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A "Racial Reconciled" Homeboy

Mark DeYmaz is pastor of the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas in Little Rock.  Mosaic Church is a growing multi-ethnic congregation.  Pastor DeYmaz is author of the book, Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church. 

 Racial reconciliation is a call and passion of mine, so I started to read up a little on this brother.  DeYmaz has established a multi-ethnic church that is based on the solid foundation of the Word of God.  Therefore, he has patterned Mosaic after the New Testament church In Acts in which Jew and Gentile walked, worshiped, and worked together as one. 

The most culturally segregated hour of the week is still 11:00 a.m. on Sunday,however, not at Mosaic.  DeYmaz points out that, "the local church (STILL) stubbornly clings to homogeneity."  In a society that is increasingly becoming more and more diverse, the local church continues to lack the passion to engage this awesome phenomenon.  What an opportunity to show our racialized society that Christ's love shows no cultural boundaries.  However, in reality the church still clings to MONO-CULTURAL leadership that leads mono-cultural congregations.  What is frustrating to me is that many pastors leading churches in america today continue to sit on thier holy hands and do nothing about engaging our racial problems.

What I find refreshing is to see a fellow Christian homie like Pastor DeYmaz taking the journey of racial reconciliation.  What I also appreciate about his leadership is his "recruiting with intentionality"---DeYmaz has people on his staff from different ethnic backgrounds on purpose.  He believes that it is only when you allow different ethnic groups to share his pulpit, to serve on the elder board and alongside him in apportioning the money, this is when true reconcilation is lived out.  This is my belief as well, It's where the rubber hits the road of living out racial reconcilaition.  It's time for pastoral leaders to quit saying things like, "My best friend is black..." and start moving to the next level of reconiclaiiton...and great place to start is by reading Mark's book!   

Old School Hip Hop says, "No Justice, No Peace!!!"

"Hey, hey, HO, HO, RACISM gotta GO!"  This was one of the chants that Cheryl "Salt" Wray and Sandy "Pepa" Denton shouted on VH1's Salt-N-Pepa Show.  Salt-N-Pepa was a dynamic hip hop duo that came onto the music scene in 1985 (I had all these flygirlz TAPES).  The most recent episode on VH1 had Cheryl (Salt) and Sandy (Pepa) take part in a civil rights march against racism. They women traveled with their children to the Jena 6 protest in Louisiana.  After arriving in Louisiana Salt-N-Pepa embark on a 2 mile protest walk and perform a special performance of "PUSH IT."  Both women were determined to march for racial equality and justice.  Cheryl (Salt) said, "“I just felt like as a mom, I wanted to be there,”  she told The Associated Press in a recent phone interview.  After the experience Cheryl's little boy said, "It made me feel black and proud to be there."  Just a note: Cheryl (Salt) has given her life over to the Lord, and does not perform the original "PUSH IT" song anymore. 

Jena 6:  One Civil Right leader said, "This is the most blatant example of disparity in the justice system that we've seen" 

The Painful Invisible System...

You are here because you know something, what you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You felt it your entire life; that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is but its there, like a splinter in your mind. - Morpheus

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You know it's there, you see it, but you don't experience it.  For some of us we have felt it and experienced it, and you conclude that there is something wrong with this society...with the church.  How do we engage and remove this splinter of separation, prejudice and racism?

When I discuss the subject of societal racism/prejudice/racial separation I will never get challenged as to its existence, even people inside the church will admit that it does exist.  Emerging church leaders (next generation leaders) would be wise to insert "white privilege" into the conversation of racial reconciliation.  The discussion on racism within the Christian community needs to progress further than, "Well, I'm not a racist!"  There it is, "I'm not a RACIST!" This is the famous racial statement OF ALL TIME - "I'm not a racist!"  Like this statement suppose to end the long history of racial division that exists in this country.  WE MUST LEARN TO MOVE BEYOND this statement in the body of Christ if we are ever going to move forward in racial reconciliation, justice, and live out Jesus' law of love.  I would suggest we stop looking at racism as an "INDIVIDUAL ACT" of hate, meanness, or prejudice, and start looking at racism as "AN INVISIBLE SYSTEM THAT CONFERS DOMINANCE TO A PARTICULAR GROUP."  And it is this invisible system that has caused HELL for many African-Americans, Native-Americans and many other people of color.

