I just returned from a conference in Memphis that coincided with the 50th anniversary of Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King’s murder at the Lorraine Motel. I was just a boy when Dr. King was assassinated so it was my own personal dream to be there on the 50th anniversary. The conference was a once-in-a-lifetime experience as I was in the place where the hopes of the civil rights struggle was simultaneously dashed yet rose from the ashes to gain momentum as a movement while a nation grieved. The conference was about keeping in step with what MLK’s radical vision based on a robust picture of Genesis 1 and the dignity afforded human beings because of the Imago Dei.

One virtue repeatedly spoken about from the platform was love. It is on account of His love for us and our love for Him in return that we embrace real unity and not just a fake unity that neither listens to the other side or makes others act like the majority culture in order to be accepted. What was unspoken and yet undergirded many of the messages was the virtue of courage. While we don’t speak much of courage today it is probably one of the most needed virtues. C.S Lewis writes,

Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.

Lewis’ point is that courage seems to be this “pivot point” that must be embraced in order express the other virtues. For instance, you must be courageous to love or you can’t be humble unless you are courageous enough to leave your ego behind. Courage is what emboldens you to lean into something of value, to gain more character than you currently have, or to create something of lasting value.

Courage as a virtue was originally thought of as an elite virtue. It was a virtue that was set aside for the warrior class who fought and protected. However, in a Christian understanding, the virtue of courage, according to Thomas Aquinas (the great medieval Doctor of the Church), is not so much bravery in battle but rather enduring and moving forward in life in light of Christ’s victory. In this way, courage is “leveled” in that it is the everyday man’s virtue and not just for the warrior elite. You and I have every opportunity to be courageous in a day when, dare I say, cowardice has more influence particularly.

From experience it takes courage on all parties’ part to lean into the conversation on race and not just back away from the table. Ambrose Redmoon wrote,

Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

What’s at stake is the beauty of Christ’s bride the church as a diverse body of people. As far as I know, the gospel really is the only reasonable binding force that on one hand says your racial identity is not what’s ultimate about you while on the other hand offers this picture of the Kingdom as radically diverse with all people grounded in the work of Christ. That’s worth leaning into…