The Gospel and Race

Our Pastor has been leading us through a series on Sunday mornings about the Gospel in relation to race. Every Sunday we’ve said the following and then he has expounded on each point.

• Racism is real
• Racism is harmful
• Jesus is the answer
• The church must lead the way

There’s no easy way to say this other than to just say it. Our church has been historically racist. There was a time when black people were not welcomed in our church. I thank God there is a different spirit growing in our church and that’s not the case anymore.

The first black woman to become a member of our church was in 2013. She was welcomed with open arms. Other black families in attendance are loved and welcomed and embraced fully. A lot has changed in our church. There’s a new spirit. But sometimes old sins have a way of sneaking up on us. Guilt can weigh us down. And so I think that’s why this past Sunday was such a healing gift to us. 

Dr. Clarence Johnson, retired pastor of 35 years at the same church in our community came and spoke to our church. He concluded a series we’ve been in called Graced: The Gospel and Race. He and his sweet wife have been pillars in our community and in the eight years we’ve been here they have had an influence on us personally and ministerially. 

Dr. Johnson spoke Truth to us from all over scripture. He reminded us that there is one race when we accept Jesus as Savior and that’s the Christian race. Only man makes a difference in race and man gets it wrong sometimes. Peter in the Bible got it wrong because of how he was raised. He thought they had specialized privileges and wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles or go into a Gentile home. He thought an association with Gentiles was not right. So God gave Peter a vision to go to the home of Cornelius (a Gentile) and he also gave Cornelius a vision to receive Peter into his home. Peter obeyed and went and he preached and Cornelius and his entire family got saved. God will save anybody who will call on him. 

Dr. Johnson’s church is our neighbor church just a few miles down the road from our predominately white church. He stood in the pulpit and said, “This is a dream come true. God gave Pastor Randy a vision to love the community and to help bridge a gap. God gave me the same dream and here we are.” 

Ya’ll, I cried. Although I was not a part of our church when we didn’t welcome black people I felt as if I was grieving as though I had been. To hear the words spoken out loud by my pastor husband with his arm around our black pastor friend and say, “There was a time Dr. Johnson wouldn’t have been welcomed in our church” tore me up. And I was so moved that God would allow our church to experience a moment of such breakthrough together. God had been working in hearts for years but Sunday was something special. It was a mile marker, defining moment for our church in some pretty wildly divine ways. I’ll never forget it. Dr. Johnson graciously walked us through a process of seeing how easy it is to get things wrong but that there’s always hope with Jesus Christ, our Potter. He took us to Jeremiah and encouraged us in the fact that we can all be made new vessels. How God molds, shapes and takes out the defects as we ask him to have his own way with us. He cleanses us. And honestly, that’s exactly what it felt like. A cleansing of former ways and a renewed focus to keep changing to be more like Christ. There was a freedom that came.

And the song we ended on? Chain breaker by Zach Williams. Our invitation was for everyone to come and hug the necks of Dr. and Mrs. Johnson. It couldn’t have ended on a sweeter note.