Four Perspectives on the George Floyd Situation

Everyone seems to be weighing in on the George Floyd situation.  Everyone has an opinion or perspective and many have rashly jumped into the social media sphere to give their perspective on it.  I don’t want to give my perspective.  I would rather stay out of it.  But as a pastor, people look to me for guidance during tumultuous situations like this.  And as a pastor, maybe I do bear a responsibility to take a stand.  A friend of mine recently told me his son asked him, “Dad, why aren’t white pastors saying anything about this?”  He’s right.  We need to do so.  We need to stand up against racism.  We need to stand up against injustice.  Biblically, we fight for the downtrodden and the oppressed.

But I live in Birmingham, AL and not Minneapolis, MN.  The only thing I know about the George Floyd situation is what I have seen and read in both the professional and social media spheres.  And to be honest, I don’t know enough about any of it to say I know the truth.  What I saw with my eyes was heartbreaking on many levels, because what I saw appeared to be the death of a man crying desperately for help and no one was giving that help.  What I saw appeared to be a man who took an oath to protect and serve snuff the life out of an unarmed, begging man while others who also swore an oath to protect and serve did neither.  It was appalling to see.

But there are so many perspectives to consider here.  Maybe, as a pastor who takes “Blessed are the Peacemakers” seriously, it is my job to consider all of those perspectives before providing guidance to the people who look to me for that guidance.  I know I cannot consider them all, but I do want to share with you four of them.  You don’t have to agree with them, but I’m going to share them anyway.  I only ask that you bear with me through all four of them.  Then, after that, maybe some guidance will find its way to where it needs to go.

First…

The Perspective of a Father of a Police Officer

As a father of a police officer, I look at what happened in Minneapolis and I cringe.  I cringe because I know that there, but for the grace of God, goes my son.  I cringe because I know that given the right circumstances any person can make a mistake that will be construed as evil, hateful and bigoted.  I cringe because those officers in Minneapolis have taken another step towards tarnishing the image of a proud and noble service to which my son is a member.  I cringe because so many people will now look at my son and rather than see the great man for whom I am so proud, they will see the despicable man I watched on that video.  Every day, my son puts on his uniform, goes out into the public, and puts his life on the line to serve and protect his community.  He does so knowing that there is an element of the public that desires to put a bullet in his head just because he is an officer of the law.  He is under constant stress and must remain ever vigilant to make sure he doesn’t cross the line himself.  And now, because of the action of these police officers, his job will become even more difficult. I cringe because I know a harsh truth:  Because of what happened in Minneapolis, the target on my son’s back just got a little bit bigger.

Second...

The Perspective of a White Man

Right – who wants to know the perspective of a white man at a time like this?  We are the bad guys, right?  The privileged.  The status quo.  The MAN.  The establishment.  But yet we are still people, just like everyone else, and maybe the African American community needs to understand our perspective as much as we need to understand theirs.   As a white man, there is so much about this I just don’t understand.  I don’t understand how this can keep happening.  I don’t understand from what I have seen on video why it was necessary to pin this man down with a knee on his neck.  I don’t understand how a human being who has sworn to protect the citizens can just ignore this man’s cries that he couldn’t breathe.  I don’t understand how three police officers can allow a fourth to put his knee on a man’s neck until he dies.  And if I were being truly honest, I don’t understand how the African American community sees this as a RACIAL injustice rather than simply a straight up injustice – a rogue cop committing a murder. I know I will get lots of negative comments about that (and maybe that is appropriate), but I’m just being real and telling you how most of us see this.

But despite all that, I just don’t understand why rioting and looting Target and destroying small businesses in one’s own community is an appropriate response to a racial injustice.  And even if it could be (which it can’t be) justified in Minneapolis, how can it possibly be justified in Atlanta or here in Birmingham?  What’s more, I don’t understand how small business owners get arrested for trying to provide for their family in one place while violent protesters get a pass in another – and I’m not saying they all got a pass, but many of them did.

