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Group Leadership
September 15, 2020

Equipping Group Leaders for Conversations on Race

By Group Ministry

How do we seek to bring the gospel into our conversations and actions about race?

This is a question we cannot ignore in our small groups. In light of recent events, group leaders have unique opportunities to engage and encourage their members towards Christ-centered action. This isn’t a one-time conversation, but an ongoing discussion.

But what if group leaders don’t feel equipped?

This cannot be an excuse for non-engagement. Thankfully, many trusted voices have already stepped in and offered wisdom as a resource for those who feel ill-equipped.

In the video below, highly-respected author and pastor Dr. Tony Evans shares from his life experience as an African-America, a Christian, and a pastor. In his interview with Trevin Wax, he discusses the ways the gospel informs how he thinks about and addresses racial injustices in America (and much more). He gives counsel to pastors as they seek to speak about racial injustice, even when they are afraid to do so.

 

For further insight, consider the additional resources below:

  • Trillia Newbell, editor of The Church and The Racial Divide, shares additional insight through her video, “How To Best Engage in the Conversations about Race”
  • Gospel-Centered Race Resources for Your Group
  • Racial Reconciliation Resources.

Let’s continue to seek justice and love mercy as we strive to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).

Group Leadership
July 9, 2020

Four Thoughts on Racial Reconciliation

By Reid Patton

Like many people, the tragic killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery have led me to pause, pray, and pursue the Lord. As I process this, I had a thought I could not shake. 

I’m 35 now. My father was 34 when Rodney King was beaten by the L.A.P.D. in 1991. My grandfather was 35 in 1963 when four men placed a bomb on the exterior wall of 16th Street Baptist Church, murdering four little girls and injuring 22 others. Our entire family is from Birmingham, Alabama. We grew up a mere 10 miles from the church. Sure, the world has changed over the last 50 years but not enough. 

What must I do if I want the world to be different when my little girl is 35? What must we as the church do if we want the world to be different? 

I’m new to this work and am certainly not an expert, but here are few thoughts I’ve had that might help other Christians like me respond to the ongoing discussion about injustice and racial inequality both personally, and in the groups we lead in our churches. 

First, we need to pray. As people who believe the world has been corrupted by sin, we should not be surprised that sin has corrupted our hearts as well as the systems designed to protect us. Therefore, we must repent and ask God to reveal our own hidden sin and forgive us. Then we must call on the Lord to fix broken systems, so they are equitable and just for people of every color. 

Second, we need to teach the whole counsel of God. The same message which has redeemed our souls to God also has the power to reconcile us to our neighbor. Racism is a sin that must be condemned. Those of us who teach regularly need to teach against racism exegetically, topically, and systematically in the same way we would teach about abortion or any other issue. If we’re people of the Book, we need to teach the whole Book.

Third, we need to pay attention. We need to read books and follow people on social media who will help us understand experiences we haven’t lived. When brothers and sisters of color share their experiences, we need to listen and believe them. Sharing your struggle and pain with others is always difficult. It is particularly difficult when your experience is continually misunderstood or dismissed. Listening is the minimum that love requires. If Jesus is near to the broken-hearted and uplifts the crushed in spirit, we should be as well. 

Lastly, we need to act. We should not be like the lawyer who sought to justify himself by asking Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” We know the answer to this question. All people, without qualification, are our neighbors. The Scriptures call us to act out of love and care for our neighbor. Therefore, moved by prayer and the Word of God, we need to build bridges with people who do not look like us. We need to speak up when we see injustice, and advocate to change inequitable policies and systems. There are many steps to take, and the journey may feel overwhelming. But for the world to change, Christians need to get moving. 

If you’re new to this conversation and looking to take a first step, consider working through a group study designed to help you think through these crucial issues from a Christian framework such as The Church and the Racial Divide or Imago Dei. 

Reid Patton is an editor and content creator for Lifeway Christian Resources. For the past ten years, he has developed Bible studies for pastors and churches across the country. Outside of work, Reid enjoys reading books, following the NBA, listening to records, watching movies, and researching his next trip to Walt Disney World. He lives in Spring Hill, TN with his wife, Kristen, and daughter, Ceile. You can find him on Twitter at @jreidpatton.

Group Answers Podcast
June 10, 2020

Group Answers Episode 156: Addressing Racial Topics in Your Group

By Group Ministry
https://media.blubrry.com/groupsmatter/p/media.blubrry.com/lifewayleadership/p/groupministry.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2020/06/GA-156.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:03 — 44.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS

On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian talk to Michael Moore about how to address racial tensions and topics with your small group.

Michael K. Moore is Executive Pastor of Faith Chapel in Birmingham Alabama. He accepted the calling to ministry in 2005 and began working for Faith Chapel in April 2006. In 2008, Michael K. began graduate school, which allowed him to travel to Japan and London as a part of his studies. In 2011, he graduated with an MBA and in the fall of 2012, was married to Michelle Scott. He and Michelle have three beautiful daughters, Meeghan, Margeaux, and Maiki Rose.

