MODULE 7: BARRIERS TO MULTIETHNIC UNITY IN THE CHURCH

View of a church from the front with black churchgoers on the left and white churchgoers on the right

The face of Apostle Paul with five black Africans walking in the desert in the back ground

Why Are Churches Segregated?

If we are going to build genuine multiethnic unity in the church we must understand how we became segregated and why segregation persists.

Neither Jew nor Greek

Paul was not saying that we should "look past color" and ignore ethnic/racial differences.

An old country church that is dilapidated

Unity Requires Civility

Unity in a multiethnic church requires that we be civil to those outside our political tribe.

Who Pays For Diversity?

Racially diversifying our churches does not lead to justice or unity.

Line of men that lhave similar suits, trentch coats, brief cases, hair cuts and glasses

Uniformity is Not Unity

When Jesus prays that we would be one, He was not praying for uniformity.

Racially diverse people worshiping in a multiethnic church

Case Against Agility

Agile decision making doesn't work well in multiethnic churches.

Two hands, one black one white, reaching towards each other in a church with the text "bridging the divide"

Holy Hostility

Biblical guidance on dealing with microaggressions in faith spaces.

Being Color Brave

Being color brave means actively embracing and celebrating the richness of diversity while confronting the challenges of racial differences with courage and compassion.

A wide variety of colorful flowers arranged around a white cross

E Pluribus Unum?

His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.