About seven years ago, my pastor at the time, John Lieb, came up and handed me Divided by Faith by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith and said, "I think you would really like this book."  He knew about my wife's and my experiences working in the multi-ethnic environment of Queens, New York and our growing desire to help break down the ethnic divisions in the Body of Christ.  John explained that the book had opened the eyes of many Christian leaders around the country to the reasons why the church is so divided by race.

I read the book, and John was right; I loved it. It was easy to see why it was having such a major impact in the Body of Christ.  Over the years our team and I have benefited greatly from resources created by Dr. Michael Emerson.   About five years ago, I met Dr. Emerson at a conference and found him to be just as helpful and insightful in person as he is in his books.  Since that time, he has been a great source of encouragement in our efforts with ReNew Partnerships.  In the last few years, he has helped us with the launch of our e-learning program and is currently working with us to create several e-learning sessions.

Dr. Emerson recently accepted our invitation to join the Board of Directors of ReNew Partnerships.  Ironically, he will be filling the spot of Pastor John Lieb, whose kind and steady wisdom and support helped us get ReNew off the ground.  Thanks John!  We are thankful the Lord has provided someone as knowledgeable and respected as Dr. Emerson to serve in this role and look forward to receiving more of his input in the days ahead.

For those who may not be familiar with Dr. Emerson, I have included some of the resources he has authored or co-authored below. As Pastor John said, "I'm sure you'll like them."

- Chad Brennan

Book: Divided by Faith (2001)

"Through a nationwide telephone survey of 2,000 people and an additional 200 face-to-face interviews, Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith probed the grassroots of white evangelical America. They found that despite recent efforts by the movement’s leaders to address the problem of racial discrimination, evangelicals themselves seem to be preserving America’s racial chasm."

Book: United by Faith (2004)

"Creating authentic, reconciled, multiracial communities in the midst of divisions is hard, complex work. The barriers in a racialized society are many, and the degree of their entrenchment should never be underestimated. Courageous and visionary leadership among both clergy and laity is essential and a necessary ingredient for success."

Book: Against All Odds (2005)

"Despite attempts to address this racial divide, integrated churches are very difficult to maintain over time. Why is this so? How can organizations incorporate separate racial, ethnic, and cultural groups? Should they? And what are the costs and rewards for people and groups in such organizations?"

Book: People of the Dream (2008)

"Engagingly written, the book enters the worlds of these congregations through national surveys and in-depth studies of those attending racially mixed churches. Data for the book was collected over seven years by the author and his research team. It includes more than 2,500 telephone interviews, hundreds of written surveys, and extensive visits to mixed-race congregations throughout the United States."

Video: Interracial Churches (2009)

Dr. Emerson and other leaders share their thoughts about interracial churches in this short PBS video. They talk about some of the challenges and benefits of being a part of a multi-ethnic congregation.

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