The Table Briefing: The Church’s Role In Racial Reconciliation

By Darrell L. Bock and Mikel Del Rosario

[Darrell L. Bock is Senior Research Professor in New Testament Studies and Executive Director for Cultural Engagement at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Mikel Del Rosario is a doctoral student in New Testament Studies, Project Manager for Cultural Engagement at Dallas Theological Seminary, and adjunct professor at William Jessup University, Rocklin, California.]

“When I was in seminary, we visited a very famous Bible church. The deacons there let us know that this was not a place for us to come.” Pastor Tony Evans of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship recounted an experience he never forgot, especially as an African American man in Dallas, Texas, during the 1970s. On a Table podcast called “Biblical Racial Reconciliation,” he recalls how “the subject on the marquee that particular Sunday was about love,” and he says, “I found that real interesting.”

While this shocking incident may not be normal in American churches today, Evans notes that “11:00 on Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour” in the nation. Where this is not the case, many find segregation evident after worship services have concluded. What role must the church play in bringing a ministry of reconciliation to the community of faith and society as a whole?

In a series of four podcasts, Darrell Bock talks with Christian leaders in the African American community who understand what is needed. This briefing highlights a key theme in these episodes: While society divides, the gospel unites—in a way that moves people from conversation to action in a unity that gives society pause. These leaders discuss how the gospel unites people across ethnic and cultural boundaries. They highlight three key passages of Scripture that reveal God’s heart for racial reconciliation, and they share three ways the church can advance biblical racial reconciliation—both in the community of faith and in the public square.

Society Divides, But The Gospel Unites

Scripture is realistic in acknowledging divisions in society. Passages urging Christian unity appear often in the New Testament. Amid ethnic tensions of the first century, Jews and Gentiles united by their identity in Christ strongly evidenced God’s peace and ministry of reconciliation. This picture of unity in diversity culminates in John’s vision of “an enormous crowd that no one could count, made up of persons from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,” shouting God’s praises together in worship (Rev. 7:9).

The gospel brings reconciliation between God and human beings as well as reconciliation between ethnic groups. While society divides, the gospel unites—in ways that must move believers to act. When public dialogue polarizes the conversation, causing further pain and division, the church must demonstrate the power of the gospel to bring reconciliation and unity across ethnic boundaries—in the fold and in the community.

In Oneness Embraced, Evans suggests that racial problems remain in many parts of the nation because of “the church’s failure to come to grips with this issue from a biblical perspective.”[1] What do the Scriptures reveal about God’s heart for racial reconciliation and the kinds of steps Christians must take to bridge the gap?

God’s Heart For Racial Reconciliation

Evans observes how African Americans and Anglo-Americans can hinder the pursuit of unity by placing culture above Scripture. For example, some unconsciously “amalgamate the tenets of black culture with their faith” while others become defensive in an attempt to protect their traditions when faced with the issue of interracial dating and marriage.[2] In stark contrast, the Scriptures reveal God’s heart for challenging societal systems of worth based on race. While society tends to exacerbate hurtful tensions and further divide people, God brings people together in love and compassion. Bock and Evans discuss three New Testament passages highlighting the horizontal aspect of reconciliation.

Bock: In Luke 3, John the Baptist makes the exhortation, “Make fruit worthy of repentance” (v. 8). We lose this word connection in the English because the verb in Greek is . . . ποιέω. People ask, “What shall we do,” in English, but it’s the same verb in Greek. “What should we do? What should we make?” if you want to keep it that way.

In the three replies John gives, none of them have to do with how the person is relating to God. All three of them have to do with how the person is relating to their neighbor. Normally, when we think about the word “repentance,” we think about our relationship to God, but in this passage repentance is translated in terms of how you’re interacting with someone else. . . . That’s actually the way the Ten Commandments are structured . . . one table is about how to relate to God and the next table is about how I’m relating to others.

Evans: That’s right.

Bock: Boil that down to the great commandment: “Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, [and] love your neighbor as yourself.” God is about the business of reconciliation. You go to Ephesians 2:11-22—another famous Jew and Gentile passage. The whole point of Jesus’s death is to bring us into one new man and to take Jew and Gentile and make them [one. These were] two groups that racially hated one another. . . . Gentiles tried to wipe the Jews out. Christianity says, “You’re going to love that guy. You’re going to love that guy who tried to wipe you out.” In Christ, there’s a basis around which you can rally and come together and be one people.

