To the white Church,

It’s been 39 days since the murder of George Floyd. 

And I pray we have not been the same since. 

I pray that these past 39 days have forever changed us. 

I pray we have felt the weight and destruction and death that racism has brought and continues to bring. 

I pray we have acknowledged and repented and asked for forgiveness for any racist beliefs, thoughts, or actions.

I pray we have repented of the silence the White Church have stood in for far too long. The silence that kills our Black brothers and sisters. The comfortable silence that is not biblical. The silence that the Pharisees stood in. 

I pray we repent for the complacency the white Church has sat in, excusing its wrongdoings because of the ideas of “tradition.”

I pray we have repented for ever using the excuse, “but that’s how I was raised.” That may be how you were raised and taught, but that is not what the Lord teaches. That is not what Jesus stands for. He is an active teacher that is not confined by age or upbringing. 

I pray we have repented for the areas where we believed ideologies that are not, and never will be, in alignment with the Kingdom. 

I pray in these past 39 days we have done more listening, empathizing, and burden-carrying than talking, complaining, or commenting.

I pray our definition of “neighbor” has no constraints; whether they look like you, talk like you, vote like you, pray like you, worship like you, parent like you, dress like you— they are our neighbor. 

I pray we remember that Jesus did not look like us when He walked on the Earth. He was not white, nor voted republican or democrat. He is a multifaceted, holy God that dwells in every nation, tribe, and language. Heaven will not be a mirror of America. 

I pray these past 39 days have shown any idolatry in your life. We cannot worship Jesus and America at the same time. Don’t get patriotism confused with righteousness. The government cannot save us, nor will any President or political figure. Stop putting your hope and faith in flawed people working for a flawed system. If you’re more concerned with America’s success than Jesus’s, you have an idol in your life. 

I pray we take a step back and looked at our church congregation. Is it multicultural? Does it value diversity? Do we only feel comfortable in a church when it is homogeneous? Are we biased towards white preachers and congregations? 

I pray we have had revelations of what we need right now— a united Church where it’s foundations are not based on traditional thinking and white-washed history, but instead based on the simple Gospel that Jesus Christ died for us all so that we might taste and see the Love that is True and Real. We cannot expect unity to sweep this nation if it is not found within the Church body. 

I pray we have felt a burning, righteous anger within us for racial justice and reconciliation. That we have acknowledged how much more of the fight there is to fight. 

I pray that while we have been in intercession and petition for holy unity between races, we are also praying with our feet and taking action.

I pray that if you have not felt empathy, anguish, or deep sorrow for the Black community and the injustice that is afflicted onto them, that you will seek the Lord, educate yourself from the hundreds of resources online about racism, repent, and seek professional help. If you are not able to hate what the Lord hates and weep over what breaks Jesus’s heart, there is an issue deep down that needs to be addressed and fixed. 

I pray we are relearning how to carry your brother and sister’s cross. How to bear one another’s burdens, even when, especially when, it does not directly affect us. How to sit and listen to story after story after story of injustices in this country and hurt alongside them. 

I pray in these past 39 days we have felt over and over again the emotional-toll racism brings. That our heart has been heavy more times than not. That we do not think, “I’m tired of being sad. I want things to go back to the way they used to be.” This is an issue the black community has fought for hundreds of years. We do not get to pick and choose when we want to lament over injustices. 

I pray that we have learned the truth in Black Lives Matter yet have also learned that that is the bare minimum. Black lives do not just “matter” to Jesus. They are beloved sons and daughters who were worth dying for. They are loved by Love himself. He fights for them day in and day out and has a seat for them at His table, just as we should. 

And I pray, above all else, that we have learned over the past 35 days how to reflect true, Biblical Love. Love is on a relentless pursuit for unity, because unity has never been and never will be an exclusive idea. 

It’s been 39 days since the murder of George Floyd. 

And I pray you have not been the same since.