The most important thing churches aren’t doing as they prepare to reopen

Bob Whitesel May 14, 2020

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Every thought leader I know has created tools and articles with guidelines/suggestions for reopening churches after a lockdown. But none I’ve read so far deal with the pressing issue brought out recently by the death of a young jogger in Georgia. Not just the tragic death of a young man harmlessly jogging through a neighborhood, but also the polarization of the responses lay bare a rift in America not even headlines of a pandemic can replace.

The issue that increasingly divides America is xenophobia, a fear of the other. And the answer is an important Christ-like response that churches must extol and expand: ministries of reconciliation.

The results of this physical distancing, according to United Nations chief António Guterres, is the “tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering” that it is leaving in its wake. Will the church contribute to this by inaction? Or is the church called to mend the breach?

What is your church doing to energize a reconciliation ministry?

During this time of physical distancing, most churches have been focused on repairing their finances and restoring their events. But is this really what the church was created for? The New Testament church seemed unbothered with either events or finances. Instead, the New Testament church grappled with the issues of how the Good News was transforming their Gentile oppressors. Theirs was the ultimate cultural barrier, to reach out to those who persecuted them.

The Apostle Paul was accused of waning in his zealous persecution of outsiders (Acts 21). To this he responded by describing how he had been racially intolerant, only to have God change him.

He recounted to the mob that set upon him, “I am a good Jew, born in Tarsus in the province of Cilicia, but educated here in Jerusalem under the exacting eye of Rabbi Gamaliel, thoroughly instructed in our religious traditions. And I’ve always been passionately on God’s side, just as you are right now. ‘I went after anyone connected with this ‘Way,’ went at them hammer and tongs, ready to kill for God. I rounded up men and women right and left and had them thrown in prison. You can ask the Chief Priest or anyone in the High Council to verify this; they all knew me well. Then I went off to our brothers in Damascus, armed with official documents authorizing me to hunt down the followers of Jesus there, arrest them, and bring them back to Jerusalem for sentencing. (Acts 22:3-5, MSG).

But then Paul described his change. “As I arrived on the outskirts of Damascus about noon, a blinding light blazed out of the skies and I fell to the ground, dazed. I heard a voice: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?’ Who are you, Master?’ I asked. “He said, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the One you’re hunting down…’ Then I said, ‘What do I do now, Master?’ He said, ‘Get to your feet and enter Damascus. There you’ll be told everything that’s been set out for you to do.’ And so we entered Damascus … And that’s when I met Ananias, a man with a sterling reputation in observing our laws … ’Look up,’ he said. I looked, and found myself looking right into his eyes—I could see again! Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has handpicked you to be briefed on his plan of action. You’ve actually seen the Righteous Innocent and heard him speak. You are to be a key witness to everyone you meet of what you’ve seen and heard. So what are you waiting for? Get up and get yourself baptized, scrubbed clean of those sins and personally acquainted with God.’ Well, it happened just as Ananias said. (Acts 22:6-17, MSG).

Personal change was a forceful narrative in New Testaments circles. In fact, it might be said to be second only to the change that was brought about with Christ’s death and resurrection.

Here are seven things churches can do to foster reconciliation as they prepare to reopen:

1. Learn about the outsider. Encourage people during this time to learn about cultures that are growing around them. Look at data.census.gov to find the cultures that are growing in your community. Find those that are growing the fastest and study their histories, religions, traditions and preferences. Building bridges to another culture begins with learning about them.

2. Learn not to judge by appearance.Images in the media can create stereotypes, with deadly consequence. An innocent black man jogging through a white neighborhood generates attention from neighbors who suffered a rash of burglaries. A successful Latina CFO is mistaken for a night worker and challenged for being in a large office complex at night. A violent racist claims to have meet Christ and been changed on his way to imprison people in Damascus.

The perils of judging by appearance are well known, but not widely or well taught.  Paul considered the importance of not judging by appearance as an essential “ministry” of the church, stating, “One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat…Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!” Acts 5:15-17, MSG).

3. Learn about the ministry of reconciliation.Encourage Bible studies, sermons, etc. on the process of reconciliation. Most Christians know the term but not the conditions. As we saw with Paul’s story above, the New Testament world was a very divided world. While reconciliation begins with knowing the other, it matures when you no longer judge people outwardly, then repent, release and rectify biases. Promote readings, Biblical stories, testimonials and histories from different cultures that exemplify this.

4. Plan regular unity services.In one of my books (The Healthy Church, Wesleyan Publishing House) I dedicated an entire chapter to examples of how churches have celebrated “unity in diversity." The goal of an effective unity service is not to give each culture an opportunity to perform. But rather it is to celebrate how people are overcoming prejudices and rectifying differences. It is a time to celebrate how people who formerly felt uncomfortable around one another are learning, forgiving and changing.

5. Reevaluate where you spend your money.  Decreases in giving, burgeoning facility/staff costs and congregants who are finding their spiritual succor elsewhere (and usually online) have robbed our attention to what really challenges the church’s relevance.

During a time of physical distancing, churches have found their weaknesses are in depending too much upon physical buildings and large events. If you are going to change what you fund, the best time to do that is when you don’t have too many funds. I’ve helped churches navigate these waters of change successfully for over 30 years, and learned the best time to refocus a budget is when the fat from your budget is being trimmed and discarded.

6. Pray to recognize your own personal preferences and how they’ve impacted you. Have you received preferential opportunities in your life because of your culture, ethnicity, family, socioeconomic level, education, etc.? Ask God to show you ways to help others who have not had the opportunities afforded to you.

Remember Jesus’ words, “The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God’s people” (Luke 14:12-14).

7. Teach and expect for people to be spiritually transformed.People being changed by God’s Word and the power of His Spirit is a hallmark of Christ’s presence in a church. This is another side of the ministry of reconciliation, because God does not hold our sins against us but welcomes us back into fellowship with him.

Paul, in continuing the passage about the ministry of reconciliation says, “The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you” (2 Cor. 5:16-20, MSG).

Now is the time to teach, welcome and expect God to change humans from former lifestyles of bias and violence to a Christlike journey of learning, accepting and forgiving those who aren’t like us.

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Bob Whitesel (D.Min., Ph.D.) is a foresight coach, professor, and award-winning author of 14 books. For over 30 years, he has guided leaders and churches to pivot and engage what’s next. He holds two earned doctorates from Fuller Theological Seminary and teaches on leadership foresight, church health, and organizational change. His website is www.ChurchForesight.com. Learn More »

• The power of an unoffendable heart (by Tom Crenshaw)
• How did Jesus deal with animosity? (by Chris Bolinger)
• Why does the term "social justice" divide so many? (by Chris Bolinger)
• Why a pastor did not survive a difficult church: an interview (by Thom Rainer)

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