Unity + Diversity | What Color is God? Week 2

Unity and diversity. These days, those two words are almost guaranteed to start a fight. If we can’t even talk about words, then how on earth are we supposed to get along with other people? Turns out that God has some answer for us—join us today as Chuck helps us unpack a different way to move forward.

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    What color is God?
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    Separated from the full expression of His creation,
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    do we recognize His face?
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    Trapped in echo chambers and surrounded by noise,
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    can we hear His voice?
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    [news] Chauvin and his trial, the former --
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    [overlapping news reports]
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    – Inundated with opinions
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    and influenced by powerful points of view,
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    can we discern His truth?
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    In the midst of all the voices,
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    is there room for God to speak?
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    What if we turned off the noise?
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    – We've interrupted your day to tell you
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    God wants something better for you
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    than the nonstop strife and conflict
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    that we see in the culture all around us,
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    but in order for us to get there,
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    we have to stop, step back,
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    and look at the plan that God has for us.
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    – That's right.
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    He wants us to go after justice, after love and mercy.
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    And that's why I like your shirt again, Kyle.
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    It's a pretty fantastic shirt.
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    You know what? Because it's actually in the Bible.
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    Micah 6:8 says:
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    – Walking humbly with your God means
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    being willing to listen
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    to a different perspective than your own.
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    And today we're going to talk about two words
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    that no matter who you are, you definitely
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    have assumptions about what I mean if I say them:
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    unity and diversity. – That's right.
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    We all have our own set of assumptions
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    based on the words that we use, the people saying them,
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    or the context that they're getting said in.
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    So how on earth are we supposed to relate to each other?
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    – I think that's a great question.
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    I mean, how do we find common ground
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    with the people around us, right?
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    That's what you're asking.
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    And that's exactly what Chuck is going to talk about today,
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    how we talk about unity and diversity,
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    no matter where we're coming from.
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    – Hey, I'm Chuck, thanks for being with us
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    for the second week of What Color Is God?
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    Our series where we're talking about
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    what the Bible has to say about race.
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    And last week, if you were here,
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    Brian unpacked the what.
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    What is the basic foundational stuff
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    that the Bible says about race?
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    Today I'm going to get into the how.
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    I've got a lot of things to unpack for you today,
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    as you can tell by all the stuff on the table here.
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    But just a little bit about me.
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    I am a teaching pastor at Crossroads.
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    This is my passion.
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    I love spiritually forming God's people
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    and how to think about everything
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    the Bible calls us to, everything Jesus calls us to.
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    And specifically, I feel uniquely called
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    to engage in this conversation around race.
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    I launched and lead an organization called Undivided
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    where we're having this conversation
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    in churches all across the country.
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    And 2020 was a year of reckoning, in my opinion,
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    around race for our country and for the church.
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    And so I am glad that we're doing this series.
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    And I also just have to admit,
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    I'm a little nervous because this is hard to talk about.
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    This is a challenging conversation
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    for us to be having.
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    And so I just want to make two promises to you.
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    First is, I am sure I will communicate this imperfectly.
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    I don't want to. That's not my intention.
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    I've been very prayerful about this
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    and I'm sure there will be things that I say
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    with which you can disagree,
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    things that won't be accurate.
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    And yet I believe that despite my imperfection
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    as a communicator, God can meet you
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    where you are today and He can give you
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    a word that He wants you to hear around
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    how He's calling you to engage in this space.
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    So go with me on that.
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    And I want to say,
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    this is not going to be social commentary.
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    This is about spiritual formation.
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    So we really want to be rooted in the scripture.
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    Last week, Brian made three points.
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    The first was that race is a problem
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    and actually racism is a problem.
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    Race isn't a problem, but racism is a problem
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    because we use our racial differences
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    as points of separation.
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    And obviously we have a history in our country
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    where that's been used for oppression as well.
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    Second thing he said was that Crossroads is
