Q&A with Andrew Southwick
Author of “More Than Reconciliation”
Q: What was your main motivation for writing this book?
A: In recent years it has become apparent that the whole cultural discourse concerning topics like race is ultimately about assigning blame, while ignoring the ways that we can be blessings to a lost and dark world. To that end, I believe that the Church is the one community where people enter and live on an even playing field. Even with injustice of all kinds in the world, the pauper is as loved and treasured as the prince amongst God's children. Racism is our modern word for what the Bible calls, “partiality.” In fact, racism is only one kind of partiality. More Than Reconciliation is my effort to reset the discussion about prejudices of all kinds back onto the home field of the Bible and God's Truth.
Q: Racism is said to be one of our society’s worst problems. Do you agree? Why or why not?
A: Racism showed up in my life before I was born in the form of my grandparents. They were charter members of their church and pillars of faith in Jesus. But they disapproved of my mother’s relationship with my father, who was black. My mother moved away with my father, became pregnant, and after being physically abused by my father, moved back to her parents. My grandparents’ continued disdain for my father caused them to pressure my mother to get an abortion, but she refused. When I was born, my grandfather was the first to hold me and my grandmother named me. They became surrogate parents to me growing up. It wasn’t the laws of the day that made them change their mind toward a mixed-race child. It was God reaching into their hearts and transforming their minds. Even though the circumstances surrounding my existence were drenched in sinful behavior, I was not a mistake.
Q: How is the “woke” culture affecting race relations?
A: Woke looks for blame while God's Church seeks to be a blessing. Prejudice will not be solved through being “woke” or through social programs and policies. Racism (or partiality) is a sin of the heart. Laws won't change it at the spiritual level, only Christ can do that. Racism is a problem not only because it is the hating of another person, but it has also become a political football. Cancel culture, media censorship, medical tyranny, the transgender agenda, the climate agenda, and racism are now all combined into a political and social movement that seeks only to blame and destroy. We need to move the conversation from blame to blessing.
A: In recent years it has become apparent that the whole cultural discourse concerning topics like race is ultimately about assigning blame, while ignoring the ways that we can be blessings to a lost and dark world. To that end, I believe that the Church is the one community where people enter and live on an even playing field. Even with injustice of all kinds in the world, the pauper is as loved and treasured as the prince amongst God's children. Racism is our modern word for what the Bible calls, “partiality.” In fact, racism is only one kind of partiality. More Than Reconciliation is my effort to reset the discussion about prejudices of all kinds back onto the home field of the Bible and God's Truth.
Q: Racism is said to be one of our society’s worst problems. Do you agree? Why or why not?
A: Racism showed up in my life before I was born in the form of my grandparents. They were charter members of their church and pillars of faith in Jesus. But they disapproved of my mother’s relationship with my father, who was black. My mother moved away with my father, became pregnant, and after being physically abused by my father, moved back to her parents. My grandparents’ continued disdain for my father caused them to pressure my mother to get an abortion, but she refused. When I was born, my grandfather was the first to hold me and my grandmother named me. They became surrogate parents to me growing up. It wasn’t the laws of the day that made them change their mind toward a mixed-race child. It was God reaching into their hearts and transforming their minds. Even though the circumstances surrounding my existence were drenched in sinful behavior, I was not a mistake.
Q: How is the “woke” culture affecting race relations?
A: Woke looks for blame while God's Church seeks to be a blessing. Prejudice will not be solved through being “woke” or through social programs and policies. Racism (or partiality) is a sin of the heart. Laws won't change it at the spiritual level, only Christ can do that. Racism is a problem not only because it is the hating of another person, but it has also become a political football. Cancel culture, media censorship, medical tyranny, the transgender agenda, the climate agenda, and racism are now all combined into a political and social movement that seeks only to blame and destroy. We need to move the conversation from blame to blessing.
Q: How can churches help fix the issue of racism?
