Do we need to integrate our churches?
by Naomi Schaefer Riley (New York Post - February 23, 2015)
‘When it comes to race, our churches must reflect the united kingdom of Christ more than the divided states of America.”
That’s the mission of a Southern Baptist Convention-hosted conference in Nashville next month. In the wake of “recent events in Ferguson and with Eric Garner,” the Baptist leaders think it’s their duty to change their flocks. Many leaders of other denominations agree.
But is more diversity in their pews really all that feasible — or even that worthy a goal?
To start with, the people in the pews now don’t seem to be on board for this exercise in social engineering. In a new poll from LifeWay Research, just 40 percent of churchgoers said they think their congregations need to become more ethnically diverse.