-
00:00:10
What color is God?
-
00:00:14
Separated from the full
expression of His creation,
-
00:00:17
do we recognize His face?
-
00:00:32
Trapped in echo chambers
and surrounded by noise,
-
00:00:37
can we hear His voice?
-
00:00:39
[news] Chauvin and
his trial, the former --
-
00:00:42
[overlapping news reports]
-
00:00:49
– Inundated with opinions
-
00:00:51
and influenced by
powerful points of view,
-
00:00:53
can we discern His truth?
-
00:00:59
In the midst of all the voices,
-
00:01:01
is there room for God to speak?
-
00:01:15
What if we turned off the noise?
-
00:01:23
– We've interrupted
your day to tell you
-
00:01:24
God wants something
better for you
-
00:01:26
than the nonstop
strife and conflict
-
00:01:28
that we see in the
culture all around us,
-
00:01:31
but in order for
us to get there,
-
00:01:33
we have to stop, step back,
-
00:01:35
and look at the plan
that God has for us.
-
00:01:37
– That's right.
-
00:01:38
He wants us to go after
justice, after love and mercy.
-
00:01:41
And that's why I like
your shirt again, Kyle.
-
00:01:44
It's a pretty fantastic shirt.
-
00:01:46
You know what? Because
it's actually in the Bible.
-
00:01:48
Micah 6:8 says:
-
00:01:56
– Walking humbly
with your God means
-
00:01:58
being willing to listen
-
00:01:59
to a different perspective
than your own.
-
00:02:02
And today we're going
to talk about two words
-
00:02:04
that no matter who
you are, you definitely
-
00:02:07
have assumptions about
what I mean if I say them:
-
00:02:10
unity and diversity.
– That's right.
-
00:02:13
We all have our own
set of assumptions
-
00:02:15
based on the words that we use,
the people saying them,
-
00:02:18
or the context that
they're getting said in.
-
00:02:20
So how on earth are we supposed
to relate to each other?
-
00:02:23
– I think that's a
great question.
-
00:02:24
I mean, how do we
find common ground
-
00:02:25
with the people
around us, right?
-
00:02:27
That's what you're asking.
-
00:02:28
And that's exactly what Chuck
is going to talk about today,
-
00:02:30
how we talk about
unity and diversity,
-
00:02:33
no matter where
we're coming from.
-
00:02:40
– Hey, I'm Chuck,
thanks for being with us
-
00:02:41
for the second week
of What Color Is God?
-
00:02:44
Our series where
we're talking about
-
00:02:46
what the Bible has
to say about race.
-
00:02:48
And last week, if you were here,
-
00:02:50
Brian unpacked the what.
-
00:02:52
What is the basic
foundational stuff
-
00:02:54
that the Bible says about race?
-
00:02:56
Today I'm going
to get into the how.
-
00:02:59
I've got a lot of things
to unpack for you today,
-
00:03:01
as you can tell by all
the stuff on the table here.
-
00:03:04
But just a little bit about me.
-
00:03:06
I am a teaching
pastor at Crossroads.
-
00:03:08
This is my passion.
-
00:03:09
I love spiritually
forming God's people
-
00:03:12
and how to think
about everything
-
00:03:14
the Bible calls us to,
everything Jesus calls us to.
-
00:03:17
And specifically, I
feel uniquely called
-
00:03:20
to engage in this
conversation around race.
-
00:03:22
I launched and lead an
organization called Undivided
-
00:03:24
where we're having
this conversation
-
00:03:26
in churches all
across the country.
-
00:03:28
And 2020 was a year of
reckoning, in my opinion,
-
00:03:32
around race for our
country and for the church.
-
00:03:35
And so I am glad that
we're doing this series.
-
00:03:38
And I also just have to admit,
-
00:03:39
I'm a little nervous because
this is hard to talk about.
-
00:03:42
This is a challenging
conversation
-
00:03:44
for us to be having.
-
00:03:45
And so I just want to
make two promises to you.
-
00:03:47
First is, I am sure I will
communicate this imperfectly.
-
00:03:51
I don't want to. That's
not my intention.
-
00:03:54
I've been very
prayerful about this
-
00:03:55
and I'm sure there
will be things that I say
-
00:03:58
with which you can disagree,
-
00:03:59
things that won't be accurate.
-
00:04:00
And yet I believe that
despite my imperfection
-
00:04:04
as a communicator,
God can meet you
-
00:04:07
where you are today
and He can give you
-
00:04:09
a word that He wants
you to hear around
-
00:04:11
how He's calling you
to engage in this space.
-
00:04:14
So go with me on that.
-
00:04:15
And I want to say,
-
00:04:16
this is not going to
be social commentary.
-
00:04:19
This is about
spiritual formation.
-
00:04:20
So we really want to
be rooted in the scripture.
-
00:04:23
Last week, Brian
made three points.
-
00:04:25
The first was that
race is a problem
-
00:04:28
and actually
racism is a problem.
-
00:04:30
Race isn't a problem,
but racism is a problem
-
00:04:32
because we use
our racial differences
-
00:04:34
as points of separation.
-
00:04:36
And obviously we have
a history in our country
-
00:04:37
where that's been used
for oppression as well.
-
00:04:40
Second thing he said
was that Crossroads is
-
00:04:43
and will be a
multi ethnic church,
-
00:04:46
that we want to be a
church where people
-
00:04:48
from all ethnicities,
races, backgrounds,
-
00:04:51
nationalities, points of view
-
00:04:53
can come and feel welcomed
-
00:04:55
and hear about a
Jesus who loves them
-
00:04:57
and who meets them
right where they are.
-
00:04:58
And the third
thing he said is that
-
00:05:00
we will be a
community that will live
-
00:05:02
with our differences
for a different harmony.
-
00:05:05
And today, I really
want to get into
-
00:05:07
how do we do that?
-
00:05:08
But let's begin with
the end in mind.
-
00:05:10
Let's talk about
the vision, because
-
00:05:13
God gives a vision
very clearly of
-
00:05:15
what the win is for His church
-
00:05:17
as it relates to racial
unity amidst our diversity.
-
00:05:20
You know, we're
asking the question,
-
00:05:22
what color is God?
-
00:05:23
That's a complicated question.
-
00:05:25
And maybe in some
ways it's just meant
-
00:05:26
to be a provocative
question, because
-
00:05:28
in Revelation 7:9,
while it doesn't give us
-
00:05:31
the color of God,
it certainly tells us
-
00:05:33
a lot about the color
of God's people.
-
00:05:36
Revelation 7:9 says:
And after this I looked --
-
00:05:39
this is John looking
into the future
-
00:05:42
of what will happen
at the end of time.
-
00:05:44
And he says:
-
00:05:59
So John is saying,
at the end of time,
-
00:06:00
what he sees is
a victorious party.
-
00:06:02
That's right.
-
00:06:04
These are people
who are in white robes,
-
00:06:05
which symbolizes purity,
-
00:06:07
that they've been washed clean
-
00:06:08
of all of the crap
that this broken world
-
00:06:10
has put on them, all the
sin that they had committed.
-
00:06:13
And they have palm
branches in their hand,
-
00:06:15
which was a sign of a
victorious celebration
-
00:06:18
after an army had
accomplished a battle victory.
