One of the greatest divide facing the Church of Jesus Christ has been the divisions that the church has embraced. From the early 1900 when segregation was in full force many people in our country decided to worship God based upon racial and cultural lines.
Then something extraordinary happen on April 9, 1906, a group of people in the Los Angels area begin meeting for prayer and the end result was Revival broke out and for the next 2 years people from all races, cultures and religious background descended upon Los Angels in what is historically known as the Azusa Street Revival. It was the birth of the Pentecostal Church Movement in the Unites States.
But something far more reaching begin to happen, people forgot about their race, culture, economics and religious affiliations and began to worship God in unity and spirit. The Holy Spirit was directing the lives of men and women as they laid aside their differences and made Jesus Christ the center of their worship.
Now 100 years later the church is still divided based upon individual preferences that once again center upon race, culture, economics and religious affiliations. In 1906 the country was divided and segregation was practiced and embraced. But here in the Year 2008 I see a nation more willing to embrace each other regardless of our differences.
However there is still a division among groups but this time it is more generational than cultural. Those under the age of 35 years see the world completely difference than their parents and grandparents. They are more likely and willing to embrace people that don’t look like them. This can clearly be seen in the Democratic Presidential race. Whites that are under 35 and are college educated are overwhelmingly embracing an African-American as the next President of the United States. Older white Americans still are having a difficult time understanding the changing paradigms of our country.
The church has similar problems. Blacks, whites and Spanish are more comfortable worshiping with people that look like them and have the same economic background. The church must be the forerunner and change agents to embrace all people from all nations.
I believe in my heart that the church is positioned to overcome those obstacles and we will see the church united in principle and faith. We must ask ourselves as believers these important questions: How do I connect with people who may not look like me or worship like I do? Do I see the members of other Christian Churches as valuable and necessary as my own?
It begins with us as believers but more importantly it begins with you. Will you change so that God can be exalted throughout the earth? Will you cross the color line, the economic divide and put down your Christian religious experience and embrace the whole Body of Christ?
Peace
