Four Ways Biblical Theology Shapes Conversations About Racism with Youth
I’m a middle-aged white man. Writing about race and ethnicity is something I try to do infrequently for three main reasons. First, I know how much I still have to learn, and there are better voices for you to hear from than mine. Second, it’s just so easy for imperfect words to be twisted out of context and then get canceled. Third, I know there will be some who respond to this article by saying, “Yes, racism is sin. So are lots of things. Just preach the gospel and let God sort it out.” But that reflects a pretty narrow view of the gospel that doesn’t consider its implications. If the gospel doesn’t affect how we treat one another, there’s a problem. Yes, we should always preach the gospel - with the reminder that the gospel reforms every sphere of life. So here I am, because, despite the anxiety, I believe it’s good for youth workers to thoughtfully consider the way we talk about racism with students in our ministry.
GenZ is the most ethnically diverse generation, and they’re coming of age in a time where conversations about racism are everywhere. If we hold our tongue because we’re afraid of getting in trouble for talking about it “wrong,” then we’re shirking an important area of discipleship. Sometimes we will address racism and other challenging topics topically as a head-on message, and sometimes as topics and themes that flow out of the biblical text we are preaching through. Youth workers may differ in the ways they address racism with students, but we do need to address it.
We need to think biblically before we think politically. My goal in this article is to help youth workers focus on what God’s Word says rather than trying to explore politics or sociology. Here are four ways biblical theology shapes the way we talk about racism with teenagers.
Imago Dei and Racism
Men and women were created in God’s image. Theologically speaking, this is the subject of “biblical anthropology.” What does it mean to be a human being? Racism, at its theological core, is a rejection of the imago Dei in others. Theologically, racism says, “People who are like me bear the image of God. People like you do not.” This is more than false. It’s dehumanizing.
Men and women from every culture and tribe and of every ability - from the wealthiest to the most vulnerable among us - carry greater dignity and worth than everything else in creation. Yes, sin has marred the imago Dei within us but has not removed it (Genesis 9:6).
Students hear so much about diversity and inclusion today that we need to help them anchor their own views on such issues in Scripture. Many can assume the Bible is silent about racism (or that it’s pro-racism) if we do not explicitly address it. Yes, these are turbulent waters, and you’ll probably get misunderstood by someone. Others may try to lead you into musings about politics and reparations. But if we are unwilling to tell students what God’s Word says about racism and the imago Dei, then we shouldn’t be surprised when they assume the worst.
Jews and Gentiles
The gospel is good news of great joy for all people. It isn’t a message for one particular ethnicity but for “the Jew first, and then the Gentile.” Ephesians 2:11-22 is an exposition all about the gospel’s ethnic inclusivity. It’s not merely good news for Israel but for all people. The old covenant provided a “court of the Gentiles” for Gentiles to worship in the temple and present some offerings, but they were kept out of the inner chambers where sin offerings were presented. But now, Paul declares Christ has torn down the dividing wall.
In Christ, we are one. There is no hierarchy of who is most important or valuable. Of course, the great irony is that if anyone has a reason to claim supremacy in the church, it’d be those of Jewish descent. This means that any Christian who is not Jewish has been grafted into the people of God (Romans 11:17-24).
This means we worship Christ together, bringing our diverse cultural backgrounds with us. A faithful church in San Jose, California will express their worship differently than a church in San Jose, Costa Rica and even from San Jose in the Philippines. Culture matters. So long as Christ is exalted and the Scriptures are genuinely at the center of the church’s life, there is biblical freedom for different ethnicities to worship differently.
It’s good for youth workers to help students experience other cultures’ ways of worshipping Christ. Invite a church member whose heritage is from another culture to share about their background and about what church is like there. If possible, bring a small group of students to another church in your area so they can experience various expressions of worship (if you bring a large group, it could come off like you’re leading a tourism group). Sometimes, students can witness cultural expressions and say, “That was weird.” Forming a relationship with Christians who are different from them will help students realize “different doesn’t mean weird.”
Covenantal Headship and Rampant Individualism
Harry Fujiwara has written an excellent article on the 9Marks website about How to Explain Covenantal Headship to Your Members. Biblical concepts such as covenantal headship (often referred to as “federal headship”) and corporate confession of sin remind Christians that we are part of a corporate people. Based on where most of YPT’s readers come from, it’s safe to say that most of us (and our students) have grown up in a highly individualistic culture with a thin framework for corporate anything. We have been raised to rebel against authority and have been told for most of our lives to look out for ourselves. But the Bible consistently talks about people in the plural, communal sense. This is an area where many non-white cultures excel: understanding It’s good for us to grapple with the concepts of federal headship and corporate sin - without them, Christ could not be our representative on the cross and we alone are responsible for our sin.
This is a difficult area to talk about when it comes to racism. If the church is going to seek unity between various cultures and ethnicities, then we need to humbly grapple with corporate identities. We casually refer to such instances as “baggage,” but it’s heavier than that. Men and women who have experienced racism will naturally carry that hurt into future interactions with people who are similar to their past offenders. This doesn’t mean white people are expected to apologize for being white. It simply means that by acknowledging the racism our nonwhite friends have experienced and seeking to understand their hurt, then we are able to move forward in unity together. If we refuse to recognize the reality of corporate identities, then the potential for ethnic unity will remain a future reality but a present-day aspiration.
No Racism in Heaven
In the end, all people and tribes and languages will gather around the throne of grace and will declare praise to the Lamb who is worthy (Revelation 7:9-10). We will be one diverse chorus in perfect harmony.
Christians are people who live with the end in mind. We walk in the path of justice and humility, knowing that God is building his church and is leading us in the light of the cross. This means we will not be silent about injustice towards fellow image-bearers (“I’m just going to preach the gospel”), and neither will we conflate the gospel with a social gospel (“We’re called to build heaven on earth”). Both of those postures should be avoided. Gospel-centered youth workers understand that preaching the gospel means applying it to every aspect of life and ministry.
We hold out the gospel as the message that unites people who are radically different but share Christ in common. Discipleship that avoids difficult topics like racism is incomplete. It’s crucial to make sure we are being biblical more than we are being political. For instance, we may have opinions that should be withheld because our pastoral role calls us to teach the Bible, not to offer our social commentary.
Conversations about racism are often surrounded with anxiety and misunderstandings. That’s true of this article, too. In my experience, people tend to come to these topics and hear what they expect to hear, rather than what was actually said… so a statement about corporate identity gets conflated with pushing a CRT agenda. Let’s not do that. Instead, my hope is that Youth Pastor Theologian can be a place where we can rejoice in our shared theology while also practicing humble disagreement on important but complicated issues like this. By leaning into these conversations with humility and courage, I’m hoping that we can believe the best of each other and set a faithful example for our students as we learn from one another.
