How Can a Christian Promote Racial Harmony?

For practical tips for promoting racial harmony, whether as individual Christians or as church congregations, you have got to start with the Bible. It is the foundation. It gives us the lens, the filter, and the grid with which to understand all questions of race and ethnicity. I think our church members need to understand, coming from pastors and leaders in the church, that these are topics we talk about in the church and recognize that the Bible does speak to issues of diversity and unity within diversity.

One motto I like to talk about when we are thinking about practical tips for how to promote racial harmony is something I call the “ARC of Racial Reconciliation.” ARC stands for awareness, relationships, and commitment. It is not all that this happens in a linear fashion. A lot of times, these components are happening all at once. The point is: they all need to be present for genuine racial reconciliation to occur.

In terms of awareness, we have got to understand the context. If we do not understand how race operates as a social construct in the United States, then we are always going to be at a disadvantage.

Also, you need relationships. For most of us, the transformative experience has come from meeting someone who is different in some way. It could have been someone from a different country. It could have been someone from a different racial or cultural background. But when you come face to face with a person who is different and you learn their story and you become friends, especially if they are brothers and sisters in Christ, that changes your perspective. That is part and parcel of Christianity.

The last component is commitment. It is great to learn all about the racial history of the United States. It is great to have relationships and foster dialogue, but what are you going to do about it? Does this awareness and do these relationships create a burden for you to change? That is where we need to spend a lot of time thinking as a church and as Christians.

Does that look like policy changes that would advocate for the poor or different marginalized groups? Does that look like choosing to remain in your present geographic location, whether your church or just your home in the midst of changing neighbor neighborhood demographics and being intentional about that choice? It can take on a lot of different forms, but it definitely needs to be approached by and through the church.