Getting practical about solidarity
InterVarsity Press rejected my first proposal of the book that would become Redisciling the White Church. But, graciously, they gave me a couple of suggestions and asked me to resubmit the proposal. One of their suggestions was that I make the entire project more practical. Rather than just analyze the failures of discipleship within white Christianity, my editor pushed me to describe what a reimagined discipleship could look like, one that would disciple Christians away from racial segregation and injustice and towards solidarity with the body of Christ. He was asking me to get very practical and, I think, the book is a lot better because of his wisdom.
I thought back to this very helpful suggestion this week because I had two conversations with people who are being super practical about addressing race and discipleship in their particular contexts. Let me tell you about these two people, both of them white men, and what they're doing. Maybe they can help us see the opportunities within our own spheres of influence.
The first leads a historically white parachurch organization. This leader has a very clear vision to shape the organization to increasingly reflect the racial and ethnic demographics of the communities they serve. This involves increasing the diversity of those they serve but also, and very importantly, of those who lead and have real power in the organization.
As you can imagine, this sort of intentional transition involves a lot of teaching and vision casting by this leader. And, as his leaders begin awakening to this vision and the accompanying grief that comes along with realizing our complicity with racism and injustice, he has fielded a bunch of questions from them about what they should do.
It's a common dynamic in majority white spaces. After beginning to see the scope of racism, white people want to know what to do. And, because this leader understands this instinct, he has created a thorough but relatively simple resource sheet to share with those asking for next steps. I'm not at liberty to share it here, but what impressed me was its holistic nature. He calls his white leaders to become acquainted with lament and grief. He suggests ways to grow in cultural competencies. He highlights the importance of trusting and believing people of color. And he calls his white leaders to make sacrifices and to take costly risks.
It might seem like a small thing, but by thoughtfully creating this resource - and, significantly, sharing it with his peers of color for feedback - this leader has provided steps for white people in his organization to continue growing, to not get stuck. He's stepped into the complexities with them and suggested some helpful and healthy ways to move toward solidarity and justice.
The second person is a pastor in the Midwest. After getting word that some of the white pastors in his region were upset by some direct communication about white supremacy by one of their African American colleagues, this pastor decided to invite these pastors to a conversation where they could discuss their reactions.
Too many times, white Christian leaders who purport to care about racial reconciliation let these opportunities pass. We tsk-tsk our racially un-enlightened peers and leave it at that. But this pastor chose something better.
He set up the conversation by asking his peers to reflect on a why and a what: Why did we respond to our colleague's words defensively? What was behind those responses? And then he moved toward empathy: What might be different about how our colleagues of color heard and received this same message?
Again, given what we all know about the monstrosity that is white supremacy and racism, maybe the pastor's actions seem small. I don't think so. As with the first man, this pastor has chosen to take responsibility for the influence he has to disciple people toward solidarity with the body of Christ.
With the relational capital and wisdom at their disposal, they are both choosing to cut against the grain of complicity and collusion with the status quo. In the words of the apostle Paul, they are refusing to conform to the pattern of this (racist) world. And those under their care can only benefit from their faithfulness.
This week I wrote about white privilege for Missio Alliance.
Not long ago one of the African-American members of our church told me about a frightening encounter.
He had recently moved his family into a new home in an affluent neighborhood in our city. One evening he was walking his dog in the alley behind his house when a police car pulled up quickly. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the officers demanded that my friend put his hands on his head and threatened to pull their guns. Though he tried to explain that he was standing mere feet away from his house, the officers continued yelling, demanding that he stand against the wall. Only after several long, tense minutes had passed did they allow him to return to his home, explaining that he’d fit the description of someone wanted for a crime.
I thought about my friend’s dangerous encounter as well as our very different experiences with law enforcement when I read a recent blog post by Dr. Bryan Loritts, “Can We Please Stop Saying, ‘White Privilege.’”... As a pastor of a multiracial congregation myself, I appreciate Dr. Loritts’s leadership and the wisdom he applies to the complexities of reconciliation. Yet, as I read his article about racial privilege, I couldn’t help thinking about the ways being white has advantaged me over the years and how it seems to me, we need to talk more about white privilege, not less.
You can read the rest here.
This week's endorsement for Redisciling comes from Pastor Rich Villodas of New Life Fellowship in Queens. I have so much respect for Pastor Rich and dream of our church growing up into a version of New Life one day.
David Swanson is a fresh and needed voice in our day. In this important book he treats the challenges of race from the most important starting point: discipleship. While diversity is a great thing, the church (and in particular the white church David writes to) needs a broader vision of what it means to follow Jesus in this arena. I'm so glad he has provided a powerful vision for the flourishing of the church!
Thank you Rich!
My amateur bird-watching lags during these winter months, but last week I practically stumbled onto this beautiful American Kestrel.
