by Stephanie Green '09

Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, Milton B. Engebretson Assistant Professor of Church Growth and Evangelicalism at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Ill. Click here to see a photo gallery from Reconciliation Week.

The week of October 6 celebrated Bethel University's sixth year of events recognizing and celebrating reconciliation. This year's Reconciliation Week was themed "We Are Reconcilers." The beginning of the chapel service on October 8 recounted the racial incidents that occurred during the 2002-03 school year and also highlighted the progressive antiracism and reconciliation steps that have been taken on campus to motivate Bethel towards being a true body of Christ.

In his introduction to chapel speaker Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, Associate Director of Admissions and Community Relations Choua Vang welcomed Rah as "a modern-day prophet who grapples with God."

Rah spoke to the community on the topic of "The Next Evangelicalism," focusing on the account of Acts 15 in which the Church experiences a dynamic shift from Jew to Gentile-centered faith. Rah began his address with statistics on the increasing racial diversity of Christianity and American evangelicalism, indicating that the typical face of 1950s Christianit--a middle-aged, white, North American male--has now shifted to individuals from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

In 2005, Rah said, 40 percent of Christians in the world were white, while 60 percent were non-white. By 2050, it is predicted that 20 percent of Christians will be white North Americans and Europeans, while 71 percent of Christians will be African, Asian or Latino.

"The demographics of our world have changed dramatically," said Rah, the Milton B. Engebretson assistant professor of church growth and evangelicalism at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Ill. "A reality in American society is that we are going to see a nation comprised of no clear majority."

The problem however, he said, is that American evangelicals are "still caught up in 1950s Christianity," though many of the nation's evangelical churches are maintaining their membership or growing because of a rise in immigration and conversion of minority populations. "We are captured by Western white cultural captivity," he added, referring to a recent article in Christianity Today that featured "overwhelmingly white" churches in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, including Bethlehem Baptist Church, Woodland Hills Church, and Solomon's Porch. Rah named Church of All Nations and Sanctuary Covenant Church as two culturally-diverse communities that, although larger than the featured churches, went unmentioned in the article.

"We are looking at American evangelicalism through the lens and framework of Western white Christianity," said Rah.

Rah left the congregation with two challenges: that Americans address racism as sin, and that they also recognize the changing world and engage in relationships with those different from themselves.
"The challenge I have for you," said Rah, "is to be mentored by someone of a difference race, because you're here at Bethel to prepare for your whole lifetime, which will include a major shift towards a global, non-white church."

Reconciliation Week events continued following the chapel service with the Reconciliation Fair and a Community Forum.