UPDATE: Here's the video of our first Forum.
THE GOSPEL AND RACE
Join us at 6pm on Sunday evening, September 18th at our University Campus for our first Gospel Forum.
The gospel is the good news of salvation and transformation. In the Bible, we read that “in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph 2:13). This unparalleled truth is at the core of the gospel message. We were alienated because of our sin, but God has overcome our hostility toward him and welcomed us in through the Savior, Jesus Christ. This is the good news that we herald! The gospel truly does have the power to change everything. But do we know what this really means? Do we know how far the gospel reaches in addressing the brokenness of our lives and the world we live in?
Its because of questions like these, and many others, that we are putting into place a forum to come together so we can discuss and wrestle with gospel realities and how they speak to every facet of life, such as race, gender, class, etc. The first of these forums will be on Sunday evening, September 18th and it will address the topic of the gospel and race.
In Revelation 5, we read that Christ is worthy of praise because “by [his] blood [he] ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” The gospel tells us that we are the redeemed and diverse family of God. It’s no secret, though, that racial tension still exists. What many hoped was done has shown that it still seeps through the very contours of our nation. Some have a blatant disregard and hatred toward different races. Others have intentionally or unintentionally chosen to move on as if the issues are dealt with. Some have made decisions that keep setting us back as a nation. And some—probably most of us—just don’t know what to think, what to do, or what to say.
But as the church, we know the remedy for every ailment. His name is Jesus and we represent him. The truth is, though, that many in our community, and many in our church, feel marginalized. And though we know that part of learning to do good is seeking justice and correcting oppression (Is. 1:16-20), the church has often been silent, allowing many to become disenchanted with the church’s lack of attention to this vital issue.
We’re not naive. We know that this conversation is filled with more landmines than we can see. But we are a family. And in Christ we are one. So we are going to talk about it. We are going to ask God to give us his heart. We are going to cry together, repent where necessary, hug when needed. And we are going to seek his direction, asking for a faith that steps forward in confidence, knowing that he who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion.
We hope you’ll join us at 6pm on Sunday evening, September 18th for this first gospel forum. Charlie Mitchell from Epiphany Church Baltimore will be joining us to help navigate through the evening. We don’t expect to walk out of that night with everything figured out, but we do trust that we’ll be able to leave that night stirred by the Holy Spirit, with some answers as well as practical gospel steps forward.
Summit Church, thanks for being the type of church that cares about every man, woman, and child. Lets continue to ask the Father to give us eyes to see what he is doing, ears to hear what he is saying, and hearts ready to respond to all of it.