Allen University Announces Honorees for 16TH Annual UNCF Scholarship Gala

Dr. Gregory B. Levett, Sr.

James Muhammad

Ray Tanner

Despite the reality that most churches are made up of predominantly one racial or ethnic group, most pastors think racial diversity should be a goal for their churches.

Today, 88% of Protestant pastors say every church should strive to achieve racial diversity. That’s a noticeable decrease from the 93% who said the same in 2017. This drop is seen most clearly when looking at the number of Protestant pastors who strongly agree that every church should strive to achieve racial diversity. Whereas 80% of pastors strongly agreed with this statement in 2017, only 68% strongly agree today. At the same time, there was an increase in pastors who somewhat agree from 2017 (13%) to 2021 (20%).

Although the majority of pastors across every age demographic say churches should strive for racial diversity, the youngest demographic of pastors (those age 18-44) are more likely to say they want racially diverse churches (91%) than older pastors (86%). Mainline pastors are also more likely to agree that churches should strive for racial diversity (93%) than evangelical pastors (86%). And pastors in the South are more likely to agree (90%) than those in the West (83%).

“The peak of pastor aspiration for more racial diversity in churches was measured just days after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 where clashes with opponents ended in deaths and injuries,” McConnell said. “While such events that year reminded pastors of the need for progress on racial reconciliation, there remains a consensus among pastors that this unity should be seen within their churches each week.”

THE THREAT

Perhaps one reason pastors care so much about pursuing racial diversity in churches is that they recognize racism as a threat to the church today much like it was a threat to first-century churches when the apostle Paul frequently addressed divisions between Gentile and Jewish Christians.

With recent rises in conversations surrounding Critical Race Theory (CRT), one may expect it to be a larger concern than racism for pastors; however, more pastors (48%) say racism is the bigger threat to the church in the U.S. today than CRT (29%). Another 16% of pastors say neither is a threat to the church, while 6% aren’t sure.

Pastors with a master’s degree (60%) or a doctoral degree (54%) are more likely to consider racism the bigger threat to the church than pastors with no college degree (28%) or a bachelor’s degree (38%).

Pastors aged 18 to 44 (56%) and 55 to 64 (51%) are more likely to say racism is the bigger threat to churches than pastors over the age of 65 h h h h h f65 (37%). Mainline pastors (70%) are significantly more likely to say racism is the more significant threat than evangelical pastors (38%).

THE RESPONSE

One way pastors are addressing issues of racism and racial reconciliation in the church is by preaching on the topic. According to the study, 40% of pastors say they preach on racial reconciliation several times a year, with 19% saying they preach on it at least once a month. In 2014, 35% of pastors said they preached on racial reconciliation several times a year. ...continued on p32

EDITORIAL

CELEBRATING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: A TRIBUTE TO DR. JAMYE COLEMAN WILLIAMS

Whenever I found myself on the wrong end of Jamye Coleman Williams’ finger, she would tell me, “When your father asked me to be your Godmother, I told him: ‘If I do this, I will take this seriously.’” And then she proceeded to chastise me in her stern but loving way. Although my father died in my last year of high school, I was privileged to have my godparents for almost 40 years of my life. She and Uncle Mac were at all the school plays and graduations. She gave me my first black history book as well as my first AME Discipline. Aunt Jamye always remembered my birthday, and I will never forget this one. They embraced and welcomed me into this family, of which I am honored to be a part.

What do you say about a woman who lived to be 103-years-old, who remained active and in her right mind up until the last days of her life (and even outlived Golden Girl, Betty White, a woman of poise and power in her own right)? What do you say about a woman who helped her students organize sit-ins; a woman who stood up to patriarchy and misogyny in academia as well as the Black Church; a woman who made the best corn pudding for Thanksgiving and baked a great pound cake? If you listened to the tributes from every aspect of my Godmother’s life, you have heard her story. To hear her in her own words, I encourage you to visit The History Makers digital archive and see the hours of interviews she gave on everything from marriage advice to politics.

