The Importance Of Multiraciality

In reviewing this book, I found one dominant sentence that will sum up all of the research and information presented. That theme is this – “all churches if possible, should be multiracial.” While this is idealistic and at the true core is the purest form of Christianity, the question remains on whether congregations want to be multiracial or not. The United States of America is no longer country dominated by one race. The author research in census data says that “the United States has well over 35 million more people of color in 2000 than it did in 1980.” Statistically these numbers will continue to rise to form an even more racially diverse nation. Racially diversity has its challenges even today in this post-modern era. Schools, offices,

There is an overwhelming presentation of sociological study, but not too much on the theological study. Christ serves as an example to follow but could this really be carried out successfully due to our weakness and sin. I left with the feeling that Christ was our guide, and not too much emphasis on being our Savior. United by Faith main objective is to convince the reader to embrace a multiracial formation within their congregation, but it does provide a good balance on why some favor segregated congregations. Five main categories are presented in favor of this. The five are pragmatic reasons, theological reasons, cultural reasons, activist reasons, and sociological

How does the church view diversity vs. the world? I was left to try to figure that out by the end of the book. The author stated that “we are not claiming that becoming multiracial should be the primary goal of the church, but it must be a goal, or perhaps better yet, a means to reach its larger goal.” What is the larger goal? Salvation? A more collectively humanity within Christianity? The end of the book focuses on oneness. The research presented in this book is excellent and I believe every minister should have this as required reading in the M.Div. studies. As I reflect, I really wished that before I started ministry, I would have had this resource available. It would have helped me earlier to form a broader context in ministry. However, I applaud this book. This book has been a wonderful refresher of why we as Christians should always continue to push for diversity in fellowship. Is the church worse or better because our congregations are not multiracial? Is this really possible given the racial climate in America? I am forced to think and ponder these questions at the end of this book. I believe the larger goal is to be United by Faith however, I don’t believe that we have to be United by Faith in a multiracial church but can be united in a multiethnic society. The challenge is what are we going to do with this data after it has been digested and read. We as all society should strive to make it a part of ministry to