Black and Reformed Ministries

I read Mr. Carter’s blog today and was deeply encouraged. I also read The Miseducation of the Reformed Negro again (and again) to get the jest of Brother X and what he was attempting to convey. {WARNING: EVERYTHNG PROCEEDING THIS LINE IS MY TENSION WITH THE TWO!!!!!}

So okay, here is my feeble attempt to discuss this and I am by no means attempting to step on toes, nor am I attempting to say someone is wrong, nor am I concrete on my position due to the great Latin phrase “Semper Reformenda”!!!

I. The Need to Recreate May Be a Bit Arrogant

Let me explain what I mean. I drive a Toyota Solara with about 133K miles on it (she is a beauty folks). I came to the conclusion that Toyota makes the most dependable cars this side of Heaven. No way can Ford, Honda, or Nissan compare. So I am thankful for the engineers over at Toyota. But there is something the engineers can’t say and that is:

That their thoughts were original!!!! You see the car below is the prototype for all assembly line vehicles (which were cheaper and produced for the masses versus previous vehicles that were much more difficult to manufacture). It is a Ford Model T and from it the birth of Ford Motor Company. Their technology pathed the way for my Solara so I want to send a big thank you to Henry Ford and crew.

But Henry Ford couldn’t really boast about originality either because he was not the first person to find an alternative to horseback travel (which was individual versus the locomotive travel being mass transit). So was there a need to recreate? The answer is no, the need was to be more efficient and to make the most reliable and affordable vehicle available. I think that is where I find myself today and this is how I will proceed theologically. Why you might ask. The answer is……..

II. The Role of the Holy Spirit in Church History

This is pretty much the hinge on which this post swivels. The question is this. Do I believe that the Holy Spirit was moving and shaping the Reformation and other church movements. My answer is yes. Do I also believe the Holy Spirit was moving and shaping the civil rights (or social gospel) movement? My answer again is yes! Do I think both went too far? The answer is an emphatic yes! When Calvin got a man burned at the stake did he take the Reformation too far? The answer is yes! When Cone and others started to ignore things like inerrancy in the name of relevance did they go too far? The answer is yes. The next question is were there truth in both in which we can gleam from the answer is yes again.

So back to the point. I believe that through the Holy Spirit the Reformation was birthed and if He is involved then it doesn’t JUST speak to Europeans fighting Rome (though that is a huge part of the movement) but that through that experience we too can benefit greatly. What do I mean? Well as we read church history we see biblical truths being defined. This is the hang up with many Jehovah Witnesses, Oneness Pentecostals, Mormons and others. We who have read church history don’t see the Council Nicea as a place where the Trinity was created but where it is defined. We also see other councils and other Church debates where Doctrine wasn’t created but defined. The Hypostatic Union was created by God and defined by Humans. The Bible was created by God and defined by Humans. The Reformation was created by God and defined by humans. You get the picture right?

You see whites can no more take credit for the Reformation than can blacks. The Five Solas, The Five Points and all such movements aren’t things created by man just defined by man. We see this in the shaping of the New Testament (though things proceeding the canon are not on par with the canon). Did Paul write the letter of Corinthians? We don’t even want to go there my friend. But as we look at the Reformation and many other movements within Christendom we have to look back and say “look at God move” and with that perspective we can embrace these truths and use them as foundation to speak to what is happening currently in our communities.

III. Back to Carter’s Blog

I am encouraged by the blog. In it he talks about church planting, conferences and books. All which historically has shaped the face of theology throughout the world. Through modern technology the Church has been able to get the Gospel Message further and further into places we didn’t know existed. Through a move in the African American community; books, conferences, more seminarians, sermons, and churches have been on the rise and this will allow the Gospel (especially from a Reformed perspective) to penetrate areas that have been sealed off due to numerous barriers. Once again many disagree but I believe that Reformed Theology is the most biblical theology. That may sound arrogant and I know I will get replies that differ and that is fine; however it is my experience and my tension that I am wrestling through here. And since I believe Reformed Theology to be the most biblically faithful then my desire to see it engage the African American community is of utmost importance. So you see this blog and my attempt to interact with brothers such as Carter, Pastor T, Lance Lewis, Quincy Jones, Eric Redmond, Pastor Irwyn, Brother Plummer, Pastor Eliff, Pastor John Coleman and other reformed brothers. The deeper Reformed truth penetrates our culture and the hearts of those in our community the better I believe it will be. Once again many may disagree but this is my perspective and I am in 100% agreement with Pastor Carter and will do my best to support them by buying their works, attending conferences, and trying to hip others to what they are teaching and doing.

