It took over 22 hours of travel to get there and upon arrival the heat literally took my breath away. Yet having the opportunity to witness the reconciling gospel at work at The River of Life AG (http://www.theriveroflifeassembly.org) in Mumbai, India was well worth the trip. I was invited to preach by the lead pastor, Rev. Vivek Dindorkar, after he had heard about the work of reconciliation the Lord is doing at Peoples Church Cincinnati and my time on staff there. I traveled with a pastor named Andrew Stern and a member from his church. Andrew lives in St. Louis and has been called to the ministry of reconciliation at a church named New City Fellowship (http://newcity.org), which has been an intentionally multi-ethnic church since the mid-80’s. They are a Presbyterian Church (PCA) that has been in relationship with Pastor Vivek and The River of Life Assembly of God for over eight years because of their common belief in a Rev. 7:9 church, which shows that the ministry of reconciliation will even bridge denominational divides. I prepared a message from John 17:20-23 to encourage the church; yet when I walked up to the podium to begin my sermon, I was the one who was encouraged. In the congregation were Sub-Sahara Africans, Japanese, Korean, Indians from the Northeastern part of the country (they look ethnically Mongolian) and of course Indians of all shades. They all worshiped together in English, but for every person there English was their second language. They sacrificed worship in their native tongue so that they could worship together as one and invite others to worship with them. I imagine that the first century church worshipped in Greek for the very same reason, despite being from all over the Middle East and Mediterranean. Pastor Vivek and his wife Adeleine began The River of Life Assembly in 1999 and only had modest success growing for the first 6 years. In India it is illegal to openly proselytize and pastors are often put in jail for converting Hindus so it is hard to advertise or go out to reach people. However, in 2005 people began to hear about a church that welcomes all ethnicities and castes of people. From that point on the church began to grow rapidly. People began to come to Christ because the gospel of Jesus loving everyone was clearly seen and new believers told their family and friends that there is a place where God loves them. The church is now holding three different services in two locations, with over 600 in attendance and is planting churches in other states. A 600-member church in a city where only 4% of the population is Christian is like a mega church in the US (Especially because a vast majority of the Christians are Catholic, and the church is under persecution by the government and other religions). I have heard this story many times in the U.S., God pouring his blessing on a church where the gospel of reconciliation is preached and lived. And, it was amazing to see how God is doing the same thing in a country half-way around the world. God is definitely moving His church on Earth to look like the church in Heaven, and I feel privileged to be a part of the multi-ethnic church movement in the U.S. and now India. To God be the glory. In Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church, Soong-Chan Rah talks about the power of lament. “In his book of Lamentations, Jeremiah responds to the tragedy and suffering of the fallen city of Jerusalem. It is appropriate to lament a situation that is not a fulfillment of God’s plan of shalom for the world.” In the U.S. we love stories of triumph and victory. Our movies reveal our expectation that even if our team is the worst at the start of the season, we can win the championship at the end with a lot of hard work and a little luck. “American history tends to be filled with a sense of triumphalism… There have been, however, times in American history for which we should recognize the need to lament… Celebration without suffering can become dysfunctional and provide a myopic view of God’s work.” Rah goes on to explain, “Cultural intelligence requires the understanding of history from the various perspectives and experiences. Focusing mainly on the history of the dominant culture in the United States is insufficient. We need to hear stories from other communities in order to gain a fuller understanding of how the gospel of Christ is at work throughout the whole range of cultures and ethnicities.” Unfortunately, many of these “stories” are not always happy ones. They may not fit our preference for triumph, success, and positivity. But they are still OUR stories. One of the things I love about the Bible is that it does not sweep under the rug faults, failures, and outright evil. It bares it all with raw honesty. It then invites us to respond with truth and honesty to these events and lament. Wailing over tragedy and loss is healthy and right. Jesus cried at Lazarus tomb even though he went there with the express purpose to “wake him up” (i.e.: raise him from the dead). Finding solutions to the problems we face does not eradicate the emotional side of suffering and pain. Yes, we should work to bring about changes to the causes of tragedy, but we should also lament at the tragic stories which form our collective past and loss we experience in the present. Biblical Rationale for Church Like Heaven - by Pastor Chris Beard, Peoples Church Cincinnati10/9/2015
In Revelation 7:9 we see the Church gathered before the throne in heaven, a multitude from “every tribe, tongue, nation and people,” proclaiming that “salvation belongs to our God, and to the Lamb.” Jesus taught us to pray in Mt. 6:10, “Father your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” What if local churches on earth became microcosms of Church in heaven (every tribe, tongue, nation) in so far as their community’s demographics allowed? Another prayer Jesus prayed found in John 17:21-24 explains how church like heaven is connected to the Great Commission, “Father, I have given them glory as you gave me, that they may be one…. Then the world will know that you sent me….” Is the unity that the Gospel produces across deep human barriers of racism, culture, class and ethnicity the missing apologetic in the American Church? Is this what the world is waiting for in order to believe Jesus is the messiah? Paul writes in Ephesians that the “mystery of the Gospel is this, that the ethne (Gentiles) are fellow heirs, members of the same body….” The book of Romans is predicated on this same vision, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile” (Romans 3:22). As if to really drive the point home Paul adds in 3:29, “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too?” So what will happen when the Church becomes united on earth as in heaven, every tribe, tongue, nation and people? The world will begin to believe. The Antioch church leadership team in Acts 13:1 demonstrates what can happen: Barnabas and Paul (Saul) were Jews, the rest were Gentiles. They were Simeon called Niger (a sub-Saharan African), Lucius of Cyrene (North Africa) and Manaen (a Gentile raised wealthy). The diversity of this team is remarkable. It was fruit of a many nations church. It is this church and this leadership steam that launches the New Testament missionary movement. Azusa Street in 1906 catalyzed this same possibility. We have this in our DNA. The world wants to believe; they are waiting to see church like heaven on earth. original post: January 11, 2013 By Sadell Bradley, Co-Pastor New Life Covenant Cincinnati Fatigue is extreme tiredness, typically resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness; it is a reduction in the efficiency of a muscle or organ after prolonged activity or stress. Racial means on the grounds of or connected with difference in race - each of the major divisions of humankind, having distinct physical characteristics; a group of people sharing the same culture, history, language, etc. The movie "Dear White People" (above) recently opened, decrying the racial injustices that are unfortunately still experienced in college campuses. Watching it, I was faced with some eery flashbacks of college days! Though my identity as a Christ-follower is now primary, I believe God also uses the uniqueness of culture, gender and experiences to His glory to help sharpen His Body toward love. I was at a Mosaix Cincy meeting of Tri-State pastors who have a heart for planting and populating churches that look like Heaven: with people of every tribe, language, people and nation. (Rev. 5:9) Our children and grandchildren have grown accustomed to diversity. If the Church continues to be segregated, it will be irrelevant and left behind. So we address the racial, class and gender divisions in the US Church. "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28) We seek to embody this statement of truth from Paul, and to help lead the charge toward the unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17:20-23 (below), which is a redemptive revelation of the Sonship of Jesus Christ and the love of the Father for this world. Dwelling together in unity is where God commands His blessing and life forevermore. (Psalm 133:3) "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one-I in them and you in me-so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23) The term Racial Fatigue or Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF) was coined by William Smith in the Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity and Society (2008) It is a theory attributed to the psychological attrition that People of Color experience from the daily battle of deflecting racialized insults, stereotypes, and discrimination. RBF is the cumulative effect of being "on guard" and having to finesse responses to insults, both subtle and covert. Contrary to popular opinion, this is NOT a post-racial society. Caucasians experience a different type of Racial Fatigue. They get tired of hearing of and talking about race. Minorities tire of talking about it too, but we are more tired of living with racism -as the ad above from Ferguson, MO suggests.The same holds true for poverty, and the gender inequality revealed in issues like domestic violence and human trafficking. I am an African-American female, who is an orphan, from an urban setting, in the male-dominated field of ministry. At times the Call to be the 'only one' in settings, or to insert the cause of the disenfranchised into discussions is overwhelming. The deep fractures that exist in this City, the US, and the Church are historical, complicated and necessitate deep, loving and honest discussion toward reconciliation. If you are fatigued or weary in doing any of the Lord's work, be encouraged by these Scriptures: "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap of we do not grow weary (if we do not give up)" (Galatians 6:9) "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." (Jeremiah 31:25) This morning after reading an article a friend sent me, I had to go to my room to pray and cry. (Here is the link if you would like to read it.) I warn you that, in addition to having some profanity and an abundance of raw, honest exposition, it may cause the same reaction in you it did in me. I pray it does.
What I want to say to you today, whether you read the article above or not, is that we need to move past the "does racism exist in the hearts of people or in systems and institutions?" and on to the "how do we fix this?" discussion. I would think both those questions were dramatically answered at the massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church less than one month ago. I personally am not sure I know hot to fix a mess that has taken hundreds of years to create and that the majority of the people around can't see or would prefer to believe doesn't exist. But do something, we must. So I encourage you who are reading this- DO SOMETHING. "What?" you ask. More than you've done in the past. "What would that be?" you'd like to know. I already said, I'm not sure. But, if, as I suspect, you are part of the kingdom of God and pray regularly, "your kingdom come, your will be done", then I encourage you, no, I challenge you, perhaps, I even dare you, ASK! Ask those who seem to be doing something or are affected by racism. Just asking this question, may be much more you have done before. But, please, don't ask if you are not actually going to do. Listen, learn, and act. Ask God. I have to believe that if you are honest in your desire to do something, then he, who cares about these things more than any of us do, will lead and direct you. Perhaps this is what we need. More honest, soul searching, God-seeking, intercession-inspired action and less debate over what does and does not exist. |
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