-
00:06:21
So John is saying
at the end of time,
-
00:06:24
there's a party and
there are people
-
00:06:26
at that party that represent
-
00:06:27
the diversity of
who God has made.
-
00:06:29
He uses four specific words.
-
00:06:31
He wants to be
abundantly clear here.
-
00:06:32
First he says, it's
people of all nations.
-
00:06:35
The Greek word there is ethnos.
-
00:06:37
I'm going to giving
you a lot today,
-
00:06:38
so hang in there with me.
-
00:06:40
The Greek word ethnos
-
00:06:41
is where we get
ethnicity from, right?
-
00:06:43
He also says that
there are people
-
00:06:45
from every tribe,
that's the word phylon.
-
00:06:47
So while ethnicities is one way
-
00:06:49
that we may differentiate,
-
00:06:51
there's also nationality,
points of view,
-
00:06:53
kind of tribe. What
tribe are you a part of?
-
00:06:55
They're all there as well.
-
00:06:56
Then he uses the word Laos,
-
00:06:58
which is the word for people.
-
00:06:59
He's saying there's all
kinds of people groups
-
00:07:01
that are at this
thrown celebration.
-
00:07:03
And then he also
uses the word glosson,
-
00:07:06
which is the word for languages.
-
00:07:07
So it's a multiethnic,
multi tribal,
-
00:07:10
multi national, multi
language celebration
-
00:07:13
that we see at the
end of the Bible.
-
00:07:16
And that is God's vision.
-
00:07:18
That's what God's
church is meant to begin
-
00:07:21
to symbolize and
reflect right here,
-
00:07:24
even as we know it will
be perfected in heaven.
-
00:07:28
But there are things
that get in the way
-
00:07:30
of us living that out right now.
-
00:07:32
And what we want
to talk about today
-
00:07:34
is what gets in the way and
how can we overcome it?
-
00:07:37
Would you join me in praying?
-
00:07:39
God, I pray this prayer that
-
00:07:41
You would be our teacher today
-
00:07:43
and Holy Spirit,
as you teach us,
-
00:07:45
would you illuminate our hearts?
-
00:07:47
God, would you
root us in Your truth
-
00:07:49
and would you shape our identity
-
00:07:51
and how we not just
view, but how we live
-
00:07:54
and think and engage
in this area of racial unity
-
00:07:58
all through the lens
of Your Son, Jesus,
-
00:08:01
and the vision that
we see in Revelation.
-
00:08:04
I pray this in Your name. Amen.
-
00:08:08
So we've got to deal
with where we are,
-
00:08:10
you know, we've got to confront
-
00:08:12
the brutal facts of our reality,
-
00:08:14
as Jim Collins said in his
famous book, Good to Great.
-
00:08:17
And the truth is,
right now the church
-
00:08:19
is challenged when it
comes to racial unity.
-
00:08:22
There's many statistics
I could share with you,
-
00:08:24
but I want to share one with you
-
00:08:25
that I think kind
of illustrates this.
-
00:08:27
It's from a study that was
done by Lifeway Research.
-
00:08:30
The title of the study was
-
00:08:32
Sunday Morning in
America Still Segregated
-
00:08:34
and that's okay with worshipers.
-
00:08:36
Take a look at these numbers.
-
00:08:38
It basically asked: do
you think your church
-
00:08:41
is doing enough to
be ethnically diverse?
-
00:08:44
67% of followers of
Jesus in America said,
-
00:08:47
yes, our church is doing enough.
-
00:08:50
Only 25% said, no, there
is more that we can do,
-
00:08:54
and 7% we're not sure.
-
00:08:57
Ed Stetzer, giving commentary
-
00:08:59
about this research says this:
-
00:09:19
I just want to say I
think it's hard for us
-
00:09:23
to see the increasing
diversity in our world
-
00:09:26
and believe that it's okay
-
00:09:28
for the church to
somehow stagnate.
-
00:09:29
But when I read those
numbers, you know what I hear?
-
00:09:33
I hear fatigue and
I hear confusion.
-
00:09:37
I think that many of
us are just so fatigued
-
00:09:40
by the conversation
around racial division
-
00:09:43
and we're confused, even
though we may want to see,
-
00:09:47
hey, what is the solution?
-
00:09:49
We all know the
devil is in the details.
-
00:09:51
We know that when we get into
-
00:09:52
the nuances of the conversation,
-
00:09:54
it is really hard to
find common ground.
-
00:09:58
And yet, it's not all
bad news for the church.
-
00:10:02
There has been
progress, and I think
-
00:10:04
we need to acknowledge
the progress we've made.
-
00:10:06
So there are people
who kind of have said,
-
00:10:08
"Hey, a multicultural,
multiethnic church
-
00:10:11
is one in which there
are 20% or more people
-
00:10:16
who are different from whatever
-
00:10:18
the predominant racial
group is in the church.
-
00:10:19
So if you're a
multi-ethnic church
-
00:10:21
and you're predominantly
African-American,
-
00:10:23
when you get to 20% of people
-
00:10:25
who are not African-American,
-
00:10:26
you're a multiethnic church.
-
00:10:28
Crossroads is a church
where multiple people
-
00:10:30
in our church, the
multitude would be white.
-
00:10:32
When Crossroads gets to
a place where 20% or more
-
00:10:35
of people are not white,
-
00:10:36
we are a multiethnic church.
-
00:10:38
That's the way they define that.
-
00:10:39
And I think it's important
to see the progress
-
00:10:41
that's been made in the
last 20 years on this topic.
-
00:10:43
So Catholic churches in 2006,
-
00:10:47
only 17% of Catholic
churches were multiethnic,
-
00:10:50
but in 2019 it's up to 24%.
-
00:10:53
Mainline Protestant churches,
-
00:10:55
think your Lutheran Church,
your Methodist Church,
-
00:10:58
only 1% of those churches
were multi-ethnic in 2006
-
00:11:02
and in 2019 it's up to 11%.
-
00:11:05
Evangelical churches,
which is probably
-
00:11:07
the best definition of a
church like Crossroads
-
00:11:09
in 1998 it was 7% of
churches that were multiethnic
-
00:11:15
and now it's 23% as of 2019.
-
00:11:19
And Crossroads has
made progress too.
-
00:11:21
It is not the same church
I walked into 21 years ago
-
00:11:25
when I started as a
member at Crossroads.
-
00:11:27
So I want to give you
a hope alert, hope alert.
-
00:11:29
Yeah. We talk about
warnings, trigger warnings.
-
00:11:31
Let me give you a hope alert.
-
00:11:33
Even though it's a
time when people feel
-
00:11:35
challenged in this conversation,
-
00:11:37
people are leaning in
and you are leaning in
-
00:11:40
and because you are
leaning in, I believe
-
00:11:42
God is doing something
and wants to do something.
-
00:11:45
Question is, what's
getting in the way?
-
00:11:48
Well, I have these
images, these glasses here,
-
00:11:50
they're going to help
me kind of unpack this,
-
00:11:52
because I believe this.
-
00:11:53
I believe when we
see, like God sees,
-
00:11:57
we will love like God loves.
-
00:11:59
Whatever the
issue, race included,
-
00:12:01
when we see it
through the lens of Christ
-
00:12:04
and through the
lens of scripture,
-
00:12:06
we will show up
with a power to love
-
00:12:08
in that area in the
way that God loves.