Evans: Absolutely. I love [the story in] John 4 [about the] Samaritan woman. Because Jesus meets her on common ground. . . . He didn’t go to Sychar. He meets her at Jacob’s Well and she notices that he’s a Jew. She says, “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?” . . . while he was visibly Jewish, he wasn’t acting like any other Jew she had ever met. . . . Jesus didn’t change what his father made him, he just didn’t let what he was made in his humanity interfere with what he could be doing.

Bock: He crossed the line and she was shocked.

Evans: And that’s what needs to happen. We need to shock some folk. [Jesus told his disciples,] “Don’t say four months and then comes the harvest. These Samaritan men are coming right now, so let’s get to work right now.” So, he trained his men and then the story ends: “And he spent two days with the Samaritan men.” We start out with him not even going to the city. [And after] one conversation, he’s hanging out [with Samaritans] on the weekend. When we decide to become radical Christians, we can change the social temperature.

One of God’s goals is to actualize reconciliation beyond the merely personal and individual so that it also extends into relationships believers have with other people. This is one reason Jesus’s encounter with the Samaritan woman was so profound. In his context, many Jews avoided contact with Samaritans due to a kind of racial prejudice. Beyond this, most Jewish men considered it taboo to talk to a Samaritan woman. Jesus rejected societal systems of worth based on race, even breaking cultural norms in surprising ways.

While American society struggles with developing lasting unity amid diversity, the church has the opportunity to demonstrate a kind of unity that is radically counter-cultural. How can the church better work to advance biblical racial reconciliation?

Three Ways The Church Can Better Advance Biblical Racial Reconciliation

The church must exemplify the connection between the gospel and social justice. Conversations with Christian leaders in the African American community brought out three key ways the church can advance biblical racial reconciliation in church and society. First, churches must help Anglo-Americans acknowledge and better understand the uniqueness of the African American experience. Second, they must help all believers find their primary identity in Christ. Third, the church—especially Anglo-American pastors—must lead in moving people from conversation to action.

Understand The African American Experience

Tangible change begins with understanding. While people from a variety of cultural backgrounds know what it means to be misunderstood and marginalized, there is a uniqueness to the African American experience that is often underappreciated. In a podcast called “The Church’s Role in Racial Reconciliation,” Pastor Bryan Carter of Concord Church in Dallas shares his experience and the significance of black churches for many African Americans.

Carter: One of the challenges we face is that we ignore the distinctives that shape my Christian experience. We have a common gospel, a common faith, but . . . there is some uniqueness to my experience as an African American, and even my experience is not monolithic. . . . There are different aspects that reflect the African American Christian experience. We cannot ignore the theology of suffering that has been a part of our heritage through the civil rights movement, through the implications of racism, and even today. . . . Those implications, those influences still shape the way that I come to church.

The black church historically has been a place of hope, it’s been a place of encouragement, it’s been a place of collaboration; it’s been a place where the black church historically has had a heavy influence in this community. It wasn’t just a place where I heard the gospel. That pastor was a father figure, that pastor was engaged in the community as a community leader.

Bock: It was a refuge in some ways.

Carter: It was a refuge. [The pastor] was free to speak for me when no one else could—when I couldn’t speak for myself. . . . As a black person in America, suffering has been a part of my heritage; I still live with that today.

Elizabeth Woodson, who serves as the Single Life Coordinator at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, resonates with this. She notes that churches—especially those with predominantly Anglo-American parishioners—must acknowledge and better understand the “dynamics of being black in America.” She challenges African Americans in the church to help their brothers and sisters understand how history affects the way many African American believers live, work, and minister. Still, mere understanding is not enough. The goal is to become more Christlike, taking tangible steps to correct misdirected efforts, address hurtful errors of the past, and realize healing though unity in Christ.

