Race

Race offers biblically grounded perspectives on racial division, reconciliation, and the church’s calling to unity in Christ. Explore thoughtful articles on history, culture, and lived experience—anchored in Scripture and focused on faithful discipleship. You’ll find guidance for listening well, speaking truthfully, pursuing justice with humility, and building diverse, welcoming congregations. These resources are designed to help Christians engage difficult conversations with grace, reject hostility and prejudice, and reflect the reconciling work of Jesus in the life of the church and the public square.

September 30, 2010

Christian Standard

Culture & Public Square Race

“˜We Are Intentionally Multicultural”

By Darrel Rowland The elders are from the United States and the Philippines. The deacons include a member from the Caribbean. The pastor and musical director are Canadian. And the congregation looks like a mini-United Nations. Sure Keele Street Christian Church is located in one of the most multicultural cities of the world, Toronto. But the church”s tremendous diversity wasn”t an accident. “Are we intentionally multicultural? Absolutely,” says pastor Grant MacDonald. “Those who are here at Keele are here because they want to be part of a multicultural church. There are other options in Toronto to be sure. You can

September 30, 2010

Christian Standard

Culture & Public Square Race

“˜Forcing This Issue Is a Waste of Time”

By Darrel Rowland We don”t all agree that God wants his churches to be multiculturally diverse, even in communities where such a goal can be achieved. “I think the issue of racial reconciliation is borderline irrelevant,” said Brian Jones, founding pastor of Christ”s Church of the Valley in suburban Philadelphia. “Forcing this issue, trying to create forced “˜reconciliation gatherings,” is just a waste of time and 99 times out of 100 stems from white guilt.” Fernando Soto, Hispanic minister with First Christian Church in Anaheim, said the vision of whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and others coming together for church services

September 29, 2010

Christian Standard

Culture & Public Square Race

White as Snow? Guilty as Sin?

By Darrel Rowland Some 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. pierced the church”s soul by pointing out that the most segregated hour in America was 11:00 Sunday morning. Things sure have changed in the five decades since, haven”t they? I mean, we gather at all sorts of hours other than 11 am Sunday these days. But about that other part . . . Let”s just ask ourselves a brutally honest question: Why are Christian churches and churches of Christ among the last bastions of society to remain predominantly white? Once we answer that one, we must tackle an even

September 29, 2010

Christian Standard

Culture & Public Square Race

“˜Look at What We Have in Common”

By Darrel Rowland The new church Reggie Moore had planted on the north side of Columbus, Ohio, had run out of space in the hotel conference room where it gathered. He was calling around to see where he could find a bigger place for his fledgling congregation when somebody suggested he contact a church in the nearby suburb of Westerville. It sounded good. But Moore”s biggest worry was about doctrine. Just what did these Christian church people believe anyway? Greg Bondurant was mugged by black toughs when he was a youngster in Akron. But years later as an established preacher,

July 4, 2010

Christian Standard

Culture & Public Square Race

“˜Be Nice or Leave!”

By Rick Grover I met with an African-American pastor in our community who told me his church has signs throughout its building that convey one of his church”s values. The signs read:Â Be Nice or Leave! He indicated his church in the past had a significant challenge with a certain group of longtime members who would run off new people. The established group felt threatened by anybody with new or different ideas. Sound familiar? Rather than dealing with those differences in a healthy, biblical way, members of the group would say critical things and act mean-spirited until those with whom they

May 17, 2009

Christian Standard

Culture & Public Square Race

The Point of Christianity 2: Racial Reconciliation

Â By Douglas A. Foster Racial division continues in Christ”s body””despite the shedding of his blood. To state it plainly, there is a deep and abiding divide between white people and people of color, in society and in Christ”s church.Â Events in our national and religious history seared racial suspicion deep into our subconscious. Two events serve as illustrations of the evil of racism in its most blatant form. Â BAD DECISIONS In 1857 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (in Dred Scott v. Sandford) that the slave Dred Scott remained a slave even when taken into a “free” state. The

February 12, 2006

Robert F. Hull Jr.

Culture & Public Square Race

The Hidden Wound and the Healing Table

Robert F. Hull Jr. reflects on Wendell Berry’s The Hidden Wound, revisiting memories of “soft” bigotry and a painful college moment. He points to forgiveness in Christ and the Lord’s table as healing for racism’s wounds.

February 12, 2006

W. Ray Kelley

Culture & Public Square Race

African-American Evangelism: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?

W. Ray Kelley examines why many Restoration Movement churches have struggled to evangelize and integrate African-Americans, highlighting history, present challenges, and practical steps for intentional, sustained ministry in diverse communities.

February 8, 2006

Mark A. Taylor

Culture & Public Square Race

More Than One Month

A reflection on Black History Month, Denzil Holness’s call for Christian witness, and the need to face systemic racism through self-examination, confession, and reconciliation in the body of Christ.