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Bishop Robert G. Rudolph, Jr.

Church of God in Christ

My mind goes back to when I was in first grade until the time I graduated from High School – that was the first class where we had a fully integrated school system, which was a first, not for us, but a first for our parents. And so, myself and the other children I grew up with, it was not an issue because it was how we were raised. We knew we were different because we were black and white, but we were raised a certain way, so it was different. Whereas looking back on it now, I can imagine that it was probably more difficult for our parents. And I never really thought about this until recently. But what keeps coming back to me is that our parents did what they had to do, and we did what we had to do. 

In this situation that [my] country is dealing with right now, we need to understand that if we want something to happen and want it to happen for the best, we will have to do it. And that’s how I felt about the situation when I was growing up, and I feel the same way now. 

The church community has to come to a point where we say, “this is right, this is wrong, and we are going to be on the right side of history on this one and do everything we can to make a difference for the whole community.” The Bible tells us, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for a believer to dwell together in unity.” And I think that the only way our country (and the world) can go from one point to another and bring about peace in our world today needs to be through the unity of the church. Regardless of what denomination, regardless of what mindset and what you believe, to me it is significant for us to come together. Watch the video for the full interview:

Once you watch the video and read the bible references, spend time with the Lord reflecting on the following:

·  What does biblical “unity” actually look like? 

·  Why does the unity of the Church matter in our world today?

·  Is unity possible without ethnic and denominational diversity?

·  Who is responsible for pursuing unity with others in the Church?