There is one thing that my Godmother loved more than Wilberforce, the AME Church, or Uncle Mac (though sometimes he did wonder about the order). It was Jesus Christ. My Godmother’s faith was at the center of her life. She was a praying lady, and every day she and Uncle Mac (when he was alive) would go through a prayer list of people and causes that touched their hearts. Her strong faith sustained her through health challenges, personal crises, and the deaths of family, friends, and former students. Oh, how my Godmother may have loved the African Methodist Episcopal Church—but she was a Christian first. And there were times when her faith led her to take stances that were not the best political decision, but she was determined to be on the “right side of history,” which meant following her faith. She was never too in love with a role—either in the AME Church, in her community, or her academic career—that she was not willing to risk losing to do what she knew to be right.

Over the last few days, I have heard people across the AME Church ask, “What are we going to do now that Jamye Williams is gone? Who will be the voice of reason?” I submit the following as an answer: At the end of the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus asks the lawyer, “Who was the neighbor?” The lawyer responds, “The one who showed mercy.” Jesus then says, “Go and do likewise.”

To all who can hear my voice, I say: we have seen and heard how Dr. Jamye Coleman Williams lived her life. We have seen how she loved and cherished her family. We have seen how she encouraged others and was uncompromising in her principles. We have seen how she was not afraid to stand up for what she believed, no matter the cost. So, if you want to honor the memory of Dr. Jamye Coleman Williams truly, go and do likewise. So long as those of us follow her example, she will never die. Amen. ❏ ❏ ❏

John Thomas III 21st Editor of The Christian Recorder

Although the number of pastors who preach on racial reconciliation at least several times a year has increased slightly since 2014 from 55% to 60%, 25% of pastors still say they rarely or never preach on racial reconciliation.

“Attitudes, cultural traditions, and friendships within the community do not change by themselves,” McConnell said. “If someone doesn’t call for change, it won’t happen. Most pastors are casting this vision, but about a quarter of pastors aren’t.”

Pastors 54 and younger are more likely to say they preach on racial reconciliation several times a year (44%) than pastors over 65 (32%). Likewise, pastors with a master’s degree (48%) or a doctorate (43%) are more likely to say they preach on racial reconciliation several times a year than pastors with a bachelor’s degree (27%).

THE GAP

More than any other group, African American pastors (97%) see the need for racial diversity within the church, and they want to see the church striving to achieve such diversity. Meanwhile, 87% of white pastors and 83% of pastors of other ethnicities say the same.

African American pastors are also the most likely to say they preach on racial reconciliation several times a month (21%).

...From Most Pastors p27 Not only do these pastors want racial diversity within churches, but they also see racism as an acute threat to churches. African American pastors are the group most likely to select racism (74%) and least likely to select Critical Race Theory (15%) as the greater threat to the church in the United States today. “Nobody expects the color of churches to change overnight, but the appearance of more integrated churches is just barely noticeable over the last decade,” McConnell said. “The hard work of investing in relationships across ethnic lines and setting aside attendees’ cultural preferences to welcome others is still the exception.”

Marissa Postell is a writer for Lifeway Christian Resources. For more information, view the complete 2021 report and the reports from 2013, 2014, and 2017.

Methodology

The phone survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors was conducted by Lifeway Research Sept. 1–29, 2021, using a stratified random sample drawn from a list of all Protestant churches. Quotas were used for church size. Each interview was completed by the senior or sole pastor or minister at the church. Responses were weighted by region and church size to reflect the population more accurately. The completed sample is 1,000 surveys. The sample provides 95% confidence that the sampling error does not exceed plus or minus 3.2%. This margin of error accounts for the effect of weighting. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. Comparisons are also made to a telephone survey of 1,000 pastors using the same methodology in Aug. 30-Sept. 18, 2017, 1,000 in Sept. 11-18, 2014, and 1,007 in Sept. 4-19, 2013.

About Lifeway Research

Lifeway Research is a Nashville-based, evangelical research firm that specializes in surveys about faith in culture and matters that affect churches. For more information, visit LifewayResearch.com.

About Lifeway Christian Resources

In operation since 1891, Lifeway Christian Resources is one of the leading providers of Christian resources, including Bibles, books, Bible studies, Christian music and movies, VBS, and church supplies, as well as camps and events for all ages. Lifeway is the world’s largest provider of Spanish Bibles. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Lifeway operates as a B di N hill T Lif t self-supporting nonprofit. For more information, visit Lifeway.com.