Honestly, I just don’t understand any of this.  But that just scratches the surface of what I don’t understand, because the real kicker is that I, as a white man, could not possibly know or understand anything at all about the perspective of the black man or woman during a situation like this.  The truth is, I don’t think I or probably the vast majority of any other white people ever could – and I think that is exactly the point.  I have tried.  I have talked to several of my African American friends about what has happened and about their perspective.  And those conversations have broken my heart.  To hear the anguish of my friends and to know as it relates to this topic, I will always be an outsider and can never really comfort or console them – its crushing. 

Third...

The Perspective of the Black Man/Woman

To say that I could possibly understand this perspective would be arrogant and presumptive.  But at the very least, I could listen to what they said – which I did.  And I have looked through the social media storm – wading through the hate and vitriol in an attempt to try and find the soul underneath.  And the themes are pretty common.  So, let me share with you what I heard from them, because their voice was unified.

First - frustration.  And, of course, with frustration comes an accompanying emotion – anger – but there is a difference.  As a white man, I can be angry with them about the specifics of what happened, but I can’t really understand the higher level of anger about the broader dynamics that gave birth to the situation.  As such, frustration is unique to their experience, not mine.  Frustration that says, “Oh, no, not another one.”   Frustration that says, “When will this ever end?”  Frustration that says, “You talk about being pro-life for those in the womb, but what about the lives of our sons and daughters out on the street?”  Frustration that says, “there is simply a long history of systematic injustice for people of color.” Frustration that seems to have no apparent solution.  This is a frustration that, from their perspective, is rooted in institutional corruption.  Not that they believe all police are corrupt, but that the institution of law enforcement itself is corrupt because it will not root out the bad apples.  As one of my friends put it, not all the apples in the barrel are bad. However, because the bad ones are still there, the whole barrel is spoiled because when you reach in to pull out an apple, you just don’t know whether you will get a good one or a bad one.  The whole barrel is bad because no one stops this from happening again and again.  As another friend said, the hoods are gone, so now they are hidden in plain sight and we just don’t know from where or when they will come.   According to CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/minneapolis-officer-complaints-george-floyd/index.html), the officer that killed George Floyd has 18 previous complaints against him.  Maybe there is something to that.

Second - fear.  I simply cannot comprehend this.  My fear is for the safety of my son, the police officer.  They fear my son the policer officer – obviously not my son specifically, but my son is a part of that institution that they do fear.  And since you don’t know what kind of apple will come from the barrel, you fear the whole barrel.  Fear that the wrong apple will pull over your son or your daughter.  Fear that your own child’s immature anger and frustration will cause them to do something stupid that will precipitate another situation (after all, our kids can be really stupid sometimes).  One of my friends grew up in a more impoverished and challenged community.  Growing up, she was taught (and experienced) that if the cops were coming, they were coming to hurt you, not help you.  Calling the cops was a non-starter. To say “the last thing you would do is call the cops” was actually the way it was.  You only called them after everything was over – the last thing.  Even then, those who had been victimized would sometimes be further victimized by the police when they arrived.  I’m sorry, but I just can’t even imagine.

Third – hope – or rather lack thereof.  All of this leads to a lack of hope.  All of them said the same thing.  There is no hope of this ever going away.  Well, that wasn’t exactly true, because they are all believers and they all know that HOPE comes through faith in Jesus Christ (I will get to that in the perspective of the pastor below).  But what they universally recognized is that this world is comprised mostly of non-believers and so for those in the black community who do not have hope in Jesus Christ, there is simply no hope.  No hope that racism will ever end.  No hope that their own children can avoid being targeted.  No hope that the institution will ever be reformed.  This might be the only time you will ever hear me quote Jesse Jackson, but since one of my friends quoted him, I will honor that and quote him too – “Let hope live.”  But where there is no hope, the frustration, anger, and fear become overwhelming.  And THAT is why they are rioting and looting their own neighborhoods.  As one of my friends said, it was Martin Luther King who said “a riot is the language of the unheard.”  Sure, maybe some of it is fear-baiting and being instigated from the outside, but it is the lack of hope that keeps the riot fuels burning.

