Two weeks ago, one of the top news items for the week was a song by Brad Paisley and LL Cool J called “Accidental Racist.” The majority of us who heard the song agreed: Nice guys. Horrendous song. Sure, there were a few people with more extreme opinions, some calling Brad the “accidental racist” and his country/rap duet the worst song in history. Others said the song wasn’t so bad, that it got culture talking and that was a good thing.
The song is awful. Really awful. But I can’t help but think that Brad’s intentions were good. I went to college with Brad. We weren’t close friends. But we did have a few classes together. I knew him only as a kind soul, a man who possessed more talent for playing guitar and writing songs than almost anybody at Belmont University at the time, but a guy who was, at the core, humble.
After the crap hit the fan (the song and the hoopla that developed after people heard the song), Brad and LL started doing interviews with media, from the “Tonight Show” to Rolling Stone and many others. Though their message slowly changed from determination at the beginning of the week to potential regret by the week’s end, one part of the message remained the same: They hoped the song would start a conversation.
Which it did. But likely the wrong conversation. Art is certainly known for getting people to talk about difficult topics. But “Accidental Racist” wasn’t so much art as it was a parody of art. It’s hard to take seriously a song with the lyric… “If you don’t judge my do-rag, I won’t judge your red flag… If you don’t judge my gold chains, I’ll forget the iron chains… ” What?!
Needless to say, with lyrics such as that, it was doomed from the beginning.
But here’s my question: How can we begin to have conversations in our country about race and racism? Is that even possible? Are we capable of the kind of humility and compassion that is required for us to talk about this difficult subject? Are we capable of coming to the conversation table without lofty or harsh assumptions? I don’t know.
Is this conversation possible inside the walls of our churches? Among Christian leaders? Is it possible for those of us in Christian communities to have honest discussions about race, racism, culture, and equality in the name of God?
Because on one hand, I think the church has experienced some successes regarding racial reconciliation. Churches do seem to embrace diversity more today than in the past. Multiculturalism is an idea that many churches across America are embracing and pursuing.
But despite all of our successes, Sunday morning church services are still a very segregated hour.
Is that okay? Is it okay for white American Christians to go celebrate God at one church and black American Christians to go celebrate God in another church? Should changing that reality be on our radar, an idea on our to-do list? I honestly don’t know the answer to that question.
Racism certainly does exist among Christians, in big and small ways, in ugly and mean ways, and sometimes, in ways that showcase more ignorance than they do hatred. But I also tend to believe that a large majority of Christians have made sincere efforts to strip their hearts and minds of racist ideas. Does separation exist on Sunday mornings because people are racist? Is it because we’ve become so accustom to our homogenous idea of church? Or is it because of worship styles, particular denominations, or church customs? Most of us work for a company or business that fully embraces diversity and yet worship God on Sunday mornings with congregations that showcase little to no diversity. Why is that? Are the reasons for our separation today not the same as they were fifty years ago? If not, certainly a part of our “Church” reality today has been birthed out of all the years when hate, terror and segregation were commonplace in our culture. Shouldn’t we be actively working toward changing that?
In the 1990s there seemed to be a bigger push among Christians to actively look for ways in which to celebrate diversity? I might think this because I worked in the Christian music industry where racial reconciliation was often a popular rallying cry of Christian music artists at concerts and festivals. Are our churches more diverse than they were then? Maybe they are. Because we certainly don’t see too many Christians rallying for change.
Should we look to para-church organizations to lead the way? Should, for instance, the Catalyst conference, a huge gathering for Christian leaders be an experience where more diversity is engaged, showcased, and celebrated? Does diversity not sell? Is that why we don’t see a lot of intentional diversity within the evangelical world? (And I’m just using Catalyst as an example. The list of church leadership conferences that don’t engage diversity is quite lengthy.)
Race, racism, and reconciliation aren’t easy topics for any of us to discuss. We’re afraid to discuss these ideas. Why? Often times it’s because we fear that if we express our feelings honestly, we might accidentally say something offensive that we don’t feel in our hearts. And too, I think many of us are comfortable with the status quo. And many of us uncomfortable with all of the baggage that comes with the topic.
I believe we the Church need to be intentional about embracing racial diversity. I believe we should be making every attempt to find common ground with one another while also recognizing and celebrating the ways our spirituality is unique. We should together mourn the mistakes and travesties of our past, and do that often. And together help shape the paths that can lead to changing what will come.
Are we capable of such love? Are capable of that kind of compassion? Can we embrace humility in such a way that we come to this conversation desiring to serve one another? I hope so. I pray so.
Because America’s Church, though often broken and always imperfect, has showcased the ability to lead the way toward cultural change. And I think racial reconciliation is one area that we can make a significant difference. But we must be intentional about making changes. We must get comfortable with perhaps becoming uncomfortable. We must do this together, letting God, grace, and humility lead the way.
The divide that exists among Christians on Sunday mornings is no accident.
The hope we engage for shaping a more unified future cannot be an accident, either.
But how do we begin talking about this again? Because we must begin talking about this again. For we are The Church. Most of us don’t believe in accidents, right?
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