Almost 145 years after slavery was abolished and “liberty and justice for all” was truly declared, Americans elected a black man of African descent as president — an action both white and black pastors agree can be an opportunity to improve race relations in Alabama Baptist churches.
Calvin Kelly, pastor of the predominantly white Valleydale Baptist Church, Birmingham, said because race was a common thread in the presidential campaign, it provided him a platform to talk about it in the pulpit. “I felt like the historic nature of President Obama’s election warranted bringing the race issue out from kind of a not-spoken-about issue to an issue we did speak about … . I wanted to help believers understand from a biblical perspective God’s view of race relations and prejudices,” he said.
Although Kelly may not agree with Obama’s principles and political stances, he said there is a lot of good that can come from his racial representation and for the “mixing of worshipers in Southern Baptist churches.”
“The election of Obama gives a lot of opportunity for Christians to preach acceptance, tolerance and love for every person,” Kelly said.
It’s an opportunity he has already taken, leading his congregation in a study about every person — regardless of race — being made in God’s image.
“I don’t think I would have preached that message had Obama not been elected,” Kelly said. “I think Christians need to talk about the fact that we probably all struggle in that area whether white or black, and we need to understand what the Bible says about the intrinsic value of every human being as being made in the image of God. When we truly understand and embrace that Jesus is for all nations, nationalities, skin types and people groups, then we’ve gotten somewhere. We can’t faithfully take the gospel to people we don’t like.”
Ronald Davis, program coordinator for black church work for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions and pastor of the predominantly black Day Street Baptist Church, Montgomery, said promoting race relations is part of the Church’s job. But the Church is failing in this role, he added.
“We, as the Church, need to always be proactive in setting the example of race relations and brotherhood across racial lines, and too often, the secular world has done a better job than the Church has,” Davis said. “In the election of Barack Obama, there was a coming together of ethnicities … that oftentimes is not evident in the Church. We certainly need to be more proactive and be the pacesetters for the world (rather) than the world being an example for us.”
While he was quick to note achieving better race relations is a “two-way street” requiring both black and white churches to “do more to reach other ethnic groups,” Davis said he hopes Obama’s presidency will prompt better integration.
“I hope his election and that type of coming together of races would be an example for us, to challenge us to be one in as much as it is a mandate that Christ has given us to love one another even as He has loved us,” Davis said. “I think we’ll see better race relations across the spectrum as it relates to all races. If it’s not black and white, then it’s African-American and Hispanic or Hispanic and white. Prejudice can be a part of all of our lives, and we don’t allow Christ’s love to reign.”
Mike Johnson, pastor of First Baptist Church, Albertville, said that is one thing his multiethnic congregation tries to safeguard against.
He said verses that have been helpful to him are Colossians 3:11, 15: “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. … And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.”
“Christ literally gnawed down the wall, and no longer can we look at us and them but in Christ, it’s just us,” Johnson said.
“I do think as Christians take the claims of Christ seriously … they’ll understand God is a God of intentional diversity,” he added, pointing to the reference to every nation, every tribe and every tongue in Revelation. “And He means every nation, every color, every race, every tongue represented around His throne. It’s that diversity we’ll see in heaven.”
Calling the election a great opportunity for education, Johnson said, “We need … to realize Christ has given us a wonderful opportunity in America today — of letting us become a little colorblind and try to understand each others’ culture.”
For more information, contact Davis at 1-800-264-1225, Ext. 270.
The State Board of Missions will host a human relations conference April 20–22 at Shocco Springs dealing with the church’s role in a multicultural society, racial diversity and reaching other cultures. For information, call 1-800-264-1225, Ext. 270.
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