I am praying, as ever, that God would reconcile us to one another, that we may be one as Christ said Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me” (John 17:21). Reconciliation is not a DISTRACTION nor are racial issues ones to be leveraged for our own races agendas. Instead, reconciliation is a deep value of the gospel life, not a program to be run on the side, but a part of what it means to be in the Way of Jesus Christ today, for the Kingdoms values are not the same as those of the world! Whats more Reconciliation is our great witness to the world, as John 17 makes clear. No testimony is as clear as unity, nor any criticism as legitimate as disunity. I thought it might be instructive in these days, for many reasons, to read a few of these excerpts from The Wesleyan View of Racial Reconciliation. You can read the whole thing at the link below... or just start with these key paragraphs to inform what I hope are conversations filled with Grace, Peace, & Justice these days: Racism is not simply one sin among many, but rather a radical evil that divides the Church and humanity, corrupts institutions and undercuts the new creation of a redeemed world. When we devalue others and remain divided, we severely diminish our witness for Christ. ... ...a series of laws were passed, enacting the segregation of public schools, public places and public transportation as well as the segregation of restrooms, restaurants and drinking fountains for whites and blacks. These Jim Crow laws systematized a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages for African-Americans. During this time, Wesleyans were for the most part silent. When we fast forward to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s it seems that The Wesleyan Church had altogether lost the spirit of its abolitionist heritage and at times even found itself on the wrong end of the movement. ... while our denomination was born in an antislavery movement, we have sometimes ignored our own heritage and been guilty of both personal and collective racism and prejudice. For this sin, we have collectively repented and asked for God’s forgiveness, and we intend to strive for complete racial reconciliation, for we know that this is the will of God. ... The challenges are many and the pursuit of reconciliation and unity in the body of Christ can at times cause us to grow tired and weary. But let us not forget that great passage of Scripture affirming the fact that, “He himself (Jesus Christ) is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph. 2:14). It is the role of the Church to show God’s power by reconciling divided people and being more intentional about this process. CC: Wesleyan Justice Network, Thanks to Wayne Schmidt, Kyle Ray, and Jon Weist for their work on this statement some years ago, which has persistent relevance for today! wesleyan.org/748/a-wesleyan-view-of-racial-reconcilation
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 18:28:33 +0000
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