The Church Must Confront Anti-Asian Attitudes in Our Own Ranks

This week, a 21-year old white man took the lives of eight people, six of whom were Asian women, in Atlanta, Georgia. The shooter was a self-avowed Christian and a member of a Southern Baptist Church, which issued the following response.

Questions are still being asked about the shooter’s motives. The young man claimed that he was eliminating what he deemed to be a sexual temptation. Others are rightly asking if the shooting was a racially motivated hate crime. A normal response to moral failure is usually self-criticism and disappointment, not murderous rampage.

Anti-Asian attacks around the country have been on the rise during the pandemic. Hatred is being directed at people of Asian descent for the irrational reason that they are somehow to be blamed for COVID-19. We cannot allow these injustices to stand, especially in the Church.

When the source of violence like we witnessed in Atlanta is from the ranks of our own membership, the Church must pause for self-reflection. Are there reasons why any members of our churches have adopted anti-Asian attitudes?

I have never been a part of a church that explicitly taught racism. That said, there are Christians who are being drawn to ideologies that nurture racist attitudes. As shepherds of the Church, pastors cannot afford to ignore the ways our members are being formed and discipled by other forces in the culture.

There is little doubt in my mind that the divisive culture of American politics is fueling the attitude that categories of people are threats to be feared and resisted. White Christian nationalism is a growing problem that the Church must address. This is the kind of ugly mutation of the faith that results when you mix a distorted Christianity with national loyalty, racism, and fear. The time is past for churches to directly confront such idolatry as a massive distortion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Church should be leading the charge against expressions of hate in our country. If we claim to be pro-life, we must defend and promote life for all people from womb to tomb. There can be no exceptions for what lives we choose to love, because God loves all people without distinction.

In Matthew 25:35, Jesus commends the righteous at the Final Judgment, saying, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” The original Greek word for stranger is xenos, which translates as foreigner, alien, or immigrant. We get our modern word xenophobia, which means “fear of stranger,” from that Greek root. These foreigners are to be literally gathered, collected, and welcomed into the loving care of the Church.

“If we claim to be pro-life, we must defend and promote life for all people from womb to tomb. There can be no exceptions for what lives we choose to love, because God loves all people without distinction.”

Most of our churches give lip service to the desire to be welcoming on their websites, but we must ask: Is the culture of our congregations one in which the stranger really feels welcomed? Would a stranger visit your church and see themselves represented on the platform, in leadership, or at least addressed in sermons?

Years ago, I recall members of a congregation vocalizing resistance to the presence of so many new outsiders in the church. Members said that a crisis ensued because “you couldn’t tell the Christians apart from the non-Christians.” There was great concern voiced for the safety of the children in the church. The presence of strangers was uncomfortable to long-time members.

What became apparent to me, was that people were more concerned about their own comfort than they were about making strangers feel welcomed.

Each of us as individual people must answer the question: How am I welcoming my neighbors, especially those that are very different from me? If an audit were performed on your relationships, would it be obvious that you befriend a diverse group of people? If our individual lives are not welcoming, why are we surprised that people think our churches are not welcoming?

It takes conscious effort to learn to walk a mile in another person’s shoes. Some of you know the experience of being a minority, but many of us do not. Two years ago, my wife and I had the privilege of visiting Vietnam. Everywhere I went, I was reminded of the reality that I was a foreigner based on my size, my skin color, and my language. The Vietnamese people were kind, respectful, and warm. Their hospitality was disarming and made me feel welcomed. I was shocked by how welcoming people in Hanoi were to an American citizen who, in the last century, were sworn enemies. My experience in Vietnam gave me a new empathy for foreigners in the United States.

Even former enemies can learn to be kind and welcoming to each other. I learned that in Vietnam, but I also learned that in Sunday School. Jesus gave His life to make enemies the friends of God. Welcoming strangers is at the heart of God.

Are we doing all we can as the Church of Jesus Christ to confront anti-Asian attitudes in our own ranks? Every Christian pastor in America should not only pray for the situation in Atlanta this Sunday, but also take the opportunity to call for repentance for racist attitudes that result in unloving jokes, uncharitable stereotypes, mockery, and violence.

The Church must also ask what we are doing proactively to promote hospitality for minorities in our congregations. One of the best means of destroying racism is by creating opportunities to build friendships with diverse people groups. Every Christian church in America should be wrestling with the question of how to build relationships with minority people groups.

The proof of a healthy relationship with Jesus is when strangers, foreigners, and immigrants are welcomed into our churches. Our witness to the world is at stake and we cannot afford to ignore this moment. The Church must confront anti-Asian attitudes in our own ranks.