Derwin Gray: "What If Whiteness Is The Gentiles?"

Derwin Gray, lead pastor of Transformation Church in Charlotte, NC, tries to make a point about white Christians acting like they are God's chosen people and, along the way, utters a phrase that sounds like it came from a woke Mad Libs session.

This discussion is from Session 5 of the SBC's North American Missions Board video series "Undivided: More than a Hashtag."

-TRANSCRIPT-

DHATI LEWIS: Sin brings about division. And a lot of times we think about sin in the simple sense of just breaking a moral wrong or whatever, but really, sin is a violation of relationship, right? The results of sin is when that relationship is divided. And what we've been talking about, there's a statement that we say at our churches, that the gospel changes people, and God uses people to change the world, right? We are ambassadors, we are conduits of His grace, and we see a world that is so divided as a result of the sin that's having dominion in it. And so as ambassadors, as God's army, that is going back, we are going in with the message of reconciliation to take back what sin has brought about and the division that's brought about. And I think that, often times, we talk about this whole idea of the gospel solely as: the goal of Christianity is a fight for perfection, instead of a fight against isolation, right? Because the gospel brings us together, but it seems like the wall has been torn down in Ephesians 2:11, and we're spending all our time building the wall back up, as believers, and that is what's causing the division.

DERWIN GRAY: What I would add is: Majority culture will often see themselves as the dominant group in the text. What if whiteness is the Gentiles? Coz so often, the...

J.D. GREEAR: It was.

GRAY: Yeah, it is, right?

DONNA GAINES: Exactly.

GRAY: And so, but a lot of times people approach it as though, "Okay, you blacks and people of color, y'all come in and be a part of us."

VANCE PITMAN: Exactly right.

GRAY: You see what I'm saying?

UNKNOWN: No, you're right.

GRAY: Versus saying, "no, we are us." We are the "they." We are the "us." Back to what you're saying. If we're really the body of Christ, and you know this personally. Like, if somebody comes after him, he's my friend. I'm gonna defend him.

PITMAN: Right.

GRAY: Why? Because the same...

UNKNOWN: I'm in this for you.

GRAY: Because the same blood that was spilled for him was spilled for me. We're family.

SEVERAL: That's right.

GRAY: And that's where we've got to disciple our congregations to, like, love is not sentimental. It is costly. It is sacrificial, not only financially, but reputation, that when you choose to actually love, it's gonna come in conflict with dark powers that don't want you to love.

PITMAN: That's right.

GRAY: And, ultimately, God, who is love, created us for love, and love is the ultimate litmus test. And a part of loving is, how do I make peace?

VARIOUS: Yes.

GRAY: Because we have the Prince of Peace, and he moves...

LEWIS: But that's my question. If we have just talked about, this is a gospel issue, and we have just text after text after text, and my question becomes is like...

JIMMY SCROGGINS: You're convinced.

LEWIS: Why is it so easy to make this a social issue?

GRAY: Because of idolatry. Here, I wrote this down. The gospel confronts our cultural, ethnic, and political idols. And the will says, "No, my ethnicity is superior to yours. No, my political persuasion is better than yours. No, my culture is better than yours." And I think the gospel, if we allow it to, obliterates those things from every ethnicity.

Source video:    • Undivided Session 5: More than a Social Issue  

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