Pastor Efrem Smith and Spencer Burke take a break at the National Pastor's Convention in San Diego, California, to talk about the dream of a Church that transcends the lines of race, ethnicity and theological divides. Although he grew up going to an all-black church, Efrem remembers attending an event when he was 17 where there were multiple races and ethnicities gathered together and he thought, ââ¬�...ÂThis is the way church is supposed to be.ââˆToday he pastors a church that is multi-racial-a body of Whites, African Americans, Asians, Latinos-and he challenges listeners to decide, ââ¬�...ÂShould church be different? Should we rethink our vision of church as Black/White/Charismatic/mainline/etc.?ââ¬ÃÂ
Efrem and Spencer discuss how it was important for immigrants and first generations to have churches that were single ethnicities or theologies. They were safe places, places to assimilate and strengthen their community. But after second and third generations-perhaps this generation-people ...
