Resources for Reconciliation
A Practical Plan for Achieving Racial Reconciliation
Step One: Hold a racial reconciliation service each year. This will give your congregation an annual
reminder and opportunity to evaluate your progress. On this day we encourage the members of your church to affirm
the clear position of God's Word on racial issues.
Step Two: Form a racial reconciliation task force to educate your congregation on racial issues and take
the lead in reconciliation efforts. The resources listed at the end of this article can help give the group a clearer
perspective of:
• What racism is and where it comes from
• The history of racism in America
• The biblical position embracing diversity
• What is being done to successfully deal with the problem
A newsletter from the National Association of Evangelicals/National Black Evangelical Association committee,
The Ambassador, will be sent upon request to your task force to keep them up to date. [Spirit-Filled
Life® Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), 907–908, note on Prov. 18:14.] This will provide
a forum for them to ask specific questions about the effort in your community.
Step Three: Plan to use the Racial Reconciliation elements of worship. This will lead your congregation
in an appropriate admission of the problem, confession, and restoration. Use the reproducible artwork enclosed
to print your own bulletin insert. The front cover of this brochure can also be used as a poster to alert your
congregation of this event.
Step Four: Begin a friendship with an individual of another race and encourage your congregation to do
the same
Step Five: Adopt a “sister church” of a different race. Plan joint activities. Hold a joint elder retreat,
a men's retreat, women's retreat, family night at a local gymnasium. Occasionally, participate in pulpit exchanges.
Invite families from the “sister church” over for a meal, etc.
Step Six: Commit to persistent prayer regarding racial reconciliation and encourage your congregation
to do the same.
Step Seven: Adopt a statement on racism similar to the one developed by the NBEA and NAE.
STATEMENT ON PREJUDICE AND RACISM
National Association of Evangelicals
National Black Evangelical Association
January 26–27, 1990
We have gathered as a group of Christians to address the resurgence of racism in the United States. Because
of the historical and current context in which we meet, we are addressing primarily the white-black expression
of racism: we recognize that other ethnic groups have also experienced oppression based on race.
We affirm the core conviction of our Judeo-Christian heritage: human life is created in God's image. This imago
dei is expressed in one human race (Acts 17:26), but that one humanity fully expresses God's image in a wealth
of diversity. A few obvious examples of diversity are maleness and femaleness, and colors of skin, eyes and hair.
There are more subtle diversities as well. These diversities are not intended to divide humans from one another;
rather they are to add to the wonder of life's wholeness as a gift from God.
We affirm another conviction of our Judeo-Christian roots: as a consequence of a fall from the original state,
humanity shares a sin nature. One of the marks of this sin nature, prejudice, is distributed among the diverse
parts of the whole humanity. This prejudice, rather than allowing celebration of the diversity of our one humanity,
causes the holders of prejudice to view those who are different as inferior, When one ethnic group is in a majority
or power position, its group prejudices against those who are minorities are often manifested in racism. Racism
is a prejudice plus power. Racism is therefore an institutionalized expression of a controlling group's prejudices.
There was diversity of motivation in the establishment of the United States as a nation, but woven throughout
its history was a pattern of racism by the white-dominated society that involved the displacement and destruction
of one race, the Native Americans, and the enslavement of yet another, the Africans. The historical record of how
white Europeans conquered North America by destroying native population and building their new nation's economy
on the backs of kidnapped Africans who had been turned into chattel are facts which must be acknowledged and confessed.
Racism is a foundational sin of the United States, fueled by economic greed and the exploitation of human and
natural resources. It has corrupted the foundations, institutions and cultural mores of this country. It has prevented
formation of a true cultural democracy. Racism has enslaved, impoverished, and oppressed people of color in America.
The concept of race must be seen as the sum total of what is known as the physical, psychological characteristics
that set one group apart from another. These distinctions are not seen as absolutes since it can be readily observed
that some basic characteristics thought to be unique to one group and often observed as part of the make-up of
another. This leads us to conclude that the racial group in its make-up can be absolutely separated from another.
These points on race must lead us to the repudiation of any and all myths concerning the inferiority of African-Americans,
such as: they are by nature childlike, that they came from the poorer stock of Africa, and that they gladly gave
up their own history and traditions to embrace the “superior” culture of their masters.
To appreciate the scope of sin against African-Americans, it is essential to understand the following points
of history:
1. The European Slave Trade began in 1444 A.D.
and continued infamously into the late 1800s. However, through the early 1600’s there were many blacks who came
to America as indentured servants, and who, after their service, were instrumental in building many early settlements.
They lost their freedom when slave traders and businessmen had colonial laws changed to accommodate economic considerations.
2. The recurrent history of America's sin of racism is the sting of continual promises, modest gains, followed
by a reversal of those gains which has resulted in entrenched prejudicial attitudes and continued economic disenfranchisement
for African Americans. The political gains of the 1860s and 70s were instantaneously halted because of white fear,
resulting in the inactment of Jim Crow laws that dehumanized African people in poverty and ignorance. Even today,
just twenty-five years after the civil rights movement of the 1960s, white American racism is flexing its economic
muscle against the African American community and rolling back the positive effects of Affirmative Action.
