[b]" (CNN) -- The Rev. Paul Earl Sheppard had recently become the senior pastor of a suburban church in California when a group of parishioners came to him with a disturbing personal question.

They were worried because the racial makeup of their small church was changing. They warned Sheppard that the church's newest members would try to seize control because members of their race were inherently aggressive. What was he was going to do if more of "them" tried to join their church?

"One man asked me if I was prepared for a hostile takeover," says Sheppard, pastor of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Mountain View, California.

The nervous parishioners were African-American, and the church's newcomers were white. Sheppard says the experience demonstrated why racially integrated churches are difficult to create and even harder to sustain. Some blacks as well as whites prefer segregated Sundays, religious scholars and members of interracial churches say.

Americans may be poised to nominate a black man to run for president, but it's segregation as usual in U.S. churches, according to the scholars. Only about 5 percent of the nation's churches are racially integrated, and half of them are in the process of becoming all-black or all-white, says Curtiss Paul DeYoung, co-author of "United by Faith," a book that examines interracial churches in the United States.

DeYoung's numbers are backed by other scholars who've done similar research. They say integrated churches are rare because attending one is like tiptoeing through a racial minefield. Just like in society, racial tensions in the church can erupt over everything from sharing power to interracial dating.

DeYoung, who is also an ordained minister, once led an interracial congregation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that eventually went all-black. He defines an interracial church as one in which at least 20 percent its membership belongs to a racial group other than that church's largest racial group.

"I left after five years," DeYoung says. "I was worn out from the battles."

The men and women who remain and lead interracial churches often operate like presidential candidates. They say they live with the constant anxiety of knowing that an innocuous comment or gesture can easily mushroom into a crisis that threatens their support. Poll: Race and religion in America »

"It's not all 'Kumbaya' and 'We are the World,' " says Sheppard, the pastor of the Northern California church, who was raised by his father, a Baptist preacher, in the black church. "There are plenty of skirmishes."
Can't we just be Christians?

If it's so tough, why bother? That's one of the first questions interracial churches must address.

DeYoung says he encountered many blacks who said they wanted a racial timeout on Sunday.

"They would say, 'I need a place of refuge,'" he says. "They said, 'I need to come to a place on Sunday morning where I don't experience racism.' "

Whites also complained of their own version of racial fatigue, other scholars say.

Theodore Brelsford, co-author of "We Are the Church Together,'' another book that looks at interracial churches, says whites often say that church should transcend race.

"They'd say, 'Can't we just get along without talking about race all the time? Can't we just be Christians?'"
Not really, say advocates for interracial churches. They argue that churches should be interracial whenever possible because their success could ultimately reduce racial friction in America.

American churches haven't traditionally done a good job at being racially inclusive, scholars say. Slavery and Jim Crow kept blacks and whites apart in the pews in the nation's early history. Some large contemporary black denominations, like the African Methodist Episcopal church, were formed because blacks couldn't find acceptance in white churches.

Large denominations like the Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians split over race in the 19th century when their members clashed over the issue of slavery, Michael Emerson, a scholar on interracial churches, recounted in his book, "Divided by Faith."

But interracial church advocates say the church was never meant to be segregated. They point to the New Testament description of the first Christian church as an ethnic stew -- it deliberately broke social divisions by uniting groups that were traditionally hostile to one another, they say.

DeYoung, the "United by Faith" co-author, says the first-century Christian church grew so rapidly precisely because it was so inclusive. He says the church inspired wonder because its leaders were able to form a community that cut across the rigid class and ethnic divisions that characterized the ancient Roman world.

"People said that if Jews, Greeks, Africans, slaves, men and women - the huge divides of that time period -- could come together successfully, there must be something to this religion," DeYoung says.

Biblical precedents, though, may not be enough to make someone attend church with a person of another race. Something else is needed: a tenacious pastor who goads his or her church to reach across racial lines, interracial church scholars say.

The Rev. Rodney Woo, senior pastor of Wilcrest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, may be such a person. He leads a congregation of blacks, whites and Latinos. Like many leaders of interracial churches, he is driven in part by a personal awakening.

Woo's mother is white, and his father is part Chinese. He attended an all-black high school growing up in Port Arthur, Texas, where he still remembers what it was like to be a minority.