Woodson: [The church must better] understand . . . the history of the black church and the context in which it developed to contextualize the suffering, the oppression that [black people in America] were experiencing . . . from the time of slavery. [The church must better understand] black evangelicalism to be able to contextualize [the question] “How does my theology affect my sociology?” and [understand] the dynamics of being black in America and living in a racialized society.

People in this conversation about race [say], “I’m not racist. I’m not prejudiced,” but [they must understand what it means] to live in a society where economic, social, psychological benefits might not come to you based upon the color of your skin. [They must understand] this biculturalism, that as an African American I have to be able to engage in a dominant culture that might not value my church experience, might not value the dynamics in which we present the gospel or preach or just some aspects of the black church experience that are very rich in tradition and history.

To understand what [tradition and history] mean to the experience of a black person in the church is to understand the experience of what it means to be black in America. We have to unpack [this experience for the church so we] can correct . . . some of the directions that we’re going as a country [that] really aren’t reflecting who Christ is.

One key way churches can better advance biblical racial reconciliation is by first acknowledging and seeking to understand the African American experience. While cultural identity is important, however, believers must see their identity in Christ as primary. Pastors must highlight this in order to set a tone that enables communities to better work together.

Help Believers Find Their Primary Identity In Christ

Theology affects sociology, so pastors must be intentional about helping believers find their primary identity in Christ, elevating this corporate bond over societal and cultural categories that often polarize race conversations. Bock and Evans discuss the importance of emphasizing identity in Christ.

Bock: As a pastor, shepherding the African American community, what would you say to the African American community in terms of how they look at these kinds of issues?

Evans: First of all, I would say to them, “Your blackness and all that that means to you is never to trump your relationship with Christ, to the cross, or to the Scripture.” Because we are so culturally sensitive, oftentimes culture will trump the Bible. Once you do that, we’re in a no-man’s land.

Bock: It’s tribalism.

Evans: Yeah. We will never solve anything [that way]. We’ve got to now bring our culture and our race under the authority of Jesus Christ, and that means under the authority of Scripture.

Woodson notes that believers from a variety of cultural backgrounds are beginning to do this. More and more recognize the need to come together across racial lines, acknowledging failures and taking the initiative to work for change.

Woodson: People realize there is a problem. I’ve seen black and white, Asian, [and] Latino believers say, “We need to come together. . . . We need to address this issue of the prioritization of certain social issues within our culture and [clarify] . . . our theology. What do we believe as believers, as brothers and sisters in Christ?” Because that is the closer bond that we have—not racial ties, but this tie we have as being a part of the kingdom of God. How do we take that theology and how do we allow it to impact our sociology? It’s been this catalyst to push people into conversations that are saying, “Hey, we need to do something about this.”

Bock: One thing that bothers me . . . [is] the “Yes, but” response. The emphasis is not on the “yes.” The emphasis is on the “but.” And the point here is that someone says, “Yes, I recognize that, but . . . ,” and then they’ll talk about whatever they perceive the other side as doing.

I call it “not owning your own junk.” You push it off and say, “Well, they’re doing this,” and sometimes the suggestion is, “What they’re doing is worse than the problem that we have,” and you wash your hands and you walk away, but that’s not a Christian response. The Christian response is . . . to recognize, “We fall short here.”

Take The Lead In Moving People From Conversation To Action

While the natural tendency may be fearful disengagement, racial reconciliation must become an intentional part of how churches shape their ministries. If the church does not take the initiative to engage this issue from a biblical perspective, who will? Bock and Carter discuss the church’s role in moving people from conversation to action.

Carter: For [our church], it’s about making it an intentional part of how we shape our ministry.

Bock: Yeah, because it isn’t going to happen by default.

Carter: By default we drift away instead of stepping into that space. So for us, it’s partnering with churches. . . . This year we had eight black [churches and] eight white [churches] swap pulpits on the same day around this ideal of “Let’s begin to share this worship together, but let’s also begin to talk about ‘How do we engage in the city together?’ “. . . A reconciled church can do much more than a church in our own area alone.

So, it’s us finding ways to serve together, have conversations; so we’ve done that with another church in our city. We’ve had our men spend four weeks together and talk about the history of racism in the country, talk about the dynamics in our city, and then [ask], “What’s the game plan? How do we move forward in addressing this issue in real ways?”

