Maybe the biggest barrier to genuine multiethnic unity in the American church is the fact that we primarily worship in segregated churches.  In his book High Definition Leader, Derwin Grey says, “The average church in America is ethnically and socioeconomically segregated; granted, sometimes this is because of demographics, but most of the time it’s by choice fueled by indifference, prejudices, petty preferences, or ignorance of the gospel.  Instead of being fueled by Jesus’ heart for reconciliation, we are fueled by the status quo.”

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It’s important that we understand when and why this originated. 

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In The Color of Compromise, Jemar Tisby tells us that there would be no Black church without racism in the White church.  “Racial segregation in the Christian churches occurred in the eighteenth century in large part because White believers did not oppose the enslavement of African persons.  Instead, Christians sought to reform slavery and evangelize the enslaved.  In the process, they learned to rationalize the continued existence of slavery.”  The Christian church grew in the 1730s and 1740s, but the racial hierarchy remained firmly entrenched in the church and society.  Northern Christians began to speak out against slavery, yet they did not speak out against racism for fear of miscegenation.  Due to this fear, church leaders frequently called for the establishment of segregated congregations and resisted initiating Black people into the church leadership or designating them as elders.

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While Black Christians left White churches and denominations en masse after the Civil War, the formation of African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) stands as an early example of Black Christians exercising agency to escape racism in the church and form their own more affirming fellowships.  Jemar Tisby writes, ‘one Sunday in 1792, Richard Allen and fellow Black minister Absalom Jones entered St. George’s to worship.  Unknowingly, they took seats reserved for White parishioners and thus violated the segregated seating arrangements.  They knelt to pray but one of the church’s White trustees soon interrupted them.  Allen recounts the episode in his autobiography:

 

We had not been long upon our knees before I heard considerable scuffling and low talking.  I raised my head up and saw one of the trustees, H—M--, having hold of the Rev. Absalom Jones, pulling him up off of his knees, and saying, “You must get up – you must not kneel here.” Mr. Jones replied, “Wait until prayer is over.”  Mr. H—M—said “No, you must get up now, or I will call for aid and I force you away.”  Mr. Jones said, “Wait until prayer is over, and I will get up and trouble you no more.”

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The White trustees insisted that Jones leave immediately.  Another trustee came over to help pull up the Black worshipers.  The prayer ended, and Allen recalled, “We all went out of the church in a body, and they were no more plagued with us in the church.”  Using his own money and plot of land he had previously purchased, Allen helped start the Bethel African Church in Philadelphia in 1794.  Since so many Black Methodists faced similar racial obstacles with their White coreligionists, Allen helped found the African Methodist Episcopal denomination in 1816 and became its first bishop.’

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Given this history, how do we unwind our segregated churches and start building genuine multiethnic unity?  It’s not enough to simply say that our churches welcome everyone.  For many black Christians, feeling welcomed requires more than a warm smile and firm handshake.  They need to see deliberate actions by predominantly white churches to abandon racial hierarchies and embrace diversity.  This includes representation in leadership, worship bands, and church boards.  It means valuing and speaking about issues of race and acknowledging structural racism.  Let’s strive to create churches where all feel genuinely welcome and valued.

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The ultimate goal is not diversity but bringing glory to God through unity.  But how do we make progress towards building multiethnic unity?  Segregated local churches are the result of past racism and to a large extent, the absence of present unity resulting from the racial hierarchies that persist in our churches.  While racism leads to segregation, segregation also drives racism.  Korie Edwards summarizes it well in her book: The Elusive Dream: The Power of Race in Interracial Churches. “Homogenous churches actually entrench racism.  In these echo chambers our biases are never challenged; they are only entrenched.”  The first step towards the unity Jesus calls us to is to unwind segregation and seek diversity in both our churches and our personal relationships.

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If the American church wants to become relevant again, we must be deliberate about becoming more diverse, and as we become more diverse, we must be deliberate about tearing down the racial hierarchies in our churches.  The reality is that until our churches and personal relationships become more diverse, we will be unable to even see the racial hierarchies that persist in our churches.