Because of the global nature of my job and the fact that I don’t pastor a local church in North America, I typically avoid commenting on American cultural and political issues. It is important — in fact, vital — for American pastors to engage these topics with wisdom, but this blog is written for pastors and leaders from every nation. I only engage American issues when they have global implications or unique global parallels.
There is much that could be said about the tragic events in Charlottesville this past weekend. We could talk about racism in America (and in the American church); we could talk about the need for multi-ethnic churches; or we could talk about the centrality of the gospel in racial reconciliation.
“What’s wrong with our church?”
It was a sincere question. The elder wanted to know why there seems to be a steady erosion of attendance, discipleship, and evangelism at his church.
Then I showed him the demographics of the church’s community. Over 40 percent of the area was non-white and growing, but the church was above 95 percent white. My response was simple. “You are not connecting with your community. The ethnic and racial diversity of the community is not reflected in the church.”
This church is one of tens of thousands of congregations that are one color, one race, or one group. Why? Why is this reality still taking place today? Let’s look at six reasons.
Karl Marx famously called Christianity the opiate of the people, but I think it’s actually the smelling salts. Because when you really understand God’s grace, you wake up to injustice, and you are moved by compassion.
The reverse is true as well: When you are blind to the needs of the poor, it raises the question of whether or not you’ve actually ever believed the gospel, because you are unaware of your own pressing need for God’s merciful attention to you in your sin.
Observing the life of Jesus in the gospels is often an abrupt and painful reality check, especially in our social media saturated do-anything-for-fame ministry culture. I can’t imagine Jesus being obsessed with how many people “liked” his latest pithy post or how many people “friended” or “shared” his content.
His only obsession was to please the Father. We should be likewise obsessed.
Many in church leadership today are asking if they are doing church right. This healthy questioning is necessary as culture changes quickly and the perceptions of non-Christians regarding Christians have shifted. Let me share three questions that I think all those in church leadership should be asking as we seek to be communities that love Jesus and love others.
As most of you know, last week was President Trump’s first week in office as President of the United States. Some people praised Trump’s flurry of activity as he signed numerous executive orders, setting into motion many of his major campaign promises. Others criticized (and even demonized) the new president as he began do to many of the things they feared he would do.
My emotions were mixed on Trump’s first week.
Nothing describes the state of global immigration better than the word “crisis.” More people are migrating today than at any other time in history. Migration occurs for many reasons. For some people, migration is a chance for new opportunities, education, or employment. For others, migration is driven by warfare or deep poverty. It would be foolish to think unrestricted immigration is always good. National borders exist to protect the integrity of a nation—including its security, culture, and its financial means.
