Recommended Initiatives for Reconciliation

www.agts.edu/resources/racism/racism.htm Recommended Initiatives for Reconciliation ÿ 3 Initiatives of Top Priority: 1 Theological Initiative; 1 Rel...
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www.agts.edu/resources/racism/racism.htm

Recommended Initiatives for Reconciliation

ÿ 3 Initiatives of Top Priority: 1 Theological Initiative; 1 Relational Initiative; 1 Practical Initiative.

ÿ 4 Initiatives of Secondary Priority ÿ 3 Initiatives for Future Consideration

The New Jersey District of the Assemblies of God ad hoc Committee for Reconciliation,

Committee Members:

April, 1997

Chairman Rev. Ed Spinola, Rev. Greg Capers, Rev. Otto Wegner, Rev. Zollie Smith Jr., Rev. Winston Broomes, Rev. Gloria Broomes, Rev. Scott Temple Rev. Timothy Harris, Rev. Jack Schell

INDEX

PAGE

ÿ Introduction

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ÿ One page list of Initiatives

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ÿ Expanded list of Top Priority Initiatives

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ÿ Expanded list of Secondary Initiatives

9-10

ÿ Expanded list of Initiatives for the Future

11-12

ÿ Outstanding Articles about Reconciliation

13-17

ÿ Assembly of God General Council Resolutions

18-20

ÿ Southern Baptist Convention Resolution

21-22

ÿ NJ District of the AG Resolutions

23-24

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following people who greatly assisted me in the preparation of this report: Chairman & Members of NJ A/G ad hoc Committee for Reconciliation, esp. Z. Smith & G. Capers; Executive Officers and Presbytery of the NJ District of the AG, esp. Joseph Beretta & Donald Veater; A/G General Superintendent Thomas Trask & General Secretary George Wood for their leadership; William Douglas, the A/G minister who initiated the A/G 1995 General Council Resolution 25; Spencer Perkins & Chris Rice, authors and co-directors of The Reconciler’s Fellowship, P.O. Box 32 Jackson, MS 39205, 1-800-354-1563, for their website, RACE & RECONCILIATION ONLINE. Articles on this website are the source for the edited articles, some quotes, and many helpful contacts; Rudy Carrasco, Assistant Director of the Harambee Center in Pasadena, CA, reconciliation writer for Christianity Today, Today’s New Man, etc., and a helpful advisor. [email protected]; Rick Wilson, TV producer from Grand Rapids, MI and member of First Assembly of God, Grand Rapids, Wayne Benson, Pastor, for his input and vision. (616) 531-0301, [email protected]; Gary L. Frost, Southern Baptist Convention leader who provided support and the Baptist Resolution; Glenn C. Loury, Professor of the Department of Economics at Boston University, and the Director of The Institute on Race and Social Division at Boston University, for his encouragement and support; R. Tomas Acosta, esq., former Deputy Commissioner of Human Rights in NYC, and present Federal Judge for Manhattan, for his counsel; Blake Tiemann & Robert Parlante, Pastoral Staff at Englewood Assembly of God, Englewood, NJ; Rolando Acosta, Tennyson Walters, & Pat Murray, Deacons at Englewood A/G, for their input; The Englewood Assembly of God congregation, “God’s U.N.,” for their example, love, and prayers. Report prepared by Rev. Scott Temple, 3581 S. Kansas Ave, Springfield, MO 65807 (417) 883-4966 2

Recommended Initiatives of Reconciliation for the NJ Presbytery In Noah Webster’s dictionary of 1828, he defined the word reconcile as meaning: “to call into union and friendship those who have been in opposition…, (accomplished when) no cloud of anger shall remain, but peace assured.” The NJ District ad hoc Committee for Reconciliation issues this report as a means of furthering the mandate of General Council Resolution 25, “Use of Black Ministries.” The NJ District embraced Resolution 25 at the 1996 District Council with its’ own Resolution. 5 -fold mandate of the 1996 New Jersey District Council resolution is as follows: 1“That this Council embrace the 1995 General Council’s Resolution 25 and its’ initiative for reconciliation with our black brothers and sisters;” 2-

“an ad hoc Committee for Reconciliation be appointed;”

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“to research initiatives that will effectively ‘enhance and accelerate’ full integration in fellowship and leadership within the District;”

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“that the initiatives be reviewed regularly by the District Presbytery with representative(s) of the Committee for Reconciliation;”

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“that the Committee’s recommendations be presented at the 1997 New Jersey District Council for adoption.”

The initiatives in this report are recommended ways to fulfill this mandate. They will need further research and review, but they are presented as is so that the process may begin. The proposed initiatives seek to fulfill the 3-fold mandate of the Assemblies of God: 1) EVANGELISM – To reach a divided world, we need to present a united front. If we are one, then the world will be won. If we drink from one Spirit, then our unity in Christ will shine forth a light that will draw souls to God. 2) EXALTATION – To worship God in Spirit and in Truth. If we are to do God’s will on earth as it is done in Heaven, then ideally our worship should be done in a multi-ethnic setting. For those who surround the Lamb’s throne in Heaven are from every nation (“ethnos”). 3) EDIFICATION – God has called us to love one another, as Jesus sacrificially loved us. Jesus calls us to be a selfless neighbor to those of different ethnic background than us. We are one race, all descended from Adam. We are our brother’s keeper.