It must be acknowledged that large segments of Christianity in America have historically been allied with racist
institutions and attitudes. Racism attacks the core of the gospel message. It negates the reason for which Christ
died. It also denies the purpose of the church: to bring together, in Christ, those who have been divided from
one another. Racism has caused many Christians in American to use the Bible to defend segregation, and abandon
justice.
Racism is a severe and current sin. It
is an idolatry which makes God in the image of the controlling group and uses God to justify willful and/or unintended
evil against minority interest. The soul of the nation is under judgment for the talent drain of potential leaders
and for the psychological scarring of young blacks who are born in the ghetto but rarely have the opportunity to
develop. Racism has historically hindered us from benefiting from the fullness of God's gift to the nation, which
is embodied in what is gained from all the people.
The Psalmist asks, “When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The righteous can fill the
leadership vacuum by repenting individually and corporately. It will be necessary to re-educate white evangelicalism
into understanding that the pioneer black church has held one of the few authentic expressions of the Gospel in
America by holding fast to the conviction that God, through His word, was the authority in all matters of life;
that all humanity was created in God's image; and that humanity had eternal value evidenced by Christ's inclusive
death on the cross.
Although prejudice is a universal sin infecting all peoples, racism in America is basically a white problem.
Whites established practices, systems, and laws which entrenched racism, and in some instances, still perpetuate
it. Confession and repentance are essential starting points for the correction of any sinful past and they are
needed now in America if the rising tide of racism is to be turned back.
The black evangelical church, for its part, must commit itself to constructive protest of racism. This should
be combined with a readiness to forgive past wrongs. The black church must help blacks to regain a healthy sense
of pride in their identity. The Lordship of Christ must be brought to bear on the life of the black community as
well as that of the white community. Economic discipline and investment in the black community, inspired by a spiritual
rebirth of the black masses, will be the salvific hope of black America. We affirm that Salvation is in and by
Jesus Christ alone. The Gospel of love is transmitted through an inseparable package of faith and action. In and
through him we have hope for the life that is and that which is to come.
The white evangelical church must first repent of the sin of racism. It must examine its doctrine, policies, institutions, boards, agencies,
and para-church entities and remove any vestiges of prejudice and racism. It must also enter into a meaningful dialogue with black evangelical
leaders by means of establishing cultural exchanges on racism in the white community. Most importantly, it must
exert pressure for economic justice by witnessing within its own power structures. It must remove the institutional
barriers which hinder progress for blacks and other people of color. It must work to make restitution and repair
as soon as possible.
As persons redeemed by the atoning work of Christ, we commit ourselves to renewed efforts toward reconciliation
and harmony between people of diverse races. Together the entire evangelical community must and can reaffirm the
wonderful ethnic diversity among the body of Christ, while at the same time strengthening its unity. The credible
witness of the Church and perhaps the deliverance of the United States depends upon the joint evangelical community
effort to dismantle the structure of racism and prejudice. Together, we can create a community that will be a monumental
witness for Christ in modern times.
We go from this consultation determined to translate these intentions into actions which will exemplify among
human kind Christ's reconciling work.
RACIAL
RECONCILIATION
WORSHIP
GUIDE
“I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the
color of their skin but by content of their character.”
—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Scripture Reading
Reader: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.
Congregation: Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from
God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his
Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also
rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received reconciliation.
Reader: For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the
dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose
was to create in himself our new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both
of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death this hostility.
Congregation: In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the
Lord. And in him you too are becoming a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Reader: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed
to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal
through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf; be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for
us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Congregation: Jesus said … “If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your
brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your
brother; then come and offer your gift.”
Prayer of Racial Reconciliation
Father in heaven, we praise and thank you for your wonderful gift of life, as we acknowledge you, the one Creator
and Father of all human life. We thank you for the beautiful diversity with which you have blessed us, with such
a multitude of talents and gifts.
We do confess, Father, that we have sinned against you in our unwillingness to come together as one body in
Jesus Christ. We ask you to forgive us our sins of prejudice and racism, which have denied your blessed name before
the world, hindered the purpose of the church, and deeply hurt our brothers and sisters in Christ.
It is only with your strength that we can be the community of believers you would have us be. Blessed Holy Spirit,
empower us to commit ourselves to reconciliation and harmony with other believers, that the word of peace and reconciliation
through Christ can spread. Grand that we will be living witnesses to the love and peace which make all people one
in Christ Jesus our Lord. May the mind of Christ truly be in us that we may live and walk in his peace, holding
one another in his love, and modeling his commitment to unity.
We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of his body the Church. Amen.
After this prayer, we suggest a time of personal and corporate confession of racial sins and a time of commitment
to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3).
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord,
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of Wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword,
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps.
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps.
His day is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat,
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
O be swift, my soul, to answer Him, be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His being that transfigures you
and me;
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free!
While God is marching on.
Chorus:
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on!
For more information contact:
National Black Evangelical Association
P.O. Box 17122
Portland, OR 97217
Ph. 503–285-8028
National Association of Evangelicals
450 Gundersen Drive
Carol Stream, IL 60188Ph. 708–665-0500
From Race & Reconciliation: Healing the Wounds, Winning the
Harvest by Jack W. Hayford with Greg Howse and Michael Posey. Copyright 1996 by Jack W.
Hayford.
