AT THE WELL, NOT ONLY DO WE FIGHT FOR COMMUNITY, BUT WE STRIVE FOR THAT COMMUNITY TO BE DIVERSE; FIGHTING FOR UNITY WITHIN DIVERSITY. THIS DIVERSITY FORESHADOWS OUR TRUE HOME, THEREFORE WE'RE MODELING THE BEAUTY OF HEAVEN UNTIL IT COMES.
(REV. 7:9)

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We are a diverse church and we are proud of that, we are intentional with that, and we are Kingdom-minded with that. This is who we are because this is who our God is. Every man, woman, and child is created in the image of God and should be treated with the God-given dignity they deserve. Not only this, but it is only when we're truly diverse that we get a full picture of God; for each culture reveals aspects of who our God is. Therefore, in fighting for diversity, we're not just fighting to love our neighbor as ourselves, we're also fighting to see more of God, and who He is. 

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Racial reconciliation is a gospel issue (Eph. 2:11-22, Gal. 2:14), therefore we value you, we want to learn from you, we want to honor and see God through you. For the minority, your fight is our fight. This is our issue and we want to respond to it together, being of the same mind, same love, and of one accord.

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WHAT CAN I DO?

Fighting for community, unity, and diversity begins with individuals, but it doesn't stop there. Racism is a complex and systematic issue that permeates every aspect of our society. It is manifested in many different ways whether that is hate, access, ignorance, privilege, apathy, and so on. While racism seems so powerful that it is insurmountable, we have hope in Jesus Christ and will cling to the One who is more powerful and has already given us victory over sin and death.

​Additionally, as Christians, we don’t stop by ending the problem! We continue to move towards full redemption. Around race and culture, this means valuing, honoring, and fighting for each person’s dignity in Christ, unifying as one underneath His blood, but maintaining our distinctness by which each individual person and culture highlights the beauty of Christ. Therefore, we fight for diversity, unity, and the flourishing of all.

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One practical next step to take is to educate yourself on historic racism, systematic oppression, privilege, and the role you and your community play in upholding these systems and, ultimately, ending them. Below, we have a list of resources to get you started on this life-long journey of fighting for racial unity. Join us in taking steps forward to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).

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Please note, while we may not 100% agree with each and every statement included in the resources below, listening, learning, and be humble before others is how we grow. So while there may be sentences, paragraphs, or even action steps that we would change as a church, the overall goal here is to learn.

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SERMONS

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Top Recommendations:

• Justice & Mercy: Racial Reconciliation - Tory Mayo | The Well

• A Culture of Repentance - Dr. Eric Mason

• How to Fight Racism - Jemar Tisby

• Racial Reconciliation - Bryan Loritts

• Woke Church - Dr. Eric Mason | DTS

​Theological Foundations:

• One New Man - Pastor Bryan Loritts

• Tearing Down the Dividing Wall: How the Gospel Shapes Racial Reconciliation - HB Charles

• Racial Reconciliation - Dr. Eric Mason

• Racial Unity and the One New Man - H.B. Charles

• Your Excellency’s Ambassadors - Dr. Celestin Musekura

• Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel on Unity - Pastor Trip Lee

• Learn to Cry: A Theology of Tears - Rev. Vincent Parker

• One New Humanity - Dr. Barry Jones

• Overcoming Our Prejudices Through Christ - Pastor Matt Chandler

• Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel on Unity - Dr. Larry Mercer
   

Justice:

• A Biblical Case for Justice & Mercy - Tory Mayo | The Well

• Complicity in Racism - ​Jemar Tisby

• I Can't Breathe - Pastor Charlie Dates | Progressive Church Chicago

• Let Justice Roll Down - Rich Perez

• The Most Segregated Hour in America - Charlie Dates

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History & Culture:

• Racial Progress in the American Church Playlist - Gospel Coalition

• Rage and Racism in America - Dr. Frank Glover

• The History of the African-American Church - Dr. Rick Rigsby

• Hispanos: Reluctantly Welcomed or an Unprecedented Opportunity - Pastor Carlos Zazueta

• A Discussion on Racial Reconciliation - Dr. Eddie Lane and Dr. Willie Peterson

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BOOKS

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Top Recommendations:

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Theological Foundations:

• One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race and Love by Dr. John Perkins

• The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby

• Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith 
   

Justice:

• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Brian Stevenson

• Dr. John Perkins - How The Gospel and Justice Are Related
   

History & Culture:

• The Souls of Black Folk Paperback by W.E.B. Du Bois

• Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi 

• Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian by John Piper

• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum

• The Cross and The Lynching Tree by James H. Cone

• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Current Issues:​

• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

• With Justice for All: A Strategy For Community Development by John M. Perkins

• Insider Outsider: My Journey as a Stranger in White Evangelicalism and My Hope for Us All by Bryan Loritts

