Yesterday I reminded us that among the ways we should be “performing” – living out the gospel in real life are the 6 Ms from Fruitfulness on the Frontline:

• Model godly character
• Make good work
• Minister grace and love
• Mold culture
• Be a Mouthpiece for truth and justice
• Be a Messenger of the gospel

Here’s a practical, up-to-date example of at least three of the six: Minister grace and love, Mold culture, and Mouthpiece for truth and justice.

The Apostle Paul is clear:

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ… (2 Corinthians 5.18 – 20, ESV)

The well-known black preacher Tony Evans has echoed this point loud and clear:

Conflict in terms of race relations boils down to a pivotal question, Pastor Tony Evans of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship told those gathered at his church on Wednesday, July 21. “Am I a reconciler, or am I a combatant? Am I contributing to what God has done for me, bringing harmony where there was conflict, or am I one who keeps the fire [of division] burning?” he asked. “The more we are engaged … in the ministry of reconciliation, the more God is going to be with us because we were reconciled to Him. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.” – Dr. Tony Evans, July 21, 2021

The report of Tony Evans’ sermon appears in a July 27 report from the Baptist Press and is worth the read in its entirety. Among other things, he points up what could be useful from Critical Race Theory (CRT) and distinguishes between Black Lives Matter as a movement (a good thing) and as an organization (a bad thing). Here are some snippets:

CRT is a post-Civil Rights social construct that seeks to demonstrate how unjust laws have served as the embedded foundation and filter through which racist attitudes, behavior, policies and structures have been rooted throughout the fabric of American life and systems even after those laws have changed.

CRT, in and of itself, can be useful in addressing the long-lasting effects of racist laws and cultural norms that continue to exist.

Black Lives Matter must be addressed both as a movement and an organization. The movement says the lives of Black people matter in the same way all of us evangelicals say the lives of the unborn matter. The organization of the same name is unbiblical and actually advocates for the destruction of the Black family.

Dr. Evans then introduces a concept he calls Kingdom Race Theology (KRT):

KRT the reconciled recognition, affirmation and celebration of the divinely created ethnic differences through which God displays His multifaceted glory as His people justly, righteously and responsibly function personally and corporately in unity under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. He pointed to Paul’s admonition to the church in Ephesus for reconciliation among two groups who didn’t get along – Gentiles and Jews. A country’s Olympic athletes may be different, but they compete under the same flag. Another way of putting it is that they compete for the same kingdom.

If you are a believer in Christ, then you are required to be a reconciler. We are not to allow the divisions of society to create divisions in the kingdom. You operate under a different flag now.

All good stuff, well-articulated. All of us in the body of Christ need to be part of the solution.

For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3.26 – 28, ESV)