“Racial/ ethnic prejudice was a definite factor in ancient life and thought. Relations among the ethnic groups in an ever expanding Roman empire was a problem to be constantly addressed. And for Christianity with its gospel for all peoples, the barriers of prejudice spawned by pride, fear, and the desire to dominate had to be broken through if the church was to be a faithful expression of the truths on which it was founded.”

“This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”

This resource was graciously provided by Marc Henkel for publishing on our website. This resource covers one of the six themes which are studied by the staff and students who participate in the Summer in the City projects.

“Failure on the part of Christian leaders to recognize the changing demographic landscape or to adapt - both personally and corporately - in accordance with Scripture will soon render their work or, worse yet, their message irrelevant. For as I have previously written, there are already signs that increasing numbers of people are no longer finding credible the message that God loves all people as preached from segregated pulpits and pews. Indeed, those without Christ are no longer responding simply to the words of our lips; rather, they will respond only to the love of God they see in us; love that is daily displayed in a genuine, personal love for all people in His name.”

Crossway Publishers has graciously allowed us to publish “Chapter 3: Theology in Cultural Context” below. It contains excellent principles for ministering in our globalized society and for approaching ministry in way that is culturally relevant and biblically sound. The content can be somewhat technical (it is a theological textbook), but if you take the time to thoughtfully read this chapter I believe it can provide you with some great insights.

Written for those who are trying to lead their ministry with reconciliation in mind, Reconciliation 101 offers practical principles to handle real-life problems. In this handbook Alvin Sanders outlines an original model for managing the dynamics of difference within your Christian organization.

On this calendar we post events and conferences which have themes and content which may be helpful for those building and sustaining multi-ethnic Christian community.

This is a very powerful exercise which has been used for decades to teach about racism. I highly recommend that you watch the video on the website before using this exercise with a class. You also may be able to find this video at your local library.

This training tool provided by buildingchurchleaders.com costs $15 through their website. It is a Word Document that contains a variety of resources and handouts on topics related to racial reconciliation by experts from around the country.

Please Note: This is not a Christian movie but we have included it in our resource section because it contains material that you may find helpful for discussion. We recommend reading a review with more information about its moral content…

“What if it all depended on me to change the world.
What if my only responsibility was to change the world.
Let me be the one to start a revolution.
Let me sing my song to the people of the world.”

This resource is located at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-03-29-churches-helping_N.htm
Excerpt:
Pleas for help — spiritual and financial — are flooding U.S. churches, from tiny congregations to megachurches, as recession woes seep into the pews, a new survey finds.
Pastors say they’re giving out…

Chad shares about his background in “the mostly-white suburbs”, the Middle East, and Queens. He presents five types of obstacles that keep Christians divided by ethnicity: cultural differences, sociological, historical, political, and theological. He explains how the early church demonstrates that it is possible to overcome all of these obstacles through the power and leading of the Holy Spirit.

In this one hour webinar Pastor Mark DeYmaz, author of Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church, shares some of his experiences and the reasons why he believes multi-ethnic churches are so essential. This is a follow-up to another webinar which Mark gave.

It is typically translated in English as “fellowship”. (see below for a more thorough definition)
Why is this term important for building biblical, multi-ethnic community? Koinonia is our “target” – is what the early Christians shared with one another and what we should work towards.

“Unnatural Causes goes beyond popular conceptions linking health to medical care, lifestyles and genes to explore evidence of other more powerful determinants: the social conditions in which we are born, live and work.”