Jesus is Knocking: The Imperfect Sermon on Race we Want to Hear

What I wish my white church would say.

I am not a preacher. I am a regular guy, helping raise a mixed-race teenager.

Over the past week, we’ve gone through the gauntlet of emotions, from anger, fear, hopelessness and back to hopefulness, and then back and forth again and again. We’ve experienced first-hand overt and implicit racism in the community, at our schools and even during the teenager’s lone experience with the police.

We’ve also experienced the shut-downs and the gaslighting from family, supposed friends and public officials when we’ve attempted to share our concerns and lived experiences.

This week, we’ve listened to our teenager once again share her experiences. We’ve watched her become fired up, inspired, engaged. We’ve provided educational resources and insight where needed, but have stepped back and let her explore and express herself. Most importantly, we’ve listened.

We’ve also had talks with some of our white family that have had mixed results. While some have been fully supportive, others have responded with the usual shutdowns, minimizations and gaslighting. Those are all too real. However, we recognize that much of it comes from a place of ignorance, not necessarily hatred. Some of it does…