The recommended initiatives are given in a strategic order of priority. They are set forth in the order that seems best to implement genuine reconciliation. The Theological Initiative is given top priority since those pursuing reconciliation should agree upon a theology that guides and motivates every initiative. The initiatives are listed again with added support material. This material includes quotes by leaders in the NJ District, as well as from nationally recognized leaders. Finally, an appendix of outstanding articles on reconciliation, including AG resolutions and the Southern Baptist Convention resolution, are included for your information.

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3 Initiatives given top priority to implement reconciliation in NJ AG (1) THEOLOGICAL INITIATIVE We request the New Jersey District assist in developing multi-ethnic churches by having “Reconciliation” as the theme for either a District Council or a Minister’s Institute. In addition, in order to broaden our constituency’s awareness of the issues, we suggest a Christian Education Convention adopt “Reconciliation” as the main session theme. The goal of this emphasis is to help establish and embrace a solid theology of reconciliation. The District also should provide more leadership training opportunities for ethnic pastors. (2)RELATIONAL INITIATIVE Encourage and help organize multi-ethnic pulpit and choir exchanges. testimonies about the benefits enjoyed through these exchanges.

Publish

(3) PRACTICAL INITIATIVE Encourage NJ Assemblies to reach out with practical expressions of care to needy churches. This care should especially help urban churches in their efforts to evangelize their cities and to raise up new leadership. Develop partnerships between churches to provide ministerial scholarships for youth in urban churches. This could be overseen by the District, perhaps even granting World Mission credit to donor churches. This help shouldn’t be an occasional handout, but rather a commitment to partnership based upon an ongoing relationship. Other key Initiatives for the Standing Committee to consider: ÿ Establish a column in the Advance for the Standing Committee on Reconciliation. ÿ Encourage attendance at Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America conferences. The next PCCNA Conference is Sept., 97, in Wash., DC. ÿ Consider following the spirit of 1995’s General Council Resolution 6, establishing an ethnic executive presbyter, by opening as many leadership opportunities as possible for minorities. ÿ Encourage and help Assemblies organize multi-ethnic and multi-cultural worship

events throughout the state. Reconciliation.”

These could be called, “Celebrations of

Secondary Initiatives to consider in the future: ÿ Request that an upcoming General Council adopt reconciliation as its’ theme. ÿ As the AG joined Men’s Ministry with Promise Keepers, the District promotes PK. ÿ Organize and sponsor “Symposiums of Reconciliation” at school campuses. This strategy for the implementation of reconciliation was developed by members of the NJ District of the Assemblies of God ad hoc Committee for Reconciliation. April, 1997

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RACISM I learned something new today. Once we had laws that made black people use different drinking fountains and go to different schools. But now that the laws don’t keep up apart, what does? Microsoft ad

Expanded List of Recommended Initiatives with Support Material (1) THEOLOGICAL INITIATIVE We request the New Jersey District assist in developing multi-ethnic churches by having “Reconciliation” as the theme for either a District Council or a Minister’s Institute. In addition, in order to broaden our constituency’s awareness of the issues, we suggest a Christian Education Convention adopt “Reconciliation” as the main session theme. The goal of this emphasis is to help establish and embrace a solid theology of reconciliation. The District also should provide more leadership training opportunities for ethnic pastors. “This is a Kairos moment” Don Argue

I like the way reconciliation is going to be a theme at many conferences, meetings, and gatherings. Again, let it be “reconciliation”, not necessarily “reconciliation with black.” People need time to scripturally study reconciliation, and to let Jesus be the instructor. Rudy Carrasco More than Equals by Spencer Perkins, Chris Rice; Breaking Down Walls by Raleigh Washington, Glen Kehrein are absolute MUST reading for anyone dealing with this subject. Rick Wilson At the Atlantic City Urban Bible Training Center… Berean University is supplying the course, Multicultural Ministries..., the material over-all is really good. Possibly headquarters could offer this course to A/G Pastors and Workers across the nation at a reduced rate. Jack Schell

Today’s busters… think that if you’re not being multiethnic in your endeavors, you’re not real. They see the diversity everywhere else in society, but if they don’t see it in the church, they think the church is superficial. Dave Gibbons, Pastor of New Song Church

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(2) RELATIONAL INITIATIVE Encourage and help organize multi-ethnic pulpit and choir exchanges. Publish testimonies about the benefits enjoyed through these exchanges.

RELATIONSHIP OVERCOMES FEAR RELATIONSHIP OPENS DOORS RELATIONSHIP FOSTERS INTERDEPENDENCE: Racism can only be effectively defeated through our relationships with Christ and with one another & especially those “one anothers” we instinctively distrust. When the walls of fear and suspicion come down through His love, we’ll see with His eyes how much we need Him and each other. Rick Wilson

“To many non-Whites, “integration” seems to mean “adopt the white way of doing things.” If there is an already existing Black structure, what it may be interpreted as is “drop your existing Black structure and adopt the white way of doing things and let the whites determine what Blacks will do and where they will be positioned.” For those with existing structures, that will not be cause for great enthusiasm.” Rudy Carrasco

“Reconciliation is not a project but a lifestyle that won’t be complete until Our Lord comes. At what point are we “reconciled” with black ministries? What about the issues of separatism among both Black and White groups? As I see it, I know that a lot of Black and Latino Christians are even less enthusiastic about “reconciling” than some Whites I know. I think that to push reconciliation as a value will challenge all Christians who come near this work, not just whites seeking to reach blacks.” Rudy Carrasco

“We won’t automatically experience the unity Christ has provided for us through his death. It will take work for us, just as it did for the first disciples. And we will have to die to self, to give up any ethno-cultural values and customs that prove divisive. Dawn Swaby-Ellis, M.D.