-
00:12:12
And so I'm talking
to people here
-
00:12:14
who are pointed in
the direction of Jesus.
-
00:12:16
And I want to say I
think there's some lenses
-
00:12:18
that get in the way of us
seeing race like God sees it.
-
00:12:23
So I have this
pair of glasses on,
-
00:12:25
A, so you can see how
strange I look in glasses.
-
00:12:27
I think I look
strange in glasses,
-
00:12:29
but also to illustrate the
first of these three lenses.
-
00:12:31
One of the things
that's getting in the way
-
00:12:33
I call our ideology lens.
-
00:12:36
Our ideology lenses
are getting in the way,
-
00:12:39
and specifically our
political ideologies.
-
00:12:42
Brian referenced a quote from
-
00:12:44
a pastor in New York last week.
-
00:12:45
To summarize it, we get
8-9 hours a day on average,
-
00:12:51
the average American,
getting our ideology reinforced
-
00:12:54
through our news sources,
-
00:12:55
through how and who we follow
on our social media feeds.
-
00:12:58
And then you come to
church for one hour a week
-
00:13:01
and let me just tell
you, 8-9 hours a day
-
00:13:04
of secular ideology
is not a match.
-
00:13:07
It's an unfair fight for
the one hour a week
-
00:13:11
where you're getting
formed in your theology,
-
00:13:14
on how to think
about these things.
-
00:13:16
You know, Romans
12:2 talks about the fact
-
00:13:18
that we've got to be willing
-
00:13:19
to take off ideological lenses.
-
00:13:21
It says this:
-
00:13:36
I've got to be
honest and tell you,
-
00:13:37
so many of us are more
formed by our ideology
-
00:13:41
on how to think about race
-
00:13:43
than we are through the Bible.
-
00:13:45
So let me just be very clear,
-
00:13:47
liberal political ideology
-
00:13:49
and conservative
political ideology
-
00:13:52
are patterns of the world.
-
00:13:54
It doesn't mean that they
don't have good points in them.
-
00:13:56
It doesn't mean that
you might not find
-
00:13:58
points that reflect the
truth in the scripture.
-
00:14:00
But on a whole, they
are patterns of this world.
-
00:14:03
They are not the pattern
of the Kingdom of God.
-
00:14:06
Marxism and capitalism
are patterns of this world.
-
00:14:11
The 1619 project
and the 1776 project
-
00:14:15
are patterns of this world.
-
00:14:17
They may contain some truth,
-
00:14:20
but none of them
contain all of the truth.
-
00:14:22
And they certainly should
not supersede the Truth,
-
00:14:26
which is what we learn from
the Bible and following Jesus.
-
00:14:29
So the question I would
have you think about
-
00:14:31
when it comes to
the ideological lens is,
-
00:14:33
are you being more
conformed by worldly patterns
-
00:14:38
of thinking on race
or are you allowing
-
00:14:41
the Scripture and
Jesus to transform you
-
00:14:45
to have a biblical
point of view on this?
-
00:14:47
Before you answer too quickly,
-
00:14:50
I just encourage you
to check your sources.
-
00:14:54
Hebrews 5:12 talks
about the importance for us
-
00:14:56
to mature in our
ability to see things
-
00:14:59
through a biblical
lens. It says this:
-
00:15:11
Listen to that.
-
00:15:24
So I would submit to you that
-
00:15:26
we have to be
rooted in scripture
-
00:15:28
more than we are
rooted in our ideology.
-
00:15:31
That's not the only lens
that's getting in the way
-
00:15:34
of us seeing this issue
the way that God does.
-
00:15:36
I think there's also
our identity lens
-
00:15:39
that can get in the way.
-
00:15:41
Our identities, particularly
our secondary identities.
-
00:15:44
Me, my secondary identity
is I'm a black American,
-
00:15:48
you know, that's a
secondary identity.
-
00:15:49
My primary identity
is I'm a son of God.
-
00:15:51
I'm a follower of Jesus.
-
00:15:53
I'm a member, a
citizen of the Kingdom.
-
00:15:54
I'm a brother and
sister to every follower
-
00:15:56
around the world of Jesus
who has whatever hue.
-
00:15:59
That's ultimately
my primary identity.
-
00:16:01
What are your
secondary identities?
-
00:16:03
Your secondary
identities are your race,
-
00:16:05
your ethnicity, your
nationality, your gender.
-
00:16:08
All of those things are
secondary identities
-
00:16:11
to the primary identity
you have in the eyes of God
-
00:16:14
if you're a follower of Jesus.
-
00:16:17
And here is the
problem: Our identities
-
00:16:19
can become idols when we take
-
00:16:22
those secondary identities
and make them primary,
-
00:16:24
they can become
idols in our life.
-
00:16:27
And in 2021 we just have
different forms of these idols.
-
00:16:31
One is right now in
our culture, I think,
-
00:16:34
in some good reaction
to what has been
-
00:16:37
a broken past toward the
treatment of people of color,
-
00:16:40
but some overreaction to that.
-
00:16:43
Right now there is
virtue given to voices
-
00:16:46
simply because
they're voices of color.
-
00:16:48
Now, let me be very clear.
-
00:16:50
In a country where
for far too long
-
00:16:52
voices of color have
been diminished,
-
00:16:54
excluded, even
demonized, I'm not saying
-
00:16:57
there shouldn't be a
place for an introduction
-
00:17:00
of more voices of color,
but to assume virtue
-
00:17:03
simply because a
person is black or Latin X
-
00:17:07
or in a marginalized group,
that's putting that prime --
-
00:17:10
that's making that
identity a primary identity.
-
00:17:14
Now, by the same
token, there is an identity
-
00:17:16
in our country of
white nationalism,
-
00:17:19
Christian white nationalism.
-
00:17:21
And I'm not talking about
people who showed up
-
00:17:23
in Charlottesville
years ago with torches.
-
00:17:25
I'm not talking about them.
-
00:17:27
I'm saying that
there is this conflation
-
00:17:29
between what it
means to be Christian
-
00:17:32
with what it means
to be American
-
00:17:33
and really what it means
to be white in America.
-
00:17:36
And that's been true for years.
-
00:17:38
And so, again, whenever
we put that primary identity
-
00:17:41
and that's the
primary lens by which
-
00:17:43
we're looking at
scripture, the primary lens
-
00:17:44
by which we're looking
at what is right and wrong,
-
00:17:47
what is patriotic
and not patriotic,
-
00:17:48
we get ourselves
into a challenging spot.
-
00:17:51
Both of those, the virtue
and the virtue signaling
-
00:17:55
that comes from
just ascribing virtue
-
00:17:56
simply because a
person is a person of color
-
00:17:58
and the Christian
national identity
-
00:18:01
that can often be inconsistent
-
00:18:03
with the scriptural teaching.
-
00:18:04
Those are secondary identities
-
00:18:07
that when we make
primary, we make them idols.
-
00:18:09
And idols will always divide us.
-
00:18:12
We will always fight people
-
00:18:14
who are coming
against what we worship.
-
00:18:17
And so we have
to be open to that.
-
00:18:19
And let me just say this.
-
00:18:21
This isn't new. This
isn't unique to America.
