There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. - Galatians 3:28

America has just made history by electing its first black president. It is truly a great testimony to the social reform that is taking place in the World today.

As an African American I am overwhelmed with joy and excitement about what the future holds. No longer can any excuse be used to justify a lack of initiative.

However as a Christian when I reflect on where the church is, I must admit that I am saddened. Despite the fact that Martin Luther King, Jr. shamed his Christian brethren in 1963 with the words "we must face the fact that in America, the church is still the most segregated major institution in America.

"At 11:00 on Sunday morning when we stand and sing and Christ has no east or west, we stand at the most segregated hour in this nation."

According to the Multiracial Congregations Project only 8% percent of churches are statistically multiracial, meaning that no one racial-ethnic group constitutes more than 80% of the membership.

Obviously, there are some practical reasons for separate worship such as music performance, preaching styles and worshiping closer to home.

Worshiping separately is both bad and a good thing. Bad in the sense it gives the impression of disunity within the body of Christ. It says that we are white or black first and Christian second. It could be viewed as good only in the sense we get to worship in freedom, where we want.

Paul, in his letter to Galatians said "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." In Christ we are Christians! Our race, ethnicity, income, posterity and educational achievements should all be secondary to the fact we are Christian!

Let's not let reform only exist in the world of politics; let's reform the church by understanding who we are in Christ and walking in love.

Founder and pastor of Life Changer's Christian Church, located in the suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, Pastor Sherman Scott enjoys fulfilling the mission of the church which is to 'change lives, strengthen Families and impact communities.' For more information about Pastor Sherman, log onto www.thelifechangers.org. *Pastor Sherman Scott is a 2009 StreamingFaith.com Guest Columnist.

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