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(3) PRACTICAL INITIATIVE Encourage NJ Assemblies to reach out with practical expressions of care to needy churches. This care should especially help urban churches in their efforts to evangelize their cities and to raise up new leadership. Develop partnerships between churches to provide ministerial scholarships for youth in urban churches. This could be overseen by the District, perhaps even granting World Mission credit to donor churches. This help shouldn’t be an occasional handout, but rather a commitment to partnership based upon an ongoing relationship. “It is a painful truth that the white Evangelical church was not only on the sidelines but in many cases on the wrong side of the most central struggle for social justice in this century. We come today bearing the burden of that past, with broken hearts, a repentant spirit, and ready hands.” Ralph Reed, Christian Coalition Executive Director

A local ministry that is working hard in their neighborhood with the poor will know exactly what they need. What is hard oftentimes is for the giver to trust the local, Black-run ministry to know what is good and right. It sounds weird, but it’s true. Just find some great ministries in your area, ask them what they need, and give it to them. They may say, yes, we’ll take canned goods and clothes (we at Harambee will). But how about sending a steady stream of volunteers to man our youth program? How about sending work groups to inner city Jersey instead of to a one-week short-term in a foreign country? How about that group bringing $400 to fund the work they will do at the local ministry? How about having some young people from that ministry join your youth at an AG camp? You see how creative this could get? But you will never know unless you ask that Black ministry what they need. It’s not all on one church. It’s seven or eight churches, and each one does a little bit, but cumulatively, IT’S A LOT. Especially the volunteer labor. We are able to keep a modest budget and small full-time staff, but still do huge ministry, because of our volunteers who come from these networks. These volunteers all seem to know each other, too. What I’m saying is that your AG denomination could have a great impact in a certain area. There is probably a cluster of churches and ministries in a black-area of Jersey who the AGs could plug into. The denomination would encourage member churches to volunteer and support these ministries. Send work groups, send Sunday school classes, exchange pulpits, do outreach, contribute financially. Then you can make a great impact, build relationships (this is the biggest, building relationships where trust and reconciliation can be fostered), and out of that you will develop some great leaders. It wouldn’t be in a vacuum, but it would be a basic development of these principles. It doesn’t have to be a giant splash. Small and steady is often greater than big, flashy and short. Rudy Carrasco

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“We need to bring home the concept of institutional racism. It is not enough to simply have District leadership individually denounce racism and embrace reconciliation. They need to demonstrate Christ’s love by having the institutions they oversee reflect the needs of everyone including people of African descent. Part of the bitterness and even the impetus for separatists is precisely the historical oppression by “the church”. In Latin America it was mostly the Catholic Church preserving the status quo by improperly shielding itself behind Jesus. Evangelicals are likewise seen as folks who don’t necessarily care about the nonspiritual well being of people. Tomas Acosta

“Body Builders” Serve Black and White Congregations … host a men’s breakfast on the first Saturday of every month… publicized through the church announcements and weekly bulletins… The men show up bright and early for breakfast and a short devotional in the Word, and then we break up into work teams and minister to the single moms and the elderly of our church with the gifts and talents God has equipped us with. These men of God always wanted to use their gifts to glorify the Lord, but were reluctant to just start. However as I led them within the structure of this ministry it became easy for them. They don’t have to worry about uncomfortable conversations with the ones in need. They know that I’ve screened the applicants properly and that these are people who are really in need. They just arrive on the scene, do their thing, and be Jesus with skin on. On hearing Coach McCartney’s heart at PK 95 I asked the Lord to show me how He wanted me to lead our men. Everything unfolded so beautifully I knew that it had to be God. I approached a minister of a nearby, predominantly black church, and we planned a Body Builders workday in which their men and our men could work side by side doing handy man projects on both the black and white widows’ houses. The beauty of this arrangement is that men need some sort of activity to gather around, and as they do they develop relationships. We men find it hard most times to just sit and talk, but get us working on something like a game or a work project and we begin to relate to each other, the stereotypes disappear and the walls come down… For any of you who may be interested in setting up something like this please contact me. I’ve forged a path, made mistakes, and learned a few things. This is a perfect vehicle for reconciliation. Gennarino DeStefano, Pastor Men’s Ministries, Calvary Chapel, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Running, leaping and hopping, four thousand teenage boys traversed the length of the L.A. Coliseum, rousting the 50,000 men attending the recent Promise Keepers conference to their feet…, “We love you!” … it’s now crucially important that these Promise Keepers go on to buttress their expressions of love by sacrificial commitment to these young men. Rudy Carrasco

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ÿ 4 Initiatives of Secondary Priority ÿ Establish a column in Advance for the Standing Committee on Reconciliation We need to talk — and the issue is not how to grow more churches, but how to grow more churches that look like Christ. Professor William Pannell, Fuller Theological Seminary

ÿ Encourage attendance at Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America conferences. The next PCCNA Conference is Sep., 97, in Wash., DC. “The leadership of PCCNA is dedicated to the founding vision of the Pentecostal revival enunciated at Azusa Street in Los Angeles, CA in 1906…, through the power of the Holy Spirit we not only repent of but squarely confront our sins of color and cultural racism and sexism. We are deeply committed to correcting the oppressions of people of color and women around the world, in our personal behavior, cultural attitudes, and above all, in all our social and religious structures. We will be able to rediscover the Biblical vision that has all too often been obscured by the American dream. We can renew our churches and redeem the soul of our nation.” Church of God in Christ Bishop Ithiel C. Clemmons, PCCNA President