-
00:18:24
In 1 Corinthians 1,
Paul is dealing with
-
00:18:27
a very similar version
of the same thing
-
00:18:29
when he writes this, he says:
-
00:18:49
What Paul is talking
about here is the fact
-
00:18:51
that in the early church,
people had adopted
-
00:18:53
these identity
lenses and it was like,
-
00:18:55
"Hey, I'm from the
school of Apollos,"
-
00:18:56
who was an early evangelist
-
00:18:58
or "I'm from the
school of Paul,"
-
00:18:59
who we obviously
know is writing this,
-
00:19:01
or "I'm from the
School of Cephas,"
-
00:19:02
which is another name for Peter,
-
00:19:03
one of Jesus's 12 apostles.
-
00:19:05
And what Paul was saying
is, "Hey, hey, hey, hey.
-
00:19:08
Those are all secondary
to the primary identity
-
00:19:11
we share as being
people formed and created
-
00:19:15
in the image of Jesus Christ,
-
00:19:16
who have been saved by Jesus.
-
00:19:17
You haven't been saved by Paul."
-
00:19:19
And so to put that in
modern terms, to us to say,
-
00:19:21
"Well, I follow a
conservative ideology"
-
00:19:25
or "I follow a liberal ideology"
-
00:19:28
or "I follow this person
and their identity,"
-
00:19:30
you know, "I'm primarily black,"
-
00:19:32
"I'm primarily white,"
I'm primarily Latin X."
-
00:19:34
All of that is to be secondary
-
00:19:37
to the primary identity we
have as followers of Jesus.
-
00:19:40
So that's a lens that's
getting in the way.
-
00:19:42
Now, I do think
there's a third lens
-
00:19:44
that gets in the way of us
-
00:19:46
hearing God's voice
in this conversation.
-
00:19:47
And I'm going to illustrate
it with this right here.
-
00:19:50
And I've got to
tell you, this is --
-
00:19:51
feel this chair so I
don't fall on the floor.
-
00:19:53
Oh, this feels so comfortable.
-
00:19:56
I call this the ignore it
and it will go away lens.
-
00:20:00
I can't see you, so you
can be honest right now,
-
00:20:03
would you just raise
your hand if you wish
-
00:20:04
you could wake up tomorrow
-
00:20:06
and the race conversation
would just go away?
-
00:20:08
Just raise your hand.
-
00:20:10
I don't see that hand.
I don't see that hand.
-
00:20:12
But I'm sure your
hand is raised.
-
00:20:13
And I have to be honest,
many days my hand is raised
-
00:20:17
and yet we can't ignore
the tension that this creates.
-
00:20:21
I don't think God wants
us to ignore it either.
-
00:20:25
So let me say a word to
those who are listening
-
00:20:28
who are black, indigenous,
-
00:20:30
and people of
color, people like me.
-
00:20:33
And I want to just
put a caveat around
-
00:20:34
what I'm about to say.
-
00:20:36
I'm not saying
this is a command.
-
00:20:38
I'm not saying
this is they have to,
-
00:20:40
I'm just trying to give you
something to consider here,
-
00:20:42
because here's what I believe.
-
00:20:44
I know because I'm
a part of Crossroads
-
00:20:47
that there is a real
tension that comes
-
00:20:49
with ascribing and
trying to go after
-
00:20:51
the vision that
Brian established
-
00:20:52
that we're going to be
a multiethnic church.
-
00:20:54
That comes with real tension,
-
00:20:56
tension that often visits me
-
00:20:58
because I'm a leader
of color in our church.
-
00:21:00
And I will tell you,
there are days
-
00:21:02
when I have said,
"God, you know what?
-
00:21:04
You know what would
make my life a lot easier,
-
00:21:06
if I just went to a black church
-
00:21:09
where it could be about
my spiritual formation.
-
00:21:11
I wouldn't have to
deal with some of
-
00:21:13
the other tensions that come
-
00:21:15
with being a
minority in a space."
-
00:21:17
I've had things said to me.
-
00:21:19
I've had things done to me in
our church that were unkind,
-
00:21:23
and they were based on my race.
-
00:21:26
And I think that's
a common story
-
00:21:27
for many people of color
who come to Crossroads.
-
00:21:30
Now, whether it was
intentional or unintentional,
-
00:21:33
it hurts and it gets tiring.
-
00:21:36
So if you're a person of
color, I understand that.
-
00:21:38
But let me just tell you this.
-
00:21:39
I do believe that God
may have called you
-
00:21:43
to this church to
bring a creative tension
-
00:21:47
that enables us
to live more fully
-
00:21:50
into what it means to
be a multiethnic church.
-
00:21:54
I know that some of you
may be thinking about leaving.
-
00:21:57
And I'm not going to say
whether you should or shouldn't,
-
00:22:00
that's between you and God.
-
00:22:02
But I do believe we
all need to do is ask,
-
00:22:05
"God, are you calling me here?"
-
00:22:08
Because I want to put
these on some days, too,
-
00:22:12
but I feel called to be here.
-
00:22:14
Now, let me let me
talk to the other side
-
00:22:16
of ignoring the tension
and it will go away.
-
00:22:18
And I speak this not
from personal experience,
-
00:22:20
because I'm not
white, but I speak this
-
00:22:22
in context of
relationships that I have
-
00:22:24
and conversations
that I'm in regularly
-
00:22:26
with my white
brothers and sisters
-
00:22:28
who are engaging
and at the table
-
00:22:30
and leaning in on this
conversation around race.
-
00:22:33
I'm just going to be
honest and tell you,
-
00:22:35
one of the fears
that I have is because
-
00:22:37
it is so complex right
now, it is so difficult
-
00:22:41
that some of my white
brothers and sisters
-
00:22:43
who are leaning
in will lean out.
-
00:22:46
They'll say, "It's too hard.
-
00:22:48
As soon as I see the
wrong thing, I'm canceled."
-
00:22:51
Or there's a level of shame
-
00:22:53
or a level of
frustration around,
-
00:22:55
"Well, what about
this or what about that?
-
00:22:56
Why aren't we talking
about these things?"
-
00:22:58
And I've just got
to tell you, man,
-
00:23:00
I think it's so essential
that you lean in.
-
00:23:05
Galatians 6:2 is
a verse that I think
-
00:23:07
speaks to all of
us in this moment,
-
00:23:09
but may perhaps
specifically speak to
-
00:23:11
my white brothers and sisters.
-
00:23:13
Galatians 6:2
says that we're to:
-
00:23:20
You know, there
are life experiences
-
00:23:21
that as a pastor
I've not had, and yet
-
00:23:24
when people come to
me and they're hurting,
-
00:23:26
I'm called to come alongside
them and bear that burden.
-
00:23:29
Not assume that I know
what it's like to be them,
-
00:23:31
but to lean in with empathy.
-
00:23:33
And I think right
now in our country,
-
00:23:35
there's a tension,
there's a burden
-
00:23:37
that comes with being a black,
or indigenous person of color
-
00:23:39
that is hard to articulate.
-
00:23:40
And I'm not saying
everything that happens
-
00:23:42
is based on systemic
racism, but some things are.
-
00:23:45
I'm saying some
things are individual,
-
00:23:46
some things are interpersonal,
some things are in the person.
-
00:23:49
There's a whole range
of things that are going on.
-
00:23:51
And I think it's really powerful
-
00:23:54
when white brothers and
sisters who share Jesus,
-
00:23:56
who share that common bond,
-
00:23:59
come alongside and lean in
-
00:24:01
and are in that conversation.
