Following the example of Daniel, we must take ownership of the crazy family members in our culture. Is it painful? Yes. Will there be a sense of shame?Absolutely. Are we guilty? You better believe it. But guilt and shame are products of the fall, confession, ownership and restoration are rooted in the gospel. What Daniel does is stand in the gap on behalf of a foreign nation. These aren't sins that he is complicit in. However, he joined in lamenting and repenting because he was a part of said community. We must name our brokenness and sin, if we are to ever change it. You may not have done this, but the culture you’ve been a part of has been complicit. 

The white evangelical church has historically divided the gospel because of the way it’s been conditioned by whiteness, which comes from Europe and is influenced by Greek thought and the Enlightenment

Whiteness was specifically created for power. This power has manifested itself since them in slavery, lynchings, housing segregation, school segregation, etc.

We’ve all been shaped by culture, in both redemptive and sinful ways. Culture is what it is. It’s neither good nor bad. No culture is chosen by God over another and no culture is to be worshiped, particularly by those who follow a different kind of a King and Kingdom.

I couldn’t believe that I came from this culture of whiteness that has oppressed, marginalized, and brutally murdered those that don’t have white skin. I get angry, frustrated, and deeply agitated knowing that it was my own culture that erected things like the Confederate Monument in Stone Mountain, GA.

"We can't save the soul of America without saving our white brothers. And they aren't free. When you enslave an individual, you enslave yourself. I mean, all white brothers are slaves to that fear–slaves to their prejudices.”

The same thing happens when we perpetuate the structures of white culture. We are expecting Christians to assimilate to white cultural norms, rather than being born into the kingdom of God. We are missing the beauty of God by only operating in one cultural norm and not seeing the beauty in other cultures.