PPC Elders' Statement on Racism
Last week the elders released a statement on racism as part of our national conversation about race. We wanted to penetrate beyond the obvious – that racial bigotry is immoral – and address the deeper issues of the heart that affect not just racially-motivated crime but also our own sinful inclinations, words, and actions.
We wanted to “grieve with those who grieve” in the Black community, we wanted to point not just to the grievous sin that we see in others and in ourselves but also to the hope that we have in Christ, and we wanted to acknowledge that we have much to learn.
Most of all, we wanted to point forward to the day when, in the next age, racism will actually and finally be behind us all as the redeemed of every language and color thank God together for His grace.
God created all of us in His image. God values human life. We value human life. The violent and senseless deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery have riveted the nation's attention on the plight of many African Americans, and many cities have erupted in outrage. If we ever thought that our nation had left racism behind, recent events have made it clear that some in our nation have not.
We lament with the Floyd and Arbery families and with the countless other families of men and women who have lost their lives in unjust violent attacks.
We, the elders of Patterson Park Church, are also deeply disturbed at what we have seen and we want to say clearly and without qualification that the mistreatment of any person for whatever reason is sin. We denounce both the implicit assumptions and the explicit words and actions that devalue humans in all of its manifestations.
Every dehumanizing word or act defies the second greatest commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
When Jesus was asked, "Who is my neighbor?" he responded with the story of the Good Samaritan, making it clear that our obligation to neighbor-love transcends race and class.
As leaders of our fellowship, we acknowledge our need for greater awareness, understanding, and humility, so that we may demonstrate Christ's love to our community, nation and world. We will continue to serve as part of the solution going forward.
We are a fallen people, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. We acknowledge that the issues we face today are ultimately a problem of the heart. It is the same issue that the human race has encountered since Adam. All sin results from a hardened heart that has not trusted alone in the finished worked of Christ Jesus. The most important thing that we can do is love God and love our neighbors regardless of their past and share the hope that we, as redeemed sinners, have in Jesus Christ. We desire for our church to be a place where faithful Christians gather and have a passion to share that Gospel message with all people.
To our African-American brothers and sisters in Christ, we want to declare that we stand with you and affirm our love and concern for you as fellow image-bearers and co-heirs of God's riches toward us in Christ.
And with you we look forward to the day when all of us who have put our faith in Christ will stand together praising Him as "a great multitude . . . of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues" (Revelation 7:9).
Walt Price on Behalf of the Elder Council
Patterson Park Church
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