Social Justice

As we approach the holiday season and the Super Bowl, it’s essential to remember that human trafficking doesn’t take a break.

"The persecution of Christians continues to grow around the globe. As Americans, we must decide how we'll respond,” said Ryan Brown, president and CEO of Open Doors US. “Our hope is this report not only provides a call to respond, but also helps inform that response."

Many scholars describe the civil rights movement as a political movement with religious dressing—useful for the movement’s purposes but not central to the message. But the work of historian David L. Chappell, based on testimonies by civil rights activists and leaders, contradicts this. Their accounts indicate that “it was, for them, primarily a religious event.”

For the last four hundred years, racism has been ingrained in the founding and fabric of America. What this means is the gravitational pull of our culture is downward into prejudice, discrimination, and racism.

While acknowledging hits to the credibility, reputation and psyche of the church's collective witness, they passionately and practically encourage readers to see this not so much as a problem but an opportunity for the church to understand the times and know what is the best course of action to take (1 Chron. 12:32) in pursuit of systemic transformation for the sake of the gospel.

And there is only one cure. It is not another law, though new ones may be needed; it is not a change in policing, though changes may be needed. Those are band-aids—helpful, perhaps, but band-aids. They do not address the disease.

It’s time we show countercultural compassion to those who don’t agree with us. It’s time we show them that the Word of God is not a weapon we wield against them but rather words that move us to show love and kindness to them.

Resistance and pushback are needed to shape a better outcome, but too much can be destructive.