if you have a Bible and I hope you do let me invite you to open with me to Amos the Book of Amos chapter 5 and while you're turning there I just need to say that I don't deserve to be standing before you on so many different levels as a pastor there are so many pastors I respect who are such better pastors that I am men who have shaped my life heroes of mine who are serving in small churches that you would not recognize and likely never will recognize but God knows them and God knows how indebted I am to them I just just overwhelming and don't deserve to be standing here among this group of pastors and I particularly don't deserve to be standing here on this topic so I have titled this session let justice roll down like waters racism and our need for repentance and I need to say from the start that I have failed to act as I ought on the issue of racism and God has opened my eyes to blind spots in my life and in my leadership or lack thereof in the church on this issue God has revealed sinfulness to me that I had not seen in me he has shown me things that I will say tonight that I might have been offended by before and now I'm wondering why in the world I haven't seen and said these things so all of this to say I'm preaching tonight out of the overflow of my weakness in so many ways and as a result I would just like to ask for an extra measure of grace from you I know that amidst over 12,000 people many of whom are pastors with over 12,000 opinions any word I say tonight can go in over 12,000 different directions and that doesn't even include people listening online on this particular topic I feel like there are landmines everywhere which is why I'll try to make a variety of caveats along the way but even still I know there's opportunity to offend white people black people people of a variety of ethnicities some people are already offended that I'm even differentiating between different colors of people as I prepared for this both tonight and when I preached a similar message in the church I pastor in Washington DC I sent a draft to different pastors and church members both inside and outside the church to get counsel and I received much helpful feedback the only problem is that their feedback was contradictory some are like leave this take that out others say and leave that take this out so so I'm just asking for grace one because I know that it's really easy for my words to be taken out of context and a talk like this I know it's possible for you to tune out at one point back in a few minutes later if you missed what's in the middle you might misunderstand the whole point and to just because I have a lot to learn I do not presume to come to this topic with everything figured out so I'm just asking for extra grace from God and from you in fact I'd like to pray toward that end for me and for for us so will you pray with me Oh God we need you so we just sung we need to hear from you we as your people in a sinful world have blind spots that we cannot see on our own and I fear that I that we often don't really want to see them so god we need your word and your spirit to help us see think about my Bible reading recently in Matthew 13 is you described a people whose hearts were hard and they couldn't see God I pray for soft hearts in this room I pray for my own heart I pray for hearts across this room to be soft I pray O God that you would help us to hear your word and to see our world as you see it you alone are wise on this issue we are not for any of us who think we have this issue figured out we pray that you would strike down our pride tonight because we don't have it figured out none of us does but you do so we want to hear from you and we want to act according to your word I pray O God that you would use us and our churches to show your justice in the world around us in Jesus name we pray amen so Amos chapter 5 verse 18 this is the word of God woe to you who desire the day of the Lord why would you have the day of the Lord it is darkness and not light as if a man fled from a lion and a bear met him I went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall and a serpent bit him it's not the day of the Lord darkness and not light and gloom with no brightness in it I hate I despise your feasts and I take no delight in your solemn assembly even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings I will not accept them and the peace offerings of your fat and animals I will not look upon them take away from me the noise of your songs to the melody your harps I will not listen but let justice roll down like waters righteousness like an ever-flowing stream did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the 40 years in the wilderness o house of Israel you shall take up sick as your king and cayenne your star God your images that you made for yourselves I will send you into exile beyond Damascus says the Lord whose name is the God of hosts I mean if you may know that verse 24 was quoted repeatedly by Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement but let's start where we should by looking at the meaning of this text so this section of Amos is divided grammatically into three parts each of which gives us a glimpse into the state of God's people during the reign of Jeroboam ii about fifty years before the northern kingdom of israel would be taken into exile and god uses this shepherd from Tekoa to indict his people on three primary offences one they were eagerly anticipating future salvation while they were conveniently denying present sin they were eagerly anticipating future salvation while they were conveniently denying present sin woe to you who desire the day of the Lord you desire it why in the world Amos asked would you desire it this day when God's people believed that he would come to judge all those who have turned from him to save all those who trust in him which was right that was and is that day of the Lord the day that ushers in the defeat of God's enemies and the deliverance of God's friends but the mistake of God's people was thinking that they were God's friends in this text amos says you're not in good standing with God you think you will be safe on that day but you will not you're like a man fleeing from a lion and you think you're okay but you're about to meet a bear you're like someone running from danger into their home shutting the door behind leaning up against the wall with a sigh of relief as a snake slithers out of the wall and strikes you dead you're not safe amos