huge disconnect between your words and actions. Every Sunday we hear you say, “Our primary goal is to raise up a faith family to love Jesus and live like Him.” This is __________’s motto. Yet, with what we heard from your board member, this doesn’t appear to be what you and the church leadership stand for. Jesus would be at the protest loving people. Jesus would be proclaiming the words Black Lives Matter. Jesus would never have allowed one of his disciples to speak about George Floyd like __________’s board member spoke about him.
You not speaking out when the Board member made those comments was your tacit approval. Your silence was a betrayal of every Jesus follower and of Christ’s message itself.
We know it’s difficult. We know it requires you to step out of your comfort zone and become true leaders; leaders that James 3:1 points out will be “judged with greater strictness.” We know not everyone will agree. We know some people will leave your congregation if you do. But that is your job as a pastor. Stand in front of the church and say the words. As I tell my kids, loud and proud. Black Lives Matter.
And kick the racist off the board.
Sincerely,
___________________________
