As we continue to mourn for the community of Charleston, South Carolina and the members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church, we want to further examine some of the dynamics that sponsored this horrible and tragic event.
The young man who committed the crime, was quoted that his objective in the shooting was to start a race war. What this lets us know is that racism is alive and well in the United States of America. And we can be honest; a lot of this "manifest prejudice" is spurred on by the fact that we have an African-American serving as President of the United States. However, with all of this being said, isn't it interesting that the young man would choose a "black church" to incite the race war?
This is not a coincidence. I'm still inclined to believe that, for the most part, the most segregated hour in church is 11 a.m. on Sunday morning. Yes, we have our megachurches that are extremely multicultural. But by and large, when you attend a church or visit a congregation, it's going to be "predominantly" one color. This is not the will of God. We've got to get out of this mind-set of "the black church" or "the white church." Even other ethnic groups have picked it up; the "Hispanic church," the "Korean church." None of this is the will of God. As a matter of fact, when you read the Bible, churches were not identified based upon racial composition, they were identified based upon geographical location. So regardless of the ethnic makeup of an area or region, the church should be identified based upon where it's located. However, rather than the church serving as a force and a witness to "change" the racial divide in America, whether we are conscious of it or not, we serve a large part of helping to sponsor and facilitate it.
If the church doesn't repent (I'm not even talking about the nation) we're going to experience more and more tragedies of this nature. The Kingdom Movement that God is ready to release into the earth cannot and will not be based upon ethnicity and color. It will be based upon faith in God and love for the Lord. That's why Paul made it clear that there is no Jew or Greek in Christ (Colossians 3). That's also true for black and white. God's not looking at color in His Son, He's looking at the heart.
One of the primary areas where this has to shift is with those in ministerial leadership. If you are a pastor or a minister of the Gospel (which includes apostles, prophets, evangelists and teachers), then it is incumbent upon you to let the Holy Spirit breathe to break this yoke and mindset. Isn't it interesting that at the Bible study where the nine people were killed that no one white was there? I've been in plenty of Bible studies where the thought of someone of Caucasian descent being absent wasn't even an issue. This has got to change. But not from the vantage point of reaching out for "more white people" or different ethnic groups, but letting the Holy Spirit lead regardless of the racial demographic. The focus now has to be need. The church has to focus on the hurt, the pain and the needs of ALL PEOPLE, regardless of their race or ethnic background.
We can talk about gun control, we can talk about the Confederate flag, and all of these are legitimate issues. But remember, we wrestle not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6). The real war are the strongholds of divisiveness, prejudice and racism that still prevail in the Body of Christ. Let's allow the Holy Spirit to renew our thinking so that we will be available to fight the real war.
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