And it is that sense of lack of hope that brings me to the fourth perspective…

The Perspective of a Pastor

Fortunately for me (I think), all of my African American friends that I talked to were born again believers and understand the hope that comes in Jesus.  So despite the fear, anger, and frustration, they do have hope.  Let me just explain it this way…

I am currently preaching through the first 11 chapters of Genesis, and if there is a truth that pervades those 11 chapters it is this – mankind is broken and in need of help.   Because of the brokenness of this fallen world, the only hope we have is the hope that God has promised to fix it all.  I know that seems a little hollow in the midst of all the riots and fear, but as believers, our hope is in the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the glorification of our bodies through the removal of the curse of sin.  The world, however, cannot understand that because their eyes are darkened to that truth.  The world has been deceived into thinking that mankind is essentially good at the core and, thus is capable of reforming itself to be good.  Nothing could be further from the truth. We dream of a utopian society where the air is clean, everyone has a job, and violence has been eliminated.  Therefore, the longer we go without making substantial progress towards that dream the more hopeless everything feels.  That hopelessness results in a closing of the ranks around oneself and those closest or most like you in order to protect yourselves from those who might do you harm.  The result is increased divisiveness and polarization.

To those who truly understand human nature outside the redeeming power of Christ, this is the natural progression of man.  In fact, if you look back over history, the human race has always been a violent, barbarous, divisive people.  Sure, there have been moments of unity, but they are few and far between – and short lived.

While that sounds nihilistic, that is why as believers our hope is not in this life but the next one.  However, that does not mean our hope is only in the next life.  What Jesus promises in full in the next life, he gives us in part in this life.  We are not expected to be perfect to come to Jesus, but Jesus will change everything about us from the inside out.   He will give us a new heart.  He will change our perspective, our desires, even our preconceptions.  He gives us common ground to overcome our differences and make one people out of two:

Ephesians 2:13-18

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Ephesians 5:1-6

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

1 Peter 2:9-10

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Galatians 3:27-28

27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:11

11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

The point is… only through Christ can unity truly be found because only Jesus can tear down our differences and give us something in common worth binding over.  I hear people say all the time – we are all the same on the inside.  We all bleed red.  Maybe that’s true, but its simply not enough to overcome the darkness within each of us.  Only Jesus can do that. 

And here is the beauty of it – when we join in unity through Christ, we can actually celebrate our differences.  I will never say “I don’t see your color.”   OF COURSE I SEE YOUR COLOR.  You are BEAUTIFUL.  God LOVES colors.  RED. YELLOW. BLACK. BROWN. WHITE. Who knows, maybe somewhere out in the cosmos there exists blues and greens as well.  Who are we to say?  I know – maybe that’s going too far, but the point is this:  Jesus loves ALL the colors, which is why he made us different!

 The old saying goes.  Once I was blind, now I see.  Without Jesus, I see color – and I am blinded to its beauty because of sin and fear.  With Jesus, I see color for what it is – the poetic artistry of a loving, creative God.

Listen carefully.  There is a message all my African American friends wanted me to give you, so here it comes.

Stop trying to fix this – you can’t.

Stop trying to deflect this – Statements like (a) “All Lives Matter” (b) “What about the riots” and (c) “What about black on black violence” – they are all true and legitimate statements, but they all deflect the issue at hand – another black (presumably innocent) black man was murdered by a white police officer.

Rather – just stop and listen. If you are like me you probably will never fully understand, but that doesn’t mean either of us should ever stop trying.  They just want to be heard.

The more I listen… the more brokenhearted I become, because I realize there is NOTHING I can do to make it better.  That just drives me to my knees, which is probably where I should have started from to begin with.

A Pastor's Reasoned Response to COVID-19 (edited)

***EDITED***

As a matter of clarity and full disclosure, I did publish an article in mid-March on why I believe churches should not close their doors.  That article can be found here:

http://surrenderdaily.blogspot.com/2020/03/to-assemble-or-not-to-assemble-response.html

And for absolute full disclosure, while I never closed the doors to the church I pastor, I did strongly encourage my congregants to be safe and stay home as much as possible.  We did utilize live streaming and video conferencing for Bible Study.  Most, but not all, of them took advantage of that opportunity.  Now that restrictions are being partially lifted, most of them are beginning to come back to in-person worship.

