In 2020 we are continuing to struggle against a very real and dangerous problem. White supremacy and the racist policies, ideas, and hate that flow from it has plagued the world for far too long. This has come at great costs. It has cost black people and other people of color their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, their well-being, their opportunities, their livelihoods, their prosperity, their peace, and their very lives. It has gone on not only because of the evil intent of the vocal and active proponents of white supremacy, but also because of the silence and complicity of white people. The silence and complicity of pursuing the status quo, of voting into power those who have created or maintained racist policies, of not challenging policies and decisions, of not being “our brother’s keeper,” and of concerning ourselves with only that which promotes our flourishing rather than actively pursuing an equitable society in which everyone flourishes and in particular those who are marginalized.
“At City Hope Fellowship we seek to be a diverse people saved by Jesus, centered on Jesus, and sent by Jesus to extend the hope and fellowship of God to our city.” You’ve probably heard our mission statement every time you’ve come to worship service on Sundays. But, what does this look like for us to pursue this? We exist in the already, not yet. The global church is a diverse people and we seek locally the city and kingdom to come which is beautifully reconciled.
Racial and ethnic divide has plagued our country throughout history, and it continues today. I believe strongly that one of the best ways forward is to look backward in history and understand the forces at work in key moments so that we can see what things we missed. It is through this understanding that we can be equipped to not miss those moments again. One of those moments in Presbyterian church history centers around a man named George Bourne.
Jesus gives the apostles clear instructions to take the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Although they start slow and struggle to fully embrace this mission at first, the Apostles eventually embrace not only this mission but the people to whom this mission sends them, bringing the Gentiles fully into the church.
This is part 3 of a series entitled Why Start an Intentionally Multicultural Church?, which seeks to lay a biblical and theological foundation for our vision in planting City Hope Fellowship. Check out Part 1 and Part 2.
Because of Jesus, dear Christian, you are not simply tolerated but passionately and exuberantly loved. You are rejoiced over as the object of his special love. Just as a child delights to run down the stairs on Christmas morning to see their presents, so our God runs in delight to see you. To love you.