While the black church can be an advocate for the African American community, Anglo-American pastors must be intentional in making tangible efforts toward racial reconciliation—both in the church and in the public square. Carter shares how his church has taken steps with white pastors to help believers engage local issues and move beyond conversation to action:

Carter: One unique [thing] with our situation is the partnership with my friend in the city, Jeff Warren—a white pastor who’s leading [Park Cities Baptist Church] into this space. . . . One of the things we’re discovering is that it really calls on the white pastor. (I mean, the black pastor—we can talk about it every day, all day.) But when that white pastor steps up and preaches a series and challenges his church and engages them, I think that’s really the space we’re in now, that we need that kind of leadership. He’s really been a great partner in the city, and I’ve seen a lot of other pastors partner with us.

We brought together our men [from black and white churches], we sat down around round tables, . . . and we talked. [Jeff] taught a lesson on systemic racism and then we had discussion . . . about “What does that look like in our city?” [We] talked about the poverty, the lack of opportunities, and then we talked about “Okay, what are our next steps?”

We identified about ten key next steps, and we’re going to commit . . . around those, one being around the economic issues, one developed around the mass incarceration system, and one around just deepening our relationships.

Bock: And all we’re talking about here is applied theology.

Carter: It’s applied theology, essentially. It’s not that we’re dealing with politics. It’s us dealing with gospel issues. We can’t disconnect. In the black church, you can’t be disconnected from the social issues. I mean they’re all around us. The poverty, the lack of quality education, all of those issues are a part of who we are, but sometimes in the white church because of the communities that they live in they may not have those issues really around the church. So for us it’s to make sure we don’t disconnect those two [things], to make sure it’s a gospel issue for quality education, opportunities for those in poverty, and helping to provide economic opportunities.

For many African Americans, the black church is a refuge, a resource, and an advocate. This is why its pastors are often prominent in speaking out on almost every sphere of life. In this, it seems the Anglo-American church can find something instructive in terms of taking the lead on efforts toward racial reconciliation and moving people from conversation to action in the community of faith and in their local neighborhoods. In an episode called “A Biblical View of Racial Unity,” Jeff Warren shares his message to Christian brothers and sisters in both Anglo-American and African American churches:

Warren: [To the Anglo churches, I’d say,] “Step into [the African American] story.” It’s so important for white people to recognize that there’s been a different story for the African American. Most white pastors don’t realize that the letter from the Birmingham jail, Dr. King’s letter, was to me. It was to the white man who was deciding, “Let’s don’t get involved.” To the moderate white who said, “I’m gonna stay out of this.” And he’s calling them out. So I would challenge all white pastors to read his letter. . . .

To the African American [churches, I’d say,] “There are white people who want to be part of the solution. [Please] continue to be gracious and forgiving.” And that’s all that I have found when I’ve come among my brothers and gone into the African American churches, particularly Concord Church—just so much grace that comes my way. Continue to be patient and humble and know that not everybody’s informed. . . . There are those of us who are working, there are those who are for helping white folks come along in their understanding.

These efforts must never be or come across as paternalistic. Not surprisingly, the importance of mutual respect is something with which all minorities resonate. Pastor Eric Mason expressed this well as he joined the conversation with Bock, Carter, and Woodson in “The Church’s Role in Racial Reconciliation.” He directly challenges Anglo-Americans at Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia and those interested in joining that church:

Mason: “Don’t become a part of the church as a missionary opportunity, but actually come up under the leadership of ethnic minorities and be in community with people that aren’t like you. [Join in] the mission of the gospel and see us engaging our neighborhood, prison, school pipelines—all those different types of things—as gospel issues, not merely social justice issues, but central gospel issues that the church as a whole is hitting up. Not just black people.”

What might it look like for the church to heed this call and rise to the challenge? Evans and Bock discuss tangible steps.

Evans: To the Anglo leaders, I would say . . . to connect with a minority pastor in a minority church on equitable terms—because he’s your equal as a pastor or as leaders, and to say, “What can we do together to improve the lives of people that you are ministering to?”

