I'd like to share some answers about the work of #EthnicConciliation (EC) in the USA Church per FAQ's I receive.
#1 - Although there are some similarities between the two, #EthnicConciliation is not the same take as the more widely known term "racial reconciliation".
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#2 - #EthnicConciliation addresses both "racial" & "reconciliation". "Racial" = more than one race, which isn't supported in Scripture. "Reconciliation" implies conciliation in America between the ethnicities (or nations) en masse has already taken place, when it never has.
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#3 - Conciliation takes place when animosity, distrust, & hostility are gone. Jesus secured this for God & His people, from both genders, all ethnicities, & social classes. #EthnicConciliation is the positional reality of God's people, the 'new humanity' (Eph 1-3).
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#4 - #EthnicConciliation is seen when we affirm (not ignore/idolize) the ethnicity of every believer while working to remove animosity, distrust, & hostility from our interpersonal relationships. When we do this, we practically resemble our positional reality.
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#5 - Ethnicity does not equal skin color alone. People have opposed ethnic affirmation because they've assumed it's centering one's melanin in order to usurp their identity in Christ, when it's acknowledging their God-given gift of ethnicity.
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#6 - Ethnicity is God-given & is not inherently worldly. If anything "race" is worldly b/c its man-made & was forced upon all in the Americas by colonizers. Christians don't have to abandon their ethnicity since it remains with us in eternity (Rev 21:24-26).
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# 7 - Ethnic Affirmation is a balanced approach acknowledging & supporting the God-given ethnicity of a believer. It's the guardrail preventing us from two opposing extremes of idolizing ethnicity or ignoring it - in which both have become the practice of some.
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#8 - God's election before the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8 & 17:8) included both genders, all ethnicities, tribes, & tongues. His City is populated by the diversity of ethnicities in the one human race (Rev 21:24-26). #EthnicConciliation helps show His election stands.
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#9 - #EthnicConciliation provides much needed new language and pathway forward for Christ's Bride. It frames 'racism' as the Sin of Partiality & provides ways to deal with this sin (e.g., the Lord Supper and Church discipline).
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#10 - #EthnicConciliation provides the Church with space to break out of the Black/White binary by centering voices of all ethnicities & social classes in spaces of leadership to our own interpersonal relationships in the local Body. Again, showing off the gospel's power.
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#11 - #EthnicConciliation provides gospel-infused answers to the pressing questions Critical Race Theory (CRT) asks.
You'll always win if you change the rules when you're losing. It then becomes natural to assume God's favor is on you b/c your "winning record" is evidence of His will. For decades Evangelical Conservatives (EC's) have told us "justice" must be Biblical, not social.
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Biblical = aligned with God's righteousness not pursuing human rights. We were told don't protest, trust the system, & leave it in God's hands. If we didn't comply, we were called: Communists, Critical Race Theorists, Heretics, Liberals, Social Justice Warriors, et al.
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Romans 13 was used as a proof text used for us to comply, if we didn't we were not "Biblical". Yet, when restrictions were placed on in-door Church gatherings many EC's claimed persecution. Protests in the form of gatherings inside churches were held, w/ masks optional.
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A Missiological word on Critical Race Theory from an Evangélico to American Evangelicals (Pt 4):
To me CRT is an available tool a Christian missiologist can use when performing cultural exegesis, to provide missionaries with insights on how to integrate faith & work.
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Ashford says culture = products humans produce when they interact with each other & God’s creation (Every Square Inch by Bruce Ashford).
Morgan/Peterson say exegesis = careful study of passages, foundation of all good theology, & includes historic & literary context of
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each passage (A Concise Dictionary of Theological Terms by Morgan & Peterson).
For me, “Cultural Exegesis” is the careful study of the products humans created by: finding their origin, meaning, & influence, so Jesus' followers can develop missiological methods for outreach
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The SBC is headed for an unnecessary "civil war", all in the name of a pseudo-conservative resurgence. In the meantime, baptisms are down. For those outside or inside the SBC who are not aware of the Conservative resurgence please read this book (amzn.to/3pkKaAg)
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The Conservative resurgence sought to purge the SBC of legit liberalism (but still had blindspots w/ sins of its leaders). The book (in post 1) explains how the "SBC" works, & the process of leadership position appointments produce transformation inside the convention.
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Inside the SBC Seminaries were Professors who denied the Inspiration and Inerrancy of Scripture, the literal resurrection of Jesus, and all other essentials of the Christian faith. Liberals were in key leadership positions and the Conservative resurgence took them head on.
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On Dec 8 my mother-in-law Norma Cisneros went home to be with our Lord. It’s taken time to process this yet, it still seems surreal.
I met Norma on a Saturday morning in August 1989, the same day I met my future wife @ea_horton!
Elicia’s family and my mom @hortonNana were grouped together for evangelism in the Roanoke & West Bluff housing projects on KC’s Westside.
I’ve known Norma for 31 of my 40 years of life, and was her son-in-law for 17yrs. Last Saturday, I was privileged to share the gospel of Jesus that Norma believed and shared, as well as bring a message of hope and comfort. Thank you everyone for praying for me as I prepared.
Christians in America should read the works of C. René Padilla, Samuel Escobar, Orlando Costas, & "A Gospel for the Poor" by @dc_kirkpatrick.
Those who are making Critical Race Theory a test of Orthodoxy are following suit with what Latina/o Evangélicos faced in the 60's-80's
North American/British Conservatives, organizations, & missions agencies turned the fight regarding "Inerrancy" (a fight w/ modernism) against their own brothers & sisters in Latin America (IFES Papers '1972).
Reflecting on the Cochabamba Declaration (of the FTL) Escobar said...
"We thought that to include the word "inerrancy" was to bring an agenda from the United States to a situation where nobody ever doubted the authority of the Word of God!"
This is a very similar move regarding today. For Christians who speak out against the sin of partiality...
A Missiological word on Critical Race Theory from an Evangélico to American Evangelicals (Pt 2):
The history of American Evangelicalism is riddled with fighting & fractions. Evidence for this is seen in the history of the denominations. In the 2020 Evangelical landscape
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"Liberal", “Social Gospel”, "Marxist" are applied to those who not only embrace CRT but also Christians who Evangelicals label proponents of it. To understand the use of these terms’ history can't be neglected.
Fundamentalism was the Evangelical response to Liberalism.
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Liberal Theology was a logical outgrowth of the Enlightenment, used higher criticism (birthed in Germany at the Tübigen School see A History of Christian Thought by J.L. Neve) in concert w/ Darwinian evolutionary theory.
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