TWO RESPONSES TO WHITE SILENCE: THE GOOD, THE BAD

It's Sunday, August 13. In light of the deplorable events this weekend in Charlottesville, I want to consider these things...

Using a popular phrase coined by Christians - WWJ - What would Jesus do?

What will your pastor do?

What will your church do?

What will YOU do?

If your house of worship only has a surface level response like "let's pray for the injured and dead and their families" or "let's pray for God's guidance and will to be evidenced in responding to these events." If that was my church's response then I might be seriously considering a new place of worship.

(And if you use the excuse that the pastor was in the middle of sermon series or we had a special sermon scheduled, then I'm going to respond with a term we use in education - this is a 'teachable moment' folks. Having been a classroom teacher during 9-11, I know what it means to set aside schedules and lesson plans to respond to the moment you and your students (or in the case of a pastor - your flock) are living and experiencing.)

If my years of reading the Bible tell me the answer to that first question, It would be (and Jesus DID preach) love your neighbors through our words and ACTIONS. And please notice it does not say love only your neighbors who look, act, talk, love and believe like you.

I might also conclude that White Silence about the words and actions of the White supremacists (or white terrorists) would imply acceptance of those bigoted words and actions.

If you are white and that last statement made you uncomfortable, then I am glad because it should.

What will YOU do?

Link to Kristina's August 15 post. You'll navigate to her Facebook page.