Kansas Evangelical Churches Take on Racial Reconciliation Using 'Biblical Lens'
A group of evangelical churches in Kansas will be hosting an event centered on racial reconciliation with the hope of focusing on the issue through a "biblical lens."
City Life Church and First Evangelical Free Church, both based in Wichita, will be co-sponsoring the event titled "The City Forum: A Dialogue on Race" on Sunday.
City Life Pastor Casey Casamento told The Christian Post that there was a biblical basis for the church championing a multiethnic community, citing Genesis 12:3 and Revelation 7:9 as examples.
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"If the beginning of the story promises racial unity, and the end of the story reveals racial unity, shouldn't the middle of the story strive for it too? We believe it should," said Casamento.
"Unfortunately, our culture doesn't know us for racial unity; thus we believe we have no other choice but to demonstrate a different way, the way of Jesus. We only wish we would have acted sooner, before the countless tragedies that have taken place over the last few years."
Casamento also told CP that Sunday won't be the first time City Life had sponsored an event of this kind. Last October, City Life hosted an event titled "Church Leadership Forum: A Dialogue on Race."
"The purpose of that event was to invite pastors, elders, and staff from other churches around Wichita to hear from key African-American leaders in our community on matters of history, race, culture, and difference in the context of the Bible," explained Casamento.
"City Forum is intended to be a reprise of that earlier event, albeit on a much larger scale and for a general audience."
The speakers for Sunday's event are two African-American preachers, the Rev. Don Davis, executive director of World Impact's Urban Ministry Institute, and the Rev. Brandon Redic, senior pastor of The Bridge Church.
In an interview with CP, Redic explained that he considered his invitation to speak at the City Forum as "an honor," since he believes that all too often "minority pastors are stereotyped by our white counterparts as theologically unsound, grouped as prosperity gospel proclaimers, being too charismatic, etc."
"My friends at First Free and City Life have gone the extra mile to get to know me personally and professionally. I consider it an honor to be asked, and I believe it's way past time for the Church to have this type of dialogue," said Redic.
Regarding his remarks for the event, Redic plans to give attendees "a heavy dose of the Gospel." He will focus on Ephesians 2:11–22, a passage that calls for reconciliation between Jewish and Gentile believers.
"All believers now have a common identity in Christ and to put anything before this identity is idolatry," continued Redic, adding that "racial reconciliation begins at the cross."
"The Gospel has to be the foundation for our work. Furthermore, the Church has to be the pioneer and the model for the world when it comes to loving one another as ourselves."
When asked by CP what he wants attendees take away from Sunday's event, Casamento of City Life responded that he hopes "attendees will be challenged to view difficulties of race, culture, class, and difference through a biblical lens."
"We who are not the same are no less one in Jesus Christ. This is part of the ministry of reconciliation Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians," said Casamento.
"For him, the dominant issue was uniting Jew and Gentile under the Lordship of Christ. For us in the 21st century, it is uniting black, white, brown, and everyone else besides for the purpose of manifesting the hope of Christ to a hopelessly divided world."
