Once again the evil seeds of our past have born the fruit of injustice, death and national turmoil. Here are some helpful statements from national Christian leaders as we prayerfully process the tragic murder of George Floyd – a graphic visual of what so many in our country feel as they gasp, “I can’t breathe.”
Made to Flourish – a non-profit devoted to helping church integrate faith, work and economic wisdom (who happened to pay for my seminary education!)
We join a chorus of voices in the unequivocal condemnation of the brutal killing of George Floyd, which followed the recent tragic killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Of course, these are only the most recent examples among the long scourge of institutional and systemic racism and brutality against black and brown brothers and sisters who bear God’s image. We lament in the fullest biblical sense the injustice that has been perpetrated towards people of color which events like the killing of George Floyd continue to expose.
Above all, our righteous God is angered by injustice. And because the church is the visible representation of his voice and work in our world—the body of Christ—the church has a responsibility to offer prophetic critique, and model a new way forward. Many churches have understood this calling, especially among our African American brothers and sisters. For many others, there is much work that needs to be done, undergirded by humble listening and sincere repentance. Corporately, we confess not only our sins of commission, in ways that the church has been complicit in racism, but also our sins of omission, as we have not loved justice and sought change that is consistent with God’s character and will.
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EFCA President Kevin Kompelien
Just three weeks after I wrote “Once Again, Racism Necessitates a Response,” I sit writing this with a broken heart and tears in my eyes as I have watched the events of the past several days unfold in Minneapolis. First, my heart breaks for George Floyd and his family following his horrific and senseless death earlier this week. As I wrote earlier this month, “it is not acceptable that unjust killings of this nature continue to happen in America.” The pain, brokenness and heartache surrounding George’s death have unleashed a flood of anger and violence, tainting protests in the Twin Cities and across America. As the people of God, where do we turn and how do we respond in the face of injustice and civil unrest in our communities?I sit writing this with a broken heart and tears in my eyes as I have watched the events of the past several days unfold in Minneapolis.TWEET
It is essential we return to the foundational truths of our faith. Jesus is still Lord and King. He has not abandoned us, and He is at work, even in these painful days. The hope we have is eternal and rooted in the life-changing truth of the gospel, which has been “good news” to the souls of people in difficult times for more that 2,000 years. God calls us to a ministry of reconciliation through the gospel. He gives us the responsibility to call people in broken and estranged relationships to be reconciled to God and to one another through the work of Christ. We must remember that our Lord has a heart to heal the broken, hurting and wounded. It is our duty to be a voice of hope and the hands of help to those around us.
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Dr. Greg Strand – EFCA Director of Theology and Credentialing
For Christians who follow the church calendar, we have just remembered Jesus’ ascension (Acts 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11) and this Sunday we remember Pentecost, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on his people (Acts 1:8; 2:1-13). This reminds us we have both a heavenly (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 1 Jn. 2:1) and an earthly intercessor (Rom. 8:26-27).
We are also reminded that we live between Christ’s first and second comings. Though Christ has overcome sin, death, enmity, and the principalities and powers, triumphing over them through the cross (Col. 2:15), we live in a redeemed-not-yet-glorified world. As Christians, we long for that day, and join the church of all ages crying, “maranatha, come Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 16:22; Rev. 22:20).
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