My small group recently had the opportunity to pilot an original study produced by Browncroft titled “The Gospel & Race.” It’s actually a joint effort between our own Pastor Rob and Pastor Roger Breedlove from In Christ New Hope Ministry — a really powerful outgrowth of the relationship that has been building between our congregations over the last year.
At the outset, I can tell you from our experience that this “The Gospel & Race” video-based curriculum is not easy. Well, it IS easy to use — there are pre-made videos and a helpful group guide with great discussion points. But it’s definitely not an easy topic.
It is good though. And my hope is that when you read about our experience you will want to explore this powerful study in your group, too!
So how did the “Gospel and Race” series affect our group?
Well, this pilot provided a great learning experience. Not only did we get to discuss and digest the Scriptures used by Pastor Rob and Pastor Roger, but we got to express and really listen to the ideas and experiences of each of our group members on this tough topic in a trusted setting. We definitely now all have a greater awareness of our own thoughts and feelings towards race, and we realized we want to have more personal relationships with people from different races.
Practically speaking, some ideas that surfaced included the possibility of having discussions and fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ in churches of different cultures. Our group plans on attending a worship service at Pastor Breedlove’s church, and we would love the opportunity to be exposed to worship music from different cultures. Maybe a worship team from In Christ New Hope Ministry or another friend will partner with our teams in worship at Browncroft sometime!
Also, because our small group has a heart to continue working with refugees, we had conversations during the study about what they go through as a minority culture living in America. Group members are reading the book “How Dare The Sun Rise” to better understand experiences refugees have before coming to the United States and as they live in America. We are wondering how we might serve or even “adopt” a specific refugee family in the future.
Finally, our group is also talking about doing a missions trip together. We are discussing how we can work together to share God’s love with others from different backgrounds in our country and around the world.
By participating in this study, we feel challenged to work on loving everyone with Christ-like compassion like Jesus does. We want to focus on listening to God more, reading the Bible on a more regular basis, and remembering that the Holy Spirit lives in all of us.
We will strive to remember that we are all created equal in God’s sight, and we will work on treating all people with respect and equality as we would like to be treated.
