Over the weekend, Chance the Rapper shut down pastors who minimized racism and took a critical look at the Church’s response to racial injustice.

According to Relevant Magazine, the exchange started after the rapper asked his Twitter followers why the Church has long refused to speak on racism.

“Why don’t we as a church explicitly address White Supremacy and racism on Sundays? Why don’t we engage the truths of America and how it’s values are antithetical to the Gospel?,” he asked.

Chance then continued, “Is it not directly the responsibility of the Church to dismantle and defeat White Supremacy? Is equality not the basis for forming the body of Christ?”

I’m sure I’m gonna get replies from nonbelievers, but I’d like to ask my Christian followers out there: Why don’t we as a church explicitly address White Supremacy and racism on Sundays? Why don’t we engage the truths of America and how it’s values are antithetical to the Gospel?

— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) June 13, 2020

This is not the first time the rapper has been open and outspoken about his faith. Several pastors decided to engage with the Chicago-native rapper. 

One of those pastors was Phil Johnson of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA. He is also the executive director of John MacArthur’s media ministry, Grace to You. 

Johnson warned Chance about the dangers of “Wokism” which he called a “blatantly racist worldview, condemning entire ethnic groups for sins that were committed generations ago by people long dead,” according to a blog post that Johnson wrote linked to the rapper.

He also tweeted, “Adopting a leftist political agenda would actually undermine gospel truth,” then linking the article to his tweet.

It’s the values of this WORLD (not just America) that are antithetical to the gospel and hostile to God (James 4:4), and I hear preachers point that fact out regularly.

Adopting a leftist political agenda would actually undermine gospel truth.https://t.co/v7Ax8KXISG

— Phil Johnson (@Phil_Johnson_) June 14, 2020

Chance responded to Johnson with the question, “is dismantling White Supremacy an exclusively ‘leftist’ agenda?”

He then added, “Is hearing a preacher directly pointing to the racist structure of our country today somehow worse than making an overarching conversation about how all sin matters? [White Supremacy] is built on works of the flesh, we can say that.”

Another pastor, Grabriel Hughes of First Southern Baptist Church in Kansas also started a dialogue, challenging Chance by dismissing the notion of “White Supremacy.” Instead, he said that individual sin is the real issue.

“You have the same rights I do”, Hughes wrote. “You’re also a sinner as I am. We were all ‘hated by others and hating one another’ (Titus 3:3).

“All of us are guilty of this. Repent of your sin, believe in Jesus and follow Him, and be saved from the judgment of God,” he added.

Hughes then followed up that Chance’s financial success as a mainstream artist proved that he has the same opportunities to “make it” as anyone, he said. 

“Yes, there are still divisions, but not because of a ‘racist structure.’ It’s because people are sinners,” Hughes wrote.

Chance pointed to history in his response to Hughes, while also quoting Scripture, specifically Ephesians 6:12. 

“You’re obfuscating,” Chance wrote. “You’re old enough and grown enough to either study the history of law in the United States or know it already.”

“If you are confused about the placement of judgment, it’s not on people but the system of white supremacy that is in every American institution. I forgive you tho,” the rapper said.

Do you agree with Chance? Do you believe the Church has not addressed racism enough?