7.5.20 - The Church of Racial Injustice (Kenny Camacho)
SCRIPTURE: Jonah 1-4, Galatians 2
REFLECTION/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What stood out to you about the message this week? What do you want to spend time thinking and talking about with others? How might you summarize the purpose of this current series?
Kenny’s point in this week’s message is that not being the kind of church we don’t want to be--such as a “Church of Racial Injustice”--is much harder than it might seem. Have you ever found it harder than you expected to not be something? What made it so difficult?
The message turns on the idea that church cannot be neutral, partly because we “use the myth of neutrality to justify inaction” and partly because the “belief in neutrality leaves dominant cultural values unchallenged.” When, if ever, have you regretted a moment of neutrality in your life? What do you think it means to “leave dominant cultural values unchallenged”? Why would this be unacceptable behavior for a church?
Following this story of Jonah, Kenny asked: “Are we willing to look underneath our fears, to see the ways they excuse our prejudices and biases?”
Following the story of Paul and Peter, Kenny asked: “Are we willing to look underneath our excuses, to see what ugly and anti-gospel fears they foster?”
What would it mean for us to “own our part in the story”?
What would it mean for us to “refuse to normalize whiteness”?
What would it mean for us to “actively work for transformation”?
FURTHER READING:
“Broken Churches, Broken Nation”
“How Christians Can Combat Racism Theologically After Charlottesville”
“The Church Must Be an Example of an Anti-Racist Society”
“How White Churches Can Work for Racial Justice”