***ORIGINAL POST***

Up to this point, I have been very cautious about what I have said concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.  As a pastor, it is my obligation to lead my flock responsibly.  That means I need to be knowledgeable of the truth and careful not to mislead.  The problem with this pandemic has been that truth – the real truth – appears to be elusive.  There are many who say they have the truth, and many others who say the they also have the truth – but the two truths contradict one another.  As believers, we are called to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves as we venture out into the big bad world of the wolves (Matthew 10:16).  My general silence to this point has been an effort to gain the proper wisdom without reacting quickly and losing innocence. As we enter into the fourth month of the pandemic, however, I feel more confident in my understanding and am ready to share some pastoral advice on the matter.  There are many theories, presumptions, and outright accusations out there, so allow me to share with you a few cautions followed by some encouratement - as we navigate these waters together.

Caution #1.  Don’t Underestimate the Severity of the Virus

This is a very serious virus.  Despite what I might think about the actions that have been taken by our national and local leaders, many of those actions have significantly mitigated the danger.  The fact that the numbers may not be as serious as originally projected does not mean the virus is not deadly. Until a vaccine is found, the virus is not going away any time soon. As we open up, there will be people exposed, and while many will be asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms, there are still countless many (myself included) who have underlying conditions that may exacerbate the severity of the situation should we contract the virus.  If you get it and it becomes life-threatening to you, then it makes no matter at that point what you thought before.

Caution #2. Don’t Underestimate the Seriousness of the Political Posturing

There are a lot of conspiracy theories out there, but not all theories are birthed in paranoid schizophrenia. Some are birthed in observations of true situations. Do I believe our constitution is being shredded in the name of safety?  Absolutely.  Do I believe it is some nefarious attempt at permanently destroying that constitution and ushering in a New World Order?  Well that depends – thus the political posturing.  Our leaders, some of which have had the best intentions in mind, have taken away freedoms properly granted in the constitution.  Some are beginning to see the danger of that and are trying to reinstate those freedoms, but there are others whom I believe want nothing less than to use this pandemic to initiate sweeping and permanent socialist change - perhaps even outright totalitarianism.  No – I’m not being paranoid about that because if you watch and read carefully, an elite few out there are not even trying to hide that fact.  Even more so, I think we need to be very watchful and careful about how certain other things develop as a result of this pandemic.  If we are not careful, we have society that consists of US and THEM (as if that is not already happening).  Bill Gates may not be the Anti-Christ as some are saying, but he sure is doing things and promoting things that sound very anti-christ-like.  And whatever else may happen – DON’T GET CHIPPED!  Just sayin’.

Caution #3. Don’t Underestimate the Spiritual Warfare Raging Below the Surface

You are never going to hear me say “God caused this virus as a punishment”.  Nor will you hear me say “This virus is from Satan.”  It’s not that black and white.  On the one hand, God is sovereign.  He wasn’t surprised by the virus and indeed it would not have happened without his “by your liege”, so I firmly believe that His plan somehow involves this virus.  On the other hand, if a politician will say “never let a good crisis go to waste” then you can bet Satan said it first (not that I was trying to imply a nexus between politicians and Satan… but if the shoe fits – maybe I should take that back).  Satan knows better than anyone how to divide and defeat Christians who are not fully dependent upon God.  Like any good predator, he will work to separate his prey from the safety of the herd.  No matter how strong you are, you are no match for Satan on your own – and while you and God are always stronger than Satan, when you are separated from the herd (i.e., the fellowship of other believers), you sometimes forget that God is with you or worse – you wander away from Him too.  That is when the lion attacks – and you are no match for that.  Listen carefully.  Watching church on TV, online, or even in a car is NOT the same thing as gathered, corporate worship.  It will NOT provide you with the spiritual strength and encouragement that is found supernaturally within the gathered body of Christ.  There is a reason why the writer of Hebrews said “forsake not the assembling together”.  Now listen even more carefully. Good intentions or bad notwithstanding, gathered worship of Christians is under direct assault in our country right now. I am amazed at how quickly we gave that up, touting (incorrectly in my opinion) principles from Romans 14.  Now that we are starting to regather, Christians are being shamed for putting themselves and others in danger.  The precedent has now been set and mark my words, it will be used again to try to shut us down – and I believe it will happen sooner than we think.  And don’t give me the whole “the church is the people, not the building”.  I’m not talking about the building – I’m talking precisely about the people – GATHERED AS ONE IN CHRIST.  We don’t need a building to do that, but we do need to be together.

