Over the weeks and months of sharing with you online every week regarding topics like church multiplication, leadership development and vision casting, I’ve thanked God for my platform to touch the Church in any way possible. But lately, God has been speaking to me about my responsibility on this platform. Before I begin, I want to thank every one of you who read and share my column.

Today, I want to share from my heart. This is an area in which God has been leading me on a journey over the last year, maybe a little more. The topic that has been churning up inside me is race in America and in the Church.

I don’t have to tell you that I get a little nervous about this topic. There has been so much written on it, so many opinions expressed about it, and so many arguments waged over it. I don’t seriously consider that I can settle the issues in 1,200 words or less. I won’t even be able to scratch the surface.

I do want you to know that I have not been looking at this problem in a vacuum. I have reached out to many faith leaders from different backgrounds who have different perspectives than myself on this. And many of these ideas were further developed when I had the great opportunity to speak to the National Black Fellowship of the Assemblies of God earlier this year.

To provide some context for my own journey, I was raised in the Church, raised to love God, raised to love His people, and also raised to love all people, regardless of nationality, race, economic status or gender. I pastored in various settings, but it was in planting a multiethnic church in a community of rich diversity that I saw the most vibrant expression of God’s grace in the world.

But even now as I look back, I realize that in many ways I was absolutely clueless about the real problems of race in this country. Sometimes we believe we have the right answer because we think we have all the information. But when we find out that we have an incomplete picture, we need to go back and reevaluate our opinions.

Earlier this year during a meeting with the Church Multiplication Network Lead Team, the topic of racial reconciliation came up during our prayer time together. Afterwards, during our regular scheduled meeting, I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to put aside the agenda and have an open and honest conversation with all those present about the problems we face in our churches when it comes to race.

There are many strong opinions, hurt feelings and opportunities for division if we are not careful with this topic. However, as I look at events on the news and in my own life, I can’t help but see the results of real systemic racism affecting us in a real way. But I believe that CMN is poised perhaps like no other institution to do something about it.

I’m praying that one congregation at a time, one neighborhood at a time, one city at a time, our country can heal.

We are planting hundreds of new churches each year. The goal is that healthy churches will produce healthy communities. That includes addressing the problem of racial reconciliation. We can either make the problem worse, or we can lead the charge toward correcting it. It depends on how we create strategies for transforming the people and places around us.

As leader, I felt the incredible weight to train leaders and start churches with people who understand the times in which we live and who can lead in wisdom in the area of race. We need to raise up people who are advocates for the voiceless, who can speak with grace and truth to our problems, and who are courageous in the face of opposition.

However, I also felt woefully inadequate to lead such a large and important task. So I reached out to black pastors in our Fellowship who have experienced the effects of racism firsthand, and have responded with that same grace and truth we all need.

What I learned from them was so important. Before we move to solutions, we have to be willing to really listen to one another and admit there’s a problem. That begins with me. So, the first leg of my journey was to educate myself on the problem.

I began to read books about justice. I watched documentaries about race and incarceration in America. And for the first time, my eyes were truly opened to the sorts of issues we are dealing with. I visited black churches and spent hours listening to people sharing their experiences.

Until you really listen to those on the other side of an opinion, don’t hold your opinions so tightly. I believed until recently that America was past the problem of systemic racism. I thought “white privilege” was an invention of the media. And I was frustrated by athletes who knelt during the national anthem. After hearing from my black brothers and sisters, I realize I was ignorant. My first move was not to offer solutions but an apology, to confess my own shortcomings and ask forgiveness.

Of course, this is not just a black and white thing, though the wisdom and insight of people I’ve met through the National Black Fellowship have certainly helped shape my journey. These issues affect all of us — black, white, Hispanic, Asian and Native American.

For those of you reading this who are like I was, I want you to see what I’ve seen. Have a conversation with someone on the other side of the issue. Read up on the topic. Educate yourself. I was shocked to realize how easily I could have my eyes opened. If the Church is willing, we can all begin to see the difference we can make.

I’m not entirely sure what the next step is. I know the Church can be the answer, but we first must admit there is a problem. Closed eyes will never see a way forward. But opening our eyes may involve a lot more pain to come. Are we willing to risk it all to change the whole world? I’m praying that one congregation at a time, one neighborhood at a time, one city at a time, our country can heal.

I am not sure what is next for me, but I know I’m just beginning this journey. I hope you’ll consider coming along with me. I’m going to commit to pray about these things, find more people to listen to, and continue learning. I’m confident that God wants us to move forward in unity, however that looks. And I’m sure that if we stay humble, He will use us to accomplish it.