Bryan Loritts: White Evangelicalism and the Hope I See

Bryan Loritts serves the Abundant Life Christian Fellowship of Silicon Valley, California, as the Lead Pastor. Pastor Loritts co-founded Fellowship Memphis in 2003, and later founded The Kainos Movement. In addition to writing several books including Saving the Saved and Insider Outsider, Pastor Loritts serves on the board of trustees for Biola University and PineCove Christian Camps. 

Key Questions for Bryan Loritts:

– How should we approach the discussion of white privilege?

– You have said before that preachers should preach the gospel before they preach on race. Why do you feel that way?

– What is your take on the “social gospel”?

Key Quotes from Bryan Loritts:

“Any good hermeneutics professor will tell you it’s impossible for us to approach the text—do hermeneutics, study the Bible—completely divested of our own biases and presuppositions.”

“The problem with white evangelicalism is not that it has an accent, but that it fails to see its accent because it has always been the home team here in America.”

“I refuse to demonize anyone with privilege. I do think people need to be called out on their stewardship of it.”

“The Black church was birthed out of rejection.”

“I don’t think privilege in and of itself is the problem. I think the poor stewardship of privilege is the problem. After all, Jesus was the most privileged individual to walk the face of the earth. He was God in the flesh—doesn’t get much more privileged than that.”

“The 10 richest Americans are 100 percent white. U.S. Congress as of right now is 90 percent white. Our governors are 96 percent white. Our top military advisers are 100 percent white. U.S. House Freedom Caucus: 99 percent white. Our current U.S Presidential cabinet: 91 percent white. People who decide what T.V. shows we see: 93 percent white. People who decide which books we read: 90 percent white. People who decide which news is covered: 85 percent white. People who decide what music we listen to: 95 percent white. People who direct the top 100 grossing films of all time–worldwide: 95 percent white. Full-time college professors: 85 percent white. Teachers: 82 percent white.”

“You and I can’t have a relationship until I am able to bring all of me into the light and a part of what that means is the ethnic me…It’s almost impossible to have relationship with a person who’s easily offended all the time.”

“On the one hand, what I need from minorities is to understand Ephesians 6, and that is we wrestle not against flesh and blood. White people aren’t the enemy, and so we’ve got to come at this believing the best. From the other side of the table, [what I need] is for our white brothers and sisters to have a little bit more resolve and maybe to hear some things you don’t want to hear but you need to hear if we’re going to have an authentic relationship with one another.”

“The idea of social gospel, social justice has been hijacked by our friends on the left. Just like evangelical has been politicized as well.”

“Systemic injustice and racism in America was the careful and well-thought-out intentional plan that went on for several centuries in our nation’s history, and [in order to undo it], it’s going to take the same intentionality, working in the opposite direction, times a thousand.”

“We are making progress. And I believe that while we’ve made enormous legislative leaps, that the next step is the church has got to step in as the people of God, armed with the spirit of God. We have the cure for what ails us—holistically, but especially in the area of race. And we need to start doing life with one another.”

Links Mentioned in the Show:

Insider Outsider
“White Is NOT a Four-Letter Word” 
John MacArthur and the statement on social justice
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail
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Bryan Loritts on ChurchLeaders:

Bryan Loritts: Be Careful Trusting in Your Circumstance
Thanks, Dad, for Not Always Showing Up