"Everyone understands the rules, the lingo, the mind-set -- except you," he says. "It was invaluable, but I didn't know it at the time."

When he became pastor of Wilcrest in 1992, he was determined to shield his church members from such an experience. But an exodus of whites, commonly referred to as "white flight" was already taking place in the neighborhood and the church.

Membership fell to about 200 people. At least one church member suggested that Woo could change the church's fortunes by adding a "d" to his last name.

"The fear there was people would think I was Chinese," he says. "There would be a flood of all these Asians coming in, and what would we do then?"

Woo kept his last name and his vision. He made racial diversity part of the church's mission statement. He preached it from the pulpit and lived it in his life. He says Wilcrest now has about 500 members, and is evenly divided among white, Latino and black members.

Woo doesn't say his church has resolved all of its racial tensions. There are spats over music, length of service, even how to address Woo. Blacks prefer to address him more formally, while whites prefer to call him by his first name, (a sign of disrespect in black church culture), Woo says.

Woo tries to defuse the tension by offering something for everyone: gospel and traditional music, an integrated pastoral staff, "down-home" preaching and a more refined sermon at times.

But he knows it's not enough. And he's all right with that.

"If there's not any tension, we probably haven't done too well," he says. "If one group feels too comfortable, we've probably neglected another group."
Going from "they" to "we"

Sometimes, though, a determined pastor is not enough. Interracial churches can also implode on issues far more explosive than worship styles -- like sex and power.

One such issue is interracial dating. Some scholars and leaders who deal with interracial issues say it's not unusual for parents in racially-mixed churches to leave when their teenage kids begin dating.

Woo saw that exodus at Wilcrest. Some parents talked about the importance of a multiracial church, until their kid became attracted to someone from another race within the church.

"As kids began to date, some things get revealed," he says. "They didn't want their kids involved in interracial dating -- and that's not just whites."

Accepting black leadership is another touchy subject. Most interracial churches are led by white pastors. A congregation typically becomes all-black if a black pastor is hired, says DeYoung, the "United by Faith" co-author.

"As long as the top person, the senior pastor, is white, power sort of resides with whites," DeYoung says. "But when that shifts, it does something psychologically to people. People usually leave."

Black pastors who do gain the acceptance of interracial congregations still have to watch themselves. Some white parishioners, even progressive ones, get uneasy when a black pastor gets too fiery in the pulpit, says Brelsford, co-author of "We are the Church Together."

"A black church sermon that could be understood as impassioned might be interpreted as angry and defensive by a white congregation," Brelsford says. "It could kick into fear of black men."

Sheppard, the black minister of the church in California, says he modified his style to appeal to all sorts of people.

He says he abandoned the pulpit pyrotechnics he learned growing up in the black church when his congregation's racial mix changed. He also carries his authority lightly, dressing casually in the pulpit and consulting with church committees before making decisions. In conversation, he's relaxed and accessible.

"I'm very aware of how rare this is," he says of being the black minister of an interracial congregation. "I'm humbled by it."

The people in the pews must also do their share of adapting, scholars and ministers say. Only when ethnic groups no longer feel compelled to abandon their entire culture on Sunday morning can a church claim to be interracial, Brelsford says.

An interracial church isn't one in which all the black members act, dress and worship like the church's majority white members to make them feel comfortable, he says.

Interracial churches resist "taking one dominant identity and forcing everyone to fit into it," Brelsford says.

That appears to have happened at Sheppard's church in Northern, California. Since its rocky early days, it has now grown to a multiracial congregation of about 6,000 people. Whites, blacks, Asians, Latinos - all now attend.

"We refuse," Sheppard says, "to be a one-flavor-fits-all church."

Interracial congregations often include people who probably wouldn't have become friends in any other circumstances. They are people like Dwight Pryor, a black man who grew up in segregated Mississippi seeing blacks brutalized by whites. He says he grew up disliking white people.

Today, Pryor says he is best friends with a white member of Wilcrest, a man who grew up in Alabama during segregation in a family that hated blacks.

When Pryor sees his friend on Sunday, he says he no longer sees a "they" or a "them" trying to invade his world.
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He sees his brother in Christ.

