Why We Can't All Just Get Along

Martin Luther King, Jr. lamented, “the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning.”

This remains true nearly 50 years later. One reason for the racial divide in America is due to self-segregation. An article in The Atlantic reported that 75% of white Americans have entirely white social networks. On the other hand, 65% of black Americans have entirely black social networks. In our era of desegregation, equal opportunity and a dark-skinned President, we still choose to separate ourselves by race.

The church, to whom God has entrusted the ministry of reconciliation, may be the chief offender in this area. Self-segregation is actually taught in church growth seminars. The father of the church growth movement, Donald McGavran, called it “the homogenous church growth principle.” He taught that people are most comfortable in a church where they don't have to cross racial, linguistic or class barriers. This has led to rapid growth of first generation churches but has failed to address the racial divide that is hurting our nation.

The Multiracial Congregations Project found that 92% of American churches are predominantly mono-cultural (with 80% or more of its members representing one race). The usual explanation for self-segregation in the church has to do with worship style but that is a thin excuse. The Project found that Catholic churches, which are more likely to be multiracial than Protestants, had little socialization and interaction between ethnic groups.

This racial divide causes blacks and whites to view the causes and cures for racial inequality differently. It fosters distrust and denial and stifles meaningful dialog.

The church is God’s answer to racial and ethnic strife. It is to be an agent of healing and a witness to the world. The church was born in the multicultural milieu of Jerusalem where God-fearing Jews of many nations heard Peter’s message, each in his own native language. (Acts 2)

Christian radio preacher, Tony Evans, says, “It is especially critical during these days of tension and uncertainty that we in the body of Christ intentionally seek to bridge that gap.”

He admonishes us to work together so that greater manifestations of God's Kingdom will be experienced in our churches and our nation. “Pray that the differences endowed upon us by our Creator will not divide us, but rather in embracing them, they will highlight Almighty God’s ability to use diversity for His glory and our good,” said Evans.

It is time to for Americans who are followers of Jesus Christ to reach out to one another past personal preferences, past hidden racial bias, past fear, past anger, and past whatever excuse fits the moment. A nation where racial inequality exists (for whatever reason) cannot be one nation under God.

The underlying problem is sin and the ultimate solution is Jesus. Racial bias and all types of inequality demonstrates an absence of love. It is an issue that Christians of all ethnicities from the entire social-economic spectrum must address together.

First, we must fellowship; we must share meals; we must work together on projects of mutual interest. Then, we talk about deeper issues as friends, as true brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Fall the Church Stood Still

Baptist Temple closed its doors for eight Sundays from October 26 – December 21 in 1918. There was no Fall Festival, no revival, no Thanksgiving service, no choir practice... nothing. All churches were closed. As were schools and theaters; all public gatherings were banned.

Fifty one soldiers had succumbed to the Spanish flu on September 30, 1918 at Camp Travis, San Antonio. The flu had been spreading around the planet, sped along by the close quarters and troop movements of World War I. The first outbreak was in Ft. Riley, Kansas in March 2018. Soon there were outbreaks in Camps Hancock (GA), Lewis (WA), Sherman (OH), Fremont (CA), and San Quentin Prison (CA). In August there were major outbreaks in France, Sierra Leone and Boston. It quickly reached Russia, North Africa and India. The flu eventually reached China, Japan and the Philippines.

The Spanish Flu killed more than 25 million people in the first 25 weeks. It killed more people in 25 weeks than AIDS has killed in 25 years. It killed more people in one year than the Bubonic Plague killed in one century. As many as 100 million died in the pandemic that reached every continent; 6% of earth's population. Six hundred thousand died in the US.

Quarantines at Camp Travis and Fort Sam Houston failed to stop the spread of the flu into the city, where there were already several hundred cases. On October 19, city doctors reported 700 cases in a 24 hour period and the San Antonio Board of Health acted to stop public gatherings.

Baptist Temple Church members J.M. Baugh (charter member) and Mrs. M.T. Heck were among the 881 who died that Fall in San Antonio.

A Church Adapting to a Community in Transition

Baptist Temple circa 1955, before construction of I-10.

In 1964 highway planners made a decision that had a profound impact on the history of Baptist Temple. The proposed route for Interstate 10 changed so that it would pass along Baptist Temple. The original route, planned in 1959, would have connected it further north to I-35 at S. New Braunfels.

More than 800 houses were demolished to clear a way for construction of the highway. The character of the neighborhood started to change as larger homes were converted to apartments and property values declined. The sixties and seventies saw Baptist Temple transition from a traditional suburban church to an inner-city community church witnessing to a neighborhood undergoing economic and social change.
 
The highway was completed in 1968 in time for HemisFair 68, San Antonio's world's fair. Venue construction on the 92 acre site of the fair also eliminated many houses including the house and street where Baptist Temple was born. Although the fair only lasted six months, it, along with highway construction, permanently changed the landscape and demographics of southeast San Antonio. It accelerated the growth in the north side of the city and white flight in the south.

Baptist Temple's response to neighborhood transition was outreach through a variety of conventional (bus ministry, food pantry, clothes closet) and unconventional (medical clinic, methadone program) ministries. The result was a more economically and ethnically diverse congregation and a sustainable church.

In 1972, Baptist Temple was selected as a model church for the transitional church conference at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Baptist Standard wrote, “No church in Texas has done a more beautiful job of reaching people in a transitional community than has Baptist Temple.”

This drew interest from numerous groups throughout the state including Bill Pinson's Christian ethics class at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Texas area missionaries and Women’s Missionary Union leaders.

The highway's impact on Baptist Temple is usually viewed as negative because many of the homes that were destroyed housed church members and it changed the neighborhood. On the other hand, the interstate's construction reflected the America's growing automobile culture. Fewer people walked to church. Many would drive further and further to attend the church of their choice.

The interstate system allowed folks who moved away from the neighborhood to return to Baptist Temple for worship. It also enabled people who were willing to travel a few miles to make Baptist Temple their church home. Baptist Temple's rate of decline was much slower than that of other large Baptist churches in the Southside. This is primarily attributed to its ability to connect with the community but the access provided by the I-10 (as well as nearby Interstates 410, 35, 37) put in position for success.

Megachurches often seek to build along a highway, knowing that folks will drive a bit to attend a church they like. So, as it turns out, I-10 was more of a blessing than a curse for Baptist Temple's gospel mission.