-
00:24:02
So I just want to encourage us
-
00:24:03
that these lenses would
keep us from moving forward.
-
00:24:06
And I believe God
wants us to move forward.
-
00:24:09
I believe God has a
different and better vision.
-
00:24:12
God wants our
church, Crossroads,
-
00:24:14
to be a place where
people start to see
-
00:24:17
what it's going to
look like in Revelations
-
00:24:19
when people have
every language, tribe,
-
00:24:21
nation and tongue are
gathered at the throne of God.
-
00:24:25
So how do we do that?
-
00:24:27
I told you today I'm
going to get into the how.
-
00:24:29
And I think the how has to do
-
00:24:30
with overcoming these lenses.
-
00:24:32
One of the people I've
been able to develop
-
00:24:34
a friendship with is
Reverend Michael Gulker.
-
00:24:36
He leads an organization
called the Colossian Forum.
-
00:24:39
It's an organization
that basically teaches
-
00:24:41
Christians how to disagree well
-
00:24:43
and how to actually see it,
-
00:24:44
in Michael's words,
as an act of worship.
-
00:24:47
Let me tell you one of the
kinds of things that he does.
-
00:24:50
There was a Wall Street
Journal written about his work,
-
00:24:52
and this was the title of
the Wall Street Journal:
-
00:24:54
Abortion, Guns and Trump:
-
00:24:56
A Church Group Tries to
Navigate America's Divisions.
-
00:25:00
Now, you want to talk
about challenging, right?
-
00:25:02
And this was an
all white church.
-
00:25:04
This wasn't even about race.
-
00:25:05
But, man, there's
just so many ways that
-
00:25:07
we can have these
divisions rise up.
-
00:25:09
And his work is to
help Christians see
-
00:25:13
Godly disagreement,
engagement across difference
-
00:25:17
as an act of worship.
-
00:25:18
And he calls it the
Colossian Forum,
-
00:25:20
because the book of
Colossians is a great example,
-
00:25:23
a road map of how
you and I can lean in
-
00:25:26
on the race conversation
or any divisive conversation
-
00:25:29
and do so with the
character of Jesus.
-
00:25:32
So let me read to you
Colossians 3:12-17.
-
00:25:34
And let me just
give you three ways,
-
00:25:36
three ways that we can
overcome these lenses
-
00:25:38
that we see in this passage.
Colossians 3:12 says:
-
00:25:46
The different lens, right?
-
00:26:12
You see the unity there.
-
00:26:17
Let's not be formed
by ideologies.
-
00:26:37
I believe Colossians 3
provides us with the how.
-
00:26:41
Three things, first, how
do we move forward?
-
00:26:44
Through humble exchange,
through humble exchange.
-
00:26:48
Humble exchange is a way
to lay down the ideology lens.
-
00:26:54
The question that
I am asking myself
-
00:26:56
and I would have
you think about is this:
-
00:26:58
To what extent is my
ideology blinding me
-
00:27:02
from biblical truth and a
deeper understanding?
-
00:27:05
And notice I said
to what extent,
-
00:27:07
because we are all
shaped by our ideologies.
-
00:27:10
I have a political ideology.
-
00:27:12
I have philosophy on
how things should work.
-
00:27:14
I have points of view.
-
00:27:15
But to what extent am I
allowing that to shield me,
-
00:27:19
to block me from actually
seeing the better truth,
-
00:27:21
the fuller truth of what it is
that God is calling me to?
-
00:27:24
One of the books
I'm reading because
-
00:27:25
I'm trying to grow in
this humble exchange,
-
00:27:27
is a book by Adam
Grant called Think Again.
-
00:27:30
He's an organizational
psychologist.
-
00:27:31
It's a really good book.
-
00:27:32
And I've adopted one of
his chapters as my mantra,
-
00:27:35
as I engage with people
who disagree with the way
-
00:27:38
that I approach the
conversation around race.
-
00:27:41
And the chapter is this.
-
00:27:42
It says embrace the
joy of being wrong
-
00:27:45
and the thrill of not
believing what you think.
-
00:27:49
And really, it's a posture
that I want to have
-
00:27:51
that says when someone
comes to me with dissent,
-
00:27:54
with disagreement,
you know what?
-
00:27:55
There's probably something
in there for me to learn.
-
00:27:57
So how can I lean
in and believe that
-
00:28:00
on the other side
of this conversation,
-
00:28:02
I'm going to have
more of God's heart
-
00:28:04
for how to view race than I
had before that conversation?
-
00:28:08
That's why I love
leading Living Undivided.
-
00:28:11
I want to invite you
into this opportunity.
-
00:28:13
Crossroads is going
to be doing a series
-
00:28:16
of Living Undivided
cohorts, up to 44 people.
-
00:28:19
It's done digitally over Zoom
-
00:28:20
where you can come together
and on a six week journey,
-
00:28:23
we're going to talk about
-
00:28:24
what does the Bible have
to say about these things
-
00:28:26
and how do we
move toward healing?
-
00:28:28
How do we move
toward being engaged
-
00:28:29
in the work of
justice in the world?
-
00:28:33
I've been leading
these conversations
-
00:28:34
almost every week
since the fall of 2020.
-
00:28:37
I've done it in churches
all across the country.
-
00:28:39
I've done it with businesses.
-
00:28:40
I've been doing it
with police officers.
-
00:28:42
And I will tell you, I
am humbly exchanging
-
00:28:45
and learning a lot.
-
00:28:47
In fact, there's a
couple of places
-
00:28:48
where I'm doing
some deeper learning
-
00:28:49
and rather than
rattle them all off here,
-
00:28:51
I just want to give
you a list of resources,
-
00:28:54
things that I'm reading
that are stretching me,
-
00:28:56
things where the authors come
-
00:28:57
from different perspectives,
-
00:28:58
but there's a faith
route underneath them.
-
00:29:00
You know, if
you've got questions
-
00:29:01
around what does the
Bible say about justice,
-
00:29:03
two things.
-
00:29:04
One, we're going to dive
into that deeply next week.
-
00:29:06
But I've got some
suggestions on ways that
-
00:29:08
I'm kind of humbly
exchanging that
-
00:29:10
through conversations
and books that I'm reading.
-
00:29:12
And then if you've got questions
on critical race theory,
-
00:29:14
I mean, we couldn't do
a series on race in 2021
-
00:29:17
and not address
critical race theory.
-
00:29:19
I've got some
articles there for you
-
00:29:20
to kind of look at
and think through,
-
00:29:22
and I'm happy to engage in
those conversations as well.
-
00:29:25
I'll be doing some things
over social media to do that.
-
00:29:27
But you can go to
Crossroads.net/colorofGod
-
00:29:29
and you can access
all of those materials.
-
00:29:32
But I love what Michael says.
-
00:29:33
Michael Gulker says,
"We rarely come away
-
00:29:35
from these conversations
with a changed position.
-
00:29:38
Maybe we do, but
we can certainly
-
00:29:41
walk away with a
changed posture."
-
00:29:43
And I believe that's what
God wants for you and I,
-
00:29:46
to overcome our ideologies
-
00:29:47
with a posture of
humble exchange.
-
00:29:50
Secondly, we do this work
through deep relationships.
