a season of relocation

This morning, while enjoying a Café con Leche (coffee with milk), I learned a powerful lesson in relocation and repentance.  Last month, I recommended a book titled Doing Reconciliation by Alexander Venter, a Vineyard pastor in South Africa who formed a blended community called Johweto.  While reading the final part of his book, he shares what the reconciliation process was and how it worked in their community.  One of the first steps of the reconciliation process is the recognition and repentance from racial conditioning and sin.  According to Venter, relocation must proceed true repentance because “it is only when you cross barriers in society that you begin to recognise your own conditioning as you see the plight of others…from the first time I became aware of the divides in South Africa, and crossed them, I was more and more motivated to go further and further into a life of repentance.  Johweto became a journey of repentance as I saw the plight of the oppressed.  I realised that my privileged and racial conditioning was so deep that it would only be worked out of me by sustained involvement with the other side” (Doing Reconciliation, p. 227).   The Bible calls this kind of deep repentance metanoia, which means to turn around by changing your mind, your ideas and view of things.

Venter’s reconciliation process goes something like this:  relocation, repentance, relationship, reconciliation, restitution, and restoration.  True repentance naturally leads us into relationship, and relationship leads to reconciliation, etc.  The problems begin when we talk about relationship, reconciliation, and restoration without first having gone through true repentance (2 Cor. 7: 10-11).  Then our kingdom message about building blended churches and communities comes off as irritatingly judgmental or, worse yet, just another politically correct theory. 

 Often, when I speak about the issues of race and prejudice, the tension in the audience is palpable.  Either people get it or they don’t.  And you cannot understand this message of racial reconciliation until you have crossed over and relocated.  How do we relocate?  It can begin with a simple trip to the video store.  Rent Hotel Rwanda, Sometimes in April, or Crash.  At least begin to relocate your mind outside of your living room.  Better yet, volunteer in an inner city food kitchen or become involved with your church’s inner city ministry. 

During this Christmas season, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  He gave up His power so He could empower us!  Leaving His heavenly throne for a humble stable is the ultimate in relocation.  If you are a Christian, Jesus lives inside of you.  The real question this holiday season is whether you allow the Jesus in you to….relocate.