Church about Racism- 5/31/2020

This morning in Elevation church was a collaboration of Steven Furtick and John Gray, and it was a sit down discussion within the community of believers about racism, sparked by what happened with George Floyd a week ago in Minnesota.

Parts with * are thoughts I included of my own.

I HIGHLY encourage you to go on Youtube to Elevation Church and experience this conversation yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7jTUfNyPkE

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Sometimes in order to take a stand, you have to take a seat. 

God sat with people in order to learn and to show them they were equally important as everyone else. 

I stand with Justice- 

if an animal is abused, someone would get jail time, it would be a huge injustice. animal rights groups would be all up in it. there would be years of uproar and there would laws and change and regulations, etc.

if a black man is abuse or killed, sure we get upset, we may have angry backlash, but after a short amount of time, we go back to our lives and nothing happens. "it happens all the time"

*why do we ALLOW It to happen all the time?! 

*why are we okay with that?

*but we aren't okay with a cat being crushed under a boot?

God tells us exactly how we are to treat others

Deuteronomy 10:19 "And you are to love those who are foreigners, but you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt"

Psalms 67:4 "May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you tule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth."

Proverbs 14:34 "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people."

Galatians 6:10 "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Learn how to step into the picture, and not just see it and move on. 

*stop, listen and learn. 

You have to extend the grace that you want in order to have grace cover your life. 

"My blackness is weaponized before you know the character of my manhood."- John Gray

You can't pass a law to change someone's heart. 

*This has to be something you allow to reach inside you and effect you. 

We become numb and accept denial, we become tolerant of things we should not tolerate. 

We are only 3 generations removed from people owning over people in this nation. 

*this may be why I don't understand why people would be treated this way. I myself am only 2 generations removed from immigration. my grandmother and grandfather traveled over to America when they were very young. I don't understand why immigrants could be treated this way. (african americans versus european americans.) 

The South and the North are separated Democrat and Republican. Jesus was not political, he was ethically and morally correct. 

*Political correctness is getting in the way of justice. 

Why are bad things in the Bible? (slavery, etc). 

Because God allowed the human emotion to be expressed without judgement. 

When you say you're color blind (you don't see black and white, you see all nationalities in one big melting pot, you don't a difference between them), that's a terrible thing. 

Colossians 3:11 "Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all."

We are to celebrate and see diversity! To noticed and to cherish the differences in cultures! To be together in brotherhood and sisterhood with all languages and nationalities. 

We have programmed Jesus to be like a pull-too. Repeating 5-7 things that we are okay with. 

*pull the string- "blessed are the peacemakers"

*pull the string- "respect your elders"

Personal exposure is so critical. 

*Like when I had the chance to be part of the touring music ministry team, I got to experience this TWICE! And being part of missions to Detroit, and being engulfed in the poverty in Romania. We have to have chances and TAKE opportunities to be in those places. How are we to learn and grow and change if we always stay in a bubble, hearing all the noise? We have to have personal experience in order to really know and understand.

Quiet is not a strategy, repentance is. Realizing that you need to make changes to your direction, and changing your mind and refusing to contribute to the indifference. 

THIS is a strategy.