IV. Information does change hearts

JP Moreland wrote a lovely book that I read about 3 or 4 years ago called “Love Your God with All Your Mind“. In it he charges Christians to not only experience God but to all so think Philosophically and critically about our faith. I think this is critical for African Americans. I have heard way too many preachers talk about “Knowledge Puffs up” and “information makes you proud”. This is ludicrous in every other area in life but is one of the first statements you hear from many black pulpits. Whenever you hear “theology is not important” then you should question the premise of such a statement. The bible promotes no such thing. As a matter of fact Peter says of Paul’s writings “they are difficult to understand”. So we are to think critically and philosophically about our God and this Hope called Christianity. I understand the lack of literacy and the lack of information in the past but we are not in the past we are in the present. In a time where more blacks are getting College degrees and more blacks our owning homes, and more blacks are becoming big time players in Corporate America and in parts of our Government (Ms. Rice) we should also be growing in the area of theology.

I will admit that theology can make one arrogant but this happens in every area of life because we are sinners. But being arrogant in science, math and business doesn’t prevent blacks from pursuing such disciplines and neither should theology. Once properly applied and if learned within the context of the church theology can be the most rewarding wealth of information one could accumulate. Theology applied helps one not only know the right thing to do but why it is right which I believe is critical to the Christian faith. I instinctively know that loving my wife is the right thing to do, but why? But if I understand my marriage and how it is a reflection of Christ and the Church, things like divorce, and adultery become a higher priority. In another example I understood that I was saved, but once I understood the extent of that salvation and why Christ came and how He made a special purchase of me in a covenant established before the foundation of the world (yes I am promoting Particular Atonement here) I had a new found joy. It actually motivated me to love others as Christ had loved me. I can on for days but those are only two examples.

You see the lack of information hasn’t done much for us. As a matter of fact I can say that the last few years that due to no big issue really facing the black church that many men have fled the scene like a two time felon about to get his third strike. Just look around. Who are the most popular preachers of our day? Who sales the most books? Which conferences does blacks attend? Let me help: Eddie Long, T.D Jakes, Fred Price, Juanita Bynum, Jamal Bryant, Creflo Dollar, Miles Munroe, Ike Hilliard and all of their little bobble heads that want to be just like them. If you ask a black person (on average) to name one pastor I guarantee that one of these names will be on the top of the list. All of the names mentioned above our heretics in the first degree! So is information important? You best believe it my friend.

V. Closing

We have to find a way to repackage the wealth of information we have in a way that gets our intended audience attention while not minimizing that information. How that works I don’t know. But as I go out and share the Gospel, most people I encounter don’t need more church, they need the gospel clearly articulated. If churches and preachers; feed, clothe, shelter, motivate, and inspire their congregants while at the same time ignore the essentials of Christian Doctrine then we have failed to do what Paul charges Timothy and Titus to do which is to “teach sound doctrine”. This is not an option this is a command. And my friends, doctrine is information that when applied to the heart by the Holy Spirit is life transforming information. We must have a healthy balance, but if we must err we must err on the side of truth because the “Gospel is the power of salvation to those who believe” lets not think that blacks would be disinterested in theology, lets find a way in which they will be.

