"Most segregated time of the day is Sunday service. Now what you think that say about the God you worship?"
These lyrics from Christian Rap artist Lecrae's song "Dirty Water" unfortunately is more true then it should be. I hear people all the time joking around about going to a "white church" or a "black church" and how people need to just stay in their box and not mix.
I would not be surprised if someone who was not a follower of Christ or someone who was raised to not respect other races or cultures spoke against cultural diversity in the church. However, I sadly hear it so often from people who label themselves as Christians. As Christians, we should know that God's heart is very passionate about culture and that message is straightforward in the Bible. If we want to see acceptance of races and cultures in the world, the church must be the example first.
I am blessed to have grown up in a school and church that emphasizes diversity. Jubilee International Ministries was founded on an ideology of diversity, not just diversity in culture, but gender and age as well. In fact, the mission statement for Jubilee is, "We exist to glorify God by reaching the lost, healing the hurting, and training men and women to build a multi-cultural, multi-generational church in the Earth." Growing up with this mission statement in mind has allowed me to break out of the box of my own race and culture and to have an appreciation and acceptance for other races, cultures and ages.
Why is it that we still have segregated services all over the country? As the body of Christ, have we ignored the commands to love one another that God clearly laid out in the Bible? We may say that we love people of other cultures or races, but if we are not accepting of them, how much love are we really showing? Romans 13:8-10 says, "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
In order to be accepting of others, we must have a foundation of love. For love breaks down all prejudices, all disconnect, and all confusion. If you have a hard time accepting people who don't look like you or don't do things the way you are accustomed to, ask yourself if you have preconceived opinions of them. If you say you can't connect with people who have different backgrounds, ask yourself if you have a closed heart that's resulting in disconnect. If you don't accept them because you say their way of life or doing things is confusing, open up a book and educate yourself on what you are unfamiliar with. The bottom line is that there is no valid excuse for believers to have a segregated mentality.
I pray that as time passes, I will quickly see more diversity in churches and hear less talk about "staying in your lane" or "attending black or white churches." We must understand that striving to be like Jesus is more then just a Sunday school lesson -- it requires us to actually love AND accept others.
