Becoming the Body God Has Called Us to Be

by Kirk van der Swaagh, Pastor of Neighborhood Church of Greenwich Village, and Area Rep for Greater New York City and New Jersey

Recent events dramatically demonstrate that racial enmity remains a problem in our country. Great strides have been made in the wake of the African-American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s to undo the destructive legacy of nearly three centuries of chattel slavery, but distrust and discontent smolder just under the surface of our communities. Is there anything the church can do?

A number of years ago, the Conference voted to add a statement on Racial Reconciliation to our catalogue of Position Papers. It’s a good document, and I was privileged to be part of the meetings that created it. The vision it sets forth is one in which the church leads the way in taking steps that will allow long held, and deeply felt, divisions to be healed. Numbered among the action items of the paper is the determination on the part of the Conference to “renounce and decry the sins of prejudice, bigotry, racism and ethnocentrism in all their sinful manifestations, individually and institutionally.”* In New York we are endeavoring to pick up this challenge.

Approximately every six weeks or so there is small group of pastors, numbering from eight to twelve, that gather for fellowship, a meal, and intentional conversation. Several months back one of our number suggested that we come prepared to discuss race at the next gathering. Several articles were circulated among us and we had our discussion. It was helpful, but barely began to untangle the complexity of the issue. We decided to address the matter again at our next gathering. That, too, was helpful, but for both discussions one thing was woefully lacking: the presence of pastors of color. At the end of the second meeting we decided that we needed to seek out colleagues who would be willing to sit down with us and simply talk.

The hope is that based upon our shared belief that “the solution is found only in the atoning death of Jesus Christ and His Church, whom He calls to be ambassadors of reconciliation in the world,” we will be able to uncover the places where “the sins of prejudice, bigotry, racism and ethnocentrism” linger among the Body of Christ. The position paper was prescient when it warned that “Christ’s call to reconciliation between brothers and sisters will require courage and obedience.” Differences of opinion have already been evident in our discussions. Frustration, weariness and exasperation have all surfaced, and we haven’t even been joined by our black brothers! Alas, such is the nature of sanctification. It’s rarely pretty, but always necessary.

We would welcome prayer as our anticipated meeting takes shape. The hope is for similar conversations to be engaged in across the metropolitan area. In good Congregational fashion, we are not looking for a one-shot, top-down event, with big-name speakers and break-out sessions. Rather, we envision local conversations taking place between colleagues who will first wrestle with the implications of the vision of a “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9), who will, in turn, help the members of their churches to embrace “this glorious hope of all the people of God, which is the Church of Jesus Christ.” We have the purpose and power for such a pursuit. It is summed up in our Savior’s prayer when he asks of his Father that those who believe in him, “may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).
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* Quotes are taken from CCCC Position Paper on Racial Reconciliation