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    and will be a multi ethnic church,
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    that we want to be a church where people
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    from all ethnicities, races, backgrounds,
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    nationalities, points of view
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    can come and feel welcomed
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    and hear about a Jesus who loves them
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    and who meets them right where they are.
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    And the third thing he said is that
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    we will be a community that will live
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    with our differences for a different harmony.
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    And today, I really want to get into
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    how do we do that?
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    But let's begin with the end in mind.
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    Let's talk about the vision, because
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    God gives a vision very clearly of
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    what the win is for His church
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    as it relates to racial unity amidst our diversity.
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    You know, we're asking the question,
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    what color is God?
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    That's a complicated question.
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    And maybe in some ways it's just meant
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    to be a provocative question, because
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    in Revelation 7:9, while it doesn't give us
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    the color of God, it certainly tells us
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    a lot about the color of God's people.
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    Revelation 7:9 says: And after this I looked --
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    this is John looking into the future
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    of what will happen at the end of time.
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    And he says:
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    So John is saying, at the end of time,
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    what he sees is a victorious party.
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    That's right.
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    These are people who are in white robes,
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    which symbolizes purity,
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    that they've been washed clean
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    of all of the crap that this broken world
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    has put on them, all the sin that they had committed.
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    And they have palm branches in their hand,
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    which was a sign of a victorious celebration
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    after an army had accomplished a battle victory.
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    So John is saying at the end of time,
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    there's a party and there are people
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    at that party that represent
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    the diversity of who God has made.
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    He uses four specific words.
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    He wants to be abundantly clear here.
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    First he says, it's people of all nations.
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    The Greek word there is ethnos.
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    I'm going to giving you a lot today,
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    so hang in there with me.
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    The Greek word ethnos
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    is where we get ethnicity from, right?
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    He also says that there are people
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    from every tribe, that's the word phylon.
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    So while ethnicities is one way
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    that we may differentiate,
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    there's also nationality, points of view,
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    kind of tribe. What tribe are you a part of?
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    They're all there as well.
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    Then he uses the word Laos,
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    which is the word for people.
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    He's saying there's all kinds of people groups
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    that are at this thrown celebration.
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    And then he also uses the word glosson,
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    which is the word for languages.
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    So it's a multiethnic, multi tribal,
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    multi national, multi language celebration
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    that we see at the end of the Bible.
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    And that is God's vision.
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    That's what God's church is meant to begin
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    to symbolize and reflect right here,
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    even as we know it will be perfected in heaven.
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    But there are things that get in the way
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    of us living that out right now.
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    And what we want to talk about today
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    is what gets in the way and how can we overcome it?
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    Would you join me in praying?
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    God, I pray this prayer that
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    You would be our teacher today
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    and Holy Spirit, as you teach us,
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    would you illuminate our hearts?
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    God, would you root us in Your truth
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    and would you shape our identity
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    and how we not just view, but how we live
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    and think and engage in this area of racial unity
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    all through the lens of Your Son, Jesus,
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    and the vision that we see in Revelation.
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    I pray this in Your name. Amen.
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    So we've got to deal with where we are,
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    you know, we've got to confront
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    the brutal facts of our reality,
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    as Jim Collins said in his famous book, Good to Great.
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    And the truth is, right now the church
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    is challenged when it comes to racial unity.
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    There's many statistics I could share with you,
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    but I want to share one with you
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    that I think kind of illustrates this.
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    It's from a study that was done by Lifeway Research.
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    The title of the study was
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    Sunday Morning in America Still Segregated
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    and that's okay with worshipers.
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    Take a look at these numbers.
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    It basically asked: do you think your church
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    is doing enough to be ethnically diverse?