"We come to love each other," he says. "When I look into his eyes, I can see the love of Jesus Christ. He and I have become friends. "[/b]
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/08/04/segregated.sundays/

Thanks for posting this!

The problem with christianity is one of racism right from the beginningf to the end

-xtianity started by jews for jews
-jews used religion to separate jewish servants from non jewish slaVes
-europeans who adopted christianity uses rthe religion to enslave and colonize other continents
-american white christians had black slaves who were pagan
-trhe americans and europeans justified slavery with the bible
-some black slaves usesd christianity to liberate themselves and some black churchjes were formed.
-some black churches had some resentment due to the segregation and racism faced from white people
-the mormon church was racist to blacks in ots early days, preachingf that black were cursed.


Is it now a wonder why there is racial animousity between whites and blacks in christianity? Can a freeman love a slave master?

Its no wonder xchristians in america tend to bé more. Racist than unbelievers.

Segregation ke
Segregation ni
Ur post too long

In USA, its all about skin color, here, its about where your parents come from.

I pray ours doesn't get fully blown in the churches, even though it exists to a certain degree

You find this also in Lagos, Nigeria. you see a Catholic church that is predominately Igbo owned and the Yorubas are leaving to look for a church with Yoruba congregation. basically, the issue is usually the mode of praise and worship. Igbos will want to avoid yoruba churches cos of this and vice versa. not racism this time, but tribalism. it a sort of way of finding a sense of belonging. i was recently speaking with a calabar man who married a Yoruba woman and he told me that in his church, many of the couples are a mix breed of Calabar and Yoruba men and women. its just a normal cause of life, always wanting to find a sense belonging whereever you are, and the church, no exception.

Thank you for the post.

In southafrica, during(or just after) the arpatheid regime, the government invited a pastor to ask him how he could get both whites and blacks to attend his church successfully.
He told them it was Gods love. When people become christians, they have Gods love shed in their hearts, and they look upon others as brethren.

Let us preach the heartpiercing message of Gods love in our churches. It changes men.

Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Cultural things.

Very disturbing trend.

^ how so?

Logicboy03: Thanks for posting this!

The problem with christianity is one of racism right from the beginningf to the end

-xtianity started by jews for jews
-jews used religion to separate jewish servants from non jewish slaVes
-europeans who adopted christianity uses rthe religion to enslave and colonize other continents
-american white christians had black slaves who were pagan
-trhe americans and europeans justified slavery with the bible
-some black slaves usesd christianity to liberate themselves and some black churchjes were formed.
-some black churches had some resentment due to the segregation and racism faced from white people
-the mormon church was racist to blacks in ots early days, preachingf that black were cursed.


Is it now a wonder why there is racial animousity between whites and blacks in christianity? Can a freeman love a slave master?

Its no wonder xchristians in america tend to bé more. Racist than unbelievers.

Unfortunately, with attitudes like the bolded, we may never get beyond past racism. Stop continuing the the hate legacy. Slavery in America no longer exists. It has been generations sinse anyone owned a slave. Don't judge me by my forefathers. We can never get past it, and move on, if it is constantly thrown up in our faces. It amazes me when people cry 'equality' yet limit themselves by their own attitudes.

I think people do not understand what racism is.

We tend to assume racism is a choice, many of us do not realise that for a lot of people, racism is not a choice like it is for us, but a part of their identity, ie who they are.

They define themselves by it and would be lost and confused without it.

So, instead of forcing everyone to inconvenience themselves and maybe suffer anguish in the process, best to let people have whatever context they are comfortable with in their personal lives and not be overly critical over something they cannot change without God's help.

As long as they are not breaking the law while finding their comfort zone?

Obviously, mixed race couples may need integrated churches more, and i believe many of those abound. Likewise mixed tribe or mixed nationality couples may find it easier if they have other couples like themselves to relate with.

kaeyame: In USA, its all about skin color, here, its about where your parents come from.

I pray ours doesn't get fully blown in the churches, even though it exists to a certain degree

So true America has a long painful racial history between black and white people from slavery till now. during slavery, then segregation many white american churches were racist towards black americans so many formed and started their own churches that they have created their own style of worship from white americans that they prefer up till now. Although in today's age slavery and etc is over in America many cultures and races have their own churches, but it is Beyond racism and has now become less about racism for most of them, it is more about who they feel more comfortable praying with, preaching and prayer practices are different from one culture to another. In America you have Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Hispanic, Black american, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Ghanian, Haitian, Jamaican, Orthodox Greek, Polish and etc churches now and it has become less about racism and more about how each cultural and racial group have their own way they feel comfortable in praying to God and feeling comfortable with praying with their own.

tpia@:
I think people do not understand what racism is.

