How should churches approach race and culture issues?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- Author and international speaker Michael Burns explains how Christians and should approach issues of race and culture within the church. He offers four tips:
1) Recognize that cultural differences are not sin issues
2) Include diverse voices at every level of influence
3) Maintain cultural humility
4) Love one another
Michael Burns' books are available at Illumination Publishers at these links.
"Crossing the Line": ipibooks.ecwid...
"All Things to All People": ipibooks.ecwid...
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Michael, cultural diversity is something I have been very blind to. You have helped me see what I need to change to brighten the church experience for many. Thank you!
Interestingly, a lot of this can apply across generational divides too.
Great sharing. Thank you for speaking the truth and opening our mind for the view about the races. Jesus center is our new culture.
There are other cultural groups that do not involve being a member of a racial or an ethnic group. Here is one example: the Deaf Culture that uses sign language. This group is a largely unreached mission field for our church movement. There is a need for hearing brothers and sisters to learn sign language, since the gospel of Christ is for all and Apostle Paul said he strives to be all things to all men. Hearing disciples who can learn and master sign language and interpreting are needed to serve as interpreters for Deaf disciples during services and other meetings of the body, to disciple them to Christ and to teach them to be mature in Christ, so they can lead other Deaf people to Christ. Another reason for hearing disciples to learn sign language is to be able to fellowship with Deaf disciples, when they enter into the diverse Kingdom. Failing that, the hearing dominated church will always exclude the members of the Deaf Culture and that would be very sad.
Hey Alan, that's a good point. There are plenty of cultural groups all around us that do not use race as an identity. It can be easy to miss other cultural groups that are literally right in front of our eyes, such as the Deaf culture.
Learning sign language is certainly ideal, but it's not the only way. Those who don't have the resources to learn sign language can use writing (again, not ideal, but functional). Just having the patience to talk to someone in a non-conventional way can be huge!
Looking for answers, found more questions. Wish this video mentioned at least one scripture related to the argument.
Great video! Thank you for covering this important topic that can often go untouched. Looking forward to the next one!
My opinion is that there is a thin line between “cultural differences” and racism. While it is possible to recognize cultural differences without judgment, many times judgment of said culture leads to favoritism, which is sin. Favoritism doesn’t have to be explicit, and people of color are keenly aware of micro aggressions that are sometimes perpetrated, even within the church. This is something that has historically been the elephant in the room in our churches. I pray that this changes and that in particular the white dominant culture within the church will be honest about its implicit bias and favoritism.
Hey Keisa, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I just read your comment. I'm not sure if you liked the video or not. Did you like it?
Kidogo - Christian Practicals I think it was great; yet having said that, I think that addressing implicit bias and the role it plays in how we view cultures that are different from our own would have gotten more to what I think is the root issue.
@@keisafruge361 Thanks for sharing! There's certainly a lot to discuss on this topic. Michael Burns can talk for hours on this stuff. We had to limit him to just a few minutes in order to make this video. But you may be happy to know that we are releasing another video on race and cultural diversity next week. That video will also feature Michael.
Kidogo - Christian Practicals great! I’ll look forward to it.
Keisha, thanks for bringing this up. There are cultural differences that we need to be sensitive to, and work through. But there's also the sin of bias, favoritism, and bigotry that remains the elephant in the room in our fellowship.
I also pray that we can be courageous and honest in dealing with that, and have godly sorrow.
Message needed to expedite our getting to our goal of getting to a perfect man. Really? Really... God knows until we can operate from the state of making no mistakes, kingdom life can't be as glorious as God has in mind. Who can know what the Holy Spirit has in his mind. We who have the Holy Spirit can, because He will reveal it to us; when and as He pleases. Now He wants us to bear in mind (up front focused to keep it in mind God is perfect-no flaws) I appreciate that alot. He wants us to know that it's the best fun to exsist as perfect; making no mistakes slowing us down from experiencing all good things, inexhaustible. This immediate , that satan would want barring our way, sticking it painfully most of the time irritating the human race. The answer is that the human race has no race issue, or it wouldn't be called the human race.
The members of the human race are really known as the sons of God. Because their common human father is called Adam; who is identified as a son of God, similar to what the angels are also called ('Son of God). Nomatter what gene pooling activities that environmental and geographical bounderies produced in our outer man's appearance. God does not pay much attention to that, because the real son that He fathered is our spirit...our heart...our bodies are only tools for sonship to use to express itself. We usually recognize what our heart is like by what ideas we appreciate. We can also cleanse our heart to what we prefer because that is one of the powers it inherits as a son of the Spirit that God identified that He is a spirit, to the woman at the well. Even though I appreciate what I have already experienced as a black person's form of being a son of God, my potential is greater due to Jesus Christ's provisions. The potential of being primerally a son of God, is to experience all...all...all He has in mind that good is; like He is doing in His own exsistance. To facilitate that, He intends to take us beyond human limitations for our bodies to have angel likeness, just like Jesus . It seems that if we really become born again thru reconciliation backed to God by living like we believe all that Jesus gave us to live...our spirit actually become born again from the Father of all spirits (the God and Father of Jesus Christ. What that new spirit actually is; is a spirit of an angel. If we remain faithfully to Christ we get the body of that angel at the rapture that belongs to that new born again spirit of an angel we now are, if we really live what we believe as the gospel...the real gospel, not corrupted gospels that don't get us born again following Christ.