I currently find myself in the middle of my own conversation. As I reread my own post I see that this issue is a bit more complicated than I first supposed. The last four years of my Christian life has been amazing for me in many ways. Being introduced to Piper, MacArthur, Sproul, Jones, Lewis, Carter, Azurdia and other great preachers has really transformed the way I look at the cross and my own life. There has been many bumps along the way but I can say the journey has been worth it and I would experience all of the failures, highs and lows all over again if I had to. The journey has been a blessing especially given my background. It is funny 5 years ago, I would never see myself holding this type of conversation but this journey has taken me somewhere I never thought. I thought I would be fighting for the corner office trying to make it to the top of a major corporation while pursuing my executive MBA but my convictions have slowly pushed me to invest in others along this very journey that I find myself on. So here is where I am……

1. Finding myself at the Cross

My identity starts at the cross and ends at the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. What I mean is this: yes I am black, yes I was raised in a specific demographic, yes there are certain cultural bents that I have, and yes the heaviest burden are for those with a similar background. However, who I am is a Christian. An Evangelical Christian (opposed to Orthodox or Roman Catholic) with a theological bent towards the teachings produced during the Reformation. So my identity is found in what Christ has done for me on the cross and I can never lose sight of that. Many have but I can’t and I won’t. Too much is riding on Biblical Fidelity and the sufficiency of Christ as proclaimed from those 66 books. So there are many men and women that I respect. But we will divide and I will side with those, regardless of race, who agree with the basic tenets of the Christian Faith. And if that is a European Christianity then I make no apologies for that. The truth of scripture takes precedent over any social or economical issue we may find ourselves facing. All life and I do mean ALL LIFE, hinges upon what God did in Christ.

2. I am Christian before I am black

Again, I am a Christian first. I wanted to reiterate this and expound upon it a bit. I have brothers and sisters from every race, nation and tongue (I still believe in races Pastor T LOL). I am more closely related with someone from India who has been regenerated than I am anyone who lives in my town and looks like me. My identity is in Christ first and foremost. I will not sacrifice this for anything. What Christ accomplished in His incarnation, death, and resurrection, gives me a new family in which was predestined before the foundation of the earth. Adam is my dad and Christ is my husband and in that I find peace with God.

This can never be spoken too often. Way too many Christians identify themselves as black, American, Irish, Korean and so forth and very rarely do we esteem our new found RACE which is REDEEMED! Once again Thabti’s message is an outstanding resource on this and so are many of Piper’s who speaks clearly and authoritatively on this very issue. If I find my identity (primarily) in anyone other than Christ, I minimize His work on the cross and disobey the direct command to “love your brother”. Yes we all bring cultural backgrounds to Christianity; however Christianity is the foundation of all our engagement with one another AND NEVER RACE! We are in sin if so.

3. I can’t allow the past or present to manipulate the high call of Christian unity

I think this becomes the most difficult task of my Christan life. It may not be as bad for others but for me it is rough. As I watch modern evangelicals outright ignore many of the evils that are going on across the U.S and around the world while concerning themselves with prayer in schools or worrying about little Johnny wearing a “trust Jesus” t-shirt and making it a matter of free speech I must not allow that to detour me from the high call of Christian unity. Here is what Paul says with great conviction:

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

Every church in America should have these verses behind their pulpit big enough for everyone to read. Not only the hostility between Jew and Gentile but all hostility between all people who identify themselves as Christian have become one people and all of this was accomplished before the world was ever created. All racial disharmony started with Adam and all racial harmony beings with the Second Adam. So as I examine all of the social ills, and all of poverty, and I see those who look like me being subjected to vile socioeconomic conditions my first and foremost responsibility lies with those who have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb.

This is so difficult my friend. Many times I catch myself saying “my people” or calling someone black “sister or brother” while outright ignoring my obligation to my real brother and sister, and no I am not speaking blood relatives,  but those who are “brought near” in Christ. As I revisit Jim Crow, Slavery, and as I look today, my Christian Filter best be hooked up properly, if not I can find myself identifying with a people group based of skin color and location. I do understand the propensity to do this but I must be active and conscience of not falling prey to doctrine of Cone, Wright, West and others. What they say sounds so true and gives my flesh a rush, but as I approach the scripture it contradicts such positions and the verse above not to mention some verses found in Galatians and Matthew outright contradict it.

