Observing the PCA Affinity Group

"We talked about social justice all the time [at my church]...because God is a God of justice, that's why. And if justice has has any play, it's always in society, so you can't talk about justice without talking about social justice." Randy Nabors @ Covenant College, circa 2018

Nabors: "I live with a black woman who is angry at white people...I feel her pain sometimes, and the black people in my life that I have come to love, they're angry and they hurt deeply, and I don't understand how they can love me."

FRIDAY FUN: "If any of you would like to join me in asking forgiveness to our minority brothers + sisters...let's do so by means of applause right now." Randy Pope, former senior pastor of Perimeter Church And yes, you know exactly where this one had to end up.

I describe in my book, Shepherds for Sale, how this played out in one PCA church in Charlotte--Christ's Central. The church's elders and deacons sent out a letter announcing that they were “commit[ted] to [being] antiracist,” and thus the first week of every month would be dedicated to having the white members “collectively repent of [their] complicity in racism.” And nonwhite members would have access to these “affinity groups" where members with a “common cultural background” could “safely meet to grieve.” In other words, in the name of repenting of racism, Christ Central Church had started racially segregating some of its gatherings. This program was incredibly divisive and many people eventually left what was once a naturally diverse congregation. Ince's segregated event at Resurrection Oakland is not a one-off event. It is part of a larger trend that has been brought into the church. And it's worthy of asking if its a biblical one.

I'm pulling on the thread of this new PCA church plant, Kindred Hope, and would like your opinions on what's going on with it. In a May 2023 podcast, Howard + Kellie Brown explain why they left their previous church. I will just leave a transcript here to avoid editorializing: "We were always more white than black, and we got to a point where our hearts were wanting to say more to black folks...There were things that we saw that black folks were dealing with and going through that we wanted to just address wholeheartedly, but a few times when Howard would do that, folks would complain and say, 'Hey, I'm a white person. What about me? I feel left out.' And so that came to be more of a hardship. Because we understood the need for our white congregants. I do think some folks who go to multi-ethnic churches have to constantly be educated on what it means for them, whether you've been there 10 days or 10 years. That just became a strain when the white folks are saying, 'Hey, we wanna go over here,' and you're looking at the black folks and recognizing that they actually need to go somewhere else through the ministry of the church. So that was one of the major issues. And then COVID wiped us out. White folks were a lot more ready to come back to church, and they did once we opened. And our black brothers and sisters were really very nervous and skeptical about coming back to church, even when precautions, we had all the precaution. For black folks, it still just didn't feel safe."

It’s outrageous that PCA tithes and offerings were used to fund a church plant opposing the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.