Apart from ethnically and economically diverse relationships, we cannot understand others different from ourselves, develop trust for others who are different than us, and/or love others different than ourselves. Apart from understanding, trust, and love, we are less likely to get involved in the plight of others different than ourselves. Without involvement, nothing changes, and the disparaging consequences of systemic racism remain entrenched in our culture.
Surely, it breaks the heart of God to see so many churches segregated ethnically or economically from one another, and that little has changed in the many years since it was first observed that eleven o'clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in the land.
Mark DeYmaz is the founder of Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas and cofounder of the Mosaix Global Network. The author of seven books, DeYmaz is an adjunct professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and at Wheaton College, where Mosaix offers a specialized M.A. in Ministry Leadership. He and his wife, Linda, have four adult children and live in Little Rock, Arkansas.