Why the Gospel in Full Color?

Occasionally I get asked, “Why do you talk so much about Grace+Peace becoming a multi-ethnic church?” Because the Bible talks about it. A lot. The Bible’s vision for the church is “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb”. (Rev. 7:9) And while that is a vision of the future, it is also meant to reflect a present, experienced reality in the church.

Grace+Peace is increasingly becoming a multi-ethnic church, and our elders are convinced that as God forms us into the church he wants us to become, we need to develop a clear vision for pursuing what Pastor Lance Lewis has called, a “redemptive ethnic unity.”

From the very start, Grace+Peace has sought to be a church that would seek to build among the growing populations moving to this part of Chattanooga. With Volkswagen being here and the changing demographics of all American suburbs, it has increasingly become clear that the nations are coming here. Becoming multi-ethnic isn’t a choice as much as a necessity for us to be faithful to the calling God has given us. And it’s a redemptive calling, because we will be challenged and changed by what we’ll learn about God and his grace in the process.

Our elders believe that pursuit of a redemptive ethnic unity at Grace+Peace is a matter that is central to our proclamation of the gospel of Jesus itself. Like many of you, I pray that my children will grow up in a multi-ethnic church that beautifully models a redemptive vision for our culture. We want to do that in a way that is driven by Biblical theology, not the fads of sociology and our cultural moment. And so, we will spend 3 weeks in May exploring a biblical theology of race and ethnicity titled, “The Gospel in Full Color.”

First, we’ll look at God's plan from the very beginning to create a family of every tribe, tongue, nation, and color. For us to live out a gospel culture at G+P we need to be able to delight in the glorious ethnic differences reflected in God’s design.

Second, we’ll look at how Jesus’ mission of redemption broke down the barriers and hostility that plagues humanity. Our church has been empowered by our Savior to bring the outsider in, to empower the diminished, and to serve the overlooked.

Third, and finally, we’ll look at how the presence of the Holy Spirit enables the church to experience a unity that weaves together our ethnic differences into a glorious tapestry. The multi-ethnic church can lead the way toward the flourishing of people in all parts of our community.

MAY 7 - Genesis 12 - God’s Multi-Colored Family

If you just have to know what a 80’s full color front projection TV looked like, this is your lucky day. HERE.

Derwin Gray’s book, How to Heal Our Racial Divide, is what we’re inviting our church to read together during this season. I think it is one of the most helpful books to walk through the difficult conversations on race and the church. And you’ll enjoy Derwin’s humor and applicability.

John Perkins’ book, One Blood, was a fabulous help to me as I was exploring these questions. His credibility as a Christian and civil rights leaders really helped frame things for me.

Lance Lewis is a friend of Grace+Peace and preacehd a wonderful sermon on Biblical Unity back in March. He is where our elders picked the phrase Redemptive Ethnic Unity that we have found so helpful to guide this discussion on race and the church. It’s worth a watch if you missed it.

MAY 14 - Mark 11 - Jesus’ Redemptive Mission

If you want to dive into a Christian discussion of how the Bible sets out a better story, I can highly recommend Biblical Critical Theory by Christopher Watkin. It is a large book, but surprisingly accessible. You may notice that it is using the phrase critical theory which has received lots of attention lately. That phrase simply means to look at history and society from a vantage point. Critical Race Theory has attempted to look at American society (law, politics, education, etc) from the perspective of race. Some of the conclusions have been controversial. Watkin is attempting to look at the world from the Bibilcal perspective. I think he succeeds.

When we look at the question of America as a Christian nation, we need clear thinking. Michael Horton is uniquely suited to do just that as the president of Westminster Seminary in California. THIS video is a clear articulation of the Bible’s teaching. And then, Horton and Justin Giboney (President of the AND Campaign) have an extended discussion trying to apply those truths to our current moment, especially the question of Christian Nationalism.

Jesus came to remind us of the story that God has been telling his people from the beginning. And for us to see that glorious, full color story, we have to see our history through the lens of the Bible.

MAY 21 - Acts 6 - The Spirit’s Unifying Presence

It was true for me and seems to be true of others that the discussions around race are jarring. I had spent all my life in the church and had never really heard anyone talk like it was a big deal. But, when I started to read Black and Brown authors, it was a big deal for them. And then I started to see that it was a big deal in the Scriptures. I began to wonder “why wasn’t the White evangelical church talking about the issues of ethnicity from a Biblical perspective?” And that’s when the jarring realization descended, perhaps the problems of prejudice are deeply rooted not only in my heart, but church-wide. Maybe we don’t actually see things as well as we think. And maybe that is the place to start.

When folks ask me where to start in thinking about the issues of race and culture I tend to tell them to start with this:

• Just Mercy. The popular movie based on the book by Bryan Stevenson listed below. The book is deeper and better, but the movie is excellent and something good for a broad audience to introduce the issues of systemic injustice.

• Race and the Church. This was a year-long series of conversations on race hosted by Northside Church PCA in Richmond, VA. The videos are wonderfully rich and helpful taught by knowledgeable leaders in Christ’s church.

• One People: Race, the Gospel, and the Church. Audio recordings from a conference held this past February at Redeemer PCA in San Antonio (my former church) with fantastic speakers and Q&A.

• The Color of Compromise. This video series based on the book (listed below) is a hard but necessary detailing of the American evangelical’s complicity in creating the current racial brokenness in our country.

On Sunday, there were two books in addition to Derwin Gray’s book (above) that were in the background of my study which might helpful to you:

• Misreading Scripture Through Western Eyes - This is a wonderful book that tackles a number of areas that our modern, Western viewpoint has prohibited us from seeing the Bible’s world correctly.

• Rediscipling the White Church - David Swanson’s book is a lovely and hopeful book seeking to form disciples that are so formed by the Gospel of Jesus, that they are willing and able to take on the challenging conversations and issues that are present in our culture.