The Center for American Progress concludes that 400 years of exploitation, deprivation, and murder of African Americans have left us devastated in many ways. Despite valiant efforts through the years at racial reconciliation, respect, justice, and equality are still elusive. Sadly, disunity is most noticeable within the Christian church, which is supposed to be Christ’s model for the rest of society. Yet as many know, Sunday morning at 11:00 is still the most segregated hour of the week. If only we could live out in practice what Jesus Christ our Lord died to achieve. We read in the book of Hebrews about Christ’s role as Great High Priest. God chose Him to be the sacrificial lamb suitable to bring about reconciliation between sinful humanity and a holy God. Because sinful humanity had so thoroughly violated God’s holiness, only God—not man—could dictate the means for reconciliation. Jesus satisfied God’s righteous demands by dying in our place. Today, one way—perhaps the only way to bring about reconciliation is for those who have offended to humbly sit down with those who have been offended and explore ways for repairing the past and fashioning a future together.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
