The Richness of Diversity and Why We Need It

It has been evident and obvious to me over the last few days that most American’s seem to live in a homogeneous bubble. Just take a peek at all the comments and links splattered all over social media and you will find many speaking emotionally, rarely taking the time to think through a comprehensive grid. 

But how can we think through a comprehensive grid when our circles, churches and families are primary monolithic and unbalanced? 

I have the amazing privilege to be a white man married to an educated black woman. I also happen to have 3 children, 2 of whom are very educated and thoughtful bi-racial teenagers (my other child is bi-racial and smart too, she is just too young to understand yet!). If you look at my facebook “friends” you will see a diverse group made up mostly of minorities. God chose in His infinite wisdom to groom me by placing me in an urban black context during the most impressionable years of my life. 

This allows me to see events like the Trayvon Martin death through a wider, more comprehensive scope taking into consideration many factors though I am certainly not an expert on race, and am certainly not black so I could NEVER completely carry the burden of what it means to be black in America (Thought my kids would argue I was born the wrong color...lol). But although I may be white, because of my experiences I view life differently and see things from a more robust worldview. 

I feel the pain of blacks who have been racially profiled and put into certain categories all their life. I know what it’s like for my wife when white’s ask her for the “black perspective”, as if she or any other black speaks for the entire race (Why we project that any individual speaks for an entire race is beyond my comprehension and lacks common sense). 

I feel the pain of whites who have experienced liberal mainstream media taking advantage of every racial opportunity to spin and promote for the purpose of gaining viewers and making a dollar while ignoring many other justice issues. 

I feel the pain of blacks because the systemic racism and segregation that built this country on black labor continues to operate through a white racial framing (most whites have no idea they think through this lens...read “The White Racial Frame” to learn more). 

I feel the pain of whites because they see gross hypocrisy in outcries of justice when Trayvon Martin’s life is valued but most blacks are silent regarding black on black killings that take place every year by the thousands. I feel the pain that innocent children are aborted (disproportionately black) and for the most part there is no outcry of injustice. It seems to many whites that the only time black life is valued is when it is taken by a non-black person. 

I feel the pain of blacks that experience on going racism in our country and know first hand that white privilege exists. I also feel the pressure blacks face to “prove others wrong” because unfortunately stereotypes exist in which they start out on an unequal playing field. I also feel the pain of the young men I mentor and the challenges they face as black men growing up in the inner city. One of my 11 years old's commented yesterday that “he wished he were white” because he already has internalized racial oppression and carries a low view of himself because from his vantage point, "life for a black man is hard"... 

I feel the pain of whites who have tried to understand race but live in fear of being rejected and misunderstood when it comes to speaking out about race. 

I feel the pain of blacks who don't understand why more whites simply fail to have compassion toward a family who just lost a precious son. 

I just feel pain that most of the polarization I have seen is from Bible believing Christians who don’t have a wide enough pallet of friends to see a bigger picture here, on both sides of the spectrum. 

This is why I believe race is still a huge theological issue that needs to be addressed from our pulpits. Preachers cannot talk about revival and restoration in our country if they are only addressing it to one people group and fail to deal with the sins of the past and the damage that has caused and will continue to cause. America is made up of a diverse group of Christians and we need the “manifold wisdom of God” which Paul speaks of in his letter to the church at Ephesus. 

How is that so many pastors can speak to the "ism's of life; materialism, hedonism, sexism...but never address racism as a theological and ethical issue?

I feel the pain of blacks when whites constantly comment about how good our country used to be. We speak as though our nation has always been God fearing and project this idea that the country was built on Christian principles while ignoring the mass killing of Native Americans and the institution of slavery which happened not only under only the churches watch, but was based on a theology and anthropology contrary to Bible though using Scripture wrongly. 

Until we re-assess this glorified view of America, neglecting due diligence in our understanding of historical facts from black history, we will never progress because we are not dealing with the past from a broad enough lens in order to move forward in a repentant manner. 

While God has been gracious to America I believe it is actually in spite of us, and simply because He is merciful not because we have always been so moral, so upright, so good or so loving. In actuality the church in America has always been divided over race and mixed race congregations are the exception not the norm. 

It is interesting to me that Jesus told His disciples “they will know you are my disciples by the love you have one for another”. Not your intellectualism, not your piety, not your beliefs, but LOVE. Love is not cynical or sarcastic it is patient and long suffering. Love is not emotional and reactionary but intentional and thoughtful, speaking the truth yet doing so patiently. It considers implications before it speaks and responds. 

Revival and change will not happen until love is seen and experienced across ethnic and socio-economic lines and until then we will remain polarized and divided, mocked by the world around us, not because of the offense of the gospel, but because of the hypocrisy they see. 

We need a new movement. 

A movement where we are needy and dependent on one another’s gifts and experiences. Where white churches take on the cares and concerns of poor blacks in a dignifying way, realizing how much history has played a part and seeking to learn from them about suffering and the injustice and oppression they have faced and continue to face. And black churches need forgiveness and a willingness to be vulnerable and patient when explaining hurts and frustrations, realizing that whites unknowingly operate out of a framework that requires deconstruction on many levels. 

Until we realize that race is an issue that must be tackled we will remain stagnant in our country and divided. Sure conversions will still take place and God will accomplish His purpose, but we will all miss out on the richness that diversity brings in how we understand Scripture and see the world we live in. 

So in conclusion I don’t have an opinion of the Trayvon Martin case because I wasn’t there. I am not an attorney, I don’t know the law, and I don’t know facts because the whole case was propagated from the very outset. While many have jumped to conclusions and chosen a side, I feel pain for all those involved. 

I feel pain for the Martin's on the loss of their son. I feel compassion toward the issues that many blacks in America. I am always ready to listen and learn and repent where I am wrong and seek forgiveness. 

I just know that this case has exposed a deep need in our country for racial reconciliation and that is something that only the gospel can bring about. Only the gospel brings broken sinners together unifying them at the cross of Christ where we are equally broken before a holy God and in need of a new record (Christ sinless perfection), a new life (guided by the Holy Spirit), a new family (made up of every tongue, tribe, and nation), and a new found repentance which promotes continuous vulnerability and love one for another. A love that will be willing to suffer rejection and misunderstanding but remain faithful to God’s call for the restoration of all things.