The Problem: The inability of the American Church to address racial brokenness

Despite Jesus’s call to be peacemakers, churches in America remain plagued by an inability to address racial brokenness in their communities. Churches are uniquely positioned to bring racial healing. Instead, they often mirror secular political philosophies or disengage from issues of racial brokenness. This is due to several well-intended but misplaced emphases that create obstacles to pursuing racial healing, including:

●  An emphasis on shame over hope: Language laced with shame may momentarily create a desire for change but acts as a demotivator in the long run. People cannot creatively reimagine and innovate when mired in feelings of shame. Instead, they must be motivated by a hopeful vision of the future.

●  An emphasis on information over formation: Information alone doesn’t change people. To heal areas of racial brokenness, people must be invited into healthier ways of being and engaging in the world.

●  An emphasis on theory over practice: Churches need both sound theory and sound practice to experience transformation. An overemphasis on theory leads to a disconnect between knowledge and embodied action, ultimately leading to inaction.

●  An emphasis on the individual over the community: Individuals form communities, and communities form individuals. It is the responsibility of Christian communities to form people into reconciling communities.

●  An emphasis on partisanship over peacemaking: In polarizing times, people are tempted to fall into in-group vs. out-group thinking - labeling others as “for” or “against” them. The practice of peacemaking in the midst of divides is the place where spiritual maturity is tested and cultivated.

These misplaced emphases tend to move race-related conversations in unhealthy directions: toward divisive engagement rather than spiritual, interconnected practices. Instead of being a beacon of hope, the Church’s prophetic voice is weakened, creating increased levels of distrust and disengagement.

What is needed is an approach to race-related conversations that put the focus back on the things that promote racial healing and harness the Church’s strategic role as agents of reconciliation.

The Solution: Equipping the Church to Pursue Racial Healing

Arrabon is a spiritual formation ministry that equips the American Church to actively and creatively pursue racial healing in their communities by offering a discipleship process that results in a new action.

We provide pastors and church leaders the resources they need to transform their churches into reconciling communities – moving from impasse to agency in the midst of racial brokenness.