Why?
I started Clemson Believers for Racial Unity in the spring of 2021 in response to what I saw as a major need in the church. The reality and persistence of racial disparities and tensions in the United States had been apparent to me for some time, but I struggled to identify a concrete way to address it until the idea for this group came to me.
The idea was the culmination of both national events and personal experiences. For me, as for many others, the murder of George Floyd in early 2020 and the protests that rocked American cities for months afterwards returned my attention to the existence and seriousness of racial issues. As I re-evaluated my efforts in the area of racial justice and unity, I began to search for places in Clemson to forge interracial friendships. I struggled to find any. In high school, I consistently had friendships and interactions with people of other races, but I realized that was almost completely absent from my life after coming to Clemson.
This bothered me, because I knew that I was missing out on the different perspectives and experiences of people who didn’t look like me. I wasn’t being challenged by their differing views or shaped by cultures different from my own. For the most part, I was and still am surrounded by people who look, talk, and think like me. I don’t believe that there is anything inherently evil in wanting to be with people who are similar to you, but when that applies to almost every person in every area of your life, it becomes a problem. And nowhere was that problem more apparent to me than in the church.
Too often, the black church and the white church exist in America as two separate entities. Different cultural traditions and worship preferences play a role in that, and it isn’t wrong to want to worship in a way that aligns with your cultural background and preferences. But the church is the church. The Bible speaks of the church as a single, unified body of believers.
We are all made in the image of God with inherent dignity and worth.
We are all designed by God to bring glory to Him.
We are all fallen and sinful and in need of rescue.
We are all loved and pursued by the God who made us.
We are all purchased by the blood of Jesus at the cross.
We are all being transformed into the people we were ultimately made to be.
That is who we are, and that fundamental identity knows no boundary of skin tone or culture.
I firmly believe that for us to go about our lives not knowing, not hearing, not caring about the lives and needs of believers who look and talk and worship differently from ourselves is to neglect God’s intention for his church. When we worship God in heaven, we will do so with people “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Revelation 7:9). His design is for people of every race and culture to worship together. When we go through our lives with hardly any interaction with believers that are different from us, we limit our view and knowledge of God to our particular cultural interpretation. We miss out on the opportunity to learn, and we stand in