My eyes swelled with tears as my mind filled with hundreds of memories of the past. All of my emotions were engaged as I recounted my days as a youth in the segregated southern town of Pelham, Georgia. As a guest lecturer in Dr. Ken Castor’s Social Justice class at Crown College, I wanted to make an impact, but I was not ready for the affect that my story would have upon me. My tears were not of sorrow but of joy and gratitude for the journey of racial reconciliation that God has called me to passionately embrace.
The Deep South
The memory of growing up in a world of two cultures that were separate but not equal is vivid. It was the ’60s. In Pelham, African-Americans were forced to order take-out food at a window in a side alley that was unappetizingly sandwiched between two “slop” buckets where the farmers retrieved feed for their hogs. Schools integrated, and riots broke out, with fires and fighting on the streets.
In schools, students were separated into groups. I was the only African-American male in the “A” classroom, while all of my other friends were placed in “B” or “C” groups. Most of the white students were in the “A” and “B” groups, which were instructed by white teachers. It was classism at its best in the heart of America. I will never forget being slapped in the face by a white teacher and called the “N” word because I was in the hall before the bell rang, even though I showed my hall pass.
These painful experiences prepared me to be a reconciler. Allowing the pain of the past to paralyze me would have left me bruised and bitter. The apostle Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). I became broken—and better—as I allowed the peace of God to heal me.
Against the Wind
God began to shape my worldview of reconciliation through two instances. The first was when I was in third grade. The winds of integration had upended the schools in Pelham. High school students fought with bricks and bottles. Students in my elementary school fought with their fists. Teachers locked the doors before school, during breaks, and at lunch while students expressed their aggression outdoors.
I was not a fighter and did not understand why people were so angry. I relished the opportunity to sit next to a white student and learn from his culture. It was a challenge to me, not a crisis. One day while I sat on a bench, a white student, who also had grown weary of the hostilities, sat down and started talking. Neither of us could figure out why everyone was fighting. Our meeting developed into a lifelong friendship, and, fittingly, we are both ministers of the gospel today.
The second instance that impacted my path to reconciliation happened when I was a student at Simpson University in San Francisco. Some of my white friends came to hear me preach at one the black Baptist churches in the city. I was excited to welcome these students to experience our exuberant and participatory style of worship. For many, this would be their first time attending a black church. It was a dynamic worship experience, indeed, but I forgot one thing. It was February, which meant that it was Black History Month. Every speaker that Sunday used racial innuendos to describe what had happened to African-Americans in this country.
The entire service was summarized in one speaker’s comments, “The white man brought us here in chains, and the white man still has us in chains.” Needless to say, I was horrified and embarrassed. I understood the hurt of my people, but I also saw the humiliation on the faces of my white friends. We had long conversations after this worship experience that helped to redefine our world view. This began a journey to unmask what the Bible says about reconciliation.
The Face of Reconciliation
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated that the most segregated time in America was at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning. Why is it so difficult for Christians from different ethnicities to worship together? Must we continue to be so divisive, even in the church? I began researching the subject of reconciliation and multicultural churches. The works of John Perkins and Dr. Howard Thurman impacted my approach to ministry. Both men referenced Acts 10:34-38 as a developmental foundation for their core values:
Then Peter began to speak, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached-how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.”
God was shaping my mind and my heart, molding me as a reconciler as I discovered His love for all people. As a new creation in Christ, I examined how my theology and my practice match up in life. As a reconciler, I believe that I need an internal conviction. We all have prejudices, and we must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal them to us and show us how to reconcile with others.
Additionally, I must make an intentional commitment. In order for reconciliation to be sustaining, I must make it happen, ensuring that my staff, friends, influencers, and life experiences are multicultural ones. God wants us to not only be hearers of the Word but also doers of the Word.
Finally, reconciliation is an incessant lifestyle commitment. In this ever-changing world, our commitment to reconciliation must be never-ending, as we persevere in our journey to discover and grow as reconcilers. Paul said in Philippians 3:12-14, “Brothers I not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
No Color Lines
Eventually, I left the black church and chose to work with The Alliance, which gave me the opportunity to minister with Christians from a variety of countries and ethnicities. This step was viewed as courageous by some and with great consternation by others.
For 11 years, it was my privilege to pastor one of the most diverse churches in the C&MA, the San Francisco Neighborhood Church. Also, I became a representative for The Alliance at the historic joint meetings between the National Association of Evangelicals and the National Black Evangelical Association in their reconciliation conferences. My wife and I planted a C&MA church in Vallejo, California, and purposefully gathered a multicultural core planting team.
Just off the coast of Senegal on Goree Island is, pointedly, one of the most preserved slave trading outposts. It was there that C&MA leaders from all walks of life met and forgave each other for the atrocities of slavery. These ministry moments have forged healing and hope for the future.
As an Alliance pastor, I have opportunity to minister in a wide range of ethnically diverse churches and districts around the world, where, as Alliance founder A. B. Simpson said, “Your Master knows no color line, save that of His blood-red cross.” The C&MA is not perfect, but it is a good representation of the multiethnic Body of Christ, working together to reach lost people locally and globally.
Although Crown is not the most diverse of our Alliance colleges, a vivid picture of reconciliation is apparent in its classrooms. Through tears, I saw African-American students working and studying side-by-side with students who represent other ethnic groups. I shed tears of hope and joy in knowing what Christ—our Hope of glory—has done and can do in our lives.
Rev. Terrence Nichols pastors New Hope Church Community in Vallejo, California, is president of the C&MA’s Association of African-American Churches, and has been a voice of hope in the journey of reconciliation within The Alliance.
Learn More
Read more about reconciliation in Alliance Life.
Find out how New Hope Church Community is impacting its San Francisco Bay Area community.
Pray
Pray for U.S. Alliance churches that are reaching multicultural urban settings with the peace of Christ.