Desegregating church

[no name joe]

I came across this blog post today, and it really voices much of what I have been thinking. It is a challenging call to make affirmative steps to make church less segregated. It points out that most churches are the most segregated places in the United States.

http://www.edstetzer.com/2011/08/race-relations-affirmative-act.html

One thing that really drew me to the church I currently am a member of was the racial and socio-economic diversity of the church. There are many black people, white people, latinos, asians, etc. There are homeless people that attend every week sitting along side very wealthy bank owners and federal magistrates. It is unlike anything I have ever experienced in church. Every chruch I have attended in the past was made of exclusively white folks (maybe an occasional person from a different race would find their way in), or mostly of one social class.

God can and will break down racial and economic barriers, but it takes intentional action on our part. It takes purposefully forging friendships with those of different races or classes. It takes having a racially mixed bbq in the back yard. It takes opening our lives to people different from us.

One line in the article really jumped out at me, and that is summarized, "Many white Chrisitans would rather their child marry another white non-believer than a godly black person." Is this true? I wondered about my daughters, and I would certainly rather tham marry a godly black man than an unbeliever who was white. I'd rather her marry a black man sold out to Christ than a white man who was passive and non active in his faith. However, I know for a fact that my parents and my wife's parents would rather her marry a white non-believer. They would have a real problem with her marryiing a black man, even if he was a believer, and this makes me sad becasue there are many very godly black families in my church and I would be happy for her to marry their sons if something were to develop in 20 years down th road.

All that to say, this challenges us to take affirmative steps to reach out to those different than us. It truly beleive the church should be the most desegregated place in society, but sadly, we are a long ways from reaching that goal.

[Anon]

I didn't read the article but our church is certainly multi-class and multi-racial. We have Indians, Philippinos, Puerto Ricans, Africans, and others. We have people who are on welfare and people who are well off, and one who even owns two personal homes. And our church is only about 75 people on a good Sunday!!!! As a matter of fact, my two youngest boys call the Puerto Rican couple "Grandma and Grandpa". They truly love them like family! I think my youngest really does think we are related by blood. haha.

I actually just told my husband the other day that I would rather my boys marry a godly black woman than a bad white woman. Obviously most people are attracted primarily to their own race (I notice that with many other races too....some in particular stay within their own race more than others, I think people from India like to stay together, and white people do as well, and mostly blacks)...however if one of my boys becomes attracted to a GOOD woman of another race, there is no reason to discourage that.

[Covenanter]

Our pastor is Pakistani, married to a Kenyan Punjabi, from a Sikh family. The congregation includes English, Indian & Pakistani.

[no name joe]

That is great! I love hearing about diverse congregations! I certainly love mine.

WHere I live, most churches are highly segregated. I am not sure that is a purposeful thing, but it just is.

[John81]

Churches should be a place for Believers to gather as they wish. There should be no attempt to force segregation nor should there be attempts to force those who choose to segregate to integrate.

[quinkie]

Our church is about 50% white, 50% black. We have no Asian or Indian people, not that they haven't been asked, they just haven't come. We have no wealthy people, we do have middle income and low income and even a few no income folks. Every one is welcome, but if they do not come we cannot force them.

[Pastorj]

Our church has people of all nationalities, but I wouldn't say that it is desegregated. The vast majority of the 900 members are white.

I was visiting a church in Georgia that had over 500 people in it. Not one person there was of another race than white. There was another IFB church right across the street. I asked the pastor about the church. He told me that the church was a black church. White people go to their church and black people go across the street.

While in college in Florida, I found out the pastor of the church I was attending was a rascist. We had a black family walk in to our church. He left the platform and went down and talked to them. They immediately left. I found out later (from him) that he told them that there was a good church right around the corner that they would feel welcome in.

Racism in churches is alive by the choice of both whites and blacks in the south.

[Covenanter]

Churches should be a place for Believers to gather as they wish. There should be no attempt to force segregation nor should there be attempts to force those who choose to segregate to integrate.

That's a sad attitude. All believers should be welcome in every Christian gathering, regardless of race & colour. I know black Christians formed black churches in England because they felt they were not welcome, & leadership positions were not available to them. It is our loss. Likewise there are Asian churches worshipping in their own languages. We have always tried to accommodate other languages, transliterating Asian language hymns for all to sing.

I learned to type Punjabi & Hindi.

