2020 Halftime
We are losing…bad
Protesters in front of LA City Hall
It depends on how look at it. The protests are in many ways waking America up to the pain and hate that black Americans are facing and have faced for years. It is the expression of frustration and anger over the tragic deaths that have recently happened and has been building up for the past couple of years. Slowly cities like LA are making changes to police budgets which is a beginning of what I assume most will say a long list of requests/needs. On a community level, more white Americans are also joining the fight against racism and becoming more aware of how bad it really is by feeling the pain of their black friends and colleagues.
Some short and minor wins. But let’s go back to January.
Kobe Died. COVID19 was first reported in China but still wasn’t raising any red flags in America or in the world. In February, Trump was acquitted (not sure if this is good news or bad news), multiple shootings in different states, gas line blew up in Texas. Then in March it all came crashing down with COVID19 adding nationwide lockdowns, stay at home shelter guidelines and closure of almost all businesses. Unemployment skyrocketed, shady companies took money from the business loan program which was for small businesses, 1200 dollars was given to people to pay for rent, groceries, bills, a list of actors/celebrities passed away including Kirk Douglas, Neil Peart, Jerry Stiller, James Lipton, Fred Willard, and Rocky Johnson. The great Ravi Zacharias also lost his battle to cancer (if you don’t know him then please look him up).
Sadly there is also Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and now Rayshard Brooks.
I remember thinking about an outline for a YT video about the death of Ahmaud Arbery. I was figuring out the main points I wanted to cover. The topic was sensitive, I wanted to make sure I was reading facts instead of slanted journalism, and be as loving as possible for all sides. I waited weeks because I really wanted to be clear and convey my thoughts with respect. This comes after the tragic news of Breonna Taylor which I was also going talk about but the most insane thing about Arbery’s death is that it become known only after a video was released on May 5. That right there is troubling.
But then on May 25, 2020 we learn of the death of George Floyd. I was so confused and shocked that the first thought I had was “no way”. This couldn’t be happening again. I believe in that sentence right there, is why many people are protesting. Because it is happening, still happening, and people are now rising up to make change.
So many emotions, so many arguments, so many facts, so many lies, so many reactions, so many positions, so many excuses, so many violent acts and so many thoughts. This blog post wouldn’t be able to retain the attention of the reader if I wrote everything out. But I will state one emotion that consistently feel among many others and that is sadness. I’m sad. I feel sad. Racists comments, violent actions, unfortunate deaths and so many cops getting crapped on right now. I feel sad for my friends who are cops. They’re getting yelled at, rocks and bottles are being thrown at them. That makes me sad. It all makes me sad. I learned a great gold nugget of truth from Pastor Tom Holladay on Sunday during service. He said don’t compare grief to other grief. Please don’t curve this into some insensitive comment where I am diminishing/disrespecting the pain of our black community. Just read the beginning of this blog again. I’m just sad for it all
So what does the Asian pastor/church leader do? Here are 3 points to consider and by no means does this cover all practical points that should be implemented.
Don’t be Silent. I’m not saying to turn your weekend sermon into a TED talk about racial injustice and strip it of scripture. However don’t just continue on with your sermon series on 1 Chronicles or 6 ways to do your daily QT as if there isn’t a global social issue occurring right now. Gen Z reads and accesses local news, global news and the world’s opinion everyday, all day. You can either provide wise truth and response or allow Gen Z to get truth from twitter. Stop playing it safe and do research. Your Gen Z/Millennial members need to hear you on this topic. They want to hear you.
Research before posting, speaking, responding. Remember that CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX and CNN all provide you a couple MB of a 5 GIG story. They report snippets of an angle/perspective. And social media are just everyone’s thoughts. 1 tweet is not a published, peer reviewed article. Be careful of reacting to a video/picture or someone’s cell phone story. There have been a lot of good things from people catching horrible acts of violence and injustice with their phones. However a phone video is also just 1 side. Imagine if all investigations and court juries made a decision based upon 1 video or picture. That would be chaotic. Media is currently chaotic. And we are living in that chaos right now.
Learn. It’s time to read up on racial injustice, systemic racism, police reform, police guidelines, how changes are made in your state and how they are made at national government level. This is most needed in my life. There is much I don’t know. And it’s ok. Don’t feel ashamed that you don’t know either. Just start learning. I’m asking a lot of questions to my friends are smarter than me and have more experience in these areas. I’m reading books (right now Intervarsity is doing a free ebook giveaway on certain racial/social justice books), listening to keynote speakers, TED talks and podcasts (I highly recommend Al Mohler’s the briefing). But even here, apply point #2 above. Take it all in, be wise and discerning and learn in context. Catch yourself before you start believing everything 1 person/org says whether it’s Candice Owens, Dave Chapelle or FOX news. Do thorough research, take time to reflect/meditate, apply godly wisdom and do/say everything in love.
