If, as a recent Barna poll suggests, almost 2/3rds of active Christians believe that the church should address the issue of racism that tears at the heart of most of our societies, then how do we begin? We have several advantages that can we can build upon in developing such a ministry.
First, as Christians, regardless of how politics and prejudice have fractured our society around the world, we belong to a universal community that transcends almost any division that society has created. While we often violate some basic beliefs in our own faith, God has repeatedly demonstrated the divine initiative of working with imperfect communities and individuals.
Second, almost all our communities around the world have a practice of gathering for worship at least once a week. Even though we do it in different ways, worship is a fundamental aspect of our response to the Divine. As a community, we make ourselves available to be touched by the Divine in ways that can transform our lives.
Third, while we can point to many ways that as Christians we too violate the basic command of Jesus that we love each other as Jesus loved us, still we have a built in practice that can enable us to both acknowledge and be liberated from our own deficiencies. The Spirit empowers the assembly to forgive, to celebrate, to lament, and to hope together—often in ways that surpass human understanding.
The Apostle Paul uses the metaphor of the body: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). In worship, the congregation becomes the embodiment of this image—many parts, one body, animated by the Spirit. . Through these shared actions, individuals find themselves caught up in a story much larger than themselves—a narrative of redemption, hope, and renewal.
SEE SOME EXAMPLES IN THE NEXT POST