[Guest]

I'm not sure who the author was, it isn't signed? So, I'm guessing this is Ed Stetzer's comments? We are a small country church however, we are on the route of the "Underground Railroad." Our community is racially integrated and so is our fellowship. We're probably non-typical and I hope we remain that way.

[OLD fashioned preacher]

That's a sad attitude. All believers should be welcome in every Christian gathering, regardless of race & colour. I know black Christians formed black churches in England because they felt they were not welcome, & leadership positions were not available to them. It is our loss. Likewise there are Asian churches worshipping in their own languages. We have always tried to accommodate other languages, transliterating Asian language hymns for all to sing.

I learned to type Punjabi & Hindi.

I understand what you're saying about the black church starting because of real or implied ostracism, but I think that perhaps one of us ( I think it was you, but, it may have been me) misread John's post.

He said that a church should not be forced to integrate, but he also said they should not be forced to segregate. That implies a belief that the gathering should not only be impartial, but without "quota" (for lack of a better term).

I know of Spanish speaking ministries that have MANY members who will not go to a non-Hispanic church because they are much more comfortable in their Hispanic setting and friends.

I know of Russian Baptist churches in the U.S. where the people prefer the Slavic style of service over the Western.

These churches to which I refer do not make someone different feel unwelcome (although the visitor may feel conscious of his own "oddity" (a black lady I grew up with called it feeling "like a fly in buttermilk"), but are you implying that they should be forced to disperse and get into more culturally, racially diverse churches in spite of their desire to exercise a freedom of free association?. Edited September 2, 2011 by OLD fashioned

[HappyChristian]

Our church is quite integrated - all nationalities, all economic levels, etc. The adult attendance is mostly white, while the bus attendance is predominantly black and hispanic. That isn't because we segregate, though. It's just the way things are (two of the cities our buses go into are predominantly black). Any one is welcome to come to our church.

A couple of cities over, there are black churches galore, there are Korean churches, etc. It is a truth that like draws to like, and people of the same language will attend church together. People that have the same familial culture will attend church together. Etc.

[swathdiver]

Churches should be a place for Believers to gather as they wish. There should be no attempt to force segregation nor should there be attempts to force those who choose to segregate to integrate.

Couldn't agree more. There are statists here who wish to force their values on the congregation. This statement of yours John doesn't imply racism at all. It's about liberty, something that was lost with the "civil rights" movement of the 1960s.

My church is a reflection of the demographics in our area, we have folks of all shapes, sizes, colors and nationalities. Concern for the right mix usually comes from statists; that was not a concern during Christ's or Paul's ministries! They cared about winning souls for Christ, ALL lost souls. I thank God that I'm a member of a church with a heavy burden for soul-winning!

[Invicta]

When my daughter worked in Long Island, NY, she went to the local chursh which turned out to be a black church. A little gorl said in that load whisper that children do said, "Mommy, there's a white lady."

[JerryNumbers]

The Services in what you would call white & or black churches in our area are 100% different. there be very few that will cross over because they do not like the style of services.

There is 100% difference in the way we sing our songs, song we are use to singing, when they sing them, they seem like a completely different song..

There is 100% difference in the way the pastors deliver their sermons. Several of the black churches use a pinoa & or & organ while the preacher preaches.

There's even a large difference in the way each group dresses.

Several of the black churches has a picture of Martin Luther King hanging directly behind & above their pulpits. The reason I know these thing are I have watched their services broadcast on our local TV station.

A pastor once told me they were picking up some black children on their bus route. One Sunday night one young black girl came forwards getting saved, and she wanted to be baptized. he would not do so without permission from her father & mother.

So the next week he visited her father & mother asking them permission to baptize her. The visit was very unfriendly & was asked to leave their house. Shortly the pastor got a phone call telling them their church bus had better not come into their area any longer, if it did there would be major problems for the bus & those on the bus. They went back into this community, there was major trouble, along with major trouble for the church building. After the bus stopped going through their area the trouble stopped.

I will add, the pastor was very surprised by the way they & their church was treated after the fact. For they had visited in this area & the black children they were picking up their parents were OK with it.

No one should try to force anything on any church or any people, when they try this it only causes much trouble. And even when its not forced on them it can stir up plenty of trouble.

[Wilchbla]

Churches should be a place for Believers to gather as they wish. There should be no attempt to force segregation nor should there be attempts to force those who choose to segregate to integrate.

I agree. Also, churches within larger metropolitan areas will most likely be more integrated. Edited September 3, 2011 by Wilchbla