Gospel & Race Study

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once wrote, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be...This is the inter-related structure of reality.” The question of this small group study is, “How do we (Hope Community Church) seek meaningful justice, unity, equity, and honor for one another based on the Scriptural conviction that all people are created equal?” Or, on account of Christ, Dr. King might ask, “How can we help one another to be what we ought to be?” To answer, we will explore a framework developed by Tim Keller which shows four ways Christians engage culture, including on matters of race. This framework aims to equip our church to have calm and respectful conversations about gospel and race. Furthermore, this study introduces and develops each of the four options of cultural engagement while acknowledging both their benefits and limitations. Truly, the best approach is one where the church conveys the gospel in all four expressions. Hope Community, can we have such conversations? Increasingly, our world is saying “No!” But with Jesus as our great helper, we say “Yes, we must!” Because whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.