A: The tragedy is the Church cannot fix this issue—not on earth anyway. We can't fix the issue because we cannot defeat sin by ourselves. Only Jesus does that. And Jesus defeats sin one heart at a time. What the Church can do is be a community where all who enter are given the love, grace, and mercy of God. We can be a community that treats everyone equally even if the world outside does not. We are meant to affirm that each person is created by God and in His image. And we are meant to treat people as creations of God, not creatures of political or social demographic. We are meant to point people to reconciliation, first with God, then with others.
Q: What is the “table of grace” concept all about and, as a pastor, have you seen it work?
A: I saw this concept play out in real time at the church I planted. We always said to our people that we don't put limits on who God wants to bring into our Church family. We aren't chasing diversity; we are following God. We aren't here to cater to our individual feelings; we are here to learn to obey God, know Him more, and worship Him together. We did our best to teach our people to keep focused on God and His Truth. In so doing, we welcomed people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, and families into our Church family. We are not the only church to do that, and we won't be the last. But the table of grace isn't a church growth strategy. It is a heart posture of surrendered obedience that is mutually expressed across a Church body. Our work is to obey God. He takes care of the harvest.
Q: You talk about forgiveness being the missing ingredient in broken relationships, but sometimes the trauma and pain is deep. How do we forgive even when people who hurt us don’t acknowledge what they did?
A: Jesus paid the highest price for our salvation and—just because He offers it to us freely and just because there is no work we can do to earn salvation for ourselves— it does not mean salvation is free. The pain and traumas that we experience are real and life-altering. Forgiving those who wrong us does not take that pain away. When Jesus forgave us on the cross, it did not take His pain away either. But what forgiveness does is it frees us from chaining ourselves to our own pain and grief. There are many reasons why people don't forgive, and many of them, in my experience, come down to our thinking that if we forgive this person, they are "getting away with it." Of course, they are not. And although, in this life, those who betray us and hurt us may not experience the full weight of the consequences of their actions, they will one day when they stand before Christ the King. I can only say this because I have had to offer forgiveness to those who hurt me, and I had to do it even though they didn't ask for it. It took me years to even do that. But it is what Jesus did for me, and it is the way I entered into more of the freedom found in Christ.
Q: With the number of issues dividing us as a culture, and even as Christians, why do you believe reconciliation can still be achieved?
A: True unity does not come around one issue or another—it comes around the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the center of all creation. All things are sustained by Him and unite around Him. Since Jesus is eternal, it is possible to experience reconciliation. Our first reconciliation is to Jesus, and then to each other. With the former, the latter is the natural and logical result.
Q: You are launching a new TV show. What is that all about?
A: The new show is called, Culture Crossroads, and it will make its television debut on the BEK News Network beginning in October 2023 and will air every Sunday. Culture Crossroads covers current events and culture through a biblical lens. We like to say that we stand at the intersection of faith and freedom. We have a variety of guests, commentary, and engaging segments all tied together in a weekly biblical concept or application.
A: The tragedy is the Church cannot fix this issue—not on earth anyway. We can't fix the issue because we cannot defeat sin by ourselves. Only Jesus does that. And Jesus defeats sin one heart at a time. What the Church can do is be a community where all who enter are given the love, grace, and mercy of God. We can be a community that treats everyone equally even if the world outside does not. We are meant to affirm that each person is created by God and in His image. And we are meant to treat people as creations of God, not creatures of political or social demographic. We are meant to point people to reconciliation, first with God, then with others.
Q: What is the “table of grace” concept all about and, as a pastor, have you seen it work?
A: I saw this concept play out in real time at the church I planted. We always said to our people that we don't put limits on who God wants to bring into our Church family. We aren't chasing diversity; we are following God. We aren't here to cater to our individual feelings; we are here to learn to obey God, know Him more, and worship Him together. We did our best to teach our people to keep focused on God and His Truth. In so doing, we welcomed people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, and families into our Church family. We are not the only church to do that, and we won't be the last. But the table of grace isn't a church growth strategy. It is a heart posture of surrendered obedience that is mutually expressed across a Church body. Our work is to obey God. He takes care of the harvest.
Q: You talk about forgiveness being the missing ingredient in broken relationships, but sometimes the trauma and pain is deep. How do we forgive even when people who hurt us don’t acknowledge what they did?
