Jesus Came to Change Hearts, And The System

20202020 has been a difficult year for all of us. A few months ago I'd never heard of these terms and names that we've become so familiar with now: "Covid-19," "social distancing," "shelter in place," "the invisible enemy," "Ahmaud Arbery," "George Floyd." Painful as it's been, these first six months of this new decade have also given us a gift—a giant opportunity for reset on many fronts. I've never experienced so much disruption, deep reflection, deep prayer, deep conversations, and deep resetting of priorities.History-Making TimesWe are living in history-making times. What the history books will say about COVID-19, I do not know. How many people will die? How many business and churches will permanently close? What great innovations and transformations will come from this time? What will be the size of the economic fall-out? What will be the negative and positive side effects of sheltering in place for so long and rethinking everything? Will there be a sizable second wave, and what will that do to us? How many people will declare that they met Jesus during the time that the virus ravaged our world?May 25th, 2020What I do know is that the world will look back on May 25th, 2020 (the date of George Floyd's murder) as a horrific, history-shaping moment that struck a worldwide nerve of anger, awareness, and sustained movement for change and justice in the realms of race relations, use of power, and economics. History won't just remember George Floyd's name, we'll remember the name Darnella Frazier, the 17-year-old who held her iphone 11 steady for 10 minutes and 9 seconds to film what was happening to George Floyd, because "The world needed to see what I was seeing." Perhaps the date we'll remember is the day after, May 26th, when the world woke up to what Darnella Frazier saw, having posted her video on her Facebook page late the night before. We are talking about George Floyd only because the injustice he suffered was filmed. Who knew the smartphone would prove to be our generation's powerful weapon against injustice. Tipping PointHopefully we'll look back at May 25-26, 2020 as the tipping point for big change, and as a moment for all of us who follow Jesus to better see that Jesus came to change broken hearts and broken systems. And that brown-skinned Jesus, the most radical leader ever, summons his followers to share the gospel and their lives (1 Thessalonians 2:8)—to use their words and deeds to seek change in human hearts and human cities. The gospel is this big, big enough to change corrupt hearts and corrupt systems as people who are made new in Christ serve and live as the light of the world.Three SuggestionsFor those of you looking for more handles on how to best listen, learn, and lead right now, let me make three suggestions that are helping me most:1.Friendship. Hopefully you have, or are making, close friendships with people of a different skin color and culture than you. Go deep in those friendships. Listen, talk, ask questions, share your stories, learn, repent, help, love, grow, pray, risk. The single greatest help to me in understanding racism in America and what I can do to help as a white man has come from longstanding friendships with black friends and neighbors.And, let's be befriending police officers right now. Of all the vocations to have in America right now, this job has got to be one of the most difficult and the most full of opportunity. Last week I was talking with a police officer in my church who told me a central part of his call to switch careers and join the police academy was because of racism—to jump in and make a difference, to be a good and just leader in our diverse city. Praise God (and pray to God) for such people.2.Listen to a sermon from 50 years ago that sounds as though it could've been preached on May 25th, 2020. Fifty years ago Tom Skinner preached at Urbana a message titled, "The U.S. Racial Crisis and World Evangelism." Of all the recent articles I've read and messages I've listened to, it's this half-century old sermon that speaks most compellingly and holistically to our current cultural moment, and to our Lord Jesus Christ who is on the move to change hearts and change systems. I've asked my entire staff to listen to and discuss this message, and on the eve of Juneteenth, I commend it to you as well.3. Steward Privilege. For any privilege you may have, white privilege or other privilege, steward it. Don't jump to what I see some doing: feeling guilty for privilege (though we should feel guilt for any sins of commission or omission that are part of our privilege). Instead, focus on stewarding the privilege and life you have—be looking for how to use your privilege, power, position, prayer, preaching, protest, passion, and opportunities to love your neighbor as yourself. This is what our Savior did—he laid down his privilege to come to us in the Incarnation, and he laid down his life to suffer on our behalf. That radical, substitutionary leadership changed, and is changing, corrupt hearts and corrupt systems. [mc4wp_form id="9268”]