What is white privilege?  (check out Peggy MacIntosh article) - It is an invisible system (a racialized system) of privilege and prejudice. 

How do you know if you benefit from this invisible racialized system? 

1.  Can you arrange to be in the company of people of your race most of the time?

2. If you need to move, can you be pretty sure of purchasing a house, or renting in an area which you can afford and in which you can live?

3. Can you be sure that your neighbors in your location will be pleasant or neutral to you?

4. Can you go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that you will not be followed or harassed?

5. Can you turn on the television or open the front page of the paper and see people who represent your particular culture/race?

6. Can you go to your supermarket and find foods for your cultural traditions, and or hairdresser and find products for your hair?

7. Whether you use checks or credit cards can you count on your skin color not to work against you?

8. Can you arrange to protect your children most of the time from people who might not like them?

9. Can you do well in a challenging situations without being called a credit to your race?

10. Can you ever asked to speak for all the people of your racial group?

11. Can you be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to "the person in charge," you will be facing a person from your cultural group?

12. If a police officer pulls you over, you are sure you haven't been singled out because of the color of your skin?

13. Can you easily buy posters, postcards, books, greeting cards, magazines, dolls, toys, featuring people from your culture/race?

14. Can you be sure to get public accommodations, legal help, medical help, and not have your culture/race count against you?

15. Can you go to a bank (w/ good credit) and not worry about getting a lone, and not have the color of your skin count against you?

16. In your day, week, or year is going badly, do you have to ask yourself this is because of the color of my skin?

17. Do you have to think about the color of your skin on a daily basis?

What is amazing about these question is that my wife (Black women) and I (white man) answered these questions completely opposite.  We live in a society that is set up (a racialized invisible system) for whites (especially males) to succeed.  As Leaders/Followers of Jesus we need to start attacking and breaking down these unjust systems that exist.  Where do you start?  How do we redesign as system that has been unjust (slavery of African-Americans/Genocide of Native-Americans, and consistent forms of racism that continues to exist)?  To start we must: (1). ADMIT THE INVISIBLE SYSTEMS EXIST  (2). if your White (Stop individualizing racism and start looking at RACISM in a larger context.  (3). Start engaging...Open your eyes around you...Read books from another cultures perspective...Ask questions to a person from a different culture from your own...Speak up against different forms of racism/prejudice

 

Help Me! I can't see! I'm COLORBLIND!...

David Turner has an great perspective on the subject of race and Christianity - check it out on his blog - Turned Out

THE EMERGING CHURCH MOVEMENT...is it just a "white thang?"

The Catalyst Conference in Atlanta (Maxwell, Andy Stanley, etc) was a good conference full of great speakers and solid teaching.  However, what disturbed me about Catalyst (and conferences like it) is that the majority of the people who attend these conferences are all white males (goatees, glasses, and jeans).  Catalyst had over 10,000 people there, and I would guess that 95% were white (Caucasians), and part of the so called, "EMERGING CHURCH" movement.  I can only respond to this by asking, "WHY?"  Is the "EMERGING CHURCH" movement a "WHITE THING."  Or does the Catalyst Conference exemplify how far we have to go to build TRUE/REAL/HONEST/AUTHENTIC relationships within the Christian community between African-American and White followers of Christ (To all my white Christian brothers--It doesn't count when you say, "My best friend so happens to be Black" - quit saying that and take the next step).  Like Rev. Soong-Chan Rah (pastor in an Emerging Church) said, "The emerging church is not a blond man with a goatee."

