If my people...
Church, we need to wake from our slumber.
Pre-COVID, I kept feeling like Jesus was in the Temple flipping tables. How many “heads of churches” had to fall before we actually made significant changes? How many people had to get hurt? What would it take for us to acknowledge our sin, truly repent, and truly turn to God? The Church was falling short, failing to be the light she is called to be, and had been for years—women abused, mistreated, silenced, literally adult bullying at the highest levels of leadership, misuse of finances, years and years and years of junk being swept under the proverbial grace rug. All in an attempt to appease some kind of misguided and misunderstood theology, while trying to maintain a hold on any semblance of power and superiority.
Then, at the start of this pandemic I had a really strong sense in my spirit that God was up to something. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I sure do believe that God loves His Bride and when He sees her continually ignoring Him and not acting the way He has commanded her to, He’s not going to let her just sit there. I also believe in a God who is true to His word. And He says he uses all things for the good of His people and can take anything intended for evil and wield it for good. Could He be using COVID to disrupt His Bride and bring her back to Him? I thought this to be very, very possible. Actually, I thought it was likely.
And then, in the midst of all this, the video of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder was released. And the ugliness of racism that has been a plague on this country, enabled by my people for centuries, could not be ignored. Then Breonna Taylor, then Amy Cooper in Central Park, then George Floyd. And this is ONLY during the pandemic. And Ahmaud, Breonna, and George are the ones we know of well.
I am certain God is trying to get our attention. Make no mistake, He is not causing these atrocities. But He has given us free will and we haven’t used our will to be the light and help right the injustices of this world—we being the white evangelical church. In fact, we have done the opposite all while spouting Bible verses, theologies, and doctrines as our reasons and validations.
The Church is a body, made up of flawed humans. And while we have a supernatural God that desires us to seek Him with all the authority He says He has given us, I don’t believe that authority can be radically unleashed without a humbling—a repenting for our own personal contributions and complacency in racism. As well as a corporate repenting for the Church's role in white supremacy and the systemic injustice that in all seriousness, the Church, over history, has had ample opportunity to eliminate. We don’t like to admit it, but there were (and there still are in thinly veiled language and nuance) preachers that used the Word to justify slavery and the oppression of black people. And then, there are the years of deafening silence…
It’s only been a few years since I began to recognize my own privilege and learn what it means to be an anti-racist. And my goodness, do I know I have so very much more to uproot and to unlearn and relearn.
But this I am certain of, the depth of the evil that is racism can only be pushed back by a supernatural God.
We say we want revival. We gather our people to pray for our nation. We pray for healing. We pray for reconciliation. We pray for God to move His mighty hand and get all the glory.
But I fear we have skipped the very thing that activates the hand of God.
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)
Where are we Church? Where is our repentance? We cannot expect the Almighty to act on our behalf when we refuse to acknowledge our sinful participation in these systemic injustices. Our intercessions lack the authority and power of the God who conquered death and promises new life because we refuse to humble ourselves.
2 Corinthians 7:10 says, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
The passage continues on that godly sorrow produced in the Corinthian church an indignation, alarm, longing, concern, and readiness to see justice.
Friends, it’s not enough for us to feel for our Black brothers and sisters. It is absolutely a part of this unlearning, but we must allow this godly sorrow to produce a repentance that brings a radical and unwavering change. A change that seeks justice as we learn, listen, and follow people of color.
So in this season, Church, let us repent and pray “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.”
Do we truly want to see an unleashing of the power of God to erupt and rebuild a broken system? Do we truly want to see the Almighty bring healing and reconciliation to this nation?
Our prayers are platitudes without authentic repentance. Our calls for justice are hollow and ineffective when we don’t own our past and seek forgiveness for it.
And while we pray this, and seek the Almighty in our individual repentance, we must keep up the learning and listening. We must not turn from the hard work. We must do both simultaneously. In fact, as a good friend so wisely said, the more we learn, the more the need for continued repentance.
Church, will we join together in repenting for our contribution and apathy in systemic racism? If we want to see revival, if we want to see genuine change in this country, it must begin with changed hearts.
Our collective influence and actions can help bring change to this country. Our collective repentance will unleash the supernatural power of the Almighty and Just God.
