Paul said: “In Christ, there is no male and female, no Jew or Gentile, no slave or free.” In the kingdom of God, all human hierarchies are completely set aside. So much so, that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet to demonstrate that the highest leaders in the kingdom of God regard themselves as servants. We are called by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring in the kingdom, which means to work for complete equality in all things. Inequality will be with us until the end, when the kingdom of God comes in its fullness. But that is no excuse to passively accept it. When we make excuses for inequality, we are defending sin. Or worse, when we try to argue that inequality is biblical and/or part of God’s design, we are fighting against the kingdom of God and misusing the Gospel to teach the opposite of what Jesus taught and modeled. John calls that the spirit of antichrist. We have to be on the side of full equality to be true to the Gospel. 

The only viable path forward for the church in America begins with decolonizing the gospel. This is work we must do. But it is also work that is beyond what we can do.  

We must progress beyond the narrative of Euro-American imperialism, conquest and assimilation via Christian missions — and move forward as prophetic advocates seeking guidance from our very present Creator made known among us in Jesus, who is the Christ. — Richard Twiss, Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys, p.46

As we listen, the Spirit guides us:

• in building unity by enabling us to trust both the Spirit and each other
• in expanding freedom by growing hope in us for each other
• in creating real equality by filling us with love for each other across all human divisions. 

Colonization is marked by mistrust, hopelessness, and lovelessness. It always  divides, enslaves, and tyrannizes. These are anathema to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the continuing mission of his Holy Spirit. Only a most superficial, perverse version of the Christian faith can continue in such a milieu without becoming a community of prophetic advocates such as Twiss called for. That is what we must become. That is work only the Spirit can do through us. And that is work the Spirit will only do through us.