says when you're denying sin and denying is exactly what they were doing you look in the next section you see the burnt offering the grain offering and the peace offering you see no mention of the sin offering they were willfully denying their sin while anticipating their salvation this is a frightening passage that shows how possible it is to anticipate salvation for your life tomorrow while turning a blind eye to sin in your life today mark it down the devil is a deceiver and he delights in blinding our eyes and our minds and our hearts to sin in us and sin around us amos says your sight is so off you think light is coming but darkness lies ahead stop eagerly anticipating future salvation while conveniently denying present sin at which point God then speaks in the first person notice how the pronouns shift in verse 21 we don't even have the customary prelude dust says the Lord instead God's address is immediate almost as if he's interrupting his people while they're worshiping him and he says I hate I despised your feasts listen to the language they're yours they're for you they're not for me you're worshiping yourselves with your songs I take no delight in your solemn as for your offerings I will not accept or look upon them these offerings you'll remember from Leviticus we're intended to be a pleasing aroma to the Lord in the original language here God is literally saying I cannot stomach their stench take the noise of your songs away from me I will not listen to your instruments why not verse 24 gives us the answer second indictment they were indulging in worship while they were ignoring injustice God's people were indulging in worship while they were ignoring injustice God's people were quick to gather together to give offerings to sing songs and worship to God above them but they were content to ignore injustice around them and God says I hate it I don't even want to hear it the point of these verses is clear people who truly worship God above them will sacrificially work for justice around them one commentator said justice here would mean fairness for the less fortunate and dignity and compassion for the needy righteousness would include attitudes of mercy and generosity and honest dealings that reflect the character of God Israel was not reflecting God's character and as a result God was rejecting their worship which leads to the last indictment and verses 25 through 27 verses around which there's a good bit of confusion among commentators regarding the details but the overall point is unquestioned a third indictment of God's people in the end of Amos 5 they were carrying on their religion while they were refusing to repent they were carrying on their religion while they were refusing to repent refusing to change in these verses that Stephen later quotes from in Acts chapter 7 the Lord the God of hosts says you're a religious people carrying all kinds of religious activities on but you are refusing to repent of your sin so I will send you into exile don't miss it why were they sent into exile why would they miss the goodness God desired for them because they refused to repent because they denied their sin they ignored injustice and they refused to repent and Mark it down God is not honored our God is not honored by mouths that are quick to sing and hands that are quick to rise in worship when those same mouths are slow to speak and those same hands are slow to work against injustice our God hates worship like that and in this way Amos 5:18 through 27 beckons us to ask the question as pastors of churches of worshiping communities as pastors of people who gather every single week to sing our songs and give our offerings to God above us have we been or are we now slow to speak and work against racial injustice around us now as I ask that question I need to make a couple of caveats one and speaking specifically about racial and justice I'm by no means saying that's the only injustice in the world but it is the injustice I'm applying this text to tonight second more specifically I'm applying this text through the historic and current injustice associated with the white black divide in the United States which is not the only kind of a racial injustice the church I have the honor of serving has over a hundred and six different nations represented in it 106 different ethnicities who face hundreds of unique challenges and pastor Lee I we can't ignore those challenges yet tonight I'm considering particular injustice among white black relationships in our coal so with those caveats I'll ask the question again as pastors of churches worshiping communities who gathered together with our congregations every week to sing our songs and give our offerings to God above us have we been or are we now slow to speak and work against racial injustice around us and I am convinced the answer to that question is a resounding yes in fact about to make a broad statement which I know is dangerous because 12,000 of you have lived 12,000 different lives with 12,000 different experiences but on a whole pastors in America and the churches we lead instead of bridging the racial divide in our country have historically widened and are currently widening the racial divide in our country pastors in America and the churches we lead instead of bridging the racial divide in our country have historically widened and are currently widening the racial divide in our country now I know that's a bold statement but I want to show you in the next few minutes that this is not my opinion this is a fact but at the same time I want to show you this fact does not have to continue I want to show you in the next few minutes if this can change that our churches can be a powerful I would unequivocally say the most powerful impetus for justice in our culture on the issue of race if we will humble ourselves before God and one another and repent and pray and work together for justice in a way that brings great glory to our God this is the heart of Amos 5:20 for this text is different from even other prophetic passages like it think Isaiah 5 7 where God people have virtually no hint of hope here there is hope change is possible but but let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream if we want God to be pleased with our worship with our songs with our instruments in our churches then in what ways might we need to repent and work for racial justice as his people and when I say repent I mean all that repentance involves a change of mind a change