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Next Steps:

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

• How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

• White Fragility, Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin Diangelo

• Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside by Tony Merida

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VIDEOS

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Justice:

• Racial Justice Series - Verge Network

• Unarmed and Dangerous: A Conversation on Race and Justice - Dr. Bryan Loritts | The Urban Perspective

History & Culture:

• Slavery in the Bible, Christian History, and the White Man's Religion - Thrive in the City

• The Civil War, Part I: Crash Course US History #20

• The Civil War Part 2: Crash Course US History #21

• The Atlantic Slave Trade: What Too Few Textbooks Told You - Anthony Hazard

• The Disturbing History of the Suburbs - Adam Ruins Everything

• Race – The Power of an Illusion: How the Racial Wealth Gap Was Created - California Newsreel

• Redlining: The Origin of American Ghettos

• Austin Revealed: Civil Rights Stories - PBS Austin

• Austin Revealed: Mi Historia - PBS Austin
   

Current Issues:

• Racism and Corporate Evil: A White Guy’s Perspective – Tim Keller

Next Steps:

• Gospel Diversity for the Next Generation - Jackie Hill Perry

• Practical Ways to Pursue Racial Reconciliation - Bryan Loritts

• Sho Baraka: How Should Christians Respond to Systemic Issues? - Legacy Disciple

• How Churches Can Address Hidden Feelings of Prejudice and Racism - Jackie Hill Perr

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PODCASTS

• Code Switch - NPR

• America's Reckoning With Racial Injustice - NPR

• Seeing White - Scene on Radio

• Racial injustice and the Fierce Urgency of Now - Jemar Tisby | The Daily Article

• About Race

• Intersectionality Matters!

• Leaving Hate Behind - DTS

• Diverse Views on Multicultural Conversations - DTS

• Learning from Difficult Conversations on Diversity - DTS

• Ministry Amidst Racial Injustice in South Africa - DTS

• An African-American Story - DTS

• Diversity and Reconciliation in the Early Church - DTS

• The Church’s Role in Racial Reconciliation - DTS

• A Biblical View of Racial Unity - DTS

• Biblical Racial Reconciliation - DTS

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BLOGS/ARTICLES

Theological Foundations​:

• Oneness Embraced: Through the Eyes of Tony Evans - DTS
   

Justice:

• Who Gets to Be Afraid in America? - Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | The Atlantic

• We Need to Be Uncomfortable - Phillip Holmes | The Gospel Coalition

• Jesus is Not Colorblind - Cole Brown | The Gospel Coalition

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History & Culture:

• Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail

• A Forgotten History: White Advantage - California Newsreel

• The Absolute Absurdity of a Supreme Race - DTS
   

Current Issues:

• My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant - Jose Antonio Vargas | New York Times

• The American Nightmare - Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | The Atlantic

• My White Friend Asked Me on Facebook to Explain White Privilege. I Decided to Be Honest. - Yes Magazine

• White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack - Knapsack Peggy McIntosh

• I Don’t See You as a Black Friend - DTS

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Next Steps:​

• 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice

• A Call To Self-Reflective Action - DTS

• How to Seek Unity in Diversity: First Steps - DTS

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MOVIES/TV SHOWS

• Just Mercy

• Segregated by Design

• Under the Same Moon

• 12 Years a Slave 

• When They See Us - Netflix

• 13th - Netflix

• American Son - Netflix

• Dear White People - Netflix

• If Beale Street Could Talk - Hulu

• King In The Wilderness - HBO

• See You Yesterday - Netflix

• The Hate U Give - Hulu with Cinemax

• Amistad

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RESOURCES FOR PARENTS
 

Books:

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• EmbraceRace Children's Book List

• The Gospel in Color: A Theology of Racial Reconciliation for Parents by Curtis A. Woods and Jarvis J. Williams

• Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners: Mulitple Books for Children and Young Adults

• When God Made You by Matthew Turner

• God Made Me Unique: Helping Children See Value in Every Person by Joni and Friends

• Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey 

• All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color

• The Skin I'm In: A First Look at Racism by Pat Thomas 
   

Podcasts:

• Parenting Forward Podcast - Episode 5: Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt

• Fare of the Free Child Podcast

Articles:

• PBS’s Teaching Your Child About Black History Month

The Conscious Kid: follow them on Instagram and consider signing up for their Patreon

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ORGANIZATIONS AND WEBSITES TO HELP YOU TAKE ACTION

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• Equal Justice Initiative

• AND Campaign

• Campaign Zero - Local, State, and Federal Policy Actions

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