Well enough of the caution – now for some encouragement and exhortation.

Encouragement #1. Never Forget the Sovereignty of God

This is the foundation of all we believe.  By definition, sovereignty means that God can and will accomplish the fullness of his plan without being thwarted by anything – and that includes COVID-19.  Furthermore, it means COVID-19 didn’t happen without His express say-so and therefore it actually will be used by Him to bring about his plan.  Will people die?  Yes.  But don’t lose sight of this important fact:

It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27)

Death and judgment will come to all of us.  How it comes it different for each person.  Some will live to be old; others will die young.  Some will die peacefully in their sleep; others will have tragic, painful deaths.  This is the curse of sin, but as believers, our hope is not in how long we will live or even in how we die.  Rather, our hope is in the resurrection of the dead that accompanies the imminent return of Christ.

Encouragement #2. Never Forget the Goodness of God

Related to #1, God’s plan will not be thwarted, and because we know that he is a good, good, father, we can rest assured that plan is good.  We just need to make sure we don’t presuppose what that good should be.  Too often, we decide in our own minds what “good” is supposed to look like, and when that doesn’t play out, we lose faith in the goodness of God.  Imagine standing on top of a mountain overlooking a vast horizon.  As you gaze at the horizon, you see both ends of that horizon at once.  This is how God sees all of eternity.  Imagine now holding up a thin piece of paper to that horizon so that all you see is the thin edge against the vastness of the horizon.  The thickness of that paper is essentially a horizon within a horizon and your perspective of time is locked within the thickness of that paper – not even seeing the full thickness of that paper.  In other words – you have no idea of the full picture of what God sees.

Trust Him.  He knows what he is doing.

Encouragement #3. Be Strong and Courageous (but not Stupid)

Finally, remember that as God worshippers and followers of Jesus, fear is not supposed to be part of our vocabulary.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.  (2 Timothy 1:7)

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18)

Everything we hear about this pandemic is meant to make us afraid. But fear is not our destiny. I’m not trying to say we will never be afraid, but I am trying to encourage us to overcome that fear so that we can be strong and courageous (like Joshua – see Deuteronomy 31:6-7). Like Joshua, the early church faced the imminent threat of danger and persecution, but they thrived in the midst of that danger, overcoming their fear and living courageously.

At the same time, though, we can’t be stupid.  Don’t forget Caution #1.  I know it can be inconvenient and even irritating, but when you go out in public, don’t be so stubborn that you are not willing to wear a mask (at least sometimes).  Fear says “I’m not going out in public” even when you need to do so.  But stupid proudly proclaims its lack of fear and rushes headlong off the cliff.  Don’t be stupid.  Until we get a believable all-clear, wear a mask when you can and keep your distance when it makes sense.

In closing – I want to say something about social distancing.

I get it.  The most credible evidence we have suggests that the virus spreads person to person within a 6-foot parameter.  Unfortunately, it has been 3 plus months now with everyone holding out this large, 6-foot personal space bubble.  I think we may be underestimating the negative social consequences of that.  We are a people made and designed for close, physical, intimate contact with one another.  Depriving ourselves of that has to have horrific consequences on our psyches and I would think even our health.

As such, I want you to hear me VERY carefully – are you listening?

You know I am a hugger, but the world has changed.  I won’t come up to you anymore and force a hug on you.  But hear me.  If you come up to me and say “I need a hug” – you can bet your Aunt Fannie’s secret blackberry jam recipe that I will have one for you.