Accepted Power: Black Authority and the Multiethnic Church

Abstract

Black people, specifically American descendants of slaves, and the American church have had a complex and painful relationship. From the slave plantation, to Jim Crow, to the Civil Rights Movement, and Black Lives Matter, the relationship between Black Christians and the church seems to have improved. Black slaves are no longer being beaten or imprisoned for secretly having their own worship services, nor are Black Christians openly being told they can't sit on a pew in a White church, nor are Black Christians the only ones speaking out about racism and injustice, as many White Christians have joined in the fight. In an effort to unite Christians in America, the multiethnic church movement has gained momentum. But what does the dynamic between Black Christians and the American church look like now? I investigate this question through study of the contemporary multiethnic church movement. While Black and White Christians have come together in churches, it is not without relational issues that are the result of the unreconciled past.