There is a huge racial divide in the North American Church (and the emerging church movement), whether the Christian community wants to admit or not.  In order to deal with this racial divide we must start having honest conversations across racial lines about the wall of division that exists (and quit being in denial and stop living in TBN Christian LA LA LAND about this issue).   

Living in LA LA LAND...

Let's cut the christianese mumbo-jumbo and let me ask you some honest questions, "What stereotypes do you have about other cultures?--what stereotypes do you have that's preventing you from building a relationship with someone of a different culture?--who comes over to your house for dinner (anyone of a different culture-why or why not?)"  The christianese answer to these questions is to say, "My goodness Jamey, black, yellow, red, and white we are ALL precious in his sight...I don't have any stereotypes about other cultures...I have a black friend, white friend, Latino friend, Asian friend, and Native-American (do you feel my sarcasm)."  Let's start being honest can we? Church folks have a notorious habit of pretending that we all live in Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood and Sesame Street (where all the characters live in harmony with each other and count ABC's together), while neglecting to look at the real "RACIAL/CULTURAL" problem that exists in our society and especially in the church today. 

I have a great assignment for you (IF YOU DARE).  Invite an person (friend, neighbor, co-worker) of a different culture over for dinner and have a honest conversation with them.  I want to give you 10 questions that you can discuss over dinner with a person from a different culture that will help facilitate open, and honest discussion about culture, race, and the racial divide.  The problem we have in the church is that we never have these honest conversations with each other, therefore, we go on building up these invisible walls of division. 

We all have stereotypes(yes, even Jesus folks do.  Start dealing with them Christian...oops, I mean Follower of Christ.

Here are the 10 questions to discuss over dinner (if you take on this assignment let me know how it goes):

Dinner Homework:

1. Share your personal background; family, education, community, etc.
2. What are your families and community’s experience and attitude on race?
3. What are the stereo-types, rumors, and myths about other races your grew up hearing?
4. Are your opinions on race different from your family and community?  Why or why not?
5. Do your talk about racial issues with your friends?
6. Slavery/Native-American genocide, etc has ended, are we still living with its effects?
7. What do you appreciate about other cultures? What do you appreciate about your own culture?
8. How much do you know about other people’s cultures?
9. What would a “ministry of reconciliation” look like? How would true reconciliation between people transform our society?
10. In what specific and tangible ways can you be a minister of reconciliation? In what ways can the ministry of reconciliation be practiced in our church? In your life?

What different cultures are eating off your spoon?

Is there any racist Jesus freeks...oh excuse me...I mean prejudice followers of Christ? Does the Christian Church in America have a racial problem?  This is the question I asked to our congregation at CCI Sunday morning.  The title of the sermon was entitled, "Whose eating off your spoon?(meaning, you know where you are in racial/cultural relations by whose eating off your spoon at home)."  We explored the subject of the racial divide that exists in the American Christian Church.  W.E.B. DuBois said, "The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line."  Dr. King said, "Eleven o'clock is the most segregated hour of the week."  Guess what?  The problem of the 21st century is the problem of the color line, and eleven o'clock on Sunday is still the most segregated hour of the week.  Positionally, Christ has broken down these "walls of hostility and division" that exist between the different cultures.  However, this ministry of reconciliation (to restore to a place of right relationship) must continue to work through us, crossing racial, social, economic, and sexual barriers of sin and separation.  Yet, these walls of separation and division continue to exist in the church, especially between blacks and whites.  Then why is Sunday morning still the most segregated time in America?  How can there be reconciliation between blacks and whites, or any other culture in the body of Christ, if there has never been a true relationship of godly love and equality? Racism, institutional racism, prejudice, and stereotyping continue to plague the Body of Christ in America.  White Christians seem to be in denial about these issues, and Black Christians seem to be tired of constantly fighting for these issues to be heard.  How do we break down these walls of division that exist between us? Give me your answers?