Wednesday, October 23, 2013

95 Theses for Christian Racial & Ethnic Unity: #87

One of the most lasting effects of racism on white churches is an intellectual wound that makes people think they’ll do right if they believe right. So they put all of their emphasis on believing the right things. Preachers work so hard to get their doctrine right, and then try to think of clever ways to get their congregations to sit and listen to their good theology. I ask them, “How are you helping your church learn to love?” And they tell me, “Well, if they're Christians they will love.” But I’ve met a lot of Christians who don’t know what love means. I talk to white Christians all the time who say, “I love black people. . . .” Love isn’t just a good feeling. It’s an action that requires conversion.

John Perkins in Charles Marsh and John M. Perkins, Welcoming Justice: God's Movement Toward Beloved Community (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2009), 41.

[Read the Introduction to 95 Theses for Christian Racial & Ethnic Unity here.]

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