Integrated of segregated?

Integrated of segregated?

My new wife recently went to a ladies coffee morning at our church. It was her first such morning as she has only just arrived here from Texas. We are a small church but nevertheless 10 ladies turned up – which was a great turnout as a welcome for her. Looking at the photo’s later, we realised that in those 10 women 7 countries were represented – and another four are always possible. In our church we have representatives from England, France, Taiwan, Malaysia, British Guyana, USA, China, Nigeria, Ghana, Spain, and Chile. We are a totally integrated church and anyone & everyone, literally, is very welcome. As part of a ministry team, I travel all over Europe and we have found similar congregations spread around all over the place. There are many churches like this throughout the UK and all over Europe and, during my recent trip to Texas, where we got married, I noticed a very sharp contrast with America.

In the USA, speaking to quite a few people in Texas – which I am taking as my microcosm sample for the whole country – you either go to a ‘Black Church’, a ‘White Church’, or a ‘Hispanic Church’. There is very little or no mixing. We went to a large (1500 congregation) church while I was there and I was very happily surprised to be greeted by two ‘black’ gentlemen who very warmly welcomed us to the service. We were welcomed again and again inside by many of the ‘white’ people there as well and it was altogether a very good service to attend. The Holy Spirit was welcome in that church. However – apart from the greeters on the door, there were probably no more than 20 ’blacks’ in the whole 1500 congregation. I commented on this to my wife and learned the very sad truth about the segregation still practiced within the church. True to say, it is very well hidden segregation nowadays but it is there. Whites will not go to a perceived black church and blacks wont go to a perceived white church. Neither will go to a Hispanic one and vice versa. Oh – ok – but perhaps 20 in a 1500 congregation isn’t exactly integration is it??? Especially when its a very good mixed area with roughly a 50/50 demographic split.

Now, let me say this before I am accused of writing a racist article here. These are facts, based mainly upon observation, and they sadden me beyond belief – just imagine what this is doing to the Holy Spirit ?? I am using the style of ‘black’ and ‘white’ simply for emphasis but there really shouldn’t be the necessity of such things. We really shouldn’t need to speak about these things but they are such an afront to Gods heart.

Racism is alive and firing on all four cylinders in the Church today and I say it is a dreadful disgrace – an insult to our intelligence and a sin before God. Oh, I think this is not confined to America and I daresay that if you go into not a few churches here in the UK and all over Europe, there will be racism of the kind I describe here in those churches too. It has just come as a bit of a shock to me that’s all.

I was born and bred in London and we seem have always had a wonderfully cosmopolitan population in our churches – so I am used to complete integration. No black church – no white church – no anything other than just plain church. Is it so difficult for us to accept our brothers and sisters in the Lord whilst ignoring their colour, their creed, their language, their status, or their ethnicity. There will be no segregation in heaven. God only ever looks at our hearts – can we not try to do the same.

Please ???