Race, Ethnicity and the Gospel
Since Redeemer’s inception we have existed to be a church not for ourselves but one that seeks to help build a great city for all people through a movement of the gospel that brings personal conversion, community formation, social justice, and cultural renewal. Christians have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:16-21) as we look to the resurrected Jesus in faith. The current cultural moment grants us an opportunity to take a fearless look at our blind spots, publicly repent where we see we have failed to live up to our calling, and in turn work toward healing, restitution and reconciliation.
A pastoral letter on the gospel, race and the church, from Senior Pastor Abe Cho, Summer 2020
Current Events | General Resources | Going Deeper
On Current Events
We are grieving. We deeply lament the rise in violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. We are saddened, and yes, angered, that our brothers and sisters and neighbors in the AAPI community feel fear and insecurity here in our city and across our nation. And so we turn to Scripture, which tells us that we are one body, and should have concern for each other. "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it." With that in mind, please join us for the following events as we pray and act:
Process grief and lament in solidarity with the AAPI community
Wednesday, April 7, 7-7:45 pm
A prayerful time to lament and process the recent racist attacks on the AAPI community. Led by lay leaders of our congregation and with special guest Jennifer Chan from Redeemer City to City.
A Conversation on Asian-Black Racism with Jordan Rice and Abe Cho
Wednesday, April 7, 8-9 pm
Pastors Jordan Rice (Renaissance Church) and Abe Cho (Redeemer East Side) shares a frank conversation as two friends about the racial tensions that exist between Black and Asian communities that often goes unaddressed, and how the gospel and the church are uniquely powerful resources for genuine truth, repentance, healing and reconciliation.
Open Table: Debriefing and Conversation on Asian-Black Racism
Wednesday, April 14, 7-8 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
Or dial: (646) 558-8656 with Meeting ID: 815 9216 6798 and Passcode: 211040
Do you want to talk or process with a pastor and others the current increased violence and attacks on the AAPI community or the conversation Pastor Abe and Pastor Jordan Rice on April 7? Come and join our Open Table to debrief and process further with others in community.
AAPI Prayer & Lament
Thursday, March 25, 2-3 pm
Watch recording
Our friends from Pray March Act invited our pastor to help lead an event called AAPI Prayer & Lament on Thursday, March 25 hosted on Facebook Live. This was a special time of unity and intercession.
"Lord we are overcome with the weight of sin in this broken world. We cry out with our Asian brothers and sisters saying how long Lord? Really? HOW LONG? Our grief turns from sadness to depression and then to anger. We want to harden our hearts from feeling so we can protect them from breaking. You tell us that in our anger, do not sin and do not allow the sun to go down on our anger, but the anguish of injustice and hate burrows its way into our minds. But in Christ we find our HOPE. We must tell Jesus. So we bring our wrung out hearts to the foot of the cross.” |
General Resources
Here are some resources to get you started. Proverbs 27:17 tells us that "iron sharpens iron, so one sharpens another." Therefore, we encourage you to read, process and pray through these sources with others to grow together in pursuit of truth and unity in Christ.
- Grace & Race Statement Concerning the Killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd
- Formed for Justice Conference: Includes presenter talks and corresponding discussion guides
- The Sin of Racism by Tim Keller
- Interview: Irwyn Ince, Jr. on Diversity in the Church that Stems from the Gospel
- The 2018 Ad Interim Committee on Racial and Ethnic Reconciliation
- Redeemer City to City: Resources for Churches on Racial Injustice
- Hope for New York: Addressing Racial Injustice in Our City and Country
Going Deeper
Which of the following statements do you most closely identify with?
- I’m not sure why we’re emphasizing this so much as a church.
- I didn’t know racism was an issue but now I believe that it is.
- I don’t know what to do so I’m learning and listening.
- I want to do something and go deeper. How do I actively become an agent of healing?
- This is my life. I’m a person of color.
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” |
I’m not sure why we’re emphasizing this so much as a church.
- Meditate: Ephesians 2-3 and Psalm 13
- Listen: The Mystery of the Church, Abe Cho
- Watch:
- Justice - Bible Project video
- Racism and Corporate Evil, A White Guy’s Perspective, by Tim Keller
- Read & Discuss: Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr.
"There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy. When you experience mercy, you learn things that are hard to learn otherwise. You see things you can't otherwise see; you hear things you can't otherwise hear. You begin to recognize the humanity that resides in each of us." |
I didn’t know racism was an issue but now I believe that it is.
Note: you will need to commit to learning.
- Meditate: Romans 12:1-8
- Watch & Discuss:
- Body Language: A Conversation on Race, Christine Cain & Dr. Anita Phillips, (starts at 10:30)
- Grace, Justice, & Mercy: An Evening with Bryan Stevenson & Tim Keller
- Read & Discuss: The Gospel and Our Prejudice, Tim Keller
"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase." |
I don’t know what to do so I’m learning and listening.
- Meditate: Acts 10:34 onward
- Meditate & pray with others: Grace, Justice & Mercy Prayer Guide
- Listen & discuss: Sermon by Pastor Roberson III, (starts at 34 mins).
- Watch & discuss: Racism and Corporate Evil, A White Guy’s Perspective, Tim Keller and the film Just Mercy
- Read & discuss: The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby
- Discuss: Called to Love Your Neighbor: Luke 10:25-37 small group discussion guide
“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to
perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating
with it.” |
I want to do something and go deeper. How do I actively become an agent of
healing?
- Meditate & pray with others: Grace, Justice & Mercy Prayer Guide
- Watch & discuss: What Racial Reconciliation Requires Workshop (Two-Part Series) by Pastor Rich Villodas
- Read & discuss:
- Be the Bridge, Latasha Morrison
- A Guide to Gospel Neighboring - free online class from Redeemer City to City
- The Bridge to Racial Unity discussion guide
- Act:
- Evaluate your relationships. Do you have friendships across differences? If not, think of ways to place yourself in places/situations where they can happen.
- Three rules for a productive conversation
- Identify how and where you can serve your neighborhood consistently. Consider serving with a HFNY UES affiliate monthly.
- Support the PCA Unity Fund
- Join a prayer march hosted by local churches.
"If we are waiting to say all the right things or do the right things
before we act, we probably won’t act. We’re gonna make a million mistakes in this,
might as well get started." |
This is my life. I’m a person of color.
- Meditate: Psalm 34, Isaiah 66
- Listen: I Can’t Breathe, sermon by Pastor Charlie Dates
- Book Recommendations: A Beautiful Community, by Dr. Irwin Ince
- We’re here to listen if you’d like to talk. Email or call Redeemer East Side Pastoral Staff at (212) 808-4460
"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too much a burden to bear." |