(W)right or Wrong: Race Is Still An Issue

The Apostle Paul says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).

We at City of Hope Church believe that God has called us to be a diverse community of worshippers who, gripped by the gospel of grace, consistently reach out to bring hope and freedom to the diverse people of the Columbia area and beyond. As part of this vision, we desire to impact all who come (skeptic, seeker, or follower, Black, White, Asian or Latino) to become free as they live as God's instrument of love, mercy, and justice.

To see this part of the vision fulfilled, we put a high value on reconciliation. In fact, we state as one of our five values the following:

“We will boldly pursue racial, cultural, gender, socioeconomic and generational reconciliation. For it is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we are thoroughly reconciled with God and with one another. Therefore, we will prioritize and invest our very lives to reconciliation that is empowered by the Gospel of Jesus Christ who has come to break down the dividing walls of all kinds of tensions and divisions.”

So with this is in mind, this Friday (May 30) at 7:00 PM we are holding an open forum discussion at a local coffee shop in Ellicott City (check out www.cityofhopechurch.net for directions). We have entitled it: (W)right or Wrong: Race is Still An Issue. Yes, we are playing on the recent controversy of Jeremiah Wright, a former pastor of Barack Obama, but the focus of our honest and open conversation will be on how the gospel impacts, challenges and changes the way we view and work with one another in our lives, communities, workplaces and churches.

Here are some of the questions we will be considering:
1. What is your hope that our country will live up to the stated belief “that all men are created equal”?
2. How does race factor into the decisions that you make socially, economically, politically and religiously?
3. How solvable is the racial divide in America?
4. Why do you think Sunday at 11:00 AM is the most segregated time of the week?
5. How has the church contributed to the racial divide? If the church has, what can we learn from her failures?
6. What role can the church play in solving the racial divide? What role can you play?

Come Friday and let us hear what you are thinking! If unable to make it, share your thoughts here.

Warmly,
Pastor Jeff