WILL NOT ALLOW ANY WHITE FOLKS OR you to disrespect me in my church!" Although he had not physically moved from his seat, his anger seemed to leap out at me across the desk. His eyes were an inferno. I was astonished--not to mention terribly intimidated--by the pastor's reaction. I couldn't believe that he was allowing his personal prejudices to hinder him from supporting an awesome opportunity in ministry; I wasn't even interested in money.

Fifteen minutes earlier I had flitted into his office eager to share about and solicit his help for a new Adventist student organization being started on a local public university campus. Several of the organization's students, including myself, were members at his church, so I felt sure of his support. In fact, another Adventist church across town and their conference, I reported, already thought it was a great idea and were lending their financial and spiritual backing. "This student organization," I concluded, "could be both your baby." And that's when it all spilled out.

The pastor had lived in the U.S. South during the forties, fifties, and sixties. He'd served in the military and witnessed segregation and integration, and he'd experienced cruelty and abuse at the hands and manipulations of Whites. The same "good-ol'-boy" system was alive and well in the Adventist Church, too, he informed me vehemently. And then, I had the audacity to come into his office with yet another (I'd been there before with some other "unity" ideas that he had previously shot down with better reserve) program to help White people undermine a Black man? He not too kindly implied that I should be careful not to let the door hit me on the way out.

An Ugly Reality
I wish I could say that in my 29 years of life that was the first time I'd come across racism in the church, but it wasn't. Racism is an ugly reality that often reminds me that while Adventism has the perfect message, it is made up of imperfect people who are a part of and shaped by the imperfect world in which we live. Nevertheless, facing racism is something that challenges all of us on an extremely personal level--and not just as Adventist Christians but simply as people, as citizens of nations and members of racial and ethnic groups. It is a subject that people in the secular world have a difficult time discussing, and one that we tend to sidestep in the church for fear that it will disrupt the status quo and force us to deal with some very uncomfortable and un-Christlike issues and practices.

As a public school educator, I have noticed that many textbooks are undergoing revision in an attempt to make the curriculum appear more multicultural and diverse. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day events in many schools emphasize the importance of tolerance and how hurtful it can be to discriminate against others simply based on skin color. "Underneath, we are all the same" seems to be the overriding message. And it's a good start.

However, racism tends to have about as much to do with race as sexism has to do with sex, or classism with breeding. Racism, like the other two, has to do with power and privilege, and more specifically, gaining and/or maintaining that power and privilege for myself. Race and physical attributes are simply the arbitrary demarcations of who should have power and who should not. Sexism offers power and privilege by sex, classism by birth and socioeconomic status. Ageism dishes it out by age. In each of these "-isms," power and privilege are reserved for those who have the "luck of the draw." No one can choose their sex, their family, their skin color, or how old or young they are. Racism, like these other dividing ills, is sin because it uplifts and caters to self, while denigrating and marginalizing others. It is the same spirit that inspired Satan's rebellion in heaven from the very beginning--more for me and less or nothing for you.

This selfish spirit has inspired a plethora of painful human atrocities and injustices around the world that will not be fully healed until Christ returns. However, wounds that are not tended to and given some form of healing treatment fester and debilitate the entire body. Racism is a deep, gushing wound that we cannot afford to neglect in hopes that it will just go away. It is going to take direct and decisive action, time, and some uncomfortable soul-searching and prayer before God can truly begin to heal the division that continues to hurt us.

Step 1: Recognize racism and the roles we play in its continuation.
Regardless of what we know to be the correct view of others, we are all products, to some degree, of our upbringing and the societies in which we dwell. While many of us are not guilty of overtly racist beliefs or actions, it may be unsettling to discover that we do harbor subtle prejudices and stereotypes about people based on race and ethnicity. Sometimes those subconscious assumptions are positive, and sometimes they are negative.

Many ethnic minorities and immigrant groups falsely believe that they are not and cannot be racist, because they automatically assume they are the marginalized, victimized, or oppressed to some degree. They think that their feelings, beliefs, and reactions to overt and subtle racism are justified. That is not true. Regardless of our treatment on earth, Christ admonishes us to "love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you" (Matt. 5:44). He knew that a spirit of vengeance and hatred would destroy just as surely as the prejudice that inspired it. We may not control how others treat us, but we can always decide how we will respond.

