A Response to the Events in Charlottesville

A letter from the Pastors

Dear Resolved Church Family,

As the leadership of The Resolved Church, we want to be clear in our response to the recent violent riots in Charlottesville this past week. We are deeply heartbroken by these acts of hatred and violence and grieve over this racism which is prevalent throughout this country and our city. We desire to give some careful, pastoral thoughts on racism and our church’s posture against it.


First, we denounce the ideology and practices of white supremacy as evil, hateful, bigoted, and anti-Christ. The events that occurred in Charlottesville are horrific and the racism espoused there ought to be opposed anywhere we see it. Racism and racial supremacy are heretical ways of thinking opposed to the very gospel of Jesus Christ, as it says in Acts 17:26, “He has made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth…” All people everywhere are created in the image of God and thus have inherent dignity and value before God and other people. Anyone who teaches or harbors racist ideology in their hearts are harboring a lie of hate and evil which destroys people and communities, sets up divisions, and causes strife. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news which breaks down barriers and establishes diverse, loving communities of all peoples. 


Second, the Church is made up of people from various ethnicities and colors. It was and is Jesus’ mission to reconcile all people from every tribe and tongue to Himself. God takes special delight in the variety and diversity of humans made in His image and likeness and so do we. To remain silent when people of any culture/race/color experience violence or prejudice is cruel and apathetic and in so doing, we propagate the same hatred. As a church, we must stand in solidarity with the victims of racism and white supremacy when events like Charlottesville occur. 


Third, our posture as a church moving forward must be as humble, empathetic learners. The reality is that though we are growing in being a multi-ethnic congregation, we are still a predominately white church. This means that we need to take the time to listen to our brothers and sisters of color in order to learn from their experiences and to empathize with them in their story. Though we want to posture ourselves as listeners, our voice also matters. It matters to our brothers and sisters in our church who wonder if we understand their pain and are watching to see our response. How will we respond? How will you respond? These issues matter to Christ. As a pastor and brother in the Lord, I readily confess my own ignorance and blindness to these issues and personally desire to change and grow. As the leadership of The Resolved Church, we are committed to a posture of humble, empathetic listening and learning, and strive to give voice when we see prejudice or oppression happening in our city and our nation. We desire to express the fullness of God’s family in being a multi-ethnic church and to celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ with rich diversity! 


We have attached several resources that we believe gives further clarity and depth to this important topic. Please read and listen through the attached resources so we can all learn and grow together.


We love you all deeply, Resolved Church, and are expectantly seeking Christ for how He will grow us and use us to further His Kingdom here in San Diego as it is in heaven. 


United in Christ,


Pastor Ryan Buss

On behalf of the pastors of The Resolved Church