-
00:29:55
It is so important
that our relationships
-
00:29:57
are deeply formed and it's
a way for us to overcome,
-
00:30:01
in my opinion,
the ideology lens.
-
00:30:04
How do I overcome
seeing my identity?
-
00:30:06
I'm sorry, the identity lens?
-
00:30:07
How do I overcome seeing
my identity as primary?
-
00:30:10
I spend time with
people who have
-
00:30:12
different secondary identities,
-
00:30:14
but who share primary
identity as followers of Jesus.
-
00:30:17
We're going to talk more
about this in a second
-
00:30:19
and hear a powerful
story of how rooting herself
-
00:30:22
in the truth of God has
shaped one woman's view
-
00:30:26
of her racial and
ethnic identity.
-
00:30:28
Before we do that,
-
00:30:29
let's hear again from
Hannah and Kyle.
-
00:30:33
– Crossroads is a
church that moves,
-
00:30:35
and that means that
we try not to shy away
-
00:30:37
from tough topics, we try
to make aggressive moves,
-
00:30:40
and we do more than just talk.
-
00:30:42
Through us, God makes an impact
-
00:30:44
and He's been making an
impact through Crossroads
-
00:30:47
for the past 25 years.
-
00:30:48
– And you can be part of that,
-
00:30:50
something bigger
than yourself by giving.
-
00:30:52
Crossroads is a
church that tithes.
-
00:30:54
With your generosity, God
does some amazing things.
-
00:30:57
– That's right.
-
00:30:58
So do you want to be a part of
the movement of Crossroads?
-
00:31:00
Go ahead and
take the Tithe Test.
-
00:31:02
Give for 90 days and see
-
00:31:04
if God doesn't do
something incredible.
-
00:31:07
If after all that
time you don't feel
-
00:31:09
a difference in your
relationship with God
-
00:31:11
and you want your money back,
-
00:31:12
we're going to give it to
you no questions asked.
-
00:31:15
So you can head to
Crossroads.net/tithetest
-
00:31:17
to sign up now.
-
00:31:19
– And stay tuned to
the end of this episode
-
00:31:21
to learn how that
generosity can help
-
00:31:23
fuel what God is doing in you.
-
00:31:28
– I'm Karollina.
-
00:31:29
I'm half Japanese,
half Finnish.
-
00:31:32
I grew up in Finland
-
00:31:34
and I'm a born and
raised Christian.
-
00:31:39
So half Japanese woman
growing up in Finland,
-
00:31:44
it was -- it was different,
-
00:31:47
but I didn't really
realize the difference
-
00:31:51
like until in my
adulthood, really.
-
00:31:55
I always wondered why
I was treated different
-
00:31:59
or I wondered why I
-- why I am different,
-
00:32:04
why people call me different.
-
00:32:05
When I was different,
I was different alone.
-
00:32:07
So it -- it -- so
I felt that really.
-
00:32:13
They were a lot of bullying.
-
00:32:16
They were a lot of calling names
-
00:32:20
or just being usually like
discriminated in a way.
-
00:32:26
I think the saddest part is that
-
00:32:29
I was accepting the
fact that I'm the oddball
-
00:32:32
and I deserve to
be treated differently
-
00:32:36
because I look different.
-
00:32:38
And I, I just felt
sad all the time,
-
00:32:41
but I thought that that's
how I'm supposed to feel.
-
00:32:44
Some memories would
like pop up in my head,
-
00:32:47
too, for example,
when I think I cried
-
00:32:50
about how I look the first time
-
00:32:52
when I was about
eight years old.
-
00:32:53
And I remember just crying home,
-
00:32:56
telling my dad that,
"Why do I look this way?
-
00:32:58
Why do I look this way?
-
00:32:59
That everybody's,
like, bullying me."
-
00:33:01
And he -- I don't
remember what he said,
-
00:33:05
but he just kept
calling me beautiful
-
00:33:07
and he kept calling me that,
-
00:33:09
"Why don't you see that
you look so much better,
-
00:33:12
that you look so
much more special.
-
00:33:14
Everybody can see you."
-
00:33:16
And I remember choosing
to believe his words
-
00:33:21
instead of the people
who bullied me, their words.
-
00:33:24
How I saw people
and how I was feeling
-
00:33:27
towards people felt
very superficial because
-
00:33:31
there was some
kind of bitterness
-
00:33:33
and anger in, like, in the root.
-
00:33:38
When I think there's
something about
-
00:33:40
acknowledging the
relationship with our Father,
-
00:33:45
Father God, that when
we understand that,
-
00:33:48
I think we also understand
the grace and mercy.
-
00:33:51
And me acknowledging
that I'm going to become
-
00:33:55
a daughter first,
daughter of God first
-
00:33:58
before I am anything else.
-
00:34:01
And truly
understanding, I think,
-
00:34:04
my life started to
change drastically
-
00:34:08
when I understood
what that means.
-
00:34:10
I don't know, it very
miraculously took
-
00:34:14
a lot of bitterness and a
lot of anger away from me.
-
00:34:19
Something really miraculous
happens in that moment.
-
00:34:22
That's when we find
unity, when people
-
00:34:25
acknowledges that whose
image they're made in
-
00:34:28
and they come together.
-
00:34:30
I think if everyone
would see them,
-
00:34:33
see their identity in
Christ and see themselves
-
00:34:37
as made in God's image,
it's going to change the world.
-
00:34:45
– I agree with Karollina,
-
00:34:47
as we see ourselves
in the image of God,
-
00:34:50
and that is our
primary identity,
-
00:34:52
it literally changes the world.
-
00:34:54
And it empowers us
to be the kind of people
-
00:34:57
that Paul calls us to be
in Colossians Chapter 3.
-
00:34:59
You know, I use this
verse at weddings.
-
00:35:01
I use this passage
at weddings because
-
00:35:03
I can't think of a better
scripture for talking
-
00:35:06
about what life looks
like in close proximity,
-
00:35:08
in relationship.
-
00:35:09
And that's what marriage
is, it's a covenant. Right?
-
00:35:11
There's a lot of bearing with
-
00:35:12
that needs to
happen in a marriage.
-
00:35:14
There's a lot of sharing of
complaints that happens,
-
00:35:16
forgiveness, love,
-
00:35:17
letting peace win the
day, having gratitude.
-
00:35:21
And we are called
to that same level
-
00:35:23
of intimate relationship
as a church,
-
00:35:26
we're called to the same
thing with each other.
-
00:35:28
In fact, Colossians 3
was not written
-
00:35:30
as a wedding message.
-
00:35:31
It was written as
a church message.
-
00:35:33
How can we operate in
unity amidst our diversity?
-
00:35:37
And I believe that can
happen as we live this out.
-
00:35:40
Think about it.
-
00:35:42
In a marriage, a woman
doesn't cease to be female,
-
00:35:45
nor does a man cease to be
male when they get married.
-
00:35:49
But in the eyes of God,
-
00:35:50
they become something
altogether different.
-
00:35:52
And that is they become
one in the eyes of God.
-
00:35:56
And in the same
way in the church,
-
00:35:57
when you come into
relationship with Jesus,
-
00:36:00
I don't cease to be
black. I don't cease --
-
00:36:02
You don't cease to be Latin X.
-
00:36:03
You don't cease to be Asian.
-
00:36:05
You don't cease to be white.
-
00:36:06
But as Brian said last
week in Ephesians 2,
-
00:36:08
together we are
one new humanity.
