In fact, he says, multiracial worship is a catalyst for church growth in today’s divided world. But John Perkins, a longtime trailblazer and ambassador of reconciliation, counters that a gospel of church growth cannot substitute for a gospel of reconciliation - because the only purpose of the gospel is to reconcile people to God and each other. For white American Christians, Lincoln says, it means the ability to pursue one’s individual destiny without interference.Īnother argument given for leaving things as they are is based on the theory of the “homogenous unit” as crucial to church growth. For African-American believers, this freedom means the absence of any restraints causedīy injustice. In the Black Church, God is seen as an avenging force for liberation he conquers oppression and injustice in the same way that he liberated the Israelites from bondage in Egypt.Īlthough black and white Christians agree on the core message of salvation, Lincoln argues that they differ on the biblical concept of freedom from the bondage of sin. Instead, they reflect an entirely different Christian worldview. ![]() Although there have been African-American believers in denominations governed by white Americans - the Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Lutheran churches, for instance - Lincoln’s definition includes seven major historic black denominations: the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (A.M.E.Z.) Church the Christian Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E.) Church the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Incorporated (N.B.C.) the National Baptist Convention of America, Unincorporated (N.B.C.A.) the Progressive National Baptist Convention (P.N.B.C.) and the Church of God in Christ (C.O.G.I.C.).īlack churches, suggests Lincoln, should not be viewed as replicas of the white churches from which they were excluded. ![]() Eric Lincoln defines “the Black Church” in America as the independent, historic, and completely black-controlled denominations founded during slavery. In his book The Black Church in the African American Experience (Durham Duke University Press, 1990), C. In fact, a number of compelling reasons are often given for leaving things exactly as they are.įirst, some argue for preserving the unique historic and theological identity of the Black Church. But centuries of separation between black and white Christians in America can make Christ’s call to “oneness” seem unachievable. Jesus prayed for his followers to “be one,” as he and God are one (John 17:21). He can use the Black Church today to help heal and transform our dividedness. And because by virtue of my longtime work equipping young black leaders, I am uniquely positioned both to value the historic Black Church and to envision a new future.Throughout Scripture - and throughout American history - we see God using the rejected and the despised to bring about social transformation and to address issues of injustice. I ask the question directly of the Black Church because it is my church. It is this divine appeal that compels me to ask the Black Church: “How ready are you, as ‘the rejected stones,’ to lead us to a place where the promise of racial reconciliation becomes the reality of racial unity in the Church today?” It is the appeal of the cross and of grace over the attraction of single-race worship in the Black Church and the White Church, totally separated historically and today. Is it now possible for us to no longer see Americans in black and white, but in technicolor?īeyond these developments, however, there stands an even more powerful force with the potential to create an environment for racial reconciliation in the Church. And these are just some of the most visible ways in which the United States has begun to move into an era in which the national conversation about race is characterized less by polarizing extremes than by cross-racial ideas. ![]() But I believe that recent developments in our national life could help spark a move from centuries of alienation to a new era of racial unity - including a move toward multiracial worship.Īmong these trends are the historic election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president of the United States a new generation of post-Civil-Rights-MovementĪfrican-American politicians, business executives, and civic leaders seeking to transcend the issue of race a growing number of high-profile biracial and multiracial celebrities with cross-racial allegiances and a recent House of Representatives apology for slavery and segregation. This history of separation in which the Church has been mired began during slavery and persists today. ![]() President of Skinner Leadership Instituteĭespite the biblical mandate for reconciliation and community, the Black Church and the White Church in America have long been divided. The Black Church and the Promise of Racial Reconciliation
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