Lessons from St. Louis: Living the Gospel through racial reconciliation

Hello again blog.

I've finally had a full week to process my missions trip to St. Louis. Add that to the fact that I just got back from the Desperation Conference, and you could say I've been challenged tremendously in the last couple weeks with the gospel.

We worked at a church called New City Fellowship in the inner city. And let me tell you: this church was incredible. There was nothing aesthetically spectacular about the building, facilities, or even the pastor. But there was a special element within the church that took me only a couple days to realize what it was. What was it?

The experience and heart of every single person truly living out the gospel on a daily basis.

Let me explain with one example. The man in charge of the program that brings in short term missions teams to help the church/school has had a very compelling journey. Andrew Stern is a white, late 30's seminary-grad (Covenant Seminary) with a white wife and 3 of their own biological children. On paper he sounds like a very likely candidate for a picket-fence house in the suburbs. In reality, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Andrew and his wife have adopted 3 other children... three other African-American children, that is. In case you're keeping track, they have 6 children (3 white, 3 black). And no, they don't live in a big house in the suburbs. They live in the heart of the inner city. In fact, they have chosen to be right in the middle of the worst and dangerous part of the city. They might be the only Christian family on their block, and they are for sure the only caucasians.

What I don't want to communicate is any idea of racial superiority or "here's the white man to save the day" at all. Please do not get me wrong. My point here is that they have decided to take the gospel into an often-ignored region in the city. The important term here is relocation. They could easily live in comfort and safety in the suburbs if they wanted to. But they have taken the road less traveled into the inner city. Andrew's heart burns for racial reconciliation as well, and they have deliberately adopted 3 African-American children to begin steps towards this goal.

Sunday morning is the most segregated time of the week. Each race goes to its own church. It's comfortable that way, so it's easy to see why that's the case. Sometimes there's a language barrier as well. But New City Fellowship is one of the most diverse congregations I have ever seen. They even sang worship songs in many different languages (some dialects from Africa too!). The genuine love emanating from the people in that church as they pour themselves into each others' lives is awe-inspiring. They truly are color-blind in that church. Is this the case in general for the American church? It's an interesting question to address. My critical side wants to say no. It's really a result of personal preference and comfort. What do I want? Where would I "fit in" and be comfortable? And let me make an important note here: I am very much so guilty of this as well. That's why I'm talking about this. I felt so convicted about this idea. What steps am I sincerely taking towards racial reconciliation? There is so much quiet racism in this country... whether you want to accept it or not, we all have tendencies to fear or distrust or even hate other races. I couldn't tell you why this seems to be the case, except for many historical reasons. It just saddens my heart to see it, even in my own life. I am so happy God put me on the St. Louis trip to teach me more ways I can fully understand what the gospel means. There are no stipulations or conditions on Jesus' command to love your neighbor. And you can't deny the fact that Jesus was indeed color-blind as well. And if we accept this, and understand our mission to be Christ-like, then we must endeavor to emulate Jesus in this area of our lives as well.

• 1 John 1:6 - "Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."



• Acts 10:34-35 - "Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts those from every nation who fear him and do what is right."



• Revelation 5:9-10 - "And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God members of every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth"."

Notice the Revelation verse says, "You have made them to be a kingdom." It doesn't say "many kingdoms" or "separate kingdoms." We are one body of Christ, one kingdom of God, one people under one God. New City isn't perfect, but they have definitely grasped this part of the gospel. Practically-speaking, what steps can we take towards racial reconciliation for the cause of Christ? I think this is a personal question that only you and I can answer for ourselves, but since this is my blog and not yours (haha), I'm going to tell you one of my solutions and convictions that I've felt very strongly about after this trip:

At some point I want to adopt a child from Africa.

I feel strongly that this is one of the most practical steps I can take to live out the gospel in a tangible way. James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." There are so many orphans throughout the world who will grow up with no family, no positive male influence, and probably no love. My heart burns for these children. I can't think of a better way to share Jesus' love than to adopt and bring one of these kids into my own family. I also believe that bringing a child who is not my race into my future family will bring about racial reconciliation in my own life and the loved ones around me. Yes, it is a huge investment and risk. Yes, there will be questions from people who just don't understand. Will this deter me and what God has put on my heart? No. To truly love takes risk. You expose your heart and there is always chance it will be cut or hurt. But can you imagine living life without really experiencing love? I cannot. If I can bring the hope and love of Christ and a family into a kid's life, there is not a good enough reason not to.

Not many people know this dream of mine, but I am glad to share it on here. I want to expand on what has brought me to this point with a story from St. Louis, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. For now, here's a preliminary picture from my trip that will give a little insight into the path that led me to this point.

Until tomorrow...