In a workshop at the "2023 Global Convention on Christian Faith" in Jakarta, Pastor Randy, an intercultural missionary, shared his views on how "the Gospel is the only way to true reconciliation of man."
Such reconciliation, Pastor Randy shared in early October, is made possible through the cross of Jesus Christ. Pastor Randy is a white American married to an African-American woman. As the couple has served as missionaries and ministered in Africa’s black townships for many years, Pastor Randy has come to deeply feel the conflicts and issues between different peoples.
"Jesus Christ came and sacrificed Himself on the cross, but that's not all," Pastor Randy said. "Jesus also came to unite all the people of the world as one."
The apostle Paul clearly stated that the world was divided into two groups—Jews and Gentiles (referred to as "Greeks" in the ancient text). But due to the cross, all hatred between them was eliminated, allowing Jews and Gentiles to come together through Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the other mission of Jesus Christ is reconciliation, so that not only Jews and Gentiles but all peoples of the world are reconciled through the cross of Christ. And one of the missions of the church in the last days is to demonstrate the reconciliation of the gospel.
"However, when people first came to America, they took over the land of the Indians. But because the Indians were good warriors, they took many Americans as prisoners. So, the frightened Americans started to fight back, which started the war between the Americans and the Indians that lasted for a few hundred years," Pastor Randy said.
"Out of all the Indians, only 3% became Christians because they all remembered what the white people did. There was a time when the whites told the Indians, 'You can't speak your own language. You must speak English and dress like we do.' Even the whites took the Indian children away to educate them. These were things that the Indians could never forget, and they were deeply hurt,” the pastor continued.
"But praise the Lord, some Indians have become Christians; they love the Lord and are willing to forgive the whites."
In addition, Pastor Randy pointed out that racial discrimination against blacks is also very common in the United States. "My wife's ancestors came over from Africa as slaves. These African Americans were not allowed to have their own faith and were persecuted no matter what. But some of them came to Christ, which allowed them to rejoice in the Lord despite their suffering. Black Christians have some of the best worship music in the world, and that is truly the grace of God," Pastor Randy said.
"But many of them were also deeply hurt. They hadn't forgotten the discrimination and abuse they had suffered. These painful memories came back to them from time to time. Racism in the United States finally came to an end with the Civil War, in which many people died."
Moreover, the church is discriminating against those who do not believe in Christ. Although the United States is a Christian nation, Pastor Randy pointed out that "legally, it is a democratic country with no official religion. All its citizens have freedom of religion. However, the Church discriminates against those who are not Christians."
Incidents like these tell us that our world has paid a high price for racism. Many may think that "the elimination of one's faith, language, culture, and land" is nothing, but Pastor Randy emphasized that it is "oppression."
"Racism is born out of fear or arrogance," he said. For example, we may have very horrible descriptions of others. Because we make such inferences, we may feel that certain people don't deserve to be with us as soon as we meet them and that we should fear them, not trust them, or even hate them.
"But God is powerful." And only God, as Pastor Randy believes, can make a way. "When black Christians preach the Gospel to white people and when Korean Christians spread the Good News to the Japanese, we'll see a different world. A world of reconciliation will come when we 'take the Gospel to those who persecute us'."
"When we share Jesus and the Gospel with others, we must respect their language, their culture, their history, and so on. We can't deny them or try to wipe them out."
Unfortunately, Pastor Randy also pointed out that missionaries often fail to do this. Therefore, they should repent before the Lord and make the necessary adjustments. Pastor Randy believed that the Lord wants us to bear fruit for the Gospel and enter into reconciliation with the Gentiles and that through the Cross everyone can be healed and made whole, and in Christ, all hatred between peoples will be stopped.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
在雅加达2023基督教信仰研讨大会的工作坊分享中，一位跨文化宣教牧者告白唯有“福音才能使我们真正和好。”
兰迪牧师说：这和好是借着耶稣基督的十字架促成的。他作为一个美国白人，娶了一位非裔美国黑人成为了自己的妻子，在非洲黑人区做宣教和牧养多年，他深深地体会到了民族之间的矛盾和问题。
“耶稣基督到来并在十字架上牺牲了自己，”兰迪牧师说：“但这并不是全部，耶稣还有另一个使命，那就是要把世界上所有的人联合在一起成为一个人。”
使徒保罗为我们清晰地解释了这一点，他称世界上有两种人，犹太人和外邦人（原文是希腊人）。但因为十字架上解决了所有的仇恨，这使得犹太人和外邦人得以借着耶稣基督相聚在一起。
因此，耶稣基督的另一个使命便是和好。不仅犹太人和外邦人借着基督的十字架和好了，世界上一切的种族也是如此。而教会在末世中有一个使命，就是要将福音所成就的和好展现出来。
该牧师说，“当人们刚开始来到美国的时候，他们有些人便占领了印第安人的土地。因为印第安人很会打仗，他们当时抓住了很多美国人。这样事情的发生使得人们很害怕，因此美国人开始对此进行回击，美国人和印第安人的战争持续了几百年。”
兰迪说：“只有3%印第安人成为了基督徒，因为他们记得白人做过的事情。有一段时间，白人甚至说：‘你们印第安人不能讲自己的语言，要讲英文，要穿得和我们一样。’他们甚至还要带走印第安人的孩子，让他们接受白人的教育。印第安人从来没有忘记过这些事情。他们的心被伤透了。”
“但是感谢主，有些印第安基督徒，他们爱主，也愿意宽恕白人。”
再比如，美国黑人的种族歧视也是非常多见的。“我太太祖上是非洲过来做奴隶的，他们不可以有自己的信仰。非洲裔美国人无论怎么样都会被逼迫。他们有些人都相信了基督，这使得他们虽然受苦却仍然有主内的喜乐。黑人基督徒拥有着世界上最美好的音乐，这是真是上帝的恩典。”兰迪牧师说。