ÿ Consider following the spirit of 1995’s General Council Resolution 6, establishing an ethnic executive presbyter, by opening as many leadership opportunities as possible for minorities. “I think that having leadership in the district reflective of the body of Christ is true integration… Seeing people who look like you in positions of leadership breaks down the walls of separation and allows you to go beyond... to Jesus.” Tomas Acosta

“Where discrimination still exists, or where the scars of past discrimination still contaminate and disfigure the present, we must not close our eyes to it, declare a level playing field, and hope it will go away by itself. It did not in the past. It will not in the future.” Retired General Colin Powell, Republican National Convention, August 12, 1996

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ÿ Encourage and help Assemblies organize multi-ethnic and multi-cultural worship events throughout the state. These could be called, “Celebrations of Reconciliation.” Why does it ‘just happen’ that 11 a.m. on Sunday is America’s most segregated hour? Why does it ‘just happen’ that our close friends usually don’t include people of other races? Reconciliation doesn’t ‘just happen.’ In the Good Samaritan story Jesus points out that the Samaritan had to go out of his way to love the person it was most difficult for him to love. It wasn’t normal, convenient, or comfortable to love the Jew by the side of the road. We have to be willing, like him, to go out of our way. Spencer Perkins and Chris Rice

At 11:00 a.m. Sunday, June 30, 1996, 5,000 Christians, black, white, Asian and Hispanic, experienced “a taste of heaven” as they worshipped together in a massive service of reconciliation. Thirty-three churches in Eastern Prince William County, Virginia, took the unprecedented step of shutting down their morning services in order to come together and glorify Jesus Christ, demonstrate unity in Him, and foster racial and denominational reconciliation. Called “A Taste of Heaven,” the service gave worshipers a preview of heaven itself, where people from every people and language and tribe and nation gather around the throne of God. For the past year, the Eastern Prince William Ministerial Association has put racial reconciliation at the top of its agenda. In February, more than 1,200 people gathered for a program entitled “The Color of Fear,” taking a stand against racism and learning to talk more openly together. Following “The Color of Fear,” a few pastors met and talked about next steps. They felt that, as Christians, the most important thing they could do would be to worship together. They envisioned a simple, Sunday afternoon service, but God had a different idea. As the leaders of local congregations prayed about it, they heard God say that He wanted this service to be held in prime time. Given the oft-quoted statement that 11:00am Sunday morning is the most racially segregated hour in American life, they knew God was calling them to a new depth of unity in Christ. And so God brought it about: 33 churches together at 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning. They came in celebration of their oneness in Christ, but also in repentance, confessing their sins of racism and denominationalism, which have too long kept them apart. The offering was given to the efforts to rebuild the burned black churches and to a local, ecumenical human needs agency. Following the service, two pastors, one black and one white, left for Greene County, Alabama to join a work team reconstructing one of the firebombed churches. All the glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. Rev. John A. M. Guernsey, President of the Eastern Prince William Ministerial Association

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ÿ 3 Initiatives for Future Consideration ÿ

Request that a General Council adopt reconciliation and related topics as its’ theme.

“Continued emphasis on the ministry of reconciliation allows people like to me to feel complete.” Tomas Acosta

I’m encouraged that our fellowship is making such a concerted effort to deal with reconciliation which I view as THE most important challenge confronting the church right now. Rick Wilson Let’s face it. Too many Blacks and Whites look at each other through ‘race-colored’ glasses. But that, too, is about to change, for God is speaking to us in the black community. Racism and oppression are from the very pit of hell. Now is the time for us to stand up and speak out, to put a stop to the undercurrent of racism that we so politely tolerate. Only the church can strike the lethal blow at the very roots of racism and oppression, hatred and bigotry. Only the church, through its teaching and yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit, can change the minds and attitudes of people. Jefferson D. Edwards, Jr., Purging Racism from Christianity, (Zondervan Publ., 1996)

ÿ As the AG joined Men’s Ministry with Promise Keepers, the District Men’s Ministry promotes Promise Keepers. Promise Keepers has emphasized racial reconciliation since its inception in 1991, but now, in an executive staff reorganization, reconciliation has become an integral part of the organization’s structure. PK’s new reconciliation division is appointing a national strategic manager for each major racial group in an effort to attract a more diverse constituency. At the helm of the department is AfricanAmerican Raleigh Washington, who will retain his post as senior pastor of Chicago’s Rock of Our Salvation Evangelical Free Church, flying from PK headquarters in Denver to preach two or three times a month. Among PK’s 437-member staff, 30 percent are minorities: 16 percent black, 13 percent Hispanic, and 1 percent Native American. Less than 1 percent are Asian. “These numbers are unparalleled among evangelical organizations,” according to Washington. The attempt to make the ethnic makeup of PK better resemble that of the nation has been deliberate. The old saying is “We’d like to hire more minorities, but it’s hard to find anyone qualified,’’ says Steve Chavis, PK director of communication. “What little credibility that saying had before, we’ve been able to blast through.” Christianity Today 1/2/97

