Uncovering Implicit Bias // M-Note 2.15.2025

Last weekend, we began a new series The Beloved Community: Pursuing Racial Justice. If you missed the first week, I encourage you to listen or share it here. In the message, I argued that racism is a sin that is both historic and still present in our country. It is one that the church ought to be actively working against. This may sound obvious to some, but right now, efforts to address racism in our country are being increasingly challenged and stymied. At The Gathering, we believe that racism is worth our attention, conversation, and active resistance.
 
This weekend, I will continue the series by talking about unconscious (or implicit) bias: the attitudes or stereotypes we have about people without our conscious knowledge. Our world is rife with caricatures and assumptions that we have of other people. This is especially true when it comes to race. Even if we don’t actively participate in discrimination today, these historic stereotypes impact all of us in ways that we don’t always notice. These assumptions keep us from seeing other people for who they really are.
 
This phenomenon was well-known even in Jesus’ time. His own disciples had a distorted way of seeing all sorts of other people: gentiles, women, people who were sick, tax collectors, even children. Jesus often challenged his followers to rethink the assumptions they had about others, and to see as God sees. After 200 years that same challenge is relevant to us today.
 
In addition to talking about race, many of you want to know, “what can I do?” I have an answer! As part of this series, we are asking everyone in the congregation to take an online implicit bias training. This course can be done anytime, online, and will help you to learn about how unconscious bias works and how to be more intentional about it in your own life. You can find the course and begin taking it here. After you take the online course, there will be an opportunity to talk about it in CoreGroups. If you aren’t in a group, you can sign up to process it with others here.
 
The Gathering is a church that wants to lean into difficult conversations when those conversations help us to better follow Jesus. Talking about racism and actively exploring how we can resist it will make us more faithful followers of Jesus. It will also help the Gathering to be the church God wants and needs us to be. I hope that you will join me in this work by taking the course and being in worship this weekend.
 
Thank you for being the kind of church that is open to these conversations. Have a good Valentine’s Day, and I will see you Sunday.
 
Peace,
Matt