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    67% of followers of Jesus in America said,
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    yes, our church is doing enough.
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    Only 25% said, no, there is more that we can do,
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    and 7% we're not sure.
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    Ed Stetzer, giving commentary
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    about this research says this:
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    I just want to say I think it's hard for us
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    to see the increasing diversity in our world
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    and believe that it's okay
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    for the church to somehow stagnate.
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    But when I read those numbers, you know what I hear?
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    I hear fatigue and I hear confusion.
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    I think that many of us are just so fatigued
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    by the conversation around racial division
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    and we're confused, even though we may want to see,
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    hey, what is the solution?
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    We all know the devil is in the details.
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    We know that when we get into
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    the nuances of the conversation,
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    it is really hard to find common ground.
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    And yet, it's not all bad news for the church.
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    There has been progress, and I think
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    we need to acknowledge the progress we've made.
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    So there are people who kind of have said,
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    "Hey, a multicultural, multiethnic church
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    is one in which there are 20% or more people
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    who are different from whatever
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    the predominant racial group is in the church.
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    So if you're a multi-ethnic church
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    and you're predominantly African-American,
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    when you get to 20% of people
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    who are not African-American,
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    you're a multiethnic church.
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    Crossroads is a church where multiple people
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    in our church, the multitude would be white.
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    When Crossroads gets to a place where 20% or more
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    of people are not white,
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    we are a multiethnic church.
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    That's the way they define that.
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    And I think it's important to see the progress
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    that's been made in the last 20 years on this topic.
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    So Catholic churches in 2006,
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    only 17% of Catholic churches were multiethnic,
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    but in 2019 it's up to 24%.
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    Mainline Protestant churches,
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    think your Lutheran Church, your Methodist Church,
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    only 1% of those churches were multi-ethnic in 2006
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    and in 2019 it's up to 11%.
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    Evangelical churches, which is probably
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    the best definition of a church like Crossroads
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    in 1998 it was 7% of churches that were multiethnic
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    and now it's 23% as of 2019.
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    And Crossroads has made progress too.
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    It is not the same church I walked into 21 years ago
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    when I started as a member at Crossroads.
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    So I want to give you a hope alert, hope alert.
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    Yeah. We talk about warnings, trigger warnings.
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    Let me give you a hope alert.
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    Even though it's a time when people feel
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    challenged in this conversation,
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    people are leaning in and you are leaning in
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    and because you are leaning in, I believe
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    God is doing something and wants to do something.
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    Question is, what's getting in the way?
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    Well, I have these images, these glasses here,
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    they're going to help me kind of unpack this,
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    because I believe this.
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    I believe when we see, like God sees,
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    we will love like God loves.
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    Whatever the issue, race included,
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    when we see it through the lens of Christ
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    and through the lens of scripture,
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    we will show up with a power to love
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    in that area in the way that God loves.
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    And so I'm talking to people here
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    who are pointed in the direction of Jesus.
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    And I want to say I think there's some lenses
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    that get in the way of us seeing race like God sees it.
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    So I have this pair of glasses on,
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    A, so you can see how strange I look in glasses.
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    I think I look strange in glasses,
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    but also to illustrate the first of these three lenses.
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    One of the things that's getting in the way
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    I call our ideology lens.
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    Our ideology lenses are getting in the way,
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    and specifically our political ideologies.
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    Brian referenced a quote from
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    a pastor in New York last week.
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    To summarize it, we get 8-9 hours a day on average,
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    the average American, getting our ideology reinforced
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    through our news sources,
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    through how and who we follow on our social media feeds.
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    And then you come to church for one hour a week
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    and let me just tell you, 8-9 hours a day
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    of secular ideology is not a match.
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    It's an unfair fight for the one hour a week
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    where you're getting formed in your theology,
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    on how to think about these things.
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    You know, Romans 12:2 talks about the fact
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    that we've got to be willing
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    to take off ideological lenses.