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ÿ Organize and sponsor “Symposiums of Reconciliation” at school campuses. (In February, 1997) I sat with my eyes closed in a pew in Harvard’s Memorial Chapel and listened… as a rainbow coalition of Christian students rose one by one to confess their racial sins to one another. A few days later, at our nation’s oldest public university, two University of North Carolina students escorted Spencer Perkins and me through a gauntlet of fraternity houses… on our way to speak a message of racial reconciliation, expecting a nominal turnout from a nonchalant crowd. What we faced turned out to be an eager, standing-room-only crowd of 1,000 students; with 200 more listening in on closed-circuit TV. Here in Mississippi, at a symposium on race relations at Jackson’s Belhaven College, we listened again as students rose to face each other and confess the desire to overcome their pasts. One was ashamed of his all-white private school upbringing, in a segregated institution started by a church during racial integration in the 70s. Another confessed bitterness that remained after the verbal abuse she experienced at a predominantly black public school. A black student rose to say he had experienced the same thing from white students in his high school, but then challenged everybody to sit with someone they didn’t know at lunch that day. Twenty years ago, when I was in college, Christian students weren’t asking these questions, or making these challenges, or daring to take the risky steps that I have encountered among students from Mississippi to Wisconsin, and from Cambridge to North Carolina. I am beginning to think that the upcoming generation, experiencing scars of divorce and dysfunction, is ready for a gospel that is willing to take on the pain of the world. Chris Rice

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Outstanding Articles and Recent Resolutions on Reconciliation Pockets of Hope, by John Perkins, Race & Reconciliation Online, February 19, 1997 Today our racial challenge seems as difficult as ever. Many may scoff at the idea that Christianity offers an answer to this nagging problem. Certainly we Christians have failed in the past. We have kept step with the world in separating along racial lines, and in all the confusion about race, we have failed to give leadership. But there is an awakening taking place. It’s as if the sleeping giant known as the Church is beginning to emerge from a long nap—awakening to its commission to be God’s reconciling force on the earth. In pockets of hope around the nation, hard answers are being found to the tough questions of race. We offer no apology for our Christian emphasis. Nearly everything else has been tried. Political solutions like forced integration and affirmative action have not melted the icy, suspicious hearts of people who have been separated for generations by race. No other religious sects have been able to produce the trusting relationships needed to turn the tide of racial division. But something is beginning to happen among reconciled Christians. The signs are all around. Through partnerships between Christians of all races who are serious about reconciliation, and demonstrate it by crossing the boundaries of race, class, and lifestyle to “love thy neighbor.” I’m not talking about people giving lip service to reconciliation, but people who recognize that real reconciliation must be coupled with justice and with action. Where these people are at work, changes are happening. So I am encouraged. And if you, wherever you live, are not seeing these kinds of encouraging things happening, maybe it’s time for you to get involved.

Uncovering a Shared Past , by Rick Wilson, Race & Reconciliation Online, August 28, 1996 Christians can only find unity by confronting the historical roots of racism. “Racism,” said Bob Costas during Olympic coverage, “is America’s original sin, and current national dilemma” … When we take an honest look, we find, like Dr. Raleigh Washington, that “Scripture has been used, the church has been used to support every form of prejudice and oppression...” (Breaking Down Walls, Moody Press)… The black Church experience is a compelling chapter of Christian history. The slaves’ faith pointed them to a day when Blacks would only be “slaves of Christ.” The empowering, spontaneous worship that has traditionally characterized black gospel music and preaching is part of a rich legacy that is still with us. These are people who have hoped, believed and endured. God was always with them. I don’t bring up this painful history to shame white people. My purpose is simply to point toward something white Christians must face. God wants to expose the racism that prevents white evangelicals from recognizing this chapter of faith and appropriating its lessons. The Church as a whole can learn and benefit from the black experience and move in unity toward a deeper biblical understanding of faith, suffering, redemption, and forgiveness. 13

Challenging the Rightness of Whiteness, by Professor William Pannell Race & Reconciliation Online, April 10, 1996 (William Pannell, Professor of preaching & practical theology at Fuller Theo. Seminary; past Chairman of Youth for Christ/USA; author The Coming Race Wars? A cry for reconciliation)

Since the bloody murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. almost 30 years ago, Blacks have made substantial progress in the United States… Among evangelical Christians, however, there has been little progress. Evangelicalism in North America is still a white male enterprise. No, Blacks are not yet completely absent from evangelical institutions. But there are few black leaders in policy-making positions; no black input at major theological gatherings; no major position papers presented at key gatherings that subsequently make their way into official publications. Those few Blacks who do appear are limited to roles as inspirational key-noters or leaders of seminars. Many evangelical organizations have sought for a “qualified” African American to serve on their board, but one rarely finds two Blacks on a board. And one strains to recall a black president of any major evangelical institution. Few are called, none are chosen. Old timers in the black community refer to this as the “rightness of whiteness” doctrine, and evangelicals have had little inclination to challenge that ideology. After all, black evangelicals have little control, power, or money to bring to the table. But African-American people still represent the unfinished agenda of the American dream. I say this with deep respect for the sufferings other minorities have experienced. But America’s racial problems are still a family affair, and the family has always been black and white. It is black America that locates for the American people, even if unconsciously, the ethical center of the American Dream… Some evangelicals, however, are beginning to reach out to non-white America. Billy Graham goes on camera and calls racism the most heinous expression of sin in our time. Promise Keepers’ Bill McCartney makes same argument and fills stadiums across the nation. Luis Palau preaches about reconciliation from pulpits in Miami. The result has been that, occasionally, an African American or Latino may grace a platform, sing a song, or consent to yet another interview on race relations (I am still waiting for an invitation to talk about what I really do as a faculty member at Fuller Seminary, rather than my views on race relations). And many people will now listen to certain black evangelicals who speak about reconciliation. This is encouraging, but points to a problem, as well. Racism and reconciliation have become important Christian issues only because these leading white brothers have identified them as such. Over the past several years, however, when Blacks themselves were crying out for justice and redress, the evangelical church had no such sense of urgency. Reconciliation remains essential. Nothing less than the gospel is at stake…, How can American missionary organizations traverse the globe on behalf of colored peoples and have nothing to do with people of color in their own backyard?… It’s as if we simply do not exist, as if we have not made any contributions to God’s kingdom in the United States. We need to talk—and the issue is not how to grow more churches, but how to grow more churches that look like Christ.