A: Jesus paid the highest price for our salvation and—just because He offers it to us freely and just because there is no work we can do to earn salvation for ourselves— it does not mean salvation is free. The pain and traumas that we experience are real and life-altering. Forgiving those who wrong us does not take that pain away. When Jesus forgave us on the cross, it did not take His pain away either. But what forgiveness does is it frees us from chaining ourselves to our own pain and grief. There are many reasons why people don't forgive, and many of them, in my experience, come down to our thinking that if we forgive this person, they are "getting away with it." Of course, they are not. And although, in this life, those who betray us and hurt us may not experience the full weight of the consequences of their actions, they will one day when they stand before Christ the King. I can only say this because I have had to offer forgiveness to those who hurt me, and I had to do it even though they didn't ask for it. It took me years to even do that. But it is what Jesus did for me, and it is the way I entered into more of the freedom found in Christ.
Q: With the number of issues dividing us as a culture, and even as Christians, why do you believe reconciliation can still be achieved?
A: True unity does not come around one issue or another—it comes around the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the center of all creation. All things are sustained by Him and unite around Him. Since Jesus is eternal, it is possible to experience reconciliation. Our first reconciliation is to Jesus, and then to each other. With the former, the latter is the natural and logical result.
Q: You are launching a new TV show. What is that all about?
A: The new show is called, Culture Crossroads, and it will make its television debut on the BEK News Network beginning in October 2023 and will air every Sunday. Culture Crossroads covers current events and culture through a biblical lens. We like to say that we stand at the intersection of faith and freedom. We have a variety of guests, commentary, and engaging segments all tied together in a weekly biblical concept or application.
Q: You are also working on a documentary movie. Tell us about that.
A: Brotherhood, is a dramatized documentary feature film about overcoming prejudice. The true story follows two men, Dr. Kenneth Stephens, a black man who for many years of his life harbored a deep hatred for white people, and Dr. Richard Harris, a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon. I first met Dr. Harris when I was working as the audio engineer for Christian Television Network. He told his story of Christ transforming his life from Grand Dragon of the KKK, to becoming a pastor at a black church. Upon talking with Dr. Harris, he told me about his friend Dr Kenneth Stephen’s, a black man who used to hate white people as he blamed all white people for the murder of his brother. I was immediately struck by the way God brought both of these men together, and how He transformed their lives, and I knew that if I could tell their story, it would be a story like no other. This is a story with an ending so movingly spectacular that only God could write it. We are trying to raise money now to get it funded and distributed but we have a trailer available at: http://www.BrotherhoodDoc.com.
A: Brotherhood, is a dramatized documentary feature film about overcoming prejudice. The true story follows two men, Dr. Kenneth Stephens, a black man who for many years of his life harbored a deep hatred for white people, and Dr. Richard Harris, a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon. I first met Dr. Harris when I was working as the audio engineer for Christian Television Network. He told his story of Christ transforming his life from Grand Dragon of the KKK, to becoming a pastor at a black church. Upon talking with Dr. Harris, he told me about his friend Dr Kenneth Stephen’s, a black man who used to hate white people as he blamed all white people for the murder of his brother. I was immediately struck by the way God brought both of these men together, and how He transformed their lives, and I knew that if I could tell their story, it would be a story like no other. This is a story with an ending so movingly spectacular that only God could write it. We are trying to raise money now to get it funded and distributed but we have a trailer available at: http://www.BrotherhoodDoc.com.
About Andrew Southwick:
Andrew Southwick is a pastor turned broadcaster, author, filmmaker, and musician. He has served in churches in Washington, Florida, Connecticut, and Montana in roles ranging from music pastor, teaching pastor, church planter, and campus pastor. He has also assisted churches with revitalization efforts, mergers, and church health coaching. He earned a master’s degree in Discipleship & Church Ministry from Liberty University. He has hosted a radio show on Salem Radio and is currently hosting both a radio and television show called, Culture Crossroads, on the BEK News Network. In addition to his new non-fiction book, “More Than Reconciliation,” he authored a children’s book to help parents teach their kids about finding their identity in Christ, entitled “Timmy’s Special Song.” For more information visit www.sodomediaproductions.com.