The 1960s was a socially divided time in the United States. Birmingham, Alabama (the city in which I live) was one of the country’s most segregated and divided. A few miles from my house is the property of 16th Street Baptist Church where the horrific church bombing occurred, killing four children and injuring many others.
January 21, 2019 marks the annual recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States. This federal holiday recognizes King’s life and achievements toward ending racial segregation and promoting racial equality. King was assassinated in 1968.
I recently purchased a copy of the book containing the presentations from the 1966 Berlin World Congress on Evangelization. This congress of 1200 delegates had the support of Billy Graham and Christianity Today. They were an ethnically diverse body of believers from numerous Majority World countries.
In light of MLK Day in the United States, I found it interesting that this book was titled One Race, One Gospel, One Task. The closing statement of the event including the following:
We reject the notion that men are unequal because of distinction of race or color. In the name of Scripture and of Jesus Christ we condemn racialism wherever it appears. We ask forgiveness for our past sins in refusing to recognize the clear command of God to love our fellowmen with a love that transcends every human barrier and prejudice. We seek by God’s grace to eradicate from our lives and from our witness whatever is displeasing to him in our relations with one another we extend our hands to each other in love, and those same hands reach out to men everywhere with the prayer that the Prince of Peace may soon unite our sorely divided world (One Race, One Gospel, One Task, 5).
Maybe in the 1960s these global brothers and sisters realized something about the connection between racial unity and global disciple making. Maybe they were convinced of the truth of Jesus’ words: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35, ESV).
