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When the church began, an amazing diversity of people from different geographic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds gathered together to confess a common faith in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul cast a vision of one body where Jew and Gentile would worship together in unity. The Revelation to John likewise foreshadows an eternal future where all nations will join together at the throne of the Lamb.Sadly, Christianity has not often lived up to this ideal. The history of the church has been marked by continued segregation, ethnic strife and racial division. But at the dawn of a new millennium, hopeful signs of change are emerging. As society diversifies, local churches find themselves interacting with people from every tribe and tongue. But not every church is equipped to handle the realities of ethnic and racial diversity in their congregational life. Sociologist George Yancey's groundbreaking research on multiracial churches offers key principles for church leaders who want to minister to people from a variety of racial and cultural backgrounds. Insights from real-life congregations provide concrete examples of how churches can welcome those who have been marginalized, giving people of all heritages a sense of ownership and partnership in the life of the church.Based on data from a landmark Lilly Endowment study of multiracial churches across America, this volume offers insights and implications for church leadership, worship styles, conflict resolution and much more. Here is an essential resource for pastors and church leaders committed to cultural, ethnic and racial reconciliation in their congregations.
About the author
Emerson is R. A. Tsanoff Professor of Public Affairs and Sociology at Rice University.
George Yancey (PhD, University of Texas) is professor of sociology at the University of North Texas, specializing in race/ethnicity, biracial families and anti-Christian bias. He is the author, coauthor or coeditor of books such as
Compromising Scholarship: Religious and Political Bias in American Higher Education, Dehumanizing Christians: Cultural Competition in a Multicultural World, There Is No God: Atheists in America, Beyond Black and White, Beyond Racial Gridlock and
Just Don't Marry One. He is working to start the first academic unit on a secular campus that focuses on research that serves Christians and Christian organizations.