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Moving Into a Shared Future, by Professor Cheryl J. Sanders Race & Reconciliation Online, April 17, 1996 (Cheryl J. Sanders teaches Christian ethics at Howard University Divinity School and is an associate pastor at the Third Street Church of God in Washington, D.C. She has written extensively on the holiness-pentecostal experience in African-American religion and culture.)

Racism remains a central issue in the differences between black and white evangelicals. Along with this racism are the invisible structures intended to preserve “what’s ours” and keep other people out. These include doctrine, management of resources, and access to education. I believe that there can’t be reconciliation between the races until there is repentance for this racism, and I think the full weight of Scripture supports me. Whoever refuses to hear the offense or face the facts can’t repent. The fact is that white people today are benefiting from a system of privilege set in motion generations ago, while my ancestors were being robbed of their labor without recompense. Unfortunately, this leads to a victim discourse, making genuine repentance difficult. You can’t have repentance without someone taking responsibility, and today we are all victims. Yet the question remains, “Are we going to advance from the past and move together into a future that is a shared future?” The Bible is the ultimate, legitimate source for a vision of inclusiveness. One of the strongest biblical images is the kingdom of God, and there is not question that this is an inclusive kingdom. Whatever I desire for my own children, I ought to want the same things for other people’s children. In the kingdom of God, everyone has a stake, and everyone has dignity and respect, regardless of economic status, sex, color, or nationality. You see this “coming together” at Pentecost, a multinational gathering. The pastor of my church was an extraordinary man named Sam Hines. He recently died, but in his 25 years in Washington, D.C., he worked very hard to promote reconciliation. He used to say, “Dogma divides; mission unites.” I think that, if there is going to be reconciliation among American Christians, it will come because we reach consensus about our mission to the United States. Before Sam died, he spoke to me about his concern that everyone, whether conservative or liberal, seems to be dropping the poor from his or her agenda. If this is true, then we as Christians have a ready-made mission that can unite us. Jesus’ primary ministry was to the poor, and he has given us a mandate to pursue the same course.

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Why Bother? by Spencer Perkins, Race and Reconciliation Online, October 2, 1996 After the disappointments of integration, we need a powerful reason to pursue reconciliation (Spencer Perkins is President of Reconcilers Fellowship and Editor-in-Chief of Reconcilers Magazine.)

For black Christians, the question of racial reconciliation has long been moot. White folks made it very clear that they wanted us to stay away from them. When we moved into their neighborhoods, they moved out. When we sent our children to their schools, they built private schools and created white school districts. We have not had to answer the question of racial reconciliation until now. African Americans approach that question quite differently than Whites do. Many Whites come to the table with a tinge of guilt. It was Whites who enslaved Blacks, not vise-versa. It is Whites who have been, in comparison to Blacks, privileged. It was Whites who refused to let Blacks into their churches after emancipation. Although guilt-driven motivation does not usually last, it is still a very powerful force. The drive to absolve oneself from the burden of guilt does move people into well-intentioned action. Blacks, on the other hand, do not have this motivation. In our minds, we didn’t do anything wrong. We just reacted and accommodated ourselves to the white power structure. And the desire for justice does nothing to move African Americans toward relationships with Whites. Many times this leaves white Christians scratching their heads in confusion and wondering why Blacks are not more involved in their reconciliation efforts. Why should African Americans, who have very little motivation, and Whites, who may be driven by less than pure motives, “sit down at the table of brotherhood (and sisterhood) together?”… There are, of course, sociological reasons to make peace, to tolerate each other, to not hurt each other, and to respect diversity. These are all good things that make the world safer. And the new multi-cultural emphasis on college campuses has guided us in this direction. But in our quest for racial harmony, I can think of only one reason to move beyond tolerance—to go the extra mile—and that is the gospel. I am often asked by college students, “are you saying that the only way to have racial reconciliation is through Christ? Do you have to be a Christian?” I have come to believe that the answer to this question is yes… If I were not a Christian, I wouldn’t bother working for racial reconciliation. I don’t do this out of some do-good, feel-good emotion. I do it because I believe it is what God wants. And because it helps to authenticate my faith… It is this new reality of reconciliation, not integration or assimilation, that the Apostle Paul was trying to communicate to the Jews and Gentiles in the church at Ephesus. “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 one 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 their hostility” (Ephesians 2:14-16). Paul was saying to these new believers that the gospel can do something nothing else has the power to do, and that is to make Jews and Gentiles into one body. 16

