In light of racial tension in America, many Christian leaders are talking earnestly about racial reconciliation. In this video, author, Trillia Newbell, explains how we should best enter that conversation and listen before we speak.
Want more resources on race and the Church? Check out The Church And The Racial Divide. This Bible study features a multi-voice video series from evangelical leaders that sheds light on issues of race, culture, and the gospel, and equips small groups to take action.
The entire video is above, and the complete transcript is below.
I’m encouraged that in the last few years the conversation about race has been increased in our church circles, you could say, even in evangelicalism.
I think that’s partly because of social media. You can’t unsee some of the things that we’ve seen. I think in part it’s also because the Church is starting to become more aware I’d say that these are topics and issues that we can’t ignore. And the reason is because they’re not just topics or issues, it’s about people, people made in the image of God.
And yet, there are some pitfalls, things that we can step into, things that we can do that hinder maybe even our witness and make this conversation difficult.
One in particular I think is a major one. I think we need to be slow to speak and quick to hear. I believe that part of the reason why we can’t engage in this conversation very well is that we come with our assumptions and sometimes we think our assumptions are true. So we need to be slow to speak and making sure that we listen and try to understand. We do not have to fully understand, but part of loving our neighbor is listening.
And so, my encouragement to anyone who’s starting to engage in this conversation is that we learn to have listening ears and not try to have an answer before they’re done speaking. Listen and that is a part of how we’re gonna extend love and grow in this conversation.