Questions Discussed:

  • We normally advise group leaders to try to avoid political and hot button issues during group meetings, but current events are impossible to not talk about right now. How would you advise leaders as they approach these conversations?
  • How can we have constructive conversations about the protests and riots without it breaking down into choosing political sides?
  • What can we do as leaders to move the conversation forward on racial tensions in our groups?
  • How can churches and pastors do a better job of listening to and promoting the voices of different races?

Resources:

  • Gospel-Centered Race Resources for Your Group

The Group Answers Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in Lifeway’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at Lifeway and author of Leading Small Groups.

Church Leadership
June 9, 2020

Gospel-Centered Race Resources for Your Group

By Group Ministry

It didn’t just start yesterday, last week, or last month. Injustice and racial disunity span deep into both our national and global history.

We are broken people living in a broken world. But we are meant to be ambassadors of reconciliation, striving to learn, listen, and act for justice as we seek to be the hands and feet of Christ.

However, knowing who to listen to and what actions to practically take can be difficult. Many voices are speaking loudly. Many emotions are surfacing powerfully. What can we do? Where do we turn?

We’ve worked with various authors and trusted Christian voices who have provided resources that can practically aid yourself, your group, or your church towards these ends:

  1. The Church and The Racial Divide (in partnership with ERLC; by Trevor Atwood; general editors Trillia Newbell and Dan Darling)

Featuring contributors: Walter Strickland, Juan Sánchez, and Russell Moore

In light of racial tension in America, many Christian leaders are talking earnestly about racial reconciliation. Many pastors and lay leaders look at the growing tensions in our churches and wonder how they can be a healing force in our culture. The problem is they don’t know where to begin. The average evangelical Christian may not understand why racial reconciliation is a gospel imperative. The average pastor may not know how to pursue it.

This resource features video teaching from key leaders discussing race, culture, and the gospel. Using these evangelical voices and Bible study, participants will learn about racial reconciliation and be equipped to be part of the solution.

  1. Imago Dei (in partnership with The Gospel Coalition; by Mike Cosper)

Featuring contributors: Jackie Hill Perry, Juan Sánchez, H.B. Charles Jr., Tony Merida, Shar Walker, Sam Allberry,  Ligon Duncan, Tim Keller, Miguel Nunéz, D.A. Carson, Rosaria Butterfield, Afshin Ziafat, Albert Mohler, and more.

People are naturally compelled to ask questions of identity: Who am I? What am I worth? Why am I here? The answers culture offers only lead to more questions. To properly answer these questions, we need to look all the way back to the beginning—to our creation—and see that all people are made in the image of God.

Having a well-rounded view of the imago Dei will help us better understand ourselves, God, and the restoring work of salvation that comes to us through Jesus Christ. We can understand what God intended the imago Dei to be, how sin corrupted it, and how Jesus restores it through the power of the cross and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

Imago Dei examines the image of God biblically within the grand narrative of Scripture, relationally as it applies to ourselves and others, and missionally in our service to others and in our obedience to the Great Commission.

  1. The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation (Eds. Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker)

The problem of racism stretches back as far as humanity’s origin in the book of Genesis. Brother pitted against brother, tribe against tribe––people have warred against one another, fueled by contempt for racial differences. Yet the gospel is a message of reconciliation.

The kingdom of God is us reconciled to one another.

Editors Russell Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issues with a gospel-centered perspective. The Gospel for Life series gives every believer a biblically-saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life.

 

Additional Bible studies by authors of color:

Tony Evans

  • Pathways
  • Detours
  • The Power of God’s Names
  • No More Excuses
  • Kingdom Man

Priscilla Shirer

  • Discerning the Voice of God
  • The Armor of God
  • Breathe
  • One in a Million

D.A. Horton

  • Letters of the Revelation
  • To the One Who Conquers – Teen Study
  • Authentic Love – Teen Guys’ Study

Derwin Gray

  • The Good Life

Jackie Hill Perry

  • Jude

Eric Mason

  • Unleashed
  • Manhood Restored

Dhati Lewis

  • Among Wolves
Group Answers Podcast
January 29, 2020

Group Answers Episode 137: Dan Darling & Trillia Newbell on The Church and the Racial Divide

By Group Ministry
https://media.blubrry.com/groupsmatter/p/media.blubrry.com/lifewayleadership/p/s3.amazonaws.com/ministrysites/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2020/01/10141456/GA-137.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:51 — 39.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Email | RSS

On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk to Dan Darling and Trillia Newbell about the new small group study: The Church and the Racial Divide.

Daniel Darling is the Vice President for Communications for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC), and the author of multiple books.

Trillia Newbell is the Director of Community Outreach for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and also the author of several books.

Questions Discussed:

  • Tell us about The Church and the Racial Divide. How did this project come together?
  • What is racial reconciliation and why does it matter?
  • How can this be pursued by racially homogenous churches and groups?
  • What does a church look like that’s pursuing diversity and practicing healthy racial reconciliation in their church and city?
  • What would you tell a group leader that was considering this study for his or her group?
  • What tips do you have for someone who might be leading this study?
  • What excites you about this study? What do you hope this does for churches?

Resources Mentioned:

The Church and the Racial Divide Bible Study

The ERLC

The Group Answers Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in Lifeway’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at Lifeway and author of Leading Small Groups.

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