We tend to assume racism is a choice, many of us do not realise that for a lot of people, racism is not a choice like it is for us, but a part of their identity, ie who they are.

They define themselves by it and would be lost and confused without it.

So, instead of forcing everyone to inconvenience themselves and maybe suffer anguish in the process, best to let people have whatever context they are comfortable with in their personal lives and not be overly critical over something they cannot change without God's help.

As long as they are not breaking the law while finding their comfort zone?

Obviously, mixed race couples may need integrated churches more, and i believe many of those abound. Likewise mixed tribe or mixed nationality couples may find it easier if they have other couples like themselves to relate with.

True, you have a point there

ona2: You find this also in Lagos, Nigeria. you see a Catholic church that is predominately Igbo owned and the Yorubas are leaving to look for a church with Yoruba congregation. basically, the issue is usually the mode of praise and worship. Igbos will want to avoid yoruba churches cos of this and vice versa. not racism this time, but tribalism. it a sort of way of finding a sense of belonging. i was recently speaking with a calabar man who married a Yoruba woman and he told me that in his church, many of the couples are a mix breed of Calabar and Yoruba men and women. its just a normal cause of life, always wanting to find a sense belonging whereever you are, and the church, no exception.

It's like that in America to, their are igbo churches, Edo churches, and Yoruba churches, and a few that are a mix. I guess it is where people feel comfortable going to church.

anonymous6:

So true America has a long painful racial history between black and white people from slavery till now. during slavery then segregation many white american churches were racist towards to black americans so many formed and started their own churches that they have created their own style of worship from white americans that they prefer now up till now. Although in today's age slavery and etc is over in America many cultures and races have their own churches, but it is Beyond racism and has now become less about racism for most of them, it is more about who they feel more comfortable praying with and preaching and prayer practices are different from one culture to another. In America you have Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Hispanic, Black american, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Ghanian, Haitian, Jamaican, Orthodox Greek, Polish and etc churches now and it is become less about racism and more about how each cultural and racial group have their own way they feel comfortable in praying to God and feeling comfortable with praying with their own.

Thank you! Finally!

The bottom line and the clear lesson to acknowledge is that religion, no matter what it pretends, or has always pretended to be, is something that caters to, and seems to, in turn, feed off of the primordial and basest human natures.
Fear,prejudice, hate,selfishness and greed, , and few often love and hope.
These are the primary currencies of a religious life.

It is extremely false to assume or assert that religion makes a person better that he or she is.
A thief will always be theif with or without religion.
An insecure and highly prejudiced racist will remain same with or without religion.
In fact, religion provides the perfect camouflage for all the negative personality traits.
One can freely exhibit any one of the numerous clinically diagnosable personality disorders by simply citing any one the biblical characters as your role model.

Bottom line?
We give too much credit to religion than it really deserves.

Religion is A social club, and every is free to choose who to club with.

plaetton: The bottom line and the clear lesson to acknowledge is that religion, no matter what it pretends, or has always pretended to be, is something that caters to, and seems to, in turn, feed off of the primordial and basest human natures.
Fear,prejudice, hate,selfishness and greed, , and few often love and hope.
These are the primary currencies of a religious life.

It is extremely false to assume or assert that religion makes a person better that he or she is.
A thief will always be theif with or without religion.
An insecure and highly prejudiced racist will remain same with or without religion.
In fact, religion provides the perfect camouflage for all the negative personality traits.
One can freely exhibit any one of the numerous clinically diagnosable personality disorders by simply citing any one the biblical characters as your role model.

Bottom line?
We give too much credit to religion than it really deserves.

Religion is A social club, and every is free to choose who to club with.

