Matt Gonzalez, Janine Bolling, and Josh Salzberg are founders and leaders of Lutherans for Racial Justice. They discuss the church’s involvement in racial injustice, why fighting racism is discipleship, and the practical next steps for individuals and organizations. It’s a really important conversation that hopefully stirs all disciples into action. To learn more about the podcast or access the show notes, visit www.redletterpodcast.com. 

Today’s episode is brought to you by Red Letter Living. At its core, Red Letter Living creates resources to challenge all people to be greater disciples of Jesus. One of our integral FREE resources is a Red Letter Challenge Assessment. It only takes 7-10 minutes to complete. 

Are you following Jesus? 

Many want to be greater followers of Jesus but don’t know how. So we extensively studied everything Jesus commanded of us and located five key targets to which Jesus invited His followers. The five targets are Being, Forgiving, Serving, Giving, and Going.

In partnership with LifeWay Research, we created a Red Letter Challenge Assessment that will measure you according to these five targets. And the best news of all: it’s free! You will get results back immediately and be presented with the following steps to help you become an even greater follower of Jesus.

You can take the FREE Red Letter Challenge Assessment here. 

Resources mentioned in the episode: 

Lutherans For Racial Justice

The (Im)partial Church

Dear Church…It’s Time by Pastor Matt Gonzalez

A Time For Burning 1966 American Documentary 

Urban Christianity: Restoring Black Dignity with the Gospel by Eric Mason

Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley

The Color of Compromise: the truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism Jemar Tisby

I am Not Your Negro Documentary by James Baldwin

Key insights from the episode: 

When it comes to racism, there is a disagreement on what the problem is. - Janine Bolling

We are taking an issue that should primarily be addressed from a faith perspective and making it political. - Matt Gonzalez

History has been ‘whitewashed.’ - Josh Salzberg

We are trying to preserve our own culture, people, and family. - Josh Salzberg

Racism is driven by fear. - Matt Gonzalez

God wants to chill with his people. - Matt Gonzalez

When we are segregated in our own little circles, it’s not what new creation is. - Zach Zehnder

Consider an assumption you have, then dig into it to see if it’s true. - Janine Bolling

Lutherans for Racial Justice’s Challenge of the Week: Do one thing this week to learn about racial justice. 

Lead yourself (and your church) to find freedom in forgiveness. 

Before we can truly bring reconciliation to others in the world, we first need to be reconciled back to God. Thankfully, He doesn’t withhold His grace of forgiveness from anyone of us. It’s time to receive the freedom that comes in the forgiveness of God. Because, a forgiven person becomes a forgiving person!

We’d love to introduce you to the 40-Day Forgiving Challenge.

The Forgiving Challenge takes you on a life-changing journey to experience the gift of God’s grace so that you can share it with others. It also helps you identify and walk through the five phases leading to freedom. 

You can learn more about the challenge here!

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