of heart a change of will and purpose in a London confession kind of way I mean we must be made to see and feel by the Holy Spirit the manifold evils of sin in ways that humble us with godly sorrow and through faith in Christ and his shed blood to pray for pardon and strength of grace to live and lead differently than we have done in the supplies of God's Spirit and in so doing to show ourselves truly distinct from the world in ways that we currently are not so with a view toward repentance I offer six exportations to us that I believe we need to hear and heed if we are going to work for racial justice and the time and place in which God has put us based on Amos 5 and other parts of God's Word number one I want to exhort us to look at the reality of racism look at open our eyes to the reality of racism now I am tempted was tempted in preparing this I'm tempted even now not to use the word racism because I know what comes into most people's minds particularly white people's minds when we hear the word racism we immediately think of the extreme we hear the word racist and we immediately think of a white supremacist marching in Charlottesville or a Klan member marching on the streets of in 1960 and we think I'm not a white supremacist so I'm not racist in fact many white people think very few people are racist we can even start to believe that racism is not really a problem today it's just the extremes individually we don't think we have any prejudice against someone because of their ethnicity we think even say that we're colorblind that it doesn't matter to us if someone is black or white when the reality is it does matter in our culture today whether someone is black or white it does matter and we need to realize it matters let me offer another important caveat here that pertains to the term terms race and ethnicity I would prefer to talk in terms of ethnicity not race based on the Bible I assume we all would because we look at when we look in the Bible from the beginning we only have one race of people ask the question what race were Adam and Eve and what's the answer going to be the human race now some might wonder what color was their skin as if that mattered at all doesn't matter which is why the Bible doesn't tell us what color their skin was now in most picture Bibles in the West we painted a portrait of a white Adam and Eve but we have no basis for that assumption for all we know they could have been any color or different colors if anything genetics points to the greater probability that they had darker skin which is the dominant gene and skin color the point is God's Word never equates membership in the human race with skin tone whatever color Adam and Eve were and their children were they contained in them a DNA designed by God that would eventually develop into a multicolored family across a multicultural world and in this way God's Word teaches the regardless of the color of our skin we all have this same roots we're all part of the same race which is why the term race is unhelpful because it actually undercuts this created unity before God and it's why any sense of racial hierarchy or inequality including that which is marked our country's history based on skin color any concept of racism goes correctly against the design of God it is sinful to the core and regardless of what has been said or not said in political statements over the last year we know that the Bible beckons every pastor in this room and every Christian in our churches to speak with crystal-clear clarity on the equality and dignity of all people of all colors from all countries which which is why it would be preferable to use the term ethnicity because the Bible uses that term in good ways but in this sinful world we differentiate according to supposed race and for this reason we must look at the reality of racism and when I use that term I'm not just referring to the extremes that we often think of extremes that help us particularly those of us who are wide distance ourselves from racism well I'm using that term I'm referring to him so here's the definition I'm using a system could be individual could be institutional could be society societal a system in which race and specifically as we're talking tonight black or white skin color profoundly affects people's economic political and social experiences a system in which race is significant enough to be regularly acknowledged and mentioned a system of thought practice that is ever subtly present among us in me just just think on the most not extremely just on the most simple practical level why is it that I would say that Arthur Price is an african-american pastor in Birmingham instead of just saying that he is a pastor in Birmingham I've never introduced John MacArthur as a Caucasian American pastor he's just a pastor so we're not talking here about blunt prejudice or individual animosity alone like and we're not just talking about the past either we're looking at the reality of racism now today and this is so important because when we look back in American history and some maybe many people especially white people wonder aren't we past this like yes slavery was wrong but slavery is gone and has been for decades but the reality is we could have said that in 1955 but we all know that racism was alive and well right so likewise we could say today okay but everybody uses the same water fountains now and we can all sit on the bus wherever we want which is true we need to pause and praise God that those things have changed I praise God for pastors in this room and people in our church is white black and otherwise who have worked in different ways to change these realities in our country over the last 50 years praise God these are not realities anymore but just because these realities are no longer true does not mean racism is gone so let me paint a picture of our country with an admittedly broad stroke so I'm not talking about any specific city or community here but the reality is the facts are some of these facts come from a helpful book called / faith which is in the bookstore but the facts are black Americans are much more likely to be unemployed than white Americans the current ratio of two unemployed black people for every one unemployed white person has held pretty constant since 1950 income inequality between white and black people is close to 50% worse wider today than it was 40 years ago African American babies died at a rate over twice the frequency of white babies african-american