3DMovements North America: Confession and a Call to Change

3DM is a global movement of Jesus-shaped missional discipleship that seeks to see God’s Kingdom come more fully by raising up and empowering every person to do God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. As we look to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, we see a man who consistently crossed the racial divides of his time to demonstrate that every person on this planet is a priceless child of God, created in his good image. Jesus intentionally raised up, empowered, and gave a voice to those who were devalued, oppressed, and forgotten. For this he was arrested, brutalized, and mercilessly executed by those in power. But Jesus’ willing death and his triumphant resurrection has paved the way for billions to discover their worth, respond to their calling, and live as unquenchable light in a dark and unjust world. 

As the leaders of 3DMovements in North America, we recognize we live in a society that aspires to the ideals of liberty and justice for all but has fallen woefully short of that vision. Ever since Africans were first brought to these shores 400 years ago and enslaved along with native populations, the wealth and power of our nation has been built in part on the exploitation and oppression of those whose skin is not white. The aftermath of slavery has left an economic, systemic, and cultural legacy of bias. Although progress has been made over these past four centuries, the simple fact is we still have so far to go.  Most of us who are white struggle to accept the idea that our skin affords us special privileges and power that others do not receive and often fail to recognize this inherent advantage. However, the consistent testimony of our sisters and brothers of color tell us a painfully different story. To be black in America today is to face daily discrimination, unequal opportunity, and sometimes lethal violence.

As a primarily white leadership team, we recognize we have so much to learn from our brothers and sisters of color. We see you. We honor you. We are listening to you. We want to learn from you what it means to live as faithful allies. We also recognize that we have often been inadvertently complicit in a system that has not adequately protected the legal rights of its citizens of color, much less offered equal access to the resources and opportunities necessary to bring about meaningful change. We have often failed to advocate for those who are not being heard and failed to hold those in authority accountable to providing justice for all. We confess our sins of commission and omission. We repent and commit ourselves to more effective action. 

In a representative democracy we have legal rights and opportunity to effect real change by using the power of our vote to support the values of God’s kingdom. We also have the freedom to organize and advocate locally in ways that can raise up and empower those who have been denied equal access. In combining prayer and action we will be following the example of Jesus who acted in concrete ways to release captives and set the oppressed free. However, we also recognize the limitations of political policies and human programs to root out the deeply entrenched demonic forces that seek to steal, kill, and destroy the inherent value and dignity of our sisters and brothers of color. For that reason, we put our ultimate hope in the power of God’s Spirit working through his people to break strongholds in the name of Jesus, heal the deep wounds of oppression, and create a new reality in the hearts and communities of America. 

As the movement of Jesus spread across a multi-racial Roman Empire the Apostle Paul described the transformative reality of God’s Kingdom taking root when he wrote, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) As we seek to follow Jesus one step of faith at a time, we pray this will become more and more true across our land. We look for that day when we see fulfilled the heavenly chorus that is being continually sung to Jesus, “you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10) Let it be so and let it come through us.

3DM North America Team 

Paul Maconochie

Gina Mueller

Bob Rognlien 

Mike McCoy

Jeff Allen

Pat Dirkse

Chris Norman 

Greg Grunau

Mark Burgess