Should Churches Get Involved with the Black Lives Matter Movement?

Approximate Reading Time: 15 minutes

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It’s been 7 years since #BlackLivesMatter began. Today, it is sweeping the country, even the world, like never before. People from all walks of life are taking sides, and Christ’s followers find themselves in a difficult situation. People wonder how involved they should become, and are even questioning their pastors on what the church is going to do about it. 

A big question on everyone’s mind is whether churches and individual Christians should get involved with the Black Lives Matter movement. How do we use wisdom in what we say and do? What will make sure our focus is on the gospel while still loving those who are hurting?

Before I jump in, I want to make one thing clear. I tend to shy away from “Should churches _____,” because I’m not an elder, and don’t want to overstep where God has me. Thus, I’m going to be talking to fellow believers about how they should think about their church’s role in all of this. However, I recognize that pastors have a huge burden to lead their congregations well, and there’s really no easy answer for them. So as you read this article, consider how you can use this information to support and pray for the pastors that God has placed in your life.

Should churches support the protection and value of black lives?

When we talk about #BlackLivesMatter, it’s often in the context of valuing their human rights. It’s the understanding that a person’s skin color should never stop us from loving and protecting human beings. As Christians, this extends to valuing people because they are image-bearers of God, not dehumanizing them because their skin is black.

My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism…  If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (James 2:1, 8-9)

Standing against any form of prejudice is clearly biblical. Although James was dealing with people showing favoritism to the rich, the principle remains that God hates when we elevate or devalue a person.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

Although the Church is a blend of unique individuals, those things don’t define us. Our identity isn’t in our skin color, heritage, popularity, job, or anything else people use to define themselves. Likewise, we cannot find the identity of others in such a worldly way of thinking. Instead, we must realize that those whose sins are forgiven find their identity in Jesus Christ. God views the world very clearly – those who have tasted of His mercy and are no longer His enemies, or those who are still under His wrath and desperately need the gospel. Nothing else matters to God, nor should it matter to us.

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

However, none of us have perfect thinking. Whether it’s how we were raised, the influence of our friends, or just our wicked hearts deceiving us, we all have sin in our worldviews. The Church exists to not only tell others the good news of Jesus Christ, but also to equip God’s people to become mature in their thoughts and behaviors. 

One function of pastors and teachers is to help us see where we’re still thinking like the world. When we see how our minds are still thinking and reasoning like the enemies of God, we see exactly where we need to submit to Christ and replace those things with a worldview that glorifies our Savior. Pastors and teachers are there to help us view the world in a way that will honor God, necessarily calling out our sinfulness in the process.

So the question of whether churches, and especially pastors, should deal with racism is clear. If racism and prejudice are rooted in sinful and broken thinking, then it should be called out just as much as any other sin. And the more relevant the sin is today, perhaps the greater the emphasis.

There are some churches that are trying to ignore it, not wanting to get swept up into the current political climate. They want to just preach the gospel, refusing to be carried along by what everyone else is talking about. Some may even be stating outright that they won’t touch the subject.

Unfortunately, a pastor’s refusal to address it doesn’t stop the members from thinking about it. Everyone is trying to find truth in how they think about the current discussions on Black Lives Matter. If they don’t hear clarity and truth from the pulpit, or in one-on-one conversations, they will find it elsewhere. 

That’s why it’s so important for churches to remember that they aren’t only teaching people how to be saved, but also how to honor Christ in a world that is overwhelmed with sin. 

Lastly, it’s important for each church to consider their actual involvement. We are called to love those who are forgotten, hurting, or pushed aside. Whether it’s orphans, widows, the poor, the unborn, or targets of racial prejudice, God calls for us to be His hands in extending common grace and protection to those whom the world ignores or dehumanizes.

So should churches get involved in the protection of human lives? Although there’s no clear answer on what it looks like, it seems clear that no church can escape what’s happening in the world. The only question is whether we will hide from it or seek to glorify Christ with an active response.

So how does that affect us today with the Black Lives Matter movement?

Understanding the difference between a movement and a belief

As I said, #BlackLivesMatter seems like it should be obvious for Christians to support. If we strip away the political agendas and people feeling like they need to take sides (click here to read about why Christians need to avoid that), what Black Lives Matter is really saying is this: Black people are being treated as though their lives lack as much value simply because of their skin color.

And if you have known someone who is racist, you understand how true that is in our world. It’s not a matter of black lives mattering more than any other life, but it’s a recognition that there is a long history of people not realizing that. It’s bringing attention to the fact that, left unchecked, many people will still think and act as though blacks are inherently less valuable than any other life. And as Christians, it shouldn’t surprise us that people will naturally run toward sinful thinking at the cost of others.

However, we also need to understand the difference between “black lives have inherent value because they’re made in the image of God” and the “Black Lives Matter movement.” Because although the primary belief of #BLM is for the protection of black lives, a movement is rarely that simple.