4. In Closing

I must (we must) find a way to address these issues without becoming accusatory. We must must find away to address these issues without crossing the boundaries set forth in Ephesians 2. My brothers and sister are those who do the will of my Father as Jesus so clearly conveyed in Matthew 12. All of our relationships flow from this statement. Adam is our dad and Christ becomes our husband and now we can call God our Abba! All of Christ’s bride are our siblings and we must find a way to love them in spite of all of the things we may disagree with them on. Yep many ignore the social ills and focus on the Republican party (Jesus was not a Republican and still isn’t) and we must love them through it. Many are more concerned with safety than they are getting the message to the cross in impoverished areas but we must love them through it. Many identify with one race versus another but we must love them through it. Why? Because as Paul said “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us”
and then later on He says this which is the section of the bible that keeps me on my knees:

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Regardless of our quirkiness, bad habits, lack of concern for certain issues, and outright neglective behavior we are to bear with one another. How dare we easily and gladly accept Christ’s forbearance with us while we refuse to forbearing with others? My prayer is that daily I would be conscience of this because it is so easy to retreat to my subculture where people look, talk, walk, listen to the same music, and like the same food as me, while I forget to go to my Samaria. We each have a Samaria for most blacks it is our white sisters and brothers and for most whites vice versa. I pray that we would find ourselves in Christ redeemed and reconciled. God bless.

Anyone who considers themselves reformed can easily identify the man in the picture to the left. He is the famous Martin Luther and his 95 Theses and his magnum opus “The Bondage of the Will” written about 480 years ago is still one of the most if not the most famous published piece of work from the Reformation period. Martin Luther is a legend for anyone who calls themselves Reformed in any sense of the word. The recovery of the Doctrine of Justification and the Great Divorce from Rome are monumental events in the History of Christendom but for whom?

Let me explain again what I mean. Was the Reformation a worldwide revival or an Anglo-Saxon revival? What about Christians who were under Islamic persecution in Northern and even Middle Africa? What was going on in other parts of the world where Christianity had already taken roots? I think this is a huge question to consider. We must first understand that Christianity was not relegated to the European continent. Many had fled Egypt and other northern African countries and had taken the Gospel with them also. Ethiopia is one place that comes to mind.

Next we must realize that the Christianity of America was birthed from the Reformation as many fled religious persecution (Puritans and Anabaptist) they brought with them their lens on the Christian faith. The next question is this; Christianity never spoke to the evils of what was a growing problem called Slavery. As many of the Slaves were converted to Christianity what exactly did they think of their master’s god (lower case on purpose)? Was this the same God who loved and sacrificed His Son to bring mankind into a relationship with Himself the same god who allowed men, women and children to be branded, sold like commodities, raped, mutilated, beat, and stolen from their native lands? Did this god condone such a wicked institution? Did this god allow humans (who were created in his image as the Puritans and others taught) to be transported in the belly of a ship across the Atlantic in the worse conditions know to mankind? Then we had this……

The Great Awakening! This my friend produced the greats such as: Owens, Edwards, Whitfield (pictured), Wesley and other great minds of the 18th century. Once again this was a European/Anglo movement within Christendom. Many of the slaves were converted but the hopes of the Slave Masters (who were also supposedly converted) were that these men, women and children would become better slaves. The slaves themselves interpreted the bible quite differently however. Men like Nat Turner and other preachers and women like Sojourner Truth saw theology through the lens of slavery and the abolition of it. So while these men preached and taught Calvinism and Justification by Faith the slaves were fighting a totally different battle. Once again we see the great divide. The GA preachers saw these slaves as souls indeed and a few even spoke out against it, but the slaves upon being converted and hearing the stories of the Red Sea, Shadrach and the fiery furnace, Daniel and the Lion’s den and so forth interpreted these with a completely different hermeneutic one that would not only save their souls but also save them from the hand of evil slave masters who professed to be Christians. Once again we see two lens to filter the bible through and which one is correct? That leads to my last point….

Jim Crow!!! You see during this time those who professed to know Christ still felt that blacks were beneath them. I always wonder how the verse below was interpreted or if they just ignored John’s first epistle:

10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Was it just sin on par with Internet pornography? I don’t think so. Either this verse is true or it isn’t. It is funny that we allow our emphasis on certain verses to be heavier in different time periods. Many would say well they just didn’t know but in the same voice deem homosexuality an abomination. So is this. If we are to call one an abomination so is the other and both parties are just as guilty of the hell fire. Anyone who could read this verse and come to the conclusion that racism was acceptable had to be void of a new heart. If Lordship applies today it applied then and culture no more dictates my position on Lordship than does anything else. Once again, though we had many theologians fighting against modernism and the rise of evolution and atheism, they ignored the great elephant in the living room called racism!!! But modernism, evolution and other such theological debates were not on the radar of many blacks. Many blacks came to the scriptures looking for social justice and freedom in a government that said “all men are created equal” in its founding documents. So again two lens that filtered the scripture and we see this quite clearly in the writings of Cone and MLK.  This leads to my last point….