-
00:36:11
And so that's our
primary identity.
-
00:36:13
And through that lens,
we're able to honor
-
00:36:16
the differences, the diversity,
-
00:36:17
the richness of our
secondary identities.
-
00:36:21
So when it comes to identity
-
00:36:22
and taking off
that identity lens,
-
00:36:23
the question I would ask you is,
are you standing on issues
-
00:36:27
or are you walking with people?
-
00:36:30
That's what this
ultimately is about,
-
00:36:31
because when you
walk with people,
-
00:36:33
you actually can
have a radical unity,
-
00:36:36
even in the places where
you have disagreements.
-
00:36:39
And let me be very clear.
-
00:36:40
I'm not saying we
shouldn't care about issues.
-
00:36:42
I think we should.
I think we should.
-
00:36:44
But what I'm saying is
the more powerful way
-
00:36:46
to do that is not by
arguing at a distance,
-
00:36:50
but it's actually by
walking with people
-
00:36:52
who share Jesus in common
-
00:36:54
who might have a
different point of view.
-
00:36:57
Make no mistake,
that's a harder way,
-
00:36:59
but it's a healthier way.
-
00:37:00
And it leads us to the
third and final thing,
-
00:37:02
which is that we do
this, we model unity
-
00:37:06
and diversity through
spirit led action.
-
00:37:09
Spirit led action.
-
00:37:11
I love that in Colossians
it ends by saying
-
00:37:13
whatever you do in word or deed,
-
00:37:16
do it all in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
-
00:37:18
And this is a way
to break out of
-
00:37:20
the ignore it and
it will go away lens
-
00:37:22
or the ignore the tension
because it's too hard lens.
-
00:37:27
And here's the question I
would have to think about.
-
00:37:29
Is your fear of
doing the wrong thing
-
00:37:33
keeping you from
doing something?
-
00:37:36
I understand that fear, I mean,
-
00:37:38
right now in our
culture, there's the fear
-
00:37:40
that if you say the wrong thing,
-
00:37:41
if you do it the wrong way,
-
00:37:42
you're going to get canceled.
-
00:37:44
And let me just tell
you, cancel culture
-
00:37:45
is just modern day Phariseeism.
-
00:37:47
It's just a modern day
way for us to judge people
-
00:37:49
who are different
from us and assume
-
00:37:51
that we're right because
we're different from them.
-
00:37:53
And it is from the pit
of hell, absolutely true.
-
00:37:56
But that fear keeps a
lot of us from engaging.
-
00:38:00
It keeps a lot of us
from doing something.
-
00:38:03
But then there's also the fear
-
00:38:04
of being shunned by your tribe.
-
00:38:07
You know, some
circles I'm in, if I say
-
00:38:09
some of the things
I'm saying today,
-
00:38:10
they're going call me a sellout.
-
00:38:12
You know, for you it might be.
-
00:38:13
"Do you really
believe that bunk?
-
00:38:15
Do you really believe
what those people say?"
-
00:38:18
And I'm just
telling you that fear
-
00:38:19
will keep you from
being used by God.
-
00:38:23
Jesus, Jesus helped us
tremendously by His words,
-
00:38:27
but He saved us by
His actions on the Cross.
-
00:38:31
I think about Peter, His
most impulsive disciple,
-
00:38:33
who often times spoke
and act without thinking.
-
00:38:36
And yet, because Peter
had a bias for action,
-
00:38:39
Jesus said, "I'm going
to build the church
-
00:38:42
on the rock of your confession.
-
00:38:43
You're going to be a
leader in the church."
-
00:38:47
So even if we
don't do it perfectly,
-
00:38:50
we're called to
act and to believe
-
00:38:52
that God Spirit
leads us as we act.
-
00:38:54
So I just want to give you
-
00:38:55
some reflection questions
-
00:38:57
before we have a
time of communion.
-
00:38:58
And the reflection
questions I would give you is,
-
00:39:00
as you think about
these three lenses,
-
00:39:02
which one of these is the one
you are most challenged by?
-
00:39:06
Is it the ideology lens
-
00:39:09
and the political
ideology in particular
-
00:39:11
keeping you from
seeing the truth
-
00:39:15
and understanding
from God's perspective?
-
00:39:16
Is that the identity lens?
-
00:39:18
Are you too connected,
-
00:39:21
too wed to your
secondary identities that
-
00:39:25
it's keeping you from living
into your primary identity?
-
00:39:27
Or are you just like, "Man,
I just want this to go away"?
-
00:39:31
And that lens of ignoring it
-
00:39:33
and hoping it goes away
is what your challenge is?
-
00:39:35
I would just ask
you, which of those
-
00:39:37
feels most challenging to you?
-
00:39:41
And know this: I think
that's the very place
-
00:39:45
where God is inviting you next.
-
00:39:48
I mentioned Living Undivided,
-
00:39:49
that's an opportunity
for you to step into
-
00:39:52
a journey with
other people who are
-
00:39:55
also journeying to
understand God's heart.
-
00:39:57
And again, if you go to
Crossroads.net/colorofGod,
-
00:40:00
you can sign up and be a part of
-
00:40:01
Living Undivided cohorts
-
00:40:03
that are happening
at Crossroads digitally.
-
00:40:05
So whether you're
in a physical building
-
00:40:06
where they're happening or not,
-
00:40:08
you can be a part of it
and would love for you
-
00:40:10
to step in and be on
this journey with us.
-
00:40:13
But I will tell you this:
None of us can do this,
-
00:40:16
we don't have the power
to do this on our own,
-
00:40:19
we need God's power.
-
00:40:23
And so I love Paul's
letters because
-
00:40:24
before he ever tells
us in Colossians 3
-
00:40:28
to live this way, to
forgive, to bear with,
-
00:40:30
to honor, all of that,
he gives us the power
-
00:40:33
by which we can do it earlier
in the opening of the letter,
-
00:40:36
when an Colossians
1:20, he says this:
-
00:40:47
See here's the Good News.
-
00:40:48
The Good News is
the power for you and I
-
00:40:51
to live unity within diversity.
-
00:40:53
The power for
Crossroads to be a church
-
00:40:56
where we're living
with our differences
-
00:40:58
for a different harmony
doesn't come from us.
-
00:41:01
It comes from Jesus.
-
00:41:02
Jesus is the
reconciler in chief.
-
00:41:04
He has already
reconciled us to Himself.
-
00:41:07
And that gives us
the power to not only
-
00:41:09
live reconciled
to God, but to live
-
00:41:11
in reconciled relationship
with each other.
-
00:41:14
A good friend of
mine, Fadi Kamel,
-
00:41:16
is an Iraqi believer in Jesus,
-
00:41:18
comes from three generations
of Iraqi followers of Jesus.
-
00:41:22
He lives in the Detroit area now
-
00:41:24
and I had a chance to talk
with him about all of this.
-
00:41:26
And one of the
things he said is that
-
00:41:28
as he thinks about
Revelation 7:9,
-
00:41:30
he thinks of it like
a family reunion.
-
00:41:32
How beautiful will
it be to be in heaven
-
00:41:35
and recognize that you're family
-
00:41:37
with people who have a
very different language,
-
00:41:39
a different life experience,
-
00:41:41
a different hue than
you, that you get to
-
00:41:43
enjoy the richness
of their culture
-
00:41:44
and they get to enjoy
the richness of yours.
