Know. Own. Change: Journeying Towards God's Heart for ReconciliationMuestra

Know The Story of Race and the Church

“We must face the fact that the church is still the most segregated major institution in America. At 11:00am on Sunday morning when we stand and sing and Christ has no east or west, we stand at the most segregated hour in this nation. This is tragic. Nobody of honesty can overlook this.”

I love and I hate this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was merely making an assessment based on what he observed and experienced in the church. He was offering a cultural exegesis. I love the accuracy with which Dr. King exegetes his context in his period. Segregation was legal and common. These exegetical treaties could not have been more true.

I hate this quote because 60 years later, it is still true.

How, Why & What

I believe we must go beyond the statement that 11am on Sunday morning is the most segregated moment of the week. We must start asking how? Why? and What? As in How is this true 60 years laters? Why are we still in the same place? And what is the church going to do about it?

The Church must model the destination for all the world to see.

We need to know the story of race in America. We need to know the story of race and the church. We need to know one another’s story. Because the stories we share matter. They tell us where we have been and offer us an explanation on why we exist in the state that we do.

A Short History:

We define racism as the sin of having power over another resulting in partiality that impedes the flourishing of individuals and ethnic groups; this sin can be committed through intentional and passive actions. It is evinced on both an individualized and structural basis, affecting individuals and the systems of society. We believe that we as a nation and the church have been complicit in the creation and the propagation of racism. Here’s a flyover:

Slavery existed legally in the US from 1619 to 1863 and ended with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. However, it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, that the final enslaved people were freed.

That’s 246 years of buying, selling, and trafficking people for financial gain.

The backlash against the emancipation of black people was swift. The next period brought about Black Codes, the turn into Jim Crow laws, and maintained the social caste system that saw White people as superior and Black people as inferior. This would last 100 years.

The signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Voting Rights of 1965, put an end to overt legislated racism. In the post-Civil Rights period we've seen many advancements. But also, many great challenges.

History in Mathematical Terms

Let’s consider for a moment the history of America in mathematical terms. From the founding of the first permanent American settlement in 1607 through 2021 is 414 years. Slavery lasted 246 years. Black Codes and Jim Crow lasted 103 years. That is more than 86% of our history as a nation.

Let’s suppose that I (Josh) were married for ten years, and 86 percent of my marriage was steeped in hate, violence, exploitation, and intentional hurt. Should I expect the next 14 percent, or 1.4 years, where equality was possible—not pursued, but possible—to be free of conflict and residual trauma? Will the 14 percent undo the trauma of our history together?

Surely not. It is the same with the American experiment.

May God hasten the day when we outlive the evils of the past and embrace our future as one people, united by God, indivisible, that justice may reign for all.