This is where churches, and indeed the world, finds itself in a very difficult position. If you believe in the God-given right for black people to be valued and loved as much as anyone else, then it’s assumed you stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. Likewise, if you don’t support the movement, it’s assumed that you don’t value black lives. 

And so churches find themselves supporting Black Lives Matter, though possibly distancing themselves from the unfortunate violence that has spawned alongside it. After all, our world believes that supporting black lives is the same as supporting the movement. We know God hates racism, so surely we should stand with those who hate it as well. Right?

However, just because a church and a movement share the same goal of helping the oppressed doesn’t mean that they both want the same thing. And indeed, it may be necessary for churches to support black lives without supporting Black Lives Matter.

What does Black Lives Matter actually want?

This is where things can get tricky. Although BLM has a website with a somewhat-centralized leadership, they aren’t a single entity. For example, Walmart has a presence around the world, and you can generally expect the experience in one to be the same anywhere else. There are core values that must be kept, and every manager of Walmart is part of a longer chain of command that leads to a central leader.

BLM is different. They leave much of their leadership to local groups. They equip people to lead a local movement, but a BLM leader in my hometown doesn’t answer to a central, governing body. They know the ideals of the Black Lives Movement, but they don’t necessarily answer to anyone up the chain of command. Thus, the overall goals of local groups may differ from one another.

However, the Black Lives Matter organization is quite transparent about what they’d like their movement to accomplish. The section of their website “What We Believe” breaks down everything they desire. I’d highly encourage you to read all of it to get a bigger context for the rest of this discussion.

When churches are considering whether to be a part of the movement, there are definitely some things we can agree with. Here are some encouraging things we can read on this page:

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Our continued commitment to liberation for all Black people means we are continuing the work of our ancestors and fighting for our collective freedom because it is our duty.

Every day, we recommit to healing ourselves and each other, and to co-creating alongside comrades, allies, and family a culture where each person feels seen, heard, and supported.

We acknowledge, respect, and celebrate differences and commonalities.

We work vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people.

We practice empathy. We engage comrades with the intent to learn about and connect with their contexts.

We cultivate an intergenerational and communal network free from ageism. We believe that all people, regardless of age, show up with the capacity to lead and learn.

We embody and practice justice, liberation, and peace in our engagements with one another.

—

So far, this is great stuff. As those who want to honor Christ, of course we want people to be free, valued, and respected. They even talk about fostering a supportive family culture. And ultimately, this is what many of us think of when we partner with the Black Lives Matter movement. We want this for our world because these things place great value on God’s image-bearers.

However, reading everything else reveals much more about the movement. And as we get a bigger picture of what they want to accomplish, we see the need to exercise greater caution in just what we’re signing up for. So as we question whether churches should ally themselves with this movement, here are more goals we are supporting, even if we don’t realize it:

(There’s a lot here, so I’m bolding the areas that may cause some concern for churches, but again I encourage you to visit their page and read everything for yourself)

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We are guided by the fact that all Black lives matter, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status, or location.

We make space for transgender brothers and sisters to participate and lead.

We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.

We build a space that affirms Black women and is free from sexism, misogyny, and environments in which men are centered.

We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.

We foster a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise).

We make our spaces family-friendly and enable parents to fully participate with their children. We dismantle the patriarchal practice that requires mothers to work “double shifts” so that they can mother in private even as they participate in public justice work.

—

And here, we see that this is about much more than the sin of racism. The Black Lives Matter movement, although fighting for the humanity of black people, also wants to push the world towards an acceptance and affirmation that goes further than what many churches view as biblical. Ultimately, this movement is the product of a much greater worldview, and one that many churches have spent years preaching against. 

What churches need to consider

Understanding more about the movement, there is so much that church leaders much consider beyond “Is racism wrong?” As we pray for, and continue discussions with, pastors, there are a few things we should keep in mind as they try to lead their people well.

Salvation, the gospel, and the movement

As we view things biblically, we start to see that all belief systems are striving for salvation from something. Whether it’s freedom from poverty, oppression, or just unhappiness, everyone is fighting for what they believe they ultimately need.

So when we see the greater aim of the Black Lives Matter movement, we must ask ourselves what sort of salvation we’re aligning ourselves with. While it’s good to fight for the freedom and protection of God’s image-bearers, is all of our efforts leading toward God’s ultimate purpose for His church? Is social justice a means to bring people to their savior, or is social justice the ultimate goal, and thus the ultimate savior? 

We’re given a limited amount of time and energy to use for God’s glory. Our desire to see souls saved while helping the oppressed may not allow us to align with the world’s understanding of social justice. As we’ll see, fighting for one may put us at odds with the other.

