(photo credit
My 250th Birthday Hangover
I wrote last week’s newsletter before our nation’s 250th birthday because I suspected July 4 would bring images that would leave me heartsick.
A snapshot from that newsletter read:
“Happy 250th Birthday to the USA. May this great experiment called the United States of America continue to move us toward liberty and justice for all, and may we never stop pursuing the deeper freedom Christ intends—for us, for our neighbors, and for the whole world that God so loves. Be free. Bring freedom.”
I wrote, “Be free. Bring freedom.” I wish I had been right about the freedom. Instead, I was right about the heartbreak. Today my heart feels hungover from witnessing the intoxication of hatred.
I don’t yet know every detail, but I have seen enough.
I saw masked white supremacists marching with Confederate flags at the celebration in Washington, D.C.
I saw a photograph of a young Black woman sitting quietly on public transit while those same men surrounded her.
As a follower of Christ, a pastor, and someone whose parents taught me to pursue justice, my whole being went into overload.
I wept.
Over the last few days, I looked for a clear public condemnation of that display of white supremacy from our nation’s highest office.
I found none.
That silence grieves me.
But then I realized another question matters even more.
What has been my response?
What has been yours?
How are we showing up for our Black sisters and brothers right now?
Not someday.
Now.
Sometimes Scott gently suggests that I take a break from the news. There is wisdom in protecting our souls from constant outrage. But ignoring injustice has never been an option for me. I still live here. My neighbors still live here. The image of God is still being dishonored here.
Every person is made in the image of God.
Every person possesses inherent dignity, inherent greatness, and immeasurable worth.
The gospel leaves no room for the lie that one race is superior to another. Whenever white supremacy exalts one image-bearer over another, it is not simply an offense against people—it is an offense against the Creator whose image they bear. To diminish another human being is to diminish what God has declared good.
So I keep asking myself—and those I love—
How are we showing up?
How are we loving our neighbors?
How are we confronting the lies that continue to divide us?
Racism is not simply about individual hatred. It is also about the stories we’ve inherited, the fears we’ve absorbed, and the assumptions we’ve never questioned.
Many of us were shaped by families, churches, schools, or cultures that taught us things about race that were never true.
The hopeful news is this:
What was learned can be unlearned.
What was wired can be rewired.
Neuroscience reminds us that our brains remain capable of change throughout our lives. Scripture reminds us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
There is another way.
America is 250 years old.
Surely we are old enough to grow up.
I know prejudice exists all over the world. Every nation has its own wounds. But I live here. This is my home. And love requires honesty.
I believe racism remains one of our nation’s original and enduring sins.
Naming sin is not the opposite of patriotism.
Ignoring it is.
Today my heart aches.
I’m grieving the ignorance that still marches proudly through our streets.
But grief is not the end of the story.
The Holy Spirit is still at work.
Hearts can change.
Minds can be renewed.
Communities can be reconciled.
If you are White, have courageous conversations with other White people. Challenge stereotypes. Interrupt racist jokes. Learn the history many of us were never taught. Listen more than you speak. Become someone who helps your Black neighbors flourish.
If you are a person of color reading this, I want you to hear these simple words:
You have a friend in me.
I cannot fully know your experience, but I can listen, learn, stand beside you, and continue doing the work of justice and reconciliation.
And to all of us who follow Jesus:
May we refuse to let hatred have the last word.
May we reject every ideology that denies the image of God in another human being.
May we become people whose lives reflect the reconciling love of Christ.
May we love our neighbors not only in sentiment, but in courage.
May we be known not for the flags we wave, but for the Christ we embody.
May the next 250 years tell a better story than the first.
Before you move on with your day, I invite you to sit with the Holy Spirit for a few moments.
Ask honestly…
What has been my response?
How am I showing up?
How am I loving my neighbor?
Notice what arises in your mind.
Notice what stirs in your heart.
Notice what you sense in your body.
Receive whatever the Spirit reveals—not with shame, but with courage and grace.
Then pray:
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Holy Spirit, transform us. Transform me.
Amen.