6.6.2020 - week 58
on where we go from here
wednesday … i had a profound experience … we were just about to start taping for our mid-week service. i have probably never been more aware of my other-ness, in the room with 25 people and preparing to speak to 500+ others, 98% of which are black. given the events of the week, i didn’t feel i could ignore the racial moment, but also felt so nervous about lecturing my friends in pain or saying something unhelpful. i threw away several different fully written messages, honing in on something from hebrews 11 on faith, past/present/future believing in what we can’t see yet.
right as we were about to start ... our drummer C-Von came bounding up on stage and said, ‘i have something to say, the holy spirit is prompting me.’ and to be honest, my stomach dropped. see, C-Von exemplifies so much of what i love about the community. he is accomplished and opinionated and proud of the life and family he has built: the kinda guy who wouldn’t hesitate for one second in telling you what he thinks. i was feeling unworthy of the moment, and so i projected onto him the expectation that he must be feeling the same. i honestly thought he was about to say .. maybe a white guy shouldn’t be speaking today.
he says, immediately choking back tears, ‘honestly, i can’t imagine what pastor luke must be thinking and feeling right now. he must be so nervous to preach to our community during this difficult time, lord please bless and help him.’
and i just started crying, tears pouring down my face … he SAW ME. i’m the privileged one. this is their moment to be heard, not mine. i’m the last person that should be on their radar, when their community is uprising and trying to finally topple the monster of systemic hatred. yet .. he put himself in my shoes and reached a hand of kindness toward me. they aren’t asking for more than their share, just a fair share.
and that’s kinda the whole thing i suppose, to my white friends … rather than trying to figure out a way to make the story about you or find stats to retrench your already decided viewpoint or defend your track record of caring about race issues in the past … what if you simply just tried to imagine how it feels to be in their shoes in this moment. just see people. and give kindness towards those you see ... what if ?
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
Luke and my hearts have been shaken in a good way this week. I know we have both looked inward to see our own failings in the past and present and ways we can grow to see with fresh eyes. We have both been in tears just at a loss of the pain of our friends that are part of the African American community and tried to have important conversations with our family both immediate and extended. We know we can never fully understand but we are standing with our brothers and sisters in the African American community.
Last week, I finished reading the book of Esther. I had not visited it in awhile but as I did I saw a note I had written from a message in 2019 from our pastor that said, “Esther is a book of the providence of God - He works behind the scenes.” Nowhere in the book is God’s name mentioned but the orchestration of events leads theologians and readers alike to the conclusion that God is weaving a tapestry only He could.
As I mulled over the events of last week and this book I have to believe that God is at work in the midst of this tragedy. I believe that Esther’s willingness to get uncomfortable for the sake of her people is an example for all of us, especially the white community as we have tolerated or may I say have allowed racial injustice to go on for far too long.
Like you I am absolutely horrified by the events of George Floyd’s death and the fact that it took more than a week to hold accountable the men that allowed it. I am mad that the African American friends that I have talked to ALL have stories of injustice. I am believing and praying by faith that God can use this tragedy to wake up America and to wake up the church.
In the book of Esther, it’s kind of a rags to riches story and as she reigns as queen she could have ignored the injustice coming on her people. But instead she stood courageously knowing she could have been rejected by the king. I am speaking now to my white friends who read this newsletter, let’s stand with our brothers and sisters in Christ that have black skin. Let’s not allow another story like this to be told. Let’s stand with them and grieve with them and choose courageously to love and listen and speak against injustice that we see with our own eyes.
The other main point I took from Esther was that she had to courageously choose an uncomfortable stance in order to save her people. In the last year I have learned a fair bit about being uncomfortable. Luke and I basically left everything we knew and have begun to rebuild in a new state with a new home, a new community, a new school and a new church. At times I didn’t like that feeling of uncomfortableness, the one where everything feels unfamiliar and you can’t quite find your feet. But as I have thought much about it I think that being uncomfortable is the very posture of learning. Learning means growing. Whether that’s a project at work, a relationship in your life or a paradigm shift in your thinking; learning is always beneficial.
One of the main verses that you’ve probably heard quoted from the book of Esther says, “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” And I am begging the same question, what if it was such a time as this that we were in this season of ‘uncomfortableness’ prayerfully & courageously and it led to change because of our posture of learning.
cup of leadership
no one likes to be treated like a ‘people.’
it’s starting. pretty quietly and in the shadows, but it’s starting.
the what-about-ism of … ‘so what do they want exactly?’
is it cowardly to stay quiet or arrogant to say something?
should I post a black square or not ? but i’m going to get lectured in the comments.
it just seems like no matter what you say it’s wrong … i was talking to a guy, he LOVES Trump, so maybe it’s not as clear as people are saying. have you seen that one black lady who says racism doesn’t exist in her videos?
the implication appears to be that if the opinion of millions of people from multiple generations with racially aligned but often ethnically diverse backgrounds aren’t monolithic then it shouldn’t be trusted. a lot of people have experienced racism. and they have a variety of opinions on what should or shouldn’t happen next. if you have 1 friend of color, you don’t have the market cornered on perspective, but you have some.
if we are to be anti-racist, we must allow for a wide variety of perspectives from our friends of color. no one likes being treated like a ‘people.’
super christian guy
your ‘christian-ness’ can mute your god given humanity .. be careful
content this week
my sermon this week is called ‘what to do when you don’t know what to do’
(message starts at 22:23)
if you are interested in learning more about race and the church and america, i put together an annotated bibliography of 15 books on the topic that might help … get it here:
verse of the week
“seek the lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our god, for he will freely pardon.”
isaiah 55:6-7
pieces of good news I saw this week
like you probably, i spent most of the week watching the news and going to protests and have nothing super fun to share.