Racial reconciliation
Basic Combat Training Graduation at Fort Ord, 1967
History began with one family. There was only one human race. How, then, did racial issues develop? What are the root causes, and why are these issues so prevalent in our nation and the church? A TIME magazine article from 2021 reported that metropolitan cities continue to be segregated, although America is more diverse than ever. With a Black population of 80%, Detroit is the most segregated city in the U.S.
What about in the church? Martin Luther King Jr. once noted with a sharp rebuke that 11:00 am on Sunday mornings is one of the most segregated hours in Christian America. My African American pastor friend told me that beyond the issue of skin color, racism is ultimately a sin problem. In Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest, we read: “Sin is a fundamental relationship—it is not wrongdoing, but wrong being—it is deliberate and determined independence from God.” Most religions are concerned with morality and doing good, but only the Christian faith contends with the fundamental, hereditary nature of sin.
Until I came to America from Korea in 1967, I never had to think much about race. At that time, Korea was a highly homogenized nation, so racial issues were not part of the social agenda. When I enlisted in the U.S. Army, during Basic Combat Training, I encountered people from all kinds of backgrounds, so I thought that same diversity was part of the broader culture. But more and more, I was exposed to America’s history of racial struggles, largely stemming from the effects of its racist past, exemplified by the practice of slavery. I have visited three African American museums in Cincinnati, Memphis, and Birmingham in the past decade to learn more about this cruel chapter in American history. It is a painful reality that racial injustice has severely impacted American culture. Many families, schools, and communities still suffer from racial inequality.
When I was a trustee of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, I visited the Island of Gorée, off the coast of Dakar, in the West African nation of Senegal. It is known for its role in the Atlantic slave trade. There is a place called the House of Slaves that once served as a holding center for enslaved people. It is now a museum, and it was heartbreaking to be inside and think about how the people were treated and the horrible human sin that occurred, but it is history that should not be forgotten.
“We, as a nation, have a long way to go in terms of genuine racial reconciliation, but we can take heart, knowing that God can bring about amazing cultural transformation.”
We, as a nation, have a long way to go in terms of genuine racial reconciliation, but we can take heart, knowing that God can bring about amazing cultural transformation. Even one person’s change of heart can make a tremendous difference. In July 2001, I had the privilege of going on a summer study tour to England with the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. There I visited the church of the Anglican cleric John Newton (1725-1807). We can be encouraged by his well-known story—a former captain of slave ships who became a priest, abolitionist, and renowned hymn writer. Using his experiences in the slave trade, he wrote what is widely considered the most famous hymn of all time: “Amazing Grace”. The song was his testimony of how he changed from a slave trader to a slave of Christ after meeting the Lord. The hymn has touched millions of lives and reminds us that there is power in God’s amazing grace to transform sinners and use them to bring about cultural change.
We know that racial reconciliation cannot ultimately come through governments and worldly institutions. The only hope is through the power and love that comes from our reconciliation with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. May God help us have the hope and courage to go forward in racial reconciliation, starting with His church! While there will always be racial issues as long as sinners are here on earth, we continue to pray and work toward that heavenly goal, where there will be no more need for racial reconciliation since there will be no more sin in the kingdom of God. Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus!
Dr. Paul Kim is Pastor Emeritus at Antioch Baptist Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts,National Chaplain, KWVA, and The Marsh Post 442 Chaplain, Cambridge, MA.