As I listen to many of the conversations today I still believe that most of what is coming out of Evangelical Christianity today has no real bearing on the African American Community at large (I will speak more to this in the closing paragraph). Many of the theological conversations are like those from the Reformation. Instead of fighting against the Papacy we are fighting against post-modernism, the Emergent Church, Prayer in Schools, The New Perspective on Paul and discussing the movie Expelled. More Christians are concerned with Expelled than they are the recent acquittal of three officers in New York. While many are fighting to get Intelligent Design as an alternative to the Big Boom and Darwinism a lot of schools are trying to get their graduation rate better than 50%. A lot of schools in the Urban poor areas are trying to find money for books and computers while most of the conversations are surrounding around Expelled and Harry Potter. You see the Calvinism vs Arminian debate or Paedo vs Credo Baptist or Plurality vs other governing methods or limited vs universal atonement and finally the Premill Pretrib vs Amill debate may not be at all relevant to most Christians in South Side Chicago or even Philly. These people are trying to stop an ongoing epidemic of murders on the South Side  while people in Philly may now see some light.

 In closing we must ask ourselves are we speaking a language foreign to our listeners. Families in Sudan, Iraq and even a big chunk of our urban and rural poor may have a hard time taking the majority of what we say seriously. While some of our elderly are deciding to buy medicine or food or while some of our Sudanese brothers and sisters are looking for clean drinking water Intelligent Design may not be a priority there list of prayers. Let me be clear some of the issues above are important but maybe only for the Academy (unless they infringe upon the Gospel). Also I want to note that I am not promoting some type of Social Gospel but I am looking for reform amongst those who call themselves reformed. As a young black reformed Christian I sometimes wonder about the many voices I hear and I ask myself are these conversations relevant. I once heard a rapper say this:

“why you don’t never talk about Martin or Malcom, but you always talk about Calvin and Luther, because these are dudes that introduced us to truth”.

I ask which truth is that? There was a world outside the reformation, outside the Great Awakening and one outside the current Evangelical movement. Sojourner, Tubman, Douglas, DuBoise and others had some truth also. Dyson, West and Smiley have relevant issues that is also pressing “the Church” maybe not the Conservative Evangelical Church but the Church none the less.  They spoke to the evils of social injustice and the latter mentioned are today also. They truly understood what it meant to be made in the image of God while many only wanted conversion spiritually they wanted conversion holistically. The Gospel doesn’t stop at spiritual freedom but when the full consummation comes God will rid the world of ALL EVIL. Racism, Segregation, Social Injustice, Slavery, apartheid, child trafficking, unfair labor wages and genocide are all evil that we Christians have to be just as zealous about and we must speak the Gospel in a context that addresses such evils as evil. You can’t read most of the Old Testament and not see that God’s people are also to provide for the unfortunate, the widow, the oppressed and the orphan, just as much as we are to discuss homeschooling, stay at home moms (which for the most part is a suburban convesation) and Intelligent Design.  The latter is no more important than the former.

Missions should be the heartbeat of every local church no questions asked. If you go to a church that is not involved in some fashion in World Missions, rather that is financially supporting organizations, praying for lost nations, or even funding and training their own missionaries I would say with great boldness that your church isn’t being faithful to Christ. That may sound bold but we can’t read the OT without coming to the understanding that Israel was chosen to make YAHWEH’s name great and in the NT we have Matthew 28 and 2 Corinthians 5:20 to let us know that we are God’s Ambassadors of the Gospel message.

What is funny is most of us can recite Matthew 28:19-20 as about easily as we can recite our own phone number. It is obvious that we are to make disciples (which is authentic Christianity not some super Christian) of the WHOLE WORLD!!!! However something occurred over the last 50-60 years in the United States that has somehow infringed upon our call to faithfully fulfill the Whole World piece of this.

