Love, listen, learn: ‘Reconciling until we reflect Revelation 7:9’

Editor’s Note: Feb. 22 was Racial Reconciliation Sunday throughout the Southern Baptist Convention. This is the second in a two-part series exploring the ongoing work of racial reconciliation within Mississippi Baptist life. Our hope is that it will encourage honest dialogue, deepen awareness, and inspire faithful action as we continue this important journey together.

By Lindsey Williams
Writing Specialist

Today, the Southern Baptist Convention observes the growth of our denomination since that historic day in 1995 when the Resolution on Racial Reconciliationpassed with a 98% majority. 

On that day, we confessed our failures to live out our faith in relations with non-Anglo peoples, and for the cruel abuse, animosity, and apathy to which we perpetrated or turned a blind eye. 

From that day forward, we committed our Convention to surrender to God’s divine will for us in the challenging yet crucial process of reconciliation, while the world took notice of a sincere repentance. Now, we cooperate with more congregations of various ethnic groups than ever before, as our denomination draws closer to fully reflecting the diversity of our country.

Most Sundays, however, at the local congregational level, we rarely reflect the ethnic percentage of our communities. Separation, unintentional or not, tells a story to the world that we are more divided than we are united in Christ. 

Today, as the Mississippi Baptist Convention, we emphasize Racial Reconciliation Sunday as a turning page to a new chapter of Gospel-led conversations and actions in building relationships with one another. 

In exhortative dialogue, the Multicultural Ministries Department of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board reflected together on the reality we face contrasted with the heavenly picture we are called to imitate, and shared ideas for catching this vision as a church.

“Revelation 7:9, which we quote often, is a beautiful picture of the Bride before the Bridegroom — the Church before Christ,” stated Pastor Lowell Walker from Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, Tupelo, “and God has set us here on this earth as a prelude to prepare us for that. I see us so far from there. A beautiful people of diverse tongues, nations, and peoples — but on Sunday mornings and every other day, it does not look like that.

“I don’t want to sound negative, but I have to speak from what I contend with, what I have to hear, and what I have to swallow sometimes. But I am very encouraged in other Mississippi Baptists who make efforts to bring about a change. At the same time, I am concerned because there is always something lurking to bring more division, and those divides take place because we don’t take time to learn each other.”

Worship Without Walls

Ray Duplessie, pastor of Fernwood Baptist Church, Gulfport, acknowledged preferences in worship styles pertaining to cultural differences. “Don’t take offense when someone does not prefer your worship style. But also, don’t assume they won’t enjoy your worship style. Pursue and welcome everyone with the same zeal.”

Even within the pews, division lies in differing experiences, opinions, and preferences, “but that is not where worship is,” affirmed Duplessie. “We are united in worship to one thing and that is to lift up the name of Jesus and give Him the glory and worthiness He deserves.”

Rocky Tzib, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Cristo Vive, Pontotoc, added, “Worship style can change with culture, but one thing that is never going to change is Scripture. If we as Mississippi Baptists could learn that, and love and accept each other as we are, we could worship together.”

“Worship begins outside the sanctuary: how I walk with you, how I witness with you, how I do ministry with you, how I do life with you,” stated Walker. “After that, we come into worship and it’s beautiful. The common ground is that we are all surrounded by lostness. So we must ask ourselves: How can we come together as separate churches as of now, and partner to stand against lostness?

“If we walk the streets together, going up to doors hand-in-hand, and we’re sharing the Gospel, praying with people, learning their concerns — what does that do for the community to see that you have an Anglo church, an African American church, a Hispanic church, a Choctaw church walking hand-in-hand on the outside?”

A partnership for Gospel outreach, Walker believes, would open more doors into the community and galvanize the spirit of worship within the congregations. 

With every church-wide vision, the action begins with the pastor and the leadership. For missional-minded visions, pastors and ministers form partnerships with missionaries and church planters. In this case, pastors and ministers would seek to form partnerships with pastors and ministers of other ethnicities.

The Multicultural Ministries team expressed three general steps for bringing ethnic groups together in your pews:

Be proactive outside: Pastors know that most of the time, the community is not going to come to the church on their own. This is especially true for people outside the ethnic majority of your congregation, who may not be certain they are welcomed. Being proactive to pursue and minister to them and developing those relationships outside the church walls sends a personal invitation of “We want you here.”

Seek partnership outside: Develop relationships with churches of other ethnicities, especially those with whom your church shares a community, and invite one another into your ministries to the community. 

Worship together outside: Designate a place outside the sanctuaries where your partnership of multiple-ethnic churches can come together, worship together, and invite the community with whom you have spent time learning and sharing the Gospel. 

Fernwood Baptist Church is a diverse, English-speaking congregation, aware of the growing Hispanic population in nearby neighborhoods. Duplessie expressed their responsibility to minister to them as much as anyone else in the community. 

“We had a Guatemalan church that worships in our building, and for Christmas, we had a joint service together. We sang Amazing Grace; they sang in Spanish and we sang in English, but it didn’t matter. We all were singing, and then their pastor spoke, and then I spoke, and we had communion together. It all worked out really well. Those kind of events help bridge the gap.”

Welcoming Without Words

Vickie Stuart, member of The Way, Brandon, and Staff Interpreter for the Mississippi Department of Rehab Services, and Paula Smith, Director of the MBCB Multicultural Ministries Department, addressed the challenges of reconciling with the Deaf, who consider being Deaf as their own culture due to their experiences and communication varying from their ethnic background. 

Reconciliation is just as necessary with the Deaf as other minority groups, because the Deaf are frequently forgotten and excluded by “hearing culture.” Sadly, this is often the lifelong experience they have with their own families.

“The Deaf don’t ‘hear’ enough testimonies,” Stuart shared, explaining the lack of discipleship in the Deaf community. This is attributed to a deficiency of Deaf-specific materials and ministries, which explains a shortage of Deaf ministers. “All discipleship requires effort. You can’t just sit and wait for somebody else to disciple; you have to be proactive.” Stuart’s focus is to disciple Deaf individuals to make disciples, the same Great Commission to which all followers of Christ are called. 

She also desires to bring different churches together. “My goal is to see what events ‘X’ church has this year and encourage them to invite the Deaf ministry of ‘Y’ church, and vice versa.”

Smith encouraged churches to confront unconscious bias. “Think about how in planning for an event, you have to provide childcare. Or in constructing a church, you have to provide parking places, restrooms, and entryways for disability access. That is acceptance. That says, ‘We want you here.’

“We have to provide for interpretation for the Deaf. We have to provide interpretation for a Hispanic community. If you don’t, people take that as, ‘You don’t want me.’ We have to think about, as much as possible, putting ourselves in somebody else’s shoes. The best way to do that is to make a connection with someone and just say, ‘Help me walk in your shoes.’”

Moving Forward, Looking Upward

Iglesia Bautista Cristo Vive participated in Disciple Now (D-Now), which are church-held retreats for students to dig deep into Bible study, evangelism, fellowship, and worship. 

“What really blessed me this year was seeing the Anglo, African American, and Hispanic students in our community coming together,” Tzib reflected. “These young kids were just jumping and clapping in worship — because that’s their worship style. They were blending in together with no problem. The Lord told me there, ‘Don’t worry about what’s going on right now. With this new generation, things will change.’”

To read the Resolution on Racial Reconciliation, click here.