mothers are four times more likely to die in childbirth than white American mothers young african-american males are six times more likely to be murdered than our young white American males we've all heard the black/white disparities in the criminal justice system that have been highlighted over recent years you put it all together you look at every study there is and you will see that white Americans are far more likely than black Americans to get a quality education to have a high paying job and to live in a more affluent neighborhood with less crime now I obviously need to stop here and make a couple of caveats one I mentioned this is a broad stroke the last thing I'm trying to do is equate black with poor and uneducated I trust we all know that it's not the case one of my concerns with even talking about this disparity is to create as it might create some artificial sense of pity for African Americans an act actually contributes more to racism my point in mentioning this is just to make clear that race specifically white or black skin color affects one's life in our country and the other caveat is I'm not I'm not even saying why this disparity exists we have all kinds of ideas debates about why it exists we'll get to that in a minute for now I'm just pointing out a disparity exists we can't deny this these are not opinions they are facts this is not fake news this is real news it matters in our country whether or not one is white or black now we don't want it to matter I don't think just why I try to convince ourselves it doesn't matter we think to ourselves I don't hold prejudice toward black or white people I'm not racist so racism is not my problem but this is where we need to see that racism is our problem it's all of our problem we are immersed in it I was thinking about this recently I hadn't thought about this in decades but I remember around the time I was in middle school when one of our neighbors put up their house for sale and a black family bought it and the word got around that housing value was going to plummet as a result and people started moving it mattered when a family with black skin moved into my neighborhood and we might like to think we're past that today but residential segregation studies continually show now again this is on a national scale this may may not be true for your community but residential segregation continuous segregation studies continually show that the degree of residential segregation between black people and non black people is far greater now than between any other two racial groups in the United States and it's not just in the south in fact the farther you get outside the south the greater percentage you have of african-americans in an area the greater the of segregation which all leads to the primary picture of racism we need to see before we move on and this is massive I believe we in the church want nothing to do with racism like we want this to change in our hearts as followers of Christ we want to see an end to racial disparity and division but despite the best intentions of our hearts the church today is one of the most segregated institutions in our country over 95% of white Americans attend predominantly white churches over 90% of African Americans attend predominantly black churches and I trust we know this didn't happen accidentally or overnight this has been the case ever since slavery and the subsequent discrimination white churches showed toward black Christians after the Civil War and ever since then so get this ever since slavery we as the church in our culture have not only not bridge the racial divide in our country our churches are right now every single week deepening that divide could it be that as much as we'd like to think of the church as a force for countering racism right now the church is actually a force for continuing in and in this way I just wonder if instead of looking out there for all the reasons behind racism we actually need to start by looking in here in here brothers sisters we need to look at the reality of racism not just in what we consider to be the isolated extremes around us but in the overwhelming facts among us maybe you debate this story or that statistic but in the end we cannot be comfortable as the people of God with a clear white black divide in our country and we can't be content with deepening that divide in the it is not just and it is not right and we will not be found to be worshipping God if we ignore injustice or far worse increase it so what do we do second expectation I want to be clear I don't presume there are easy answers here this is a battle that has been fought and will be fought for many years but God is calling us to fight it and to be at the forefront of it which leads to a second expectation a starting point if you will let us look at the reality of racism and live in true multi-ethnic community let us live in true multi-ethnic community biblically think Ephesians two we know first century there was a massive cultural divide between Jews and Gentiles you didn't eat with each other associate with each other you called each other dogs you had different traditions different customs different lifestyles but what happened the Jews started following Jesus and so did Gentiles which was a problem for many Jews we know in the book of Acts that it was a controversy when Gentiles wanted to be baptized and Gentiles wanted to be a part of the church it was scandalous when they started eating at the same tables and worshiping in the same rooms and Paul writes Ephesians in part to say this is right you're one now you're no longer divided Ephesians 2:14 for Jesus himself is our peace who has made us both one and is broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of Commandments expressed and ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross thereby killing the hostility he says the same thing in Galatians 3:28 there's neither Jew nor Greek slave nor free knew there's no male and female for you are all one in Christ Jesus we know this verse is not denying ethnic or gender distinctions it's saying that over and above these real differences together were one in Christ the gospel has unique transcendent power to bring different people together and it makes sense doesn't it ultimately division among people over race or anything else goes all the way back to Genesis 3 when man and woman sinned against God Sep themselves not only from God but from one another and ever since that day it is sin