Confront the Scandal of Our Prejudices—Part 5
Personal Cram Course
Have you ever tried to master some difficult subject by taking a cram course? Perhaps in a short period of time you were going to learn how to speak French or become an accomplished pianist.
What happened?
I could say I took a twelve-year inner city cram course on racial reconciliation. Now for some, twelve years might seem too long for a cram course. But when we realize that racism in this land has been hundreds of years in the making, twelve years is actually rather a short period of time in which to expect to master the subject!
What happened was that I founded an inner city, interracial church that which quickly grew to a Sunday morning attendance of 500. On my staff were a Chinese Filipino man, an African American man, and also a white woman. We did well, for a while—about eight years. But eventually all the blacks left. I confess that I, as senior minister, was as much involved and to blame for what happened as anyone. In retrospect, I would say I flunked the racial reconciliation course. On the other hand, I certainly learned a great deal, probably as much about my flaws as anything! So when I talk about personal racism or racism in the church, it’s not just another topic to me.
That church ministry began in 1967. At that time in Chicago there was minimal communication between the black church and the white church. Today, in this third largest of U.S. cities, there are ministries where blacks and whites work together in the church beautifully. I applaud those efforts. In fact, I stand and applaud. I rejoice. I shout, “Praise the Lord!”
But the truth is, when you look at the broader church picture, not much progress has been made toward racial reconciliation. When it comes to blacks and whites working together, the church lags behind the sports world, the entertainment world, the world of education, the world of business, the world of government, and on and on.
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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?
Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?
David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.
We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.
For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.
