By grace, I’m still standing. And also by grace, I remain committed to the church and hopeful that we can work with God to turn this barge around.
But the fact remains: The evangelical church has a serious credibility problem* with people who’ve been targeted by its racism.
(FYI: I’m not suggesting that racism only exists within the church or that Christians have cornered the market on racism. But it’s worth pointing out that our modern, segregated version of Western Christianity is a breeding ground for prejudice, marginalization and even outright hostility.)
As a millenial, I’ve lived most of my years in our so-called “post-racial” American church. Yet my earliest and most painful experiences of racism have all occurred in the church—at the hands of sincere Christians.
And unfortunately, my stories are consistent with the stories of many other people my age and younger.
The ongoing racism in the church exposes an explosive hypocrisy.
If we do not consistently and courageously confront it, the church will continue to instruct people that being different is a curse, demonstrate to them that God doesn’t love them, eviscerate their identities and compel them to seek refuge from the church outside the church.
Those of us who are aware of individual and structural racism in the church must continue to point it out, facilitate discussions, speak the truth in love, challenge our pastors and leaders, pray for healing, and work for justice.
