My pastor has a ministry of racial reconciliation. We often get the comment, “why do we need a racial reconciliation ministry? When you become a Christian, you should know to love people the way that God has instructed us to love”. I wish the world really worked that way!!! To me, that comment is just like saying, “why do we have to keep preaching about sin…when we get saved, sin goes away!” or “why are we preaching on healing and faith, when we get saved, we should just have faith and be healed because the Bible says so”. It’s interesting how many of these conferences that I’ve been to where people don’t even know that they have racial issues. If you’ve never encountered difference, you would never know that certain feelings about racism exist.
It’s so easy to have a homogenous church. I think the issues come when you have a heterogeneous church. Different styles of worship, different people from different walks of life. There are so many thoughts about what one should do when they worship, or when they sing or when they study the Bible. We always think that our way is the right way. I don’t think that one thing is wrong over the next thing, and that gives me freedom in worship.
One of the now deceased Mothers at our church once said, “If we can’t worship together now, what are we going to do when we get to heaven?”. It won’t be homogenous in heaven. Your way won’t be the only way.
Paul started the work with the church of Antioch. God has called us to finish the uncomfortable work. Get busy, church!
Acts 1:8, Acts 8:1,4, Matthew 28:18-20
Check out this link! http://www.cnnw.com/articles/articles05-00.html
