Healing Racial Divides: Finding Strength in Our Diversity - Paperback

by Terrell Carter (Author)

Can the church help America emerge from its racist shadows empowered to heal racial divides? Church pastor and former police officer Terrell Carter says yes. While our faith inarguably calls Christians to unity, the hard fact remains: we're still tragically divided when it comes to race, even - and especially, many say -- in our churches. Racism pervades our faith, our relationships, and our institutions in deep, often imperceptible ways. In Healing Racial Divides, Terrell Carter, a pastor, professor and former police officer takes us on a revelatory journey into the abyss of the racial divide and shows us how we've arrived at this divisive place. Understanding racism's roots - and our place in it - we surface more committed and empowered to defeat racism once and for all. Drawing from the Bible, scholarly research, and personal experience as a both a former police officer and a black pastor serving white congregations, Carter unpacks the deep roots of racism in America, how it continues to be perpetuated today, and practical strategies for racial reconciliation. Looking forward, he shapes a bold and faithful vision for healing racial division through multicultural communities focused on relationship, listening, and learning from each other. With a pastor's heart and an academic's head, Carter invites us to look at where we've been-and where God calls us as spiritually mature Christians, seeking healing and true unity on earth. In Healing Racial Divides, Terrell Carter helps us: Understand the roots of racism in the world, the church, and ourselves ? Gain a biblical perspective on the sin of racism, as well as the biblical call to Christian unity ? Examine how racism continues to be perpetuated in America today ? Explore the concept of "white normality" and its aftereffects ? Discover a way across the divide through the creation of multi-cultural relationships, churches and communities

Author Biography

Terrell Carter is an author, artist, pastor, professor, and former police officer specializing in addressing issues of race relations in the church and community. He is director of contextualized learning and assistant professor of practical theology at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kansas, and is the pastor of Webster Groves Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Carter is the author of several books, including Leadership in Black and White: Practical Suggestions for the Church to Become a Healing Presence within Divided Communities and Walking the Blue Line: A Police Officer Turned Community Activist Provides Solutions to the Racial Divide. He is also a regular contributor for Ethics Daily, Baptist News Global, Word and Way, and Huffington Post. Carter was named an Emerging Scholar of the American Baptist Churches USA in March, 2016. He lives in St. Louis with his wife and children.