So let's leave the focus of lessor things, like what ethnicity our original self came from. We probably as angels will be able to: like the Holy Spirit's dovelike appearnce, transform our bodies to help communicate ideas we want to express.
We, currently in passage to all that, can speed things up, to grow in grace; better progress than the church is usually up to, by putting up front in our everyday conciousness, that our real identity is not worldly concerns, such as, the ethnicity you came from. But how to expedite our transition to our Father's likeness, to become like Jesus who can sit with the Father on the Father's own throne.
For white folks, who got themselves stuck in a rut, through the flattery satan used to get them preoccupied with corrupting things like their view of the Holy covenant. They would have a difficult time ejecting from satan's atempt to stick them in his own loss (no longer a son of God, but a son of perdition)...lost, no longer, ever be found again. If I was them, I would tell myself to sober up...that I could lose my best fate if I listen to satan. Focus on the real that you actually are instead of going on goofing into the nothing that lies garrentees any one who follows them. It's not too hard to put oneself in another's shoes...it could save them tragedy. Here, it could help belivers live what they claim, instead of making it look like a fable.
I know that guy.
We know that guy too
@@Keydogo I never heard of him till I saw this video.
Very poor theology here, very poor understanding of history. Unbiblical. Its like we can just ignore all the places in the bible that talk about being mistreated by this world. You know Rome occupied Israel? Gentiles ruled the Jews...imagine walking on the roadside 2000 years ago a roman solider comes over to you "HEY JEW carry my gear for 1 mile" Matthew 5:41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Then imagine coming back to Jesus and the rest of the fellowship of believers and say "I'm out of here I'm gonna go to the Jewish zealots I cant stand this discrimination! You aren't talking about how these romans are treating us, you actually told us the opposite!" You would be correct its wrong how the romans are treating you just because you are a jew. People affected negatively by police can get my love and hugs and encouragement when they come...I spent a decade considering joining the army which I ended up doing because of some convincing arguments and I wanted to... Despite my conscious and what i believed was correct. The bible is the standard people, follow the spirit Church! This is sad leadership catered to this notion that church is the place for all this...its sad some intelligent people spin scripture to feel comfortable in this lost dark cold world.
Culturaly humble isn't a thing.
Current culture isn’t what Sunday service is about.
Yes and no? It's certainly not about the latest fad or picking a side, but if there is growing fear among a significant portion of the flock and it's becoming their lives, should the church not address it?
Since when is the church a place to talk about the 'culture'? There had better NOT be discussion from the pulpit about politics or culture. Sunday service is a time for worshipping God and Jesus, to be fed by God's word and to hear encouraging and practical ways to be called higher. Not to discuss or hear the opinions of others on what's going on in the world. As disciples, we KNOW what is going on ... Satan rules over the earth and his minions work non-stop to drag us into the mouth of the lion. If people feel the need to discuss culture then go to an ethical society and preach, or an activist "church" or join a social change group. John 15:19 We are not of this world. Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Col 3:1-3 Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God... The last thing disciples should be doing is getting bogged down in culture, politics, diversity, and class. These things are man-made and fleeting and distract us from our mission - to seek and save the lost, to snatch our loved ones and friends from the jaws of death. And I think on his tips list #4 should be #1 :)
Hey Francine, I see that you didn't like this video very much. Thanks for sharing your thoughts though. I hope you like our other videos more than this one : )
@@Keydogo I do like your videos, I just didn't care for this one. :)
Michael... YIKES!!! As a black Woman and a disciple of Christ I’m completely disgusted by what you’re teaching!!! You’re not only causing Division you’re completely inaccurate! You will STAND before our God and you will be held accountable for this blasphemy!
Hello Shawlee, did you know that Michael's wife is a black woman and a disciple of Christ too? Also, you didn't mention which part of the video you disagree with. Can you please point out a sentence that he said that was wrong?
But how was he causing a division?
The most annoying and wrong thing. Throwing out comments like this without a shred of evidence and then just ignoring it when being called out.
@@icheko2498 Exactly. Unfortunately there’s also some black disciples out there too that don’t want to expose and address racism for what it is. Choosing to ignore this actually gives more power to the devil than anything because if one of us suffers in the body then we all suffer (1 Corinthians 12:26)