On the other hand, many who belong to the majority culture are blinded by their own privilege and do not see the subtle nuances of racism around them. One way I help my middle school students to begin to see things differently is by asking them when they last attended an event at which they were the only one of their ethnic group present and how they felt about it. Typically, only one or two in a class of 30 students have ever had the experience, and it was usually somewhat uncomfortable for them. My second challenge is to invite them to look at the magazine racks in the grocery store checkout line or watch television that evening to see how many racial minorities they come across, especially racial minorities that are not fulfilling stereotypical roles, e.g., Blacks and Hispanics as comics, rap/hip-hop stars, or athletes. Many of my students do not think about race issues because they do not have to. Being a racial minority is an occasional, if ever, choice for them, not a daily reality for survival.

These subtle and not-so-subtle realities exist in the church as well. In the North American Division, many of our conferences, churches, schools (primary, secondary, and tertiary), and evangelistic efforts are racially (and financially) segregated in some way, and sometimes with the best of intentions. In regions with large Hispanic populations there are disturbing debates regarding the allocation of funds from more prosperous majority-culture congregations with minimal church growth to financially struggling Spanish-speaking congregations with exponential church growth.

Unfortunately, our habits of exclusion and inclusion, stereotypes and assumptions, have become so second-nature to many of us, regardless of our race and ethnicity, that we automatically stake our claims and move forward with little regard to how selfish, separatist, and disunified we truly are.

Step 2: Have the courage to face our history for what it is.
Many who live prosperously within mainstream society, regardless of their ethnicity, are reluctant to look at history. "If we are to improve race relations," they state nervously, "let's just forget about the past and move on from here." These notions are usually based on an uneasy and misplaced sense of guilt and fear. However, here are a few things that we should all keep in mind:

The Bible tells us that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). There is no race or culture or nationality of people on this planet that has not committed some horrible crime against God or humanity. In fact, almost every continent has had one huge kingdom or dynasty that at one time or another ruled the then-known world, and during those dominant reigns, absolute power corrupted absolutely. The atrocities committed over the past 300 to 500 years, however, seem more horrendous to us because their effects are still with us, but they are not any more horrible or terrible than acts committed previously in history. We must remember that the true author and perpetrator of human cruelty is not any one race or culture. It is Satan! He is an equal opportunity employer of all people.

History highlights the decisions and actions of the majority or the significantly different--not the individual. Not every White person owned or wanted a slave; not every slave desired to be free. Not all American colonists wanted to go to war with England. Not all Germans hated Jews. Just as our current society is a varied and complex mix of people, even within groups of supposed "sameness," it has always been so. Everything that occurs--good, bad, or indifferent--does not reflect the decisions or actions of everyone.

History is a diverse and hybrid mix of many racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. While I faithfully check "African-American/Black" whenever I complete an application and hail my allegiance to the African slaves who labored in the United States for more than 200 years, my genetic code would testify that I am also the descendant of White European landowners and dispossessed Native Americans. The fingers of blame that I might be so eager to point at others might be rightfully and justly pointed at me as well. Whether I am the legitimate heir or not does not change the fact that I am just as much the descendant of a possible oppressor as the White person sitting next to me. There are no "pure breeds" in history.

Those who do not study their history are destined to repeat it. Throughout the Bible God constantly commands His people to establish holidays and erect physical reminders and monuments of their history. In addition, I'm sure many of us have quickly flipped through chapters of genealogical "begats." Both indicate that God believes that remembrance of history and our heritage is important--and not just remembrance of history that paints us in a good light. (1) God wanted to remind His people of who they were without Him and who they were with Him; (2) He wanted to remind them of His love and grace and mercy and goodness; and (3) He wanted them to learn from their mistakes.

We are not responsible for our forefathers' sins, but we are responsible for what we do with what they have left us. While our forefathers may or may not have been justified in how they obtained, developed, and created the society in which we now live, we should be honest with ourselves in knowing that it was not always by honest or honorable means. All of us, even descendants of oppressed or victimized people, are living to some extent off the "ill-gotten" gains of others. The idea of full restitution is unrealistic and impossible. However, to continue living as though the privileges we now possess are rightfully ours and have no conscientiousness toward those who have been unfairly disadvantaged in some way is wrong. Otherwise, we are no better than the men and women who obtained those privileges dishonorably to begin with.

Step 3: Forgive.
Before we can forgive others, we must first ask God to forgive us--to forgive us for our own prejudices, biases, and attitudes; our own self-exaltations and desires for power and control, especially at the expense of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Then we need to ask God to help us forgive others the same way He forgives us. We must recognize and know that injustices will continue and that there are going to be some wounds that will not fully heal until Christ returns. We must continue to remind ourselves that the true culprit of racism and oppression and injustice is not the man or woman deceived by and practicing it, but Satan.