I. The Suburban Exodus

Anyone who lives in a major metroplex or have relatives that live in one understand the phenomenon of the Suburbs. Suburbs were created for many different reasons. Sometimes the city became overly populated and people were pushed out, other times developers saw an opportunity to sale homes to people who couldn’t afford city prices but still wanted to own a home, some of the exodus was due to people wanting a safer environment to raise their families, and others wanted more land or a bigger house for their growing families which were more affordable. Whatever the reason the suburbs happened and they are thriving with single family homes, well developed communities and HOA’s and a way for some people to fell safer in gated communities and nicer schools.

What also happened during this time was churches followed suit. For some of the same reasons above churches fled the inner cities and move to the suburbs leaving a void yet to be filled to this day. Many of our churches built an unexpected (or maybe expected) chasm between them and the people they were called to minister to. Time, financial resources, and distance drove a wedge in between the haves and the have nots something that should never exist in Christendom. What I mean is this, those who could flee the city were blessed with financial resources in which those who were not blessed with these resources were left behind to deal with an ever growing problem of crime, poverty, and violence. We see the development of housing projects and Section 8 to help alleviate some of the housing pains which began when the rich could buy up land and put businesses (not to mention our government taking land to serve their purposes) on it pushing the poor further in.

II. The Suburbs creates the Suburban Church.

In the meantime churches followed suit as I said earlier. They left these areas built huge churches and over the years forgot about those left behind to swim in poverty and crime. So, though I think unintentional, what has developed is classicism in the church. For example private school versus public school. Now I wore pro wings up until junior high (man a new pair of pro wings always made you run faster) my grandmother who raise my me and my sister could no more provide for private school than she could a pair of Nikes. If we want to go homeschooling it ain’t even a conversation. As a matter of fact I never even heard the word home school until I move to the Suburbs in 04. But you see there are ministries and pastors who would tell you if you are not homeschooling or at least sending your kids to private school you are in sin. Some of these men and women are very popular.

Other areas of classicism come in styles of dress, some in the way sin is flushed out. Sin in the inner city typically have criminal repercussions while the sin in the suburb seems to be just the opposite (adultery, divorce, abortion) which really have no criminal impact (not included God’s Law). So we have a bunch of unwed mothers (most people I know never considered abortion and actually thought having a child was cool) people in prison and people with criminal records. Finally this classicm is displayed in the way the haves interact with the have nots. You see we become comfortable with ministering to people like us (most churches outreach to communities where they are an ignore communities that they don’t see) and the more we do that the more uncomfortable we become with the ex-con who was converted to Christ, or the young woman who has a few babby daddies that has recently converted to Christ, or the young child who may look to have a negative influence on our child who needs to be converted to Christ and the list goes on and on. We typically minister to those who have the same level of education, same hobbies, same taste in the arts, and same gross income as we do. This practiced over a course of time builds an invisible wall between the different socioeconomic classes that, well after awhile, becomes nearly impossible to get around.

III. However we become convicted when we read the scriptures.

What I mean is if you are in a suburban church that is faithful to preaching the scriptures then you can’t help but to come across Matthew 28 or Romans 10, or 2 Corinthians 5 or the book of Acts. We then, to ease our conscience, find a way to contribute resources to the great commission. Regardless if that is having a missionary fund, going on a short-term mission, or contributing to a missionary agency. We get excited to get cards and pictures of these missionaries and what they have accomplished. We get excited to see rice, fresh vegetables, wells dug, and the Gospel preached in these areas. We then felt that we have done our job to minister to the Gospel. But lets read Jesus’ route to getting the Gospel to these nations in Acts 1:

 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

If we are to take this imperative of Christ literally we see a well drawn out route of how the Great Commission was to be fulfilled. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, then the other nations. Is what Christ says.