WHY ARE BLACKS HAVING SO MUCH TROUBLE WITH RECONCILIATION? By Spencer Perkins, Race and Reconciliation Online, March 12, 1997 Reggie was a senior and I an eighth grader. We were the first and only black students in the high school department. Our mission was to break down the race barrier so that public schools in our Mississippi town would no longer be separated by race. It was 1967 and the toughest year of my young life. Reggie had a saying that was born out of his life’s experience, and he believed it deep down to his core. “It’s okay to be friendly to them,” he would caution me. “But never trust them ‘cause there’s a little snake in all white people.” … I thought of Reggie’s warning. And I wonder how many African Americans today still hear something like Reggie’s admonition in the back of their minds when it comes to relating to Whites? LEADERS MUST STAY OUT IN FRONT A few years ago the challenge was convincing people that race was an issue that was hurting the witness of the Church. The good news is that we are being successful. Reconciliation is the latest buzzword among Christians and many Whites are reaching out to people of color. But we are running into a little problem. I know of several Whites who have developed significant relations with African Americans and have proven their sincerity by making life style changes for racial justice in their places of influence. They say that other men and women are wanting to develop these same kinds of friendships but are having a difficult time getting African Americans to respond. What is going on here? Leaders, let’s get busy answering this question. We don’t have much time… Whites who are sincere in bridging the racial gap will have to be patient. So many times I have heard the words “be patient with us” from white leaders trying to gently bring their people around. It took a few hundred years for white Christians to finally see how they were distorting Christianity (and you are still working on it). Now you will have to persevere… even if it takes fifty years for Blacks to begin to come around.

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AUGUST 12, 1995 46TH GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

Resolution 25, Use of Black Ministries WHEREAS, The Gospel of Jesus Christ declares God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life; and WHEREAS, The Scriptures have promised that in the last days God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh; and WHEREAS, The world for whom Jesus died and the flesh upon which the Spirit is poured out is without regard to ethnicity, class, economic distinction, or gender; and WHEREAS, The foremost exemplary model of Pentecostal community in the 20th century is the Azusa Revival where leadership and people joined together without regard to ethnicity, providing a divine rebuke against the Jim Crow laws and racial discrimination of this worldly age and throwing a shining light of God’s intention for His church where the blood of Christ washes out the color line; and WHEREAS, Because of the deep stain and sin of racism following the Azusa Revival, predominately black and white Pentecostal denominations went their separate ways for a season; and WHEREAS, The Assemblies of God was established during that time of separation so that our Fellowship became one from which black persons were mostly absent; and WHEREAS, Our testimony to the world has suffered as a result of this separation and our Fellowship has been deprived of the rich blessings which could have been made by our black brothers and sisters; and WHEREAS, In the goodness of the Lord and in the fullness of time, the Holy Spirit prompted us as a body in our 1989 General Council to repent of and denounce racism as a sin; and WHEREAS, Across this Fellowship congregations are opening their hearts to become multi-ethnic communities which bear witness to Jesus Christ who told us that the world will know us by our love for one another; and WHEREAS, It is right that we repent of racism and ask our black brothers and sisters for forgiveness for failing to keep and treasure the shining ideal of Jesus and the 20th century Azusa Revival; and

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WHEREAS, We are committed to removing every last vestige of racism from our midst and restoring to the work of the Lord and blessing of an integrated Fellowship; and WHEREAS, Toward this end we encourage from our hearts the full participation of black persons within the Assemblies of God in fellowship and leadership; and WHEREAS, Toward this end we encourage from our hearts the full participation of black persons within the Assemblies of God in fellowship and leadership; and WHEREAS, Action by this General Council is needed to give impetus to our districts, ministers, and people for the full inclusion of black brothers and sisters throughout our Fellowship; therefore be it RESOLVED, That this General Council ask the general superintendent and Board of Administration, the executive and general presbyteries, the executive officers and presbyteries of districts, pastors and ministers, local church boards and congregations to take whatever actions are necessary or advisable to enhance and accelerate the progress being made in our Fellowship for the inclusion of black brothers and sisters throughout every aspect of the Assemblies of God; and, be it further RESOLVED, That this Council request the general superintendent to issue a public statement speaking to the spirit of this resolution before the Council adjourns.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * General Superintendent Thomas Trask’s Statement This 46th General Council has adopted a resolution calling upon our Fellowship to enhance and accelerate efforts toward inclusiveness of our black brothers and sisters throughout the General Council. I pledge that, with the Spirit’s enablement, I will do all within my power to fulfill what this General Council has called for. I support this action with all my heart.

(RESOLUTION ADOPTED)

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AUGUST, 1989 43rd GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

Resolution 20, Racism WHEREAS,

Racism is an issue that continues to confront the church and American society today; and

WHEREAS,

Racism continues to confront our brothers and sisters in other countries; and

WHEREAS,

The Bible recognizes that all people are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27; 5:1,2); and

WHEREAS,

The Bible declares that the barriers that separate us from one another have been broken down through Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:26-28, Colossians 3:11); and

WHEREAS,

In the Early Church the Holy Spirit confronted divisions along racial lines and brought reconciliation (Acts 6:1-7; 10:1-22); therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the Assemblies of God oppose the sin of racism in any form; and be it further RESOLVED, That we call any and all to repentance who have participated in the sin of racism through personal thought or action, or through church and social structures, or through inactivity in addressing racism as individuals or as a church; and be it further RESOLVED, That we pray for God to give us the courage to confront the sin or racism where it may be found in our own lives, in our churches, in our society structures, and in our world; and be it further RESOLVED, That we participate with the work of the Holy Spirit in actively working against racism at home and abroad, and that we seek the reconciliation of man to God and man to man. (RESOLUTION ADOPTED)