What we promote is a solemn assembly concept, to come together, worship together, pray together, and invoke God for unity together. You can do that between churches or you can do that through a whole host of churches. So you do that, and the pastors agree to it when they meet first. . . . So now their churches and leadership and congregation are meeting.

Our big thing is to adopt a school and I need to explain why. Because in that school you have kids. Those kids have parents; that’s family. Church, school, and family make up community. And you never run out because you have new kids and new families coming all the time. . . . The other thing is that nobody disagrees with education, kids, and families. So you’ve got something that the community can accept. It doesn’t polarize anybody. So you come up with something that allows you to minister together . . . over something that is a priority to this minority pastor’s need . . . and recognizing his leadership in the process.

Bock: So becoming a servant to that community is actually the way. . . .

Evans: Let [the minority pastor] agree where you worship. His building may be too small, but [as] long as he’s agreeing with it, then everybody’s comfortable and it’s not just you saying, “Come over here.” So sometimes that means a neutral site if the building is too small.

Bock: It’s really important for the Anglo side to come into the black world and see it.

Evans: Absolutely right. If the project you come up with is in that world, now you’re engaging the world. You’re not just visiting it; you’re engaging it. When there are issues that show up in your community, because you’re already together, you’re not just coming together to react. You’ve already been together in ministry, and now you can speak to it.

To the black pastors, I will say, “Take advantage of the offer, okay? Don’t resist it. Don’t reject it. Vet it like you would vet anything for its legitimacy but take advantage of the offer. If this pastor’s reaching out to you . . . reach out to him and say, ‘Look, in light of what’s happening, everybody’s sensitive to it. In light of what’s happening in the culture, why don’t we put our Christianity first and let our culture now be subservient to it and find out what we can do together to make this a better place for everybody to live?’ “

In this new generation, there are a lot of pastors who want that. There are a lot of churches that are now becoming somewhat integrated. So you will find now an open hand and an open heart. Take advantage of that. Don’t dismiss it. At the same time, train your people to be accepting of it based on what Jesus wants, not based on how they feel. That’s why you are the leader.

Bock: It’s going to be awkward for everybody.

Evans: It’s going be awkward for everybody, but it needs to be awkward for somebody so that we can do something that benefits all.

Bock: Yeah. Now let me tell you a lesson that I think I’ve learned. . . . There is an attitude that Anglos can have in the midst of this kind of ministry that actually can work against what’s going on even when you’re well intentioned. And that is a patronizing attitude, an attitude where you walk in and you say, “I’m here to help you. I’m here to rescue you.”

Evans: Oh, absolutely. [Anglo-American Christian missionaries ran] into this problem early on when they would go overseas because they’re “the great white hope,” and you know, you’re “the tribes.” [A patronizing attitude communicates], “We’re here to dominate.” But if you come in as a servant, you’re coming in recognizing they are living every day, every week, and every year [around the needs of their local community]. Recognize they are bringing something to the table because you don’t live there. You visit there. So recognizing their leadership is the biggest thing you could do.

As an outpost of God’s kingdom on earth, the church must take tangible steps to demonstrate that while society divides, the gospel unites. Although some in the evangelical world may bifurcate the gospel and social justice, the church must embrace both, because the Scriptures clearly reveal God’s heart for reconciliation.

The church’s role, then, is to advance biblical racial reconciliation in at least three ways: Helping Anglo-Americans understand the uniqueness of the African American experience, helping all believers find their primary identity in Christ, and taking the lead in moving people from conversation to actions that manifest God’s heart. In this way, the church can truly shine forth as a contrastive community whose unity across racial lines can only be explained as the work of God. The results of biblical racial reconciliation are manifest when Anglo-Americans and African Americans do more of life together, advance God’s kingdom together, and worship together as a foretaste of John’s vision in Revelation 7.

While hearing about Evans’s rejection at a church years ago may take believers aback, a visible ministry of reconciliation can give unbelievers pause as they witness the power of the gospel to move Anglo-Americans and African Americans to unity in the name of Jesus.

Notes

1. Tony Evans, Oneness Embraced: Reconciliation, the Kingdom, and How We Are Stronger Together (Chicago: Moody, 2015), 18.
2. Ibid., 58.