Conservative Evangelicals Need to Lay Down Their Fear of Being Called Liberals and Dare to Stand For Mercy.

This morning, I read a piece about the Eric Garner case that summarized well something that holds a lot of us as evangelicals back from speaking up on issues of social justice and mercy. The post is called “I Can’t Breathe. But I Must Write.” [NOTE: For some reason, the hyperlink function is not working properly. Here’s the direct website: http://headhearthand.org/blog/2014/12/04/i-cant-breathe-but-i-must-write/] It’s written by David Murray, a conservative pastor, professor, and author who describes himself as “a conservative of the conservatives” and “a Fox-Newser.” He writes about how he has become convicted that he needs to speak out about the rash of black deaths at the hands of the police and particularly about the choke-hold death of Eric Garner in New York City. He writes:

I want to stand with my African American brothers and sisters. More than that, “I’m all in” with them.

And that’s why I’m scared. Because I know that for many people, that automatically puts me “outside.” It puts me on the other side. It makes me suspect. It makes me soft. It makes me left-wing. It makes me anti-police. It makes me pro-thug.

Murray goes on to say:

But this is not about me. Me must be sacrificed at times. And this is such a time.

In his post, which you should definitely click over to and read, Murray points to ways that the tide is beginning to change and ways the white community is beginning to better understand our privilege as compared to the experience of the black community here in the United States. He brings in hopeful signs that he sees and ways that he sees God at work.

After you read Murray’s post, scroll down to his comments section and read a powerful story by a black preacher who says that he has struggled with feeling like he can name his experience to the white Christian community for the same reason: fear of being called a liberal or playing the “race card.”

I understand Murray’s fear. As my heart has become more and more tuned to the social justice issues in our country, I too have feared being called a liberal (in a dismissive way). I have feared rejection. I have feared my community of faith turning against me because they don’t like what I have to say or what I feel convicted about. Sometimes this happens. Sometimes it doesn’t.

But as I’ve thought about social justice issues, I’ve started to come to the same conclusion as Murray. I might get a few people calling me names here or there or rejecting me, but I really don’t have that much at stake. Not like the people I might advocate for. If there is some small measure of rejection I experience, then that’s just another way to be in solidarity with those who are not as privileged as I am. If all of us who secretly think there is a need for more people to speak up for the under-privileged actually did speak up, we might find that we were not alone at all as evangelicals. We might find that a lot of us are scared to speak up–and that at the end of the day it’s kind of silly to be scared given what those who face poverty and oppression have to deal with.

We don’t all have to be out there with bull-horns. An in-your-face style is not for everyone. I know it’s not my style. But if more of us were willing to speak up and speak in our own voice about the injustices we see, even more would be bold enough to do so.

We as evangelicals are people of the Book. To speak up against injustice is profoundly Biblical. As it says in Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God (NIV).

Thank you, David Murray, for encouraging us to do this. Thank you for being willing to challenge the conservative community to lift their eyes from their favorite news station and their ears from talk radio and actually see and hear what God challenges us to do in His Word. Let’s all dare to follow God in such a way that we are willing to be labeled and accused now and then. If the cause is important enough, it’s ok to be called a few names. We are loved and accepted in Christ, and that is enough. Let’s dare to speak.

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