that it's stood at the root of all racial pride and prejudice but Jesus went to the cross he conquered sin he made the way for people to be free from it restored to God and in the process reconciled to one another that's why followers of Christ regardless of skin color have one father as one family and one household with no dividing wall of hostility based upon ethnic diversity I I think about one good Friday in Birmingham Alabama where I had the privilege of preaching at 16th Street Baptist Church 50 years before I stood in that church had been bombed by white people killing 4 young black girls outside that church on a good Friday Martin Luther King had participated in a peaceful march and he was arrested and put in jail we faced harsh conditions in solitary confinement so there I stood 50 years later invited by the pastor of that church to preach in front of a roomful of black and white Christians and I was keenly reminded on that Good Friday that the cross is what made that good scene possible the cross makes true multi-ethnic community possible and I want to exhort us to pursue that kind of community just like Jews and Gentiles in the first century could have chosen to stay separate from one another to live and eat and worship separate from one another we could do that but I want to exhort us not to do that instead to pursue true multi-ethnic community I mentioned earlier I've been convicted in my own life on this issue because I look at my life in ministry and in so many ways my world has been so white but I look around in my country it's not so white so why is my world so white why if the church is I've been a part of n LED and been so white why is the mission's organization i lead so predominantly white how can i would suppose zeal for the nation's be so blind to such injustice among peoples in my own nation these are questions that I have for far too long ignored and I don't think they're just for me to ask why are so many of our churches so white why are so many of our institutions our seminaries and mission organizations so white if I could be so bold and I said this respectfully because I love this conference that have benzoin back to buy it over the last 10 years I'm so honored to be a part of it but don't we need to at least stop and ask the question why is this conference so white like look around this arena though at least need to ask the question and address it together like we all hate slavery we all hate Jim Crow laws certainly we cannot be content then with churches seminaries mission organizations and conferences that look like time capsules preserving the divisive effects of the past this is not the kind of distinction from the world God is calling us to he is calling us to show what show the world what true multi-ethnic community can be and by the power of the gospel we can do this so much better than the world could ever do this so let's do this let's pursue true multi-ethnic community in our lives and our families it's been said that the most segregated gated place in America is not actually the church but the dinner table not be so among us let's pursue true multi-ethnic community in our lives our families and our churches and then so as a part of that here's what's critical I can't stress how critical this is because many Christian solutions or at least many white Christian solutions to racism stop here basically with the exhortation to get to know somebody of another race or ethnicity as if that alone will address this issue but we have to realize that the problem of racism is far deeper than individual relationships so this is where I would offer a third exhortation in the context of true multi-ethnic community then third let's listen to and learn from one another let's listen to and learn from one another specifically from others who don't look like you who may not think like you think James one right before James the jet addresses prejudice and favoritism and partiality in the church he writes let every person be quick to hear slow to speak and slow to anger James 1:19 god it's a good word for all of us when it comes to racism because I trust we all realize this issue is emotionally charged and we are so prone to think differently about it which is why we really need to listen to and learn from one another so as I was preparing for tonight I came across research on people's opinions of why there is such inequality when it comes to race in our country I want to show you this on the screen so basically researchers gave people different options as contributing factors to racism they pointed out the disparities between white and black people when it comes to jobs income and housing then they asked why do these disparities exist and respondents can answer along this spectrum one on the left side here they could say that these disparities were due primarily to a lack of individual responsibility basically a lack of personal motivation among individual people to work hard and climb out of poverty to they could say disparities are due primarily to unequal education lack of access to quality education or three on the right side here they could say that racialization was due primarily to unjust systems and discrimination in society so the researchers questioned white and black people and then asked if they were professing Christians and here's what they found they found that white non-christians explained racism that these racial disparities more according to the left side of this spectrum some more white non-christians were prone to answer the racial inequality is due to individual factors some lack of education less unjust systems and structural discrimination on the other hand more black non-christians were prone to answer that racial disparity is due to unjust discriminating structures and systems including education czar more on the right side of the scale but here's what was so interesting among professing Christians here's what the researchers found white professing Christians were even farther on the left side of the scale even more prone to explain racial disparity due to a lack of individual responsibility and personal motivation to work and get out of poverty and black professing Christians or even farther on the right side of the scale more prone to explain racial inequality due to discrimination and societal systems and structures now here's the point I'm obviously not saying all white people believe this all black people believe that I'm not saying this is a perfect way to ask