Guilt by association

What does sexual preference, gender, and race have in common? According to the BLM movement, they are linked to a much greater system of oppression, and probably can’t be unlinked. If a church believes that God has a very specific design for sexuality and gender, it must ask whether it can push a fraction of the BLM agenda without the rest of it following. It’s clear that they aren’t just fighting to change perceptions for the better, but ultimately shift the foundations for how culture operates. 

Not only that, but a church that supports BLM is going to, inevitably, be held liable for what they say. Whatever BLM says, or whatever laws they fight for, those who stand next to them will be assumed to fight for them too. It will be difficult for a church to separate themselves by only standing for one aspect of the movement while speaking against the rest.

In the end, that will leave churches with 2 choices. They can continue to stand for the rights of black people while purposely distancing themselves, eventually being called intolerant and hypocritical. The other option is to disavow their support, and thus be accused of being against black lives altogether.

To support the Black Lives Matter movement is going to require supporting all of it. Breaking away from part of it will be labeled as breaking from all of it. In the end, it will be difficult for a church to give full support to Black Lives Matter’s important work of combating racism without also compromising their beliefs on gender and sexuality. 

We can try to downplay or hope for the best, but the reality is that a church will be demanded to either stand with the Black Lives Matter movement completely, or be accused of not standing with them at all.

Consider the world we’re fighting to create

It doesn’t seem unfair to say that BLM wants to completely overturn the “norm” of society. They speak against the family structure and use a lot of buzzwords that are popular amongst certain political groups. And this isn’t surprising, considering that 2 of the 3 co-founders for Black Lives Matter have labeled themselves as Marxists.

As a larger group, BLM has a specific end-goal in mind. Blacks being treated fairly is absolutely part of it, but that’s not where they want to end. Instead, they believe that it’s only possible to have a safe world when we get rid of things like “cisgender privelege,” “patriarchy,” and  “heteronormative thinking.”

In other words, racism itself isn’t the issue, but a by-product of the world we live in. It’s only by changing our thinking everywhere that we can finally make sure that the value of black lives is finally seen by everyone.  

Churches must ask themselves if this is the world they’d fight to create for God’s ultimate glory.

Churches can support the value of black lives without a movement

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. (James 3:1)

There’s no doubt that pastors have an enormous burden. God is going to hold them accountable for what they say from the pulpit, what they teach during conversations, and the direction they lead the church. How a pastor leads his congregation as the world shines a light on racism is critical as he continues to focus bringing Christ glory more than anything else.

Pastors will be held responsible for their silence on racism. The people God has placed under them need to be equipped to think through everything biblically, rather than being swept along by popular beliefs, media, and political agendas. We’re called to be different from the world, and pastors must lead their churches to love and serve those who are hurting and oppressed.

However, churches who are against the rest of the worldview held by Black Lives Matter aren’t stuck doing nothing. Indeed, we were called to hate racism while spreading the gospel before there was a movement. Though we can see our failures in the past, today we can choose to honor God with how we respond to the suffering of others.

Black lives absolutely matter. They are made in God’s image, and thus we are to protect them like we do the unborn and the poor. We don’t say “black lives matter” because they’re more valuable than others, but because those lives are specifically treated as though they don’t matter today. We have a responsibility to speak up as representatives of Jesus Christ.

However, the ease of aligning ourselves with a particular movement isn’t the only way to accomplish what God wants us to do. Any movement that begins with secular thinking is going to have secular goals. People deserve justice, but our understanding of social justice has fast become a new kind of gospel.

Instead, we can fight for God-honoring justice right alongside those we disagree with. We can vote for the same laws, mourn the same deaths, and even legally protest for the same cause. However, there may be far greater wisdom in maintaining a clear line between what we will fight for and who we support in that fight. 

Supporting our churches

This situation has a lot of information to process. As followers of Jesus Christ, we know that our ultimate desire is to preach the gospel and live holy lives. We want everything we do to point to Christ, including our response to racism.

We may think we know how our church should respond, but it’s not up to us. However, a good pastor will listen to wisdom as he turns to God in prayer. Likewise, we should be seeking to be wise as we lift our pastors in prayer and talk to them about what’s happening. 

But as we have these conversations with pastors or fellow church-goers, let us be very careful about where we want our churches to stand in light of the issues we see today. We must speak against the sin of racism. But how we do it, and how we seek to change it, is going to be radically different from the “fix” the world thinks we need. 

Let everything we do start with serving Christ above all. It’s only from that foundation that we can view things like justice and human dignity through the eyes of our Lord. Simply having a better life will do someone little good if they still stand condemned before a holy God.

So what can we do? 

Pray for pastors as they desire to lead in a way that honors God while speaking out against sin. Seek wisdom so that we can be a blessing, encouragement, and godly challenge to our pastors and fellow believers. And above all, keep the gospel as our ultimate goal as we try to love and serve a world that is so broken by sin. The world knows it’s in great peril, but worldly thinking will try to find salvation from every source except the One who offers ultimate salvation.