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JUNE 20-22, 1995 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Resolution On Racial Reconciliation WHEREAS, Since its’ founding in 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention has been an effective instrument of God in missions, evangelism, and social ministry; and WHEREAS, The Scriptures teach that “Eve is the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20), and that “God shows no partiality, but in every nation whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him” (Acts 10:34-35), and that God has “made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26); and WHEREAS, Our relationship to African-Americans has been hindered from the beginning by the role that slavery played in the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention; and WHEREAS, Many of our Southern Baptist forbears defended the “right” to own slaves, and either participated in, supported, or acquiesced in the particularly inhumane nature of American slavery; and WHEREAS, In later years Southern Baptists failed, in many cases, to support, and in some cases opposed, legitimate initiatives to secure the civil rights of African-Americans; and WHEREAS, Racism has led to discrimination, oppression, injustice, and violence, both in the Civil War and throughout the history of our nation; and WHEREAS, Racism has divided the body of Christ and Southern Baptists in particular, and separated us from our African-American brothers and sisters; and WHEREAS, Many of our congregations have intentionally and/or unintentionally excluded AfricanAmericans from worship, membership, and leadership; and WHEREAS, Racism profoundly distorts our understanding of Christian morality, leading some Southern Baptists to believe that racial prejudice and discrimination are compatible with the Gospel; and WHEREAS, Jesus performed the ministry of reconciliation to restore sinners to a right relationship with the Heavenly Father, and to establish right relations among all human beings, especially within the family of faith. 21

Therefore, be it RESOLVED, that we, the messengers to the Sesquicentennial meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, assembled in Atlanta, Georgia, June 20-22, 1995, unwaveringly denounce racism, in all its forms, as deplorable sin; and Be it further RESOLVED, that we affirm the Bible’s teaching that every human life is sacred, and is of equal and immeasurable worth, made in God’s image, regardless of race or ethnicity (Genesis 1:27), and that, with respect to salvation through Christ, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for (we) are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28); and Be it further RESOLVED, that we lament and repudiate historic acts of evil such as slavery from which we continue to reap a bitter harvest, and we recognize that the racism which yet plagues our culture today is inextricably tied to the past; and Be it further RESOLVED, that we apologize to all African-Americans for condoning and/or perpetuating individual and systemic racism in our lifetime; and we genuinely repent of racism of which we have been guilty, whether consciously (Psalm 19:13) or unconsciously (Leviticus 4:27); and Be it further RESOLVED, that we ask forgiveness from our African-American brothers and sisters, acknowledging that our own healing is at stake; and Be it further RESOLVED, that we hereby commit ourselves to eradicate racism in all its forms from Southern Baptist life and ministry; and Be it further RESOLVED, that we commit ourselves to be “doers of the Word” (James 1:22) by pursuing racial reconciliation in all our relationships, especially with our brothers and sisters in Christ (I John 2:6), to the end that our light would so shine before others, “that they may see (our) good works and glorify (our) Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16); and Be it finally RESOLVED, that we pledge our commitment to the Great Commission task of making disciples of all peoples (Matthew 28:19), confessing that in the church God is calling together one people from every tribe and nation (Revelation 5:9), and proclaiming that the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is the only certain and sufficient ground upon which redeemed persons will stand together in restored family union as joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).

(RESOLUTION ADOPTED)

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MAY 6-8, 1996 NJ DISTRICT COUNCIL OF THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD WHEREAS, The 46th General Council, by adopting Resolution 25 Revised (Use of Black Ministries), encourages “full participation of black persons within the Assemblies of God in fellowship and leadership” and mandates action by “presbyteries of districts, pastors and ministers, local church boards and congregations to enhance and accelerate the progress being made in our fellowship for the inclusion of black brothers and sisters throughout every aspect of the Assemblies of God;” * therefore be it RESOLVED, That this Council embrace the 1995 General Council’s Resolution 25 and its’ initiative for reconciliation with our black brothers and sisters; and be it further RESOLVED, That an ad hoc Committee for Reconciliation be appointed by the Executive Presbytery to research initiatives that will effectively “enhance and accelerate” full integration in fellowship and leadership within the District; and, be it further RESOLVED, That the initiatives be reviewed regularly by the District Presbytery with representative(s) of the Committee for Reconciliation, and that the Committee’s recommendations be presented at the 1997 New Jersey District Council for adoption.

SPONSORS:

Zollie Smith, Stephen Miller, Greg Capers, & Scott Temple

* Words in italics are taken from Resolution 25 adopted by the 46th General Council of the Assemblies of God August 12, 1995

(RESOLUTION ADOPTED)

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MAY 5-7, 1997 NJ DISTRICT COUNCIL OF THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD

WHEREAS, The 1995 General Council adopted Resolution 25, Revised (“Use of Black Ministries”), thereby not only encouraging “full participation of black persons within the Assemblies of God in fellowship and leadership” but also mandating that action be implemented by “presbyteries of districts, pastors and ministers, local church boards and congregations to enhance and accelerate the progress being made in our fellowship for the inclusion of black brothers and sisters throughout every aspect of the Assemblies of God;” and WHEREAS, The 1996 District Council embraced Resolution 25 and established an ad hoc Committee for Reconciliation to research initiatives that will effectively “enhance and accelerate” full integration in fellowship and leadership within the District; and WHEREAS, The Committee having met, deliberated, and consulted with District leadership, has concluded that more time and effort is needed to understand and resolve the complicated issues involved; therefore be it RESOLVED, Than the ad hoc Committee become a Standing Committee to further facilitate Black ministry involvement; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an African-American member of this Standing Committee meet regularly with the District Presbytery to ensure, by God’s grace, that the goals of reconciliation and representation be addressed and achieved.

SPONSORS: The Presbytery & the members of the ad hoc Committee for Reconciliation

(RESOLUTION ADOPTED)

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