The Pledge

Rooted in the conviction that the followers of Jesus are called to reflect their beloved Creator and Redeemer as a mosaic and symphony of humanity, I choose courage instead of comfort. By Jesus’ loving grace and strength, I pledge to follow Him and LEAD:

1. Listen.I will purposefully open my ears to others’ stories and my eyes to others’ pain, disregarding my discomfort. I will educate myself by reading with an open mind. I will examine my own actions and attitudes, apologizing when needed. I will prayerfully resist all prideful defensiveness. In humility I commit to a lifestyle of growth, reminding myself that my experience is only a narrow slice of reality.
   By the power of the Spirit, I choose to listen courageously.
2. Embrace. I will open my heart and home to embrace the stranger with hospitality. I will stretch outside familiarity to intentionally create multicultural friendship networks. When conflict arises in my expanded circles, I will sacrifice comfort, share vulnerably, and pray for the Spirit to unite us. I will respect others’ need for cultural space to express themselves freely, while maximizing opportunities to expand my own cultural awareness and understanding. I will encourage individual faithfulness to convictions, while building an authentic community that welcomes harmonious diversity.
   By the power of the Spirit, I choose to embrace courageously.
3. Advocate. I will actively pursue opportunities to live out justice and mercy. When I witness discrimination, I will rise in defense of the powerless. I will speak out against injustice within my family, community, and nation. I will stand against practices, policies, and structures that enable racial inequality. I will respond to disagreements with respect, kindness, and non-violence. I will “seek peace and pursue it,” but never at the cost of truth or integrity.
   By the power of the Spirit, I choose to advocate courageously.
4. Dream. I will devote my creativity, privileges, spiritual gifts, and talents to the tireless pursuit of equity for all. If I lose a battle, I will praise God because He has already won the war, and ask Him to broaden my vision. I will steadfastly follow His commands, patiently trusting His promise of justice for all of God’s children. In fulfillment of God’s law of love, I will prayerfully seek the “one accord” of Acts 1 to prepare for the anointing of the Holy Spirit of Acts 2.
   By the power of the Spirit, I choose to dream courageously.

By the above actions, I pledge to do my part to fulfill Jesus’ prayer “that they all may be one,” trusting Him to weave “every nation, kindred, tongue and people” into a beautiful tapestry of love, until the day my soul is at rest, free at last.