God Created Race, We Created Racism
by Makenzie Magnus
“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:12-17).
I am so thankful to be at a church that is pursuing unity and intentional togetherness (the “I” in Pastor Rodney Payne’s UNITY acronym) in the midst of a world that continues to grow more polarized. I know we’re not in the New Testament yet with our Bible reading, but the verses above are perfect for us to meditate on as believers. We live in a broken world desiring to live in light of God’s truth, love and peace that is so different from what the world gives (John 14:27).
I remember my first “Race, Poverty and Reconciliation” class in college. I came home to stare at a blank wall, trying to process what I had learned. I had never confronted some of the hardest truths about racism, and the way it has shaped our world. I grew up in a predominantly white family, community, church and school. My parents taught me amazing values of inclusion and exemplified what it meant to pursue Christ. Racism to me was more overt acts of aggression and hateful things that happened in the past. It was primarily an individual heart and sin issue.
While those things are true, it left a gap. I didn’t know about how racial disparities in education, healthcare, housing, incarceration and poverty impact our communities to this day. Every week, we read books, had class and then went out into the city of Chicago to see it with our own eyes. My understanding exploded. We toured public housing, community organizations determined to end gun violence in their community, churches that started health and legal clinics, faith-based after school programs, and “not just for profit” businesses (my favorite being a restaurant that employed people affected by homelessness...they had the best pumpkin pie lattes.)
We also had internships that fit our degrees around the city. I worked with international students at a university one day and ran the front desk of a women’s shelter in our neighborhood the other day. I was a part of a racially diverse church body for the first time and sat under the leadership of people who looked different than me at church and in the classroom for the first time in my life. It was the most eye-opening, faith-deepening, community-filled semester of my life, and it laid an incredible foundation. It has been 10 years since that semester, but there’s not a day that goes by that what I learned doesn’t shape my life and work.
The verses in Colossians 3 resonate with me so strongly as we face the realities of racism. We are to face it differently than the world faces it. God wants to fill our hearts with compassion: concern for the suffering of others. He wants us to be kind and patient and thankful toward one another. He wants us to be full of humility and realize that we might not know or be right about everything. He wants us to be meek and forego power to submit to God and His ways. He wants us to seek wisdom and understanding and be willing to say, “You know, I don’t know much about this. I want to learn more.” He wants us to forgive, which includes acknowledging pain. And above all, He wants us to love. As we deepen our partnership with Bethlehem Star and become intentional about building relationships, let God’s word and gospel lead and unite us.
Author Bio
Makenzie graduated from Wheaton College where she majored in Christian Ministry, Urban Studies and Photography and somehow managed to apply all of her degrees to work in the real world! She has a passion for community development after years of working in urban ministry in Chicago, non-profits in Austin and serving on staff at CRBC. She loves being able to equip and serve the church as the Minister of Missions which includes cultivating both local and global partnerships. She is also quite the homebody, an avid Harry Potter fan, loves Oklahoma City and being with her friends, family and adorable weenie dog, May.