Oneness Embraced: Through The Eyes of Tony Evans

The cover of Oneness Embraced  positions the book as a fresh look at reconciliation, the kingdom, and justice. The book, written by Dr. Tony Evans senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, is indeed a fresh look at these topics but it is so much more. Within its pages, Dr. Evans has produced a book true to his customary hard-hitting, deep-thinking style.

In the mid 1990s I heard Dr. Evans speak on racial reconciliation to a standing-room-only crowd in Raleigh, North Carolina. That was back when racial reconciliation was all church folks could talk about. What Dr. Evans shared that night was inspirational and radical. Standing shoulder to shoulder with thousands of others, I knew that God had used this man to speak directly to me about my role in bridge building and social justice. Oneness Embraced skillfully presents yet another layer of the message he delivered that night so many years ago.

In what amounts to a satisfying mixture of theological discourse, church history, and biography, Evans shows a more radical approach to reconciliation. Dr. Evans’s presentation of black evangelicalism is eye opening to me as a black woman. But Evans doesn’t stop there. He uses Oneness Embraced to speak to Christians of all hues and creeds about empowerment, personal responsibility, and the church’s mission in society. The examples from his own life and current events drive his points home.

“The solution to our problems won’t land on Air Force One, nor does God ride the backs of either donkeys or elephants. To put it another way, Christians should be representing God’s kingdom by caring for people across racial, gender, political, and class lines so well that the government experts come to us to find out how we do it.”

Evans is quick to point out that although racial oneness is crucial, it is not the end game. The ultimate goal of all our Christian earthly work–the evangelism, missions work, racial reconciliation efforts, social justice struggles–is to glorify our Reconciler and King. Embracing oneness in its fullest is only one way to help believers reach that ultimate goal.

Oneness Embraced: Through The Eyes of Tony Evans is not a quick easy read, but it is more than worthwhile. I recommend it to those who are student/practitioners of biblical racial reconciliation. Get ready to embrace oneness for the sake of the Kingdom.

Fifty years ago on May 5, seven black students and six whites boarded a bus in Washington, DC. They were on their way to New Orleans, protesting the unjust practices of segregation in the American South. The law said that interstate bus travel was to be integrated–equal access to seating on the bus, in waiting rooms, lunch counters, and restrooms. In the traditionally brutal segregated South of the 1960s, not everybody agreed with that law. That first trip to New Orleans was anything but uneventful.

The Freedom Riders struggle lasted into September 1961. Several waves of students participated in the Rides–hundreds were jailed, in fact. They rode from every corner of the nation, mostly converging on Jackson, MS. Vicious mob attacks and bus fires didn’t deter them. The initial lack of support from the the Kennedys (President and Senator), US government, and even Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  didn’t bring their movement to a stop.  The Riders were dogmatic, willing to keep riding until they were free to ride. Until we were all free to pursue life and happiness and liberty.

It was an unprecedented interracial David and Goliath story. An impossible war from many vantage points. But they fought it nontheless. They were determined to finish what they started. Most notable Freedom Riders were Stokely Carmichael, James L. Farmer, Jr., now US Representative John Lewis (D-GA), Diane Nash,  and James Zwerg.

I stayed up late and watched the American Experience “Freedom Riders” documentary on PBS, like a good American. I also tweeted the event, meaning I posted my reactions on Twitter. Many others did. In fact, the tweets were coming in so fast that they were impossible to read.

This morning, I revisited the Twitter conversations and found a common thread of awe and indebtedness. Many were moved to tears. Some were inspired to make commitments to change, to make a difference 50 years later. It seems you can say a lot in only 140 characters at a time. One tweeter wondered how different the civil rights struggle could have been with online tools like Twitter. An interesting thought indeed.

What was my takeaway? A high price was paid for freedom, which was the case in many of the battles in the war for freedom in the South. But I also saw that politics and freedom don’t mix well. The Kennedys politics tied their hands. Dr. King’s politics made him falter. In some ways politics, both person and corporate, made matters worse.

It was the determination for change that stuck. On Twitter last night, some called the Riders fools. Some called them heros. Truth is, in the end they were flawed and fearless. And they were free.

Other Resources on the Freedom Riders:

• PBS Freedom Riders promo video
• Short film about Diane Nash
• Shop PBS
• Stories on PBS affiliate WGBH