“然而，他们很多人也被伤透了心，他们并没有忘记那些被歧视、被虐待的经历。有时，那些痛苦的记忆会浮现在他们的脑海中。美国种族主义的结束是通过内战，死了很多人的方式才结束。”
另外，教会也在歧视没有基督信仰的人。虽然美国是一个基督教国家，但是兰迪牧师表示“在法律上，我们是一个没有信仰的民主国家，我们有自由信仰。但是教会却在歧视外邦人。”
这些种种现象让我们看到我们所处的世界因为种族主义付出了很大的代价。很多人认为“消除一个人的信仰、语言、文化和土地”并是不什么大事情，但是兰迪牧师称“这是压迫”。
兰迪牧师说：“种族主义是恐惧或者傲慢而起的。”比如，我们会用很负面的语言来描述其他人。当我们会判断别人的时候，我们一看到那样的人，就认为他不配和我们一起，我们要惧怕他们，不信任他们，甚至是恨恶他们。
“但是上帝是有能力的。”兰迪牧师相信唯有上帝可以打开道路，“当黑人基督徒给白人传福音的时候，当韩国基督徒给日本人传福音的时候”，我们会看到不一样的世界——“向那逼迫我们的人传福音”便可以成就和好的世界
“当我们分享耶稣和福音给他们，并尊重他们，包括尊重他们的语言、文化和历史等等。我们不要去否定他们，也不要去消灭他们。”
不过，兰迪牧师也指出，很多时候宣教士并没有这样做，这是需要注意调整，并在上帝面前悔改的。他相信上帝想要我们结出福音的果子，并和外邦人一同进入和好的世界。大家都可以在十字架上得到医治和健全，所有的种族仇恨都会在基督里面得到医治。
一位非洲宣教士谈：福音可以成就和好
In a workshop at the "2023 Global Convention on Christian Faith" in Jakarta, Pastor Randy, an intercultural missionary, shared his views on how "the Gospel is the only way to true reconciliation of man."
Such reconciliation, Pastor Randy shared in early October, is made possible through the cross of Jesus Christ. Pastor Randy is a white American married to an African-American woman. As the couple has served as missionaries and ministered in Africa’s black townships for many years, Pastor Randy has come to deeply feel the conflicts and issues between different peoples.
"Jesus Christ came and sacrificed Himself on the cross, but that's not all," Pastor Randy said. "Jesus also came to unite all the people of the world as one."
The apostle Paul clearly stated that the world was divided into two groups—Jews and Gentiles (referred to as "Greeks" in the ancient text). But due to the cross, all hatred between them was eliminated, allowing Jews and Gentiles to come together through Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the other mission of Jesus Christ is reconciliation, so that not only Jews and Gentiles but all peoples of the world are reconciled through the cross of Christ. And one of the missions of the church in the last days is to demonstrate the reconciliation of the gospel.
"However, when people first came to America, they took over the land of the Indians. But because the Indians were good warriors, they took many Americans as prisoners. So, the frightened Americans started to fight back, which started the war between the Americans and the Indians that lasted for a few hundred years," Pastor Randy said.
"Out of all the Indians, only 3% became Christians because they all remembered what the white people did. There was a time when the whites told the Indians, 'You can't speak your own language. You must speak English and dress like we do.' Even the whites took the Indian children away to educate them. These were things that the Indians could never forget, and they were deeply hurt,” the pastor continued.
"But praise the Lord, some Indians have become Christians; they love the Lord and are willing to forgive the whites."
In addition, Pastor Randy pointed out that racial discrimination against blacks is also very common in the United States. "My wife's ancestors came over from Africa as slaves. These African Americans were not allowed to have their own faith and were persecuted no matter what. But some of them came to Christ, which allowed them to rejoice in the Lord despite their suffering. Black Christians have some of the best worship music in the world, and that is truly the grace of God," Pastor Randy said.
"But many of them were also deeply hurt. They hadn't forgotten the discrimination and abuse they had suffered. These painful memories came back to them from time to time. Racism in the United States finally came to an end with the Civil War, in which many people died."
Moreover, the church is discriminating against those who do not believe in Christ. Although the United States is a Christian nation, Pastor Randy pointed out that "legally, it is a democratic country with no official religion. All its citizens have freedom of religion. However, the Church discriminates against those who are not Christians."
Incidents like these tell us that our world has paid a high price for racism. Many may think that "the elimination of one's faith, language, culture, and land" is nothing, but Pastor Randy emphasized that it is "oppression."
"Racism is born out of fear or arrogance," he said. For example, we may have very horrible descriptions of others. Because we make such inferences, we may feel that certain people don't deserve to be with us as soon as we meet them and that we should fear them, not trust them, or even hate them.
"But God is powerful." And only God, as Pastor Randy believes, can make a way. "When black Christians preach the Gospel to white people and when Korean Christians spread the Good News to the Japanese, we'll see a different world. A world of reconciliation will come when we 'take the Gospel to those who persecute us'."
"When we share Jesus and the Gospel with others, we must respect their language, their culture, their history, and so on. We can't deny them or try to wipe them out."
Unfortunately, Pastor Randy also pointed out that missionaries often fail to do this. Therefore, they should repent before the Lord and make the necessary adjustments. Pastor Randy believed that the Lord wants us to bear fruit for the Gospel and enter into reconciliation with the Gentiles and that through the Cross everyone can be healed and made whole, and in Christ, all hatred between peoples will be stopped.
- Translated by Joyce Leung
The Gospel Can Bring Us Together, Says Missionary