these questions I didn't come up with the research here's what I took away from it though I was so I opening for me when I saw this was to realize that basically the more Christian you are so to speak the more divided you are on the issue of racism so the idea that if everybody was just a Christian we wouldn't have a racism problem isn't true the reality is our faith which we want to bring us together across races at this point is actually driving us further apart and seeing this was so humbling and helpful I started thinking about the tension that exists not just in our culture but in the church and light of stories and furgus Center Falcon Heights or Baltimore or Baton Rouge and my aim is not to oversimplify this in any way but the reality is statistically more white people are prone to immediately think on the left side of that spectrum more black people are prone to think on the right side of that spectrum which affects our thoughts on so many things affects the way we think about politics economics education all sorts of things we're oftentimes on different pages that we know this don't we like was obvious in the last election let's just be honest somewhere around 81 percent of white professing Christians voted for Trump around 88 percent of black professing Christians voted for Clinton and many by Christians couldn't fathom how so many of their white fought white brothers and sisters in Christ would vote for Trump and many white Christians couldn't fathom how so many of their black brothers sisters in Christ would vote for Clinton my aim is not to say who you should have voted for my aim is just to say we oftentimes don't understand each other which means we really need to listen to and learn from one another none of us can think about this issue in isolation we need to be in true multi-ethnic community where we're sitting around the table sharing life with brothers and sisters who think differently from us and when we're at that table we need to be quick to listen slow to speak and slow to become angry after all as followers of Christ we know the Bible speaks to both sides of that screen without question the Bible speaks to individual responsibility we were responsible for God and one another for our actions Romans 2 6 through 10 we're responsible for working hard collation in Colossians 3:23 at the same time the Bible requires us to work hard for justice Micah 6:8 to correct oppression Isaiah 1:17 to defend the rights of those in need proverbs 31 8 and 9 and we will miss it in the church if we're not sitting down to the same table with people who are different from us with our Bibles open listening to and learning from one another and there's so many other ways we can do that just practically listen to podcasts from people who are of a different ethnicity than you wide pastors listen to podcast hosted by african-american pastors church leaders and church members learn share quote from what you've learned and you public ministry when was the last time you quoted an african-american pastor or theologian or missionary in a sermon one brother told me after a seminary class that he was given a list of missionary biographies to read and report on and not one African American was on the list in missions we talk about adoniram Judson is the first American missionary but thirty years before Judson left for Burma George Lyell went to Jamaica where he started planning churches amid fierce persecution including Jamaican law that forbid preaching to slaves lies Lau's legacy was felt across Jamaica America and into Africa as he raised up other missionaries to go to the nations let's make sure we're not just listening to and learning from people who look like us in history or today as a side note the bt's book in the bookstore the faithful preacher is a helpful resource along these lines they'll introduce you to three pioneering african-american pastors regardless of the race discussion that book will be a blessing to you pastor Lee and personally let's listen to and learn from each other and as we do so forth exportation let's love and lay aside our preferences for one another let's love and lay aside our preferences for one another love one another think John 13:35 but this all people will know that you are my disciples when you love one another think back to that graphic on the screen which on one hand is extremely discouraging but I think there's another way to look at that picture and that's to see it as extremely encouraging and the way it's encouraging is the opportunity it represents just think about two individuals one on each side here so a white follower of Christ far on the left side a black follower of Christ far on the right side they think about racism and the reasons behind it in totally different terms it affects so much of how they view the world economically socially politically they're on opposite ends of the spectrum but now picture those two people in the same church listening to each other learning for another and loving one another an authentic Christian community that makes no sense to the world and that is what we want in our churches the kind of churches that cause people to say how are those people together in each of our churches want to be a group of people from different economic positions and political persuasions who if we were in some political discussions we'd be on opposite sides of the aisle but when we gather together as the church and all throughout the week we're sitting right next to each other with our Bible Bibles open because this is what unites us the Word of God unites us the Word made flesh Jesus unites us our politics don't but our Savior does but you might say wait a minute if that's true if Jesus in the Bible unites Christians then why don't white and black followers of Jesus and believers in the Bible come together in churches doesn't it seem like the Bible is actually dividing you different color people believing in the Bible yet diverging and the church some might even conclude there's a problem with the Bible maybe it doesn't have power to bring together different races ethnicities I don't believe that's true there is nothing wrong with the Bible there is nothing deficient in its power to bring God's people together which means we need to ask the question if there's nothing wrong with the Bible then there's there's something wrong in the pastors who are preaching it think about this with me we know there are historical reasons why churches split over racial