In the summer of 1993, entering my final year of seminary, I attended a chapel service that did what chapel services are supposed to do. It changed the trajectory of my life and started me on a journey that continues today. The speaker was Ted Ward, professor of educational ministries and missions at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. I was not prepared for what he said.
Dr. Ward talked about the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his call to the church in the 60s. Dr. Ward said that the white, evangelical church had been minimally involved in the civil rights movement. He provocatively asked if the church would respond any differently today. He asked us if we would be willing to become reconcilers and peacemakers. Ward said that racism was the single most important issue facing America. He provided plenty of documentation. I had no idea. I considered racism a significant issue, probably in the top 20, but hardly number one. Like many white evangelicals, I seldom thought about race matters. That began to change on that summer day in 1993.
That chapel service with Ted Ward together with Barbara’s passionate response to the Rodney King verdict moved me to action. My own thinking was far removed from the positions being taken by these two Christian leaders, but I was convinced that I at least needed to do some study in this area to become better informed. InterVarsity Press had just published a book by Spencer Perkins and Chris Rice titled More than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel. All InterVarsity staff members were encouraged to read it.
I wanted to read and discuss the book with a person of color. Jean-Luc was the president of the Black Student Union at Amherst College and had some involvement with the Christian Fellowship. Although I did not know him well, I really did not know any other black students and thought he might be my only option. When I met with Jean-Luc at the campus center I could not have imagined what I was really asking of him, or what I would be getting into myself.
Adapted with permission from A Transforming Vision: Multiethnic Fellowship in College and in the Church by Paul Sorrentino (IVP). The book is available at leading book stores including Amazon.
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Where Everyone Is Uncomfortable, and that’s OK
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A Case for Continuing Monoethnic Minority Fellowships
