Two weeks ago I was thrilled to learn that representatives from Union, along with others from the Southern Baptist Convention, gathered April 2 to launch the Intercultural Ministerial Education initiative in Nashville.
The initiative stemmed from the fact that the SBC is now one of the most ethnically diverse Protestant denominations in the United States, according to David Dockery, university president, and Encyclopædia Brittanica.
This fact is encouraging, especially considering the denomination’s roots.
The SBC has come far since its beginnings in 1845. However, while the denomination is actively pursuing reconciliation, it has not “arrived.”
The SBC was founded by Baptists who broke off from the Northern Baptist Convention, which had banned slaveholders from being missionaries. The Southern Baptists formed largely based off their support of slavery.
In 1995, the SBC apologized for its history in a resolution acknowledging that they had defended slavery and often opposed civil rights.
The resolution offered repentance and an apology. The fact that a denomination founded in injustice acknowledged and repented of its sinful past is amazing.
In June 2012, the SBC further showed its commitment being a body made up of all ethnicities, electing black pastor Fred Luter Jr. as president of the SBC.
About 20 percent of SBC congregations have a membership predominantly made up of minorities, according to the Baptist Press.
“One of the most exciting things that I have seen during my days as a Southern Baptist is the growth and expansion of congregations that are led by African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American leaders,” Dockery said.
The goal of the new Intercultural Ministerial Education initiative, still in a formative stage, is to provide training for the next leaders of increasingly diverse churches.
These things make me proud to attend a Southern Baptist school. However, this is not to say that the SBC or other Christians are dealing perfectly well with racism.
Southern Baptists — along with Christians of other denominations — cannot assume that everything was solved with the 1995 apology or the election of a minority president.
Racism is still pervasive. It exists even in an environment like Union.
I often find myself shocked by comments I hear around campus. Sometimes I hear disparaging remarks about interracial relationships. Sometimes I see insensitive posts on social media mocking black chapel speakers.
These things should not happen. There is no excuse for comments or attitudes that degrade and alienate people of a different race. It is especially appalling that these remarks are made among people professing Christianity.
The fact that racism has — heartbreakingly — become entrenched in Southern culture does not make it any more acceptable.
I do not mean to portray racism as solely a “white man’s problem.” People of all ethnicities need to ensure that no one uses race — any race — as a basis for estrangement and hostility.
So while I take joy in seeing how the SBC has pursued diversity and reconciliation, the facts show that all Christians — not just Southern Baptists — must work to be a unified people in Christ.
I grew up in an international culture made up of people from more than 30 different countries, from Nigeria to Switzerland.
For the most part, racism was not an issue in this blend of cultures. We celebrated race and did not let it divide us.
One part of the SBC’s resolution on racial reconciliation states, “[We] unwaveringly denounce racism, in all its forms, as a deplorable sin.” We must do so today.
Furthermore, we must follow in the footsteps of those who wrote this resolution by “commit[ting] ourselves to eradicate racism in all its forms from Southern Baptist life and ministry.”
Committing ourselves to eradicating racism in all its forms means many things. It means eradicating it in a person’s life, family and friend group. It means eradicating racism at Union.
Racism — including the toleration of it — is incompatible with the life Christians are called to live. Thus, all Christians ought to commit themselves, like the SBC, to striving for diversity in the church and reconciliation among all ethnicities.
Katherine Burgess is a sophomore journalism major.