Step 4: Recognize that diversity does not equal division, nor does it equal a melting pot.
Many people are threatened by the idea of diversity because they are afraid of one of two things: (1) They live under the false belief that our current existence is harmonious when it is not. These people are usually members of (or participants in) the majority culture, and they are threatened by the idea of becoming one of many rather than remaining the "norm" by which all others must live. They fear a division that they are unaware already exists, but one that would also displace them. (2) Similar to the first is a fear that diversity would mean a loss of all the cherished distinctions that make each ethnic, cultural, and racial group unique and beautiful. This second group is usually made up of immigrant cultures as well as those who have realized a difficult struggle to survive within a new nation. They tend to have a very strong identification with their culture, their language, and their heritage, and are not ready to sacrifice that to become some conglomerate, homogeneous whole.

The beauty of diversity is that God made it! God creates everything uniquely; it is not His desire that we should all be the same. There are hundreds of types of trees. They have some basic characteristics and needs that unite them and make them the same, but their appearance, their functions, their locales, and their specific needs are different. The same exists in everything on this planet, and in the humanity God created.

God has designated that our unity be based on our common brotherhood and love for Him, His for us, and ours for one another. We are all in need of His saving grace and mercy. And yet, in our physical attributes, our locales, our languages, our customs, our clothing, our ways of doing things, et cetera, we are different. God intended it that way because He enjoys diversity. Like a bouquet of flowers or a garden salad or an excellent painting, when our diversity works together, both remaining distinct as well as mixing, something beautiful emerges.

Enjoying and cherishing who God has made me ethnically does not mean that I cannot celebrate and enjoy who God has made you ethnically. Nor do I have to forfeit who I am to appreciate and participate in other cultures. The blessing of diversity is that it fosters choice and inclusion of everyone.

Step 5: Step outside our comfort zones.
Growth is uncomfortable, and bridge-building is not an easy task. If we wish to draw closer to our brothers and sisters of varying cultures, we must make deliberate choices to think and act outside of and beyond our personal norms. We can start small by visiting different churches or doing research on another culture at our local library. If your city has cultural fests or sections of town dominated by a particular ethnic group, challenge yourself to attend or spend a day in that area. Maybe we need to make an earnest effort to learn a second language and practice it with native speakers.

On a grander scale, we should begin encouraging and planning opportunities for unified worship, fellowship, and evangelistic efforts with other sister churches. To do so, we will have to relinquish some of our preconceived notions on what is "proper" music, worship, and even interaction--and be sensitive and open to the fact that different does not equate to abnormal or wrong. We will need to let go of the control we desire to have and allow God to be in control.

Step 6: Become a patient teacher and learner.
Oftentimes our conditioned ignorance has set us at odds with members of different ethnic groups. We simply know nothing about them, or worse, what we do know about them is false and/or stereotypical. We all need to become avid learners, but also patient teachers. Sometimes I am offended when people ask to touch my hair or tell me that they speak Ebonics, but then I realize that most of the time it is their ignorance that is speaking. I can get upset and prolong their lack of knowledge, or I can turn it into a patient and loving teaching moment.

Step 7: See people for the unique individuals they are.
Our global economy, communications and technological networks, and migratory patterns, as well as our histories--personal and national--have created more ethnic and cultural realities and diversities than we can even number or imagine. While I may share many ethnic and cultural attributes with one group of people, I am just as likely to share other cultural, national, socioeconomic, and religious characteristics of several other groups. We can no longer assume that people possess certain beliefs/attributes/livelihoods based on their race, nationality, and ethnicity. There are little Chinese girls being adopted by White Southerners who grow up listening to the Dixie Chicks. There are Mexican-Americans who grow up in Wyoming, don't speak Spanish or like tacos, and have never been to Mexico in their lives. There are people who are biracial or triracial. All of us are different, and as we meet new people, we need to focus on knowing them as individuals rather than racial or ethnic categories.

Change Begins in the Individual
Unfortunately, we cannot always wait on church leadership to guide us toward doing corporately what God has already commanded us to do personally. Many changes are most effective when they begin in the convicted hearts and lives of individuals who pray and ask God to grant them humble, loving, and obedient spirits.

The apostle Paul tells us that we "are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26). That faith obliterates the divisions created between Jew and Greek (racism), bond and free (classism), male and female (sexism), and places all of us equally before the throne of a loving Savior (verse 28).

In John 13:35 Jesus says, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." He didn't say that going to church on Sabbath or being vegetarian would identify us as His people; He said our mutual love for one another would set us apart. The world is used to squabbling, division, and separatism. A religion that accepted, loved, and collaborated with all people equally in action, not just in theory--that would be phenomenally different! By God's grace and power, it can happen. By God's grace and power, it must happen.

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Atuanya Cheatham, an English teacher and elder-in-training at the Breath of Life church in Seattle, writes from Bonney Lake, Washington.