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    It says this:
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    I've got to be honest and tell you,
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    so many of us are more formed by our ideology
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    on how to think about race
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    than we are through the Bible.
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    So let me just be very clear,
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    liberal political ideology
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    and conservative political ideology
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    are patterns of the world.
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    It doesn't mean that they don't have good points in them.
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    It doesn't mean that you might not find
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    points that reflect the truth in the scripture.
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    But on a whole, they are patterns of this world.
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    They are not the pattern of the Kingdom of God.
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    Marxism and capitalism are patterns of this world.
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    The 1619 project and the 1776 project
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    are patterns of this world.
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    They may contain some truth,
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    but none of them contain all of the truth.
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    And they certainly should not supersede the Truth,
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    which is what we learn from the Bible and following Jesus.
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    So the question I would have you think about
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    when it comes to the ideological lens is,
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    are you being more conformed by worldly patterns
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    of thinking on race or are you allowing
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    the Scripture and Jesus to transform you
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    to have a biblical point of view on this?
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    Before you answer too quickly,
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    I just encourage you to check your sources.
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    Hebrews 5:12 talks about the importance for us
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    to mature in our ability to see things
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    through a biblical lens. It says this:
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    Listen to that.
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    So I would submit to you that
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    we have to be rooted in scripture
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    more than we are rooted in our ideology.
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    That's not the only lens that's getting in the way
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    of us seeing this issue the way that God does.
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    I think there's also our identity lens
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    that can get in the way.
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    Our identities, particularly our secondary identities.
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    Me, my secondary identity is I'm a black American,
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    you know, that's a secondary identity.
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    My primary identity is I'm a son of God.
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    I'm a follower of Jesus.
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    I'm a member, a citizen of the Kingdom.
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    I'm a brother and sister to every follower
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    around the world of Jesus who has whatever hue.
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    That's ultimately my primary identity.
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    What are your secondary identities?
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    Your secondary identities are your race,
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    your ethnicity, your nationality, your gender.
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    All of those things are secondary identities
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    to the primary identity you have in the eyes of God
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    if you're a follower of Jesus.
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    And here is the problem: Our identities
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    can become idols when we take
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    those secondary identities and make them primary,
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    they can become idols in our life.
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    And in 2021 we just have different forms of these idols.
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    One is right now in our culture, I think,
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    in some good reaction to what has been
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    a broken past toward the treatment of people of color,
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    but some overreaction to that.
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    Right now there is virtue given to voices
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    simply because they're voices of color.
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    Now, let me be very clear.
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    In a country where for far too long
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    voices of color have been diminished,
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    excluded, even demonized, I'm not saying
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    there shouldn't be a place for an introduction
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    of more voices of color, but to assume virtue
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    simply because a person is black or Latin X
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    or in a marginalized group, that's putting that prime --
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    that's making that identity a primary identity.
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    Now, by the same token, there is an identity
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    in our country of white nationalism,
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    Christian white nationalism.
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    And I'm not talking about people who showed up
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    in Charlottesville years ago with torches.
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    I'm not talking about them.
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    I'm saying that there is this conflation
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    between what it means to be Christian
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    with what it means to be American
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    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.
  • 00:51:52
    So let's go. Let's together change the world.

Process, journal or discuss the themes of this article - here's a few questions to get the ball rolling...

Welcome to the Weekend Follow-Up. The questions below are for the weekend of June 5 & 6 2021.

  1. Start off your group time playing two truths and a lie. Share two true things about you and one thing that’s a lie. Then the rest of the group has to guess which is the lie and which is the truth.

  2. Read Romans 12:2. Discuss how culture’s ideology has distorted your view of how God views topics like race.

  3. These lenses can keep us from seeing God’s truth. 1) Political Ideology 2) Identity 3)I just want this topic to go away.” Which one stands out to you the most? Why do you think that aspect is important to you right now?

  4. Read Colossians 3:12-17. We can engage in this topic through: 1) Humble exchange 2) Deep relationships 3) Spirit-led action. Share with the group which one you believe it is and where God may be inviting you to take a deeper dive. Then what is one step that you could take toward that space this week?

  5. Now close your time in prayer. Here’s an example: “With gratitude and hope we know we will be reconciled but only through you, Jesus. God uncover our hearts, and show us clearly, where we can model more of your ways than our own or the ways of the world. Amen.

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Jun 4, 2021 51 mins 56 sec

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