ethnic lines but let's not fool ourselves there are contemporary reasons too after all we like being around people who are like us people who sing songs that we like and do things the way we like to do them hasn't this been the name of the game and church growth for decades now how do you draw a crowd to the church you appeal to the crowds preferences we've practically created a reality TV show model of church where people walk away thinking I give the sermon at 6:00 today music for or vice versa mister that just didn't do it for me and think like this about the church has had a significant contribution on division by race in the church to the point where so many of our churches whether we realize it or not have been affected by the homogeneous unit principle which basically says that a church can grow the fastest if it only has one cultural group thinking is if you want to reach as many people as possible and people like being around those who are most like them then focus on trying to reach one type of person in one church and another type of person in another church so the way to grow a church the fastest is to appeal to people's preferences we don't have time to go into this one biblically tonight but suffice to say it's not in the Bible you never see Paul saying to Jewish people you guys stick together we can grow our churches a lot faster if we keep the Gentiles out you Gentiles start your own churches that's the best way to go know they're working hard to come together they're sacrificing personal preferences because the church is not about their preferences it's about the display of Christ's supremacy and the glory of Jesus Christ shines most clearly when different groups of people come together and he is the only explanation for why they're together that's what we want to mark our churches but that's not easy I would say especially not easy for minority brothers and sisters it's interesting I guess not surprising there's growing research that shows how most multi-ethnic churches and our country are still dominated by white cultural norms music style varies preferences authors and others referenced by the pastor on and on so even in a multi-ethnic church there can still be a sense of disparity which often necessitates a lot more sacrifice on the part of non-white people I think about african-american members in the church I pastor Asian American members members of all sorts of ethnicities set aside musical preferences preferences and preaching style I think about some of the pastor's in our church from different ethnicities I think about my Kelsey and Eric Saunders african-american pastors who have honestly share with me how they frequently wrestle with investing their leadership in our church instead of the church communities that raise there are pastors and members in the church I serve who have made great sacrifices to be there because they're committed to multi-ethnic community which causes me to realize that if I'm gonna be faithful before God then I need to sacrifice many of my preferences as a white pastor I need to grow and my love and my laying aside of my preferences for the members of the church I'm a part of in many ways including my preaching and this is critical I must be careful not to speak from the Bible on issues that are popular among white followers of Christ while staying silent in the Bible on issues that are important to non-white followers of Christ I actually read how studies have shown that white church leaders are less likely to speak and act prophetically on race issues because white church leaders have more to lose when they do it's simple if you want to draw a crowd in general you stay away from racial issues if you want to draw a white crowd definitely stay away from saying white people are part of the problem on racial issues because the reality is people mainly want to be comforted when they come to church as people were drawn to the most benefit with the least cost so if you give people a choice between the Church of comfort and the Church of comfort but you need to make sacrifices to change your life people will choose the Church of comfort most every time which is why we've designed so much of church culture the way we have and it's why we're so prone not to talk about issues that are uncomfortable to us and it's one reason why white pastors including myself have been so prone to stay so silent on issues of racial justice but brothers I say as the chief of sinners to you we don't have that option the Bible doesn't give us that option this word has the power to bring together God's people and if it's not doing that then we need to seriously ask if we are faithfully preaching and leading according to it all of it the whole council of it not just that which appeals to our preferences and our politics and people like us with preferences like ours that we want to be popular among we will not be found faithful for faithful before our God if fear of man and fear of losing the crowd keeps us from proclaiming the totality of God's Word amos 5 makes clear God hates that kind of worship on Sundays we cannot sing our songs while we stay silent on injustice and think he will be pleased we say we believe we want to be rid of racism the question is whether we want it bad enough to lay aside our comforts in our churches I know that is a white pastor I have blind spots in so many ways but particularly on this issue and I need friends and fellow pastors around me from different ethnicities who help me see those blind spots and I need to listen to to learn and to love and to lay aside whatever contemporary church growth method says the best way to grow the church ie ignore the issues I need to do the exact opposite I need to hear and speak God's Word clearly and comprehensively no matter what it costs believing that I can trust Christ with the growth of his church to closing expectations one if aim is 5 we're gonna worship God truly then let's leverage our influence for justice in the present let's leverage our influence for justice in the present verse 24 let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream what a great picture the language here is like torrents of water gushing in ways that overflow and never run dry that's what pleases God not when justice is trickling from God's people when it's tumbling through Dry Valleys of injustice all around them Oh brothers my encouragement is for each of us to look at our lives and our families and our churches at the opportunities