Monday Night...

Hello, friends!

I previewed this blog postthis blog post a few weeks ago about Monday night at Urbana and everything that went down in terms of InterVarsity's support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. If you haven't seen my other blog or watched the video posted, please head over there and do that. It'll make everything I say below make much more sense.

OK, first of all, a confession. I actually missed the session live. I was watching Ezra and he was having some trouble getting to sleep so I decided to limit as many distractions as possible by not streaming the session as it was happening live. Megan was there though and she was giving me a play by play via text messages. She told me that something big was happening and when she got back to the hotel room, she gave me the rundown. Two things that I knew going to bed that night: There was going to be some backlash and I needed to watch the talk so I could engage with folk in conversation.

Let me get this out of the way right now: I am a huge fan of Michelle Higgins. She spoke at our Fall Conference and I knew that she was an amazing speaker as well as someone who knew what she was talking about when it came to racial reconciliation. She is a black woman leading a predominantly white congregation as a worship leader at a church in South St. Louis, which is a highly segregated city. I also heard her speak on a panel on Race and Jesus in Columbia a few weeks after stuff went down at Mizzou and she absolutely nailed it. It's been my pleasure to work with her the times that we have.

Second disclaimer: I believe that #Blacklivesmatter. Ever since Michael Brown was shot in 2014, I've been on my own ethnic identity journey or sorts. I've had to come to terms with my own biases and repent of my own prejudices. I have been blessed with opportunities to serve the Black community at Mizzou while also talking with my White friends about how the affirmation of the value and dignity of Black lives does not mean that White lives are less important. I've been to rallies and bought a lot of Chinese food and pizza for students who were protesting. I am very firmly on this side of an issue that I do not believe should be an issue at all because all Christians should care about this.

That takes me to the gist of Michelle's talk. Her message was not that Christians should be pro-choice or anti-pro-life. Her message was not that Black people should be given a free pass to do whatever they want because of slavery. Her message was not that White people should feel guilty about their lives and be in a constant state of penance. Her message was this: In the United States, the current system of power is unjust towards the Black community and we as followers of Jesus, cannot be OK with that.

I former ministry partner of mine was concerned that I was spending too much time talking about the "Black People Thing" and not enough time spreading the Gospel. The concern was that I was not fulfilling my duty as a missionary because I was supporting #BlackLivesMatter and that was taking away time from the Gospel. I must humbly but forcefully disagree.

Friends, this is a Gospel issue. The Gospel message is that we are a broken people living in a broken world but God, in his infinite love, sent his son down to act as a sacrifice so that we can be redeemed do "even greater things that [Jesus]" (John 17), reaching more of the lost, righting more of the wrongs, and bringing more justice to the world. We cannot reach students with the Gospel unless we are willing to enter into their pain. I cannot be a minister of the Gospel to the Black community at Mizzou, Lincoln University, or anywhere, without first affirming that they are hurting, that they feel undervalued, and the God sees them and wants something more for them. I cannot enter with the message of hope that the Gospel brings unless I acknowledge that many Black students are feeling hopeless and angry. As an Asian American man, I cannot speak the truth of the Gospel into the Black community until they trust that I want to learn of their experiences and mourn with them. #BlackLivesMatter is a Gospel issue.

Now, I should note a few things: 1) Like InterVarsity said in its official statement, I do not condone everything that has every been done in the name of #BlackLivesMatter. I do not want to kill every cop or burn down anything. In the same way that it is possible to be Pro-Life while not condoning the bombing of buildings, one can support #BlackLivesMatter while not condoning every action. 2) Some of these thoughts have been stirring around in my brain for quite some time, not just because of Michelle's sermon at Urbana. I'd be more than happy to talk to anyone about my process and dialogue about the state of race relations in America. You can comment below or shoot me an email so we can set up a conversation. I'd like all conversations to be "live" and not via Facebook, email, or any other text based medium, so be prepared for that.

Michelle Higgins rocked it on Monday night. Anytime you have Francis Chan speaking and he's the SECOND most talked about thing of the night, you know something big happened. I'm proud to be a member of InterVarsity. I'm proud to affirm that #BlackLivesMatter. I'm proud to bring the Gospel to the broken places on campus. And I'm proud to be a follower of Jesus. Monday night reaffirmed all of those things for me.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

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