IV. We forget about Samaria most of the time

What most Suburban (not all) churches (regardless of Reformed, Bible, Southern Baptist, PCA, or Charismatic) has failed to do was to stop by Samaria first. During the time of Jesus we understand why this would be a problem given the history between Jews and Samaritans (mixed races). And we can easily see why we are not tapping Samaria today. Race isn’t the problem economics and social classes are. Most suburban churches are caught up in the growth movement so we see no real benefit in ministering to people who can’t make it out to our church anyway. The other problem and what I believe to be the most serious one is WE DON’T REALLY WANT THEM THERE ANYWAY!. Now that might sound harsh but it is as close to the truth as any other reason. The make it clear ministering to the poor can become very messy and can intrude on our church growth strategies. We are at risk of losing our long-term church members who would rather fly a bag of rice and drop if from a plane versus spending time worshipping side by side.

You see in economics they taught us something called “economies of scale”. What this means in manufacturing terms is you produce so much to where you start to break even on your product and every item after that becomes profit. You see Plant, Property and Equipment cost give you a flat cost in which it won’t cost you anymore to produce 100 than 1000 as a matter of fact it is less expensive to produce 1000 due to the profit made on items 101-1000. The same is going on in our churches. Most of the people I am talking about will be takers and not contributors. A woman with 3 kids and no job skills becomes a liability not an asset. A guy with 2 felonies and is one fight away from an automatic 25 year bid is a liability not an asset. A poor widow with no family and no retirement is a liability not an asset and so is a troubled teen. Now I am not saying not to be skeptical and not set up some type of conditions but the Suburban church is doing very little.

However Christ told the disciples to go to Samaria! This was not an option but a command. He said “you WILL BE MY WITNESSES”. He didn’t say they might or they should consider it. And Samaria was not an option. We have made Samaria an option. It is much easier to minster to someone like me than someone not like me. It is even better to minister to someone who can be an asset versus a potential liability. This my friend flies in the face of these verses found in James:

2:1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

Are many of our churches guilty of this? You bet we are. Was this a problem 2000 years ago? It wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t. You see because of our sinful nature we all have the tendency to separate ourselves and it just so happens that this propensity for separation is more greatly displayed in economic terms. If I build a new building and it can sit 500 people and I am looking to grow another 100 I am not looking for 100 that may have a negative impact on what the 400 are already doing.

V. Final Thoughts: Comfort, Christianity and its Non-Compatibility

First I want to appeal to the cross in all of this. Christ died for all of our sin even partiality and comfort. When we trust Christ our sins are forgiven. However, that doesn’t mean that we ignore His commands either. Comfort in this life is one of the easiest ways to detour us from a passionate ministry towards the poor (also it is a huge barrier between race reconciliation but that is a different post). As humans we desire comfort. As Americans we expect it. We don’t want God intruding on our plans for a College Degree, a nice family, our 2.5 kids, our IRA or 401K’s, that nice comfortable salary right out of seminary, our plans to first do youth ministry then plant a church in a thriving city. We don’t want God to tell us to forgoe all of that in order to take the Gospel to those he has placed in adverse economic and social conditions. So instead we send people on mission trips half way around the globe instead of packing up and going 25 miles south, or across the tracks, or even to the church around the corner. We have plans and we want to stick to them

However, the abundant life is not found in the accumulation of things or even the fullfillment of our dreams. The abundant life is found only in Christ and following His commands to have every nation, tongue and tribe saturated with the Gospel. So that book deal, that PhD, that MBA, that nice home all may need to be put off to fulfill this. Maybe building that youth wing and having your name on the whos who list of most influential theologians or pastors may not be it for you. Maybe God has called a lot of us to minister to people who are going to cost us all of the above. Maybe God is calling us to a life of little fame and popularity. Maybe God isn’t calling us to be those people who host or even speak at big time conferences but as someone once said in which I will revise “Why stoop so low to a big time suburban church when God has called you to minister to the greatest harvest ever, the inner city”?

In closing we must not forget Samaria. I know it seems more profitable to plant in thriving cities and metroplexes, I can’t imagine the sacrifice of seminary, the late nights, the cost, the stress and then go minister to a church the size of 50 - 75 most of who will backbite, gossip about you and keep you up late at night. I know there is a lot at stake for you pastors with big time Suburban churches or with aspirations for such a church, but isn’t one soul worth it. One of the seeker guys said something that is theoretically true “if there was only one person for Christ to redeem His would have still endured the cross for that one” shouldn’t we have the same heart?