I agree with the bolded, but only to a point. I do believe it is possible to change. I've seen it.

texanomaly:

Unfortunately, with attitudes like the bolded, we may never get beyond past racism. Stop continuing the the hate legacy. Slavery in America no longer exists. It has been generations sinse anyone owned a slave. Don't judge me by my forefathers. We can never get past it, and move on, if it is constantly thrown up in our faces. It amazes me when people cry 'equality' yet limit themselves by their own attitudes.

Are you silly?
I'm talking about the history of racism in religion and you are trying to remix my comment as if i amb hating on white people


Pls who amb i hating?

How amb i crucifying you because of your forefathers?

Is it now wrong to mention slavery in christianity?


Please stop this silliness. My comment is 100 percent factual. Mtchew

tpia@:
I think people do not understand what racism is.

We tend to assume racism is a choice, many of us do not realise that for a lot of people, racism is not a choice like it is for us, but a part of their identity, ie who they are.

They define themselves by it and would be lost and confused without it.

So, instead of forcing everyone to inconvenience themselves and maybe suffer anguish in the process, best to let people have whatever context they are comfortable with in their personal lives and not be overly critical over something they cannot change without God's help.

As long as they are not breaking the law while finding their comfort zone?

Obviously, mixed race couples may need integrated churches more, and i believe many of those abound. Likewise mixed tribe or mixed nationality couples may find it easier if they have other couples like themselves to relate with.

What nonsense is this?
If u are not comfortable with another race, you are a racist. Simple and short.

It would bé like me saying that my atheist groups is uncomfortable because we have too many indians....thay would bé racist

anonymous6:

So true America has a long painful racial history between black and white people from slavery till now. during slavery, then segregation many white american churches were racist towards black americans so many formed and started their own churches that they have created their own style of worship from white americans that they prefer up till now. Although in today's age slavery and etc is over in America many cultures and races have their own churches, but it is Beyond racism and has now become less about racism for most of them, it is more about who they feel more comfortable praying with, preaching and prayer practices are different from one culture to another. In America you have Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Hispanic, Black american, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Ghanian, Haitian, Jamaican, Orthodox Greek, Polish and etc churches now and it has become less about racism and more about how each cultural and racial group have their own way they feel comfortable in praying to God and feeling comfortable with praying with their own.

gbam.

Logicboy03:


What nonsense is this?
If u are not comfortable with another race, you are a racist. Simple and short.

It would bé like me saying that my atheist groups is uncomfortable because we have too many indians....thay would bé racist

if you read before rushing to type, you'll notice i did not deny there is racism, my point was many racists cannot help the way they are, its part of their identity and they'd literally be lost AND depressed without it.

that is all!

tpia@:


if you read before rushing to type, you'll notice i did not deny there is racism, my point was many racists cannot help the way they are, its part of their identity and they'd literally be lost AND depressed without it.

that is all!

Well, thats the point- you were trying to juistify their racism

how am i justifying racism?

what i noticed was many africans [nigerians actually], do not know what racism is.

my post also mentioned the fact that racism is ingrained in a lot of people, its not something they can consciously stop.

basically, what i mean is the problem goes deeper than most folks assume.

however, the thread context tries to combine integration in a religious setting, with racism, not sure that's the appropriate way to view such matters.

tpia@:
how am i justifying racism?
[center][/center]
what i noticed was many africans [nigerians actually], do not know what racism is.

my post also mentioned the fact that racism is ingrained in a lot of people, its not something they can consciously stop.

basically, what i mean is the problem goes deeper than most folks assume.

however, the thread context tries to combine integration in a religious setting, with racism, not sure that's the appropriate way to view such matters.

Well said....i hope that this tpia lasts....

tpia@:
how am i justifying racism?

what i noticed was many africans [nigerians actually], do not know what racism is.

my post also mentioned the fact that racism is ingrained in a lot of people, its not something they can consciously stop.

basically, what i mean is the problem goes deeper than most folks assume.

however, the thread context tries to combine integration in a religious setting, with racism, not sure that's the appropriate way to view such matters.

I agree

Logicboy03:


Are you silly?
I'm talking about the history of racism in religion and you are trying to remix my comment as if i amb hating on white people


Pls who amb i hating?

How amb i crucifying you because of your forefathers?

Is it now wrong to mention slavery in christianity?


Please stop this silliness. My comment is 100 percent factual. Mtchew

Go back, and look at what I bolded. If I'm misunderstanding something there, I do apologize.