-
00:41:46
That's the joy that you and I
-
00:41:49
will experience
one day in heaven
-
00:41:50
and the joy that
you and I can work
-
00:41:54
to experience more
right here and right now
-
00:41:58
through the reconciling
work Jesus did on the Cross.
-
00:42:01
So I want to invite you
as we think about this,
-
00:42:03
to do what followers
of Jesus have done
-
00:42:06
for centuries to
remind themselves
-
00:42:09
of how we can be unified
amidst our diversity.
-
00:42:11
And that is to join in this
shared moment of communion.
-
00:42:15
So maybe you have
bread and you have juice
-
00:42:17
or something else that
you're going to drink,
-
00:42:19
but maybe you have one
of these communion kits.
-
00:42:21
If you have that, you can
go ahead and take that out.
-
00:42:24
But Jesus was
establishing a family rhythm
-
00:42:28
for people from
all walks of life
-
00:42:31
when on the night
before He died,
-
00:42:33
He got together with
his followers, His 12,
-
00:42:36
and He said to them that
-
00:42:37
we're going to
have bread tonight.
-
00:42:39
You can take
whatever you're using
-
00:42:40
as your element of bread.
-
00:42:41
He said, "But this
bread is different,
-
00:42:43
because this represents
My body broken for you
-
00:42:46
so that you can be
reconciled to God."
-
00:42:50
And he said in the Bible,
in another place, it says,
-
00:42:52
"So whenever you eat this bread,
-
00:42:54
you remember that, you show
forth and remember His death."
-
00:42:57
So we're going to
do that right now
-
00:42:59
in gratitude and in hope
-
00:43:02
that through Jesus
we can be reconciled.
-
00:43:04
I invite you to enjoy it and
take the bread of Christ.
-
00:43:16
Later on at the same meal,
Jesus just took a cup of wine.
-
00:43:22
And he said to His disciples,
-
00:43:23
"I want you to see this
differently from here on out.
-
00:43:26
I want you to see this as
a symbol of My shed blood,
-
00:43:28
the blood that will break down
-
00:43:31
the dividing wall of hostility
between you and God
-
00:43:34
through the forgiveness of sin.
-
00:43:36
And that same blood
that will break down
-
00:43:39
the dividing wall of hostility
-
00:43:40
between you and
every other person,
-
00:43:42
particularly those who
are in My Kingdom.
-
00:43:44
We're family now."
-
00:43:45
And He said and it says
in another part of the Bible,
-
00:43:48
"Whenever you drink this
cup, you remember that."
-
00:43:51
So let's drink in
gratitude together.
-
00:44:02
See, I believe it's
possible for the church
-
00:44:06
in this moment to
model something
-
00:44:09
the world desperately
needs to see:
-
00:44:11
Reconciliation,
unity amidst diversity.
-
00:44:16
How does it happen?
Through humble exchange,
-
00:44:20
through deep relationships,
-
00:44:21
a commitment to keep
journeying together
-
00:44:24
and allowing God's
spirit to animate us
-
00:44:28
to action in this world based on
-
00:44:31
the reconciling power of Jesus.
-
00:44:33
Hey, this is a
hard conversation,
-
00:44:35
but I've got to tell
you, I have hope.
-
00:44:37
I have hope that
we can be different.
-
00:44:40
I have hope that God is working.
-
00:44:42
This is a battle,
and so, of course,
-
00:44:44
we're going to have
fights along the way.
-
00:44:45
But let me tell you something.
-
00:44:47
We serve a God who
has never lost a battle.
-
00:44:50
So let's sing and declare
that together right now.
-
00:49:11
– God can do all things, and
He is working in this area,
-
00:49:15
and I want us to keep
this conversation going.
-
00:49:18
So I want to invite
you this week
-
00:49:19
to read the Book of
Micah, a book that talks
-
00:49:22
about these issues,
not in our context,
-
00:49:24
but in the Old
Testament context.
-
00:49:26
We're going to be
reading that this week.
-
00:49:27
It's seven chapters, so
over the next seven days,
-
00:49:30
if you go into the
Crossroads app,
-
00:49:31
read a chapter, put
your comments in there.
-
00:49:33
I'm going to be commenting,
-
00:49:35
other leaders are
going to be commenting.
-
00:49:36
And I'm also going to
be doing some things
-
00:49:38
on social media
throughout the week,
-
00:49:40
just sharing reflections.
-
00:49:41
I'm going to be doing
an ask me anything,
-
00:49:43
so you can connect
to me on social media
-
00:49:45
and be a part of that as well.
-
00:49:46
I want us to have
this conversation.
-
00:49:47
This is about our
spiritual formation
-
00:49:49
and God is taking
us somewhere good.
-
00:49:52
We'll see you later.
-
00:49:55
– God intended for
there to be diversity
-
00:49:57
in the world He created,
and He designed us
-
00:49:59
to live in unity
with one another.
-
00:50:01
Despite the fact
that we're a long way
-
00:50:03
from that these
days, I hope that
-
00:50:05
this video gave you some
clarity and perspective.
-
00:50:08
– Absolutely.
-
00:50:09
Hey, like we mentioned earlier,
-
00:50:10
Crossroads just celebrate
our 25th anniversary
-
00:50:13
and we're celebrating by
giving away $2.5 million
-
00:50:16
to partners all over the world.
-
00:50:19
Now, over the next
several weeks, you'll see
-
00:50:21
how God is using that
generosity to make an impact.
-
00:50:25
But today you're going to
hear from my friend Victor
-
00:50:27
about how you can
actually be one of
-
00:50:29
the stories of impact
that we celebrate.
-
00:50:31
– That's right, and don't miss
next week on Crossroads.
-
00:50:39
– The justice
question comes when
-
00:50:41
the question is posed:
what do we do about that?
-
00:50:44
Do we separate ourselves?
-
00:50:45
Do we isolate ourselves?
Do we look away?
-
00:50:48
Or are we compelled
to do something?
-
00:50:51
And that's why, for
me, there is an urgency
-
00:50:55
in this country to
do something about
-
00:50:58
the over incarceration that
has condemned so many.
-
00:51:02
– For the past 25
years, this church
-
00:51:05
has said yes to having an impact
-
00:51:06
in the local communities
that we're a part of.
-
00:51:08
We have supported hundreds
of organizations globally
-
00:51:11
to have a local impact.
-
00:51:13
And today we would invite you,
-
00:51:14
our online church
community, to be a part
-
00:51:16
of this world-changing
movement we call Crossroads.
-
00:51:19
So for the next 25
weeks, we're going to
-
00:51:21
be investing $100,000
in up to 10 projects
-
00:51:25
that you will lead,
-
00:51:27
whether that is
serving your neighbors
-
00:51:29
or supporting people in your
community that are in need,
-
00:51:33
coming alongside
local nonprofits,
-
00:51:34
or maybe even starting
your own organization.
-
00:51:37
Whatever it is that
God is calling you,
-
00:51:39
we want to support you,
we want to encourage you.
-
00:51:41
Go to Crossroads.net/letsgo
-
00:51:44
to find out more
inspiration and information
-
00:51:47
on how you can be a part of
-
00:51:49
this world-changing movement
and make a difference.
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00:51:52
So let's go. Let's
together change the world.