we have the positions in which God has put us and the resources God has given to us to look at all of this and say how can i leverage my influence for justice around me the true test for us is how we will leverage our lives and our leadership in our churches and our institution for justice not how much we might applaud this or that because I trust we know the history I trust we know that speaking broadly in every era of American racism white churches and their pastors have on a whole been found complacent think specifically slavery and civil rights there's no question that white churches as a whole including many of the pastors and evangelists and theologians that you and I frequently quote actively commended promoted and defended slavery slavery is a stain upon that era of church history some might say a scar that is still healing and in the civil rights movement I mentioned Martin Luther King being arrested in Birmingham on Good Friday we know that as he sat in jail eight white Birmingham pastors criticized him for his methods and called for him to be more patient and promoting civil rights which prompted him to write that letter from Birmingham jail a trust we've read which sat in the midst of blatant injustice is inflicted upon the Negro I have watched white churches stand on the sidelines and merely mouthed pious irrelevance ease and sanctimonious trivialities in the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic economic injustice I have heard so many ministers say those are social issues with which the gospel has no real concern lack of civil rights is a stain a horror upon that era of church history so here we said fifty or so years later I just think we need to at least ask the question well history see any stain in us a letter from Birmingham jail ended with these words there was a time when the church was very powerful it was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed in those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society but the judgment of God is upon the church is never before if the Church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church it will lose its authentic ring forfeit the loyalty of millions and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the 20th century had that not be said of us in our day maybe we leverage our justice our influence for justice in the present and then final exhortation let's long for the day when justice will be perfect let's long for the day when justice will be perfect so aim is 5 the day of the Lord and an ultimate and final sense is still to come and as we think about that day aren't you thankful that God by His grace has made a way for us to be safe from his judgment despite all our injustice despite all our unrighteousness despite all the things we have thought desired said and done and all the things we have not thought desired said or done that we should have praised God that in his justice he has poured out the just wrath do you and me in our sin upon his son Jesus the Christ has lived the life we could not live he has died the death we deserved to die and he has conquered the enemy we could not conquer death itself and all who come to him have their sin completely covered by his blood Oh such grace compels us to repentance all the more so this side of the Cross may be said of us that we eagerly anticipated future salvation while acknowledging present sin may it not be said of us that we indulge in bulged in worship while ignoring injustice and may it not be said of us that we carried on our religion while we refused to repent no way we live and lead and we pray and for justice to role and righteousness to reign in our lives and our families and our churches specifically when it comes to race in our culture confident that as we do there is coming a day when Amos 5:24 will be fully realized revelation 22 describes the river of the water of life bright as crystal flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city on either side of the river the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit yielding its fruit each month the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nation's the ethnic groups all the ethnicities of the world no longer will there be anything accursed the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it and his servants will worship him they will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads and night will be no more they will need no light of lamp or Sun for the Lord God will be their light and day will reign forever with him Oh Martin Luther King had a dream of States sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression transformed into oasis of justice and freedom he had a dream of a day when rough places will be made plain crooked places will be made straight racism would be forever gone and freedom would forever ring yet I think it's clear from all we've seen that that dream is not yet fully realized there is still work to do in our country and among all the nations for that matter but there is coming a day when every nation tribe and tongue in the human race every color of person whose trusted in Christ will gather around his throne forgiven of all our sin and free to worship Him and a place of perfect justice and pure righteousness let's live and lead for that day let's pray and work for that day when the glory of God will be fully and finally exalted in the unity of his church so so will you bow your heads with me in just a moment we're going to sing a song of repentance based upon the mercy of God before we do I want to give us just a moment in silence to pray for you to bow before God and if I could use these six expectations as a guide I would ask you to examine your heart for sin for that which you have done or that which you have failed to do have you ignored or minimize the reality of racism around you or in you have you intentionally pursued multi-ethnic community are you meekly listening to and learning from people of different ethnicities who think differently from you are you actively loving and laying aside your preferences for others of different ethnicities are you working to leverage your influence your life your family your leadership for racial justice and are you doing all of this with hope and the gospel and a longing for the day when true justice will be perfect I invite us in silence before we sing to humble ourselves before God to ask him to change us by His grace and to make us a people distinct from the world you
