One of the biggest concerns I have heard from clergy and lay people is that they are afraid to speak or act on issues of justice because it will divide the church.

We want there to be peace (me too). But there is no peace without justice. The prophet Jeremiah says it’s not only rulers who claim there is no war, when there clearly is war, but even prophets and priests can find themselves covering up wounds of injustice by saying “‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14).

As leaders, we are afraid that the community we are trying to hold together will break apart if we say or do the wrong thing (me too). 

This has always been the tension of leadership – at least as far back as the prophet Jeremiah. 

How do we speak the truth about issues of justice when it can tear communities apart? 

I’m not an expert by any means. But over the last year, I’ve been arrested twice while praying in DC, have helped lead regular Moral Monday protests in front of Representatives’ offices across NC, met with Congress members during the government shutdown where I spoke at a joint press conference, and helped lead ICE Watch trainings when Border Patrol showed up in Charlotte and a short clip of me was lauded on MSNOW and laughed at on Fox News.

All very public actions, and the congregation of First UMC Taylorsville has not been torn apart. Not because everyone is on the same page politically (they’re not). But because we are on the same page with Jesus and the call to love our neighbors. 

Almost a year later, it’s apparent some specific actions helped us move in a direction where the community could engage in active public theology and honest truth-telling about harm and injustice without being divided and falling apart.  

I offer these six strategies to experiment with in your own context, knowing we are still learning and experimenting too.  

• Make It Local

When possible, keep it local. How is the thing happening “out there” impacting what is happening “right here?” When the federal budget was being debated, we did a Good Friday prayer walk through the community and learned how the budget would impact our town and county. Jesus was executed by systems of death. What institutions and people will be executed if this budget goes into effect? We went to our local health department and learned that 28% of the county is on Medicaid, yet the federal budget will cut Medicaid support in our community, which will impact our already limited healthcare system. 14% of our county receives SNAP benefits for supplemental nutrition, but three times that number of people got food from the our local food pantry. All 7 of our elementary schools are Title 1, meaning students receive free and reduced meals, and families depend on extra food support. Our community is struggling with food access, but the federal budget is cutting SNAP benefits? 

As we became more aware of the harm of the federal budget, a call went out for people to travel to DC to give prophetic witness and pray about the budget. I told the congregation I felt called to go and invited anyone to go with me. A church member and I went together. We prayed with others in the Capitol building Rotunda, and I was arrested. When the church learned about what happened, the leadership spoke out publicly in full support, because together we understood how the thing happening “out there” was impacting “right here.” 

• Put Flesh On It

Abstract things are abstract. They’re hard to pin down, vague, and not very personal. Jesus came to stop the abstraction. He put flesh on it all. We must put flesh on issues of justice. When we went back to DC, Chris Shumake, an 18-year-old, freshly graduated high school student and member of the church, shared that he depends on Medicaid and it saved his life. Not only was the budget impact local. Now, it was personal for the church. Similarly, after Border Patrol showed up in Charlotte, I shared with the congregation that an immigrant mother yelled my name across the Walmart parking lot in our little town, we hugged and cried as she told me she had just bought enough food to lock her and her children in their home for the foreseeable future. Then, I told the congregation about how a 19-year-old factory worker in our community gave his home address to a co-worker and explained that if he didn’t come back to work, he was taken, and she needed to go to his house to get his newborn baby. Issues of justice are not abstract. People understand justice when we put flesh on it.  

Someone stopped me after worship one Sunday and said, “I’m a conservative Christian and Republican. I don’t know why I keep coming back here. I should disagree with everything you say. But you just keep telling the stories of people and what they’re going through, and it’s messing me up. I’m heartbroken and don’t know what to do with it all.” 

This person is not being transformed into “a liberal.” They are being transformed in love. Their heart is breaking over the same things God’s heart breaks over, not abstraction, but something with flesh on it. Flesh changes everything. 

• Make It Personal

Inviting someone into practices of justice is part of evangelism. People don’t fall into caring about harm and injustice. They get invited in. Invited by a relationship, a story, a personal experience…if we want to lead our communities to recognize and address injustice, we must invite them into it.

This is not accomplished by an announcement in the bulletin or with an email blast. Make it personal. The first time I went to DC, I invited anyone from the congregation to go with me. Nobody came except the one member I personally asked. The next month, I gave another open invitation. Nobody came except the seven people I personally asked. When we took a charter bus to DC, guess who was on the bus? You got it. Only people who were personally asked. Relationships go a long way.

Also, there are always plenty of “Nos” to invitations. Just keep asking. Even a “No” is personal and gets people thinking…“Should I go? Why me? Is this important? Am I afraid? Who do I know that this matters to? What is being faithful in this moment?” 

• Find Courage, Give Courage

I was traveling with someone from another congregation, and they said to me, “I wish my pastor was here.” To which I responded, “Have you told them that?”

Odds are, pastors, people in your congregation are longing for you to say and do something. But pastors are just like everyone else. We are afraid. We become much bolder when we know there is support. 

Congregation members, how are you encouraging your pastor to be bold and brave, and to know they are not alone? How are you encouraging them to live faithfully in this time? Clergy, how are you encouraging your laity to be bold and brave, and to know they are not alone? How are you encouraging them to live faithfully in this time?

• Don’t Go Alone

Commit to never doing justice work alone. This requires you to always be inviting people to join you, which expands the circle, builds relationships, and creates more courage and care. Members of the congregation and community have come with me to every Moral Monday event in DC and all across NC in places like Raleigh, Charlotte, and Boone. Afterwards, I ask them to share about their experience in worship. This shows it is not just “What the pastor does.” It is what we care about as a community of people who follow Jesus and are committed to loving our neighbors. If people don’t come with you, that means something, and you should find out what. 

• Listening Is Key

I’ve learned about many people’s stories and struggles in the congregation, which has allowed me to share stories and make connections. But even better is to do congregational listening so people hear each other’s stories. We all care more about issues when we know someone who is being impacted or harmed. This is the ultimate “make it local” solution. Create ways for the congregation to meet and hear each other’s stories. These are the things that have changed me and taught me to care. I think that’s probably true for most of us. If we want to be able to speak about issues of justice, listening is the key. 

Conclusion

We stand in a lineage of leaders who have all had to answer the question of what it means to be faithful in the midst of harm and injustice. 

Now is our time.

In the end, even with our best strategic planning, all we can do is be faithful to love and how we are being called to lead. 

We trust God with the rest.