The lead pastor of the influential Hillsong Church in New York City has publicly backed the Black Lives Matter movement sparked by police shootings of black men.
Pastor Carl Lentz, who leads the popular evangelical congregation, spoke on Facebook of his church's support for the movement, refusing to use the alternative slogan "All Lives Matter".
He said in his post: "At THIS church, we are not saying 'all lives matter' right now because this is a logical assumption that most reasonable people agree with. All lives are not at risk right now."
He continues: "We ARE saying BLACK LIVES MATTER. Because, right now, black lives apparently are worth LESS on our streets. It's 'our fight' not 'their fight'."
Lent'z statement has come at a time of increasing racial tension in the US following the highly controversial police shootings of Keith Scott, in Charlotte, North Carolina, and most recently Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The latter case has raised particular controversy since Crutcher was unarmed and according to lawyers posed no threat to police.
So far in 2016 174 black people have been shot and killed by police and the recent cases have provoked further outcry about racial bias in US policing. The Black Lives Matter movement has been the leading voice of protest on this issue. Lentz's support is more controversial however, since conservative Christian groups have generally been less forthcoming in their support of the movement. In a survey in July less than a third (29 per cent) of evangelical Christians said people of colour were unfairly targeted by law enforcement.
But more recently conservative evangelicals have been more vocal in their support of Black Lives Matter. High profile Christian rapper Lecrae has emphatically deplored the "All Lives Matter" mantra, calling it an insult to the black community.
In an Instagram post last week Lentz spoke about how he had met with other pastors of Hillsong NYC to discuss the reality of racial discrimination in America. He said in his post: "We talked about things that were very frustrating/sad/uncomfortable and vulnerable...I would encourage anybody who cares about people, to somehow find a way to hear voices of those that don't share your journey. It will impact you."
Meanwhile Benjamin Houston of Hillsong Los Angeles also spoke about his church's conversations about "the realities of racial injustice". He said on Instagram: "This was the start of many conversations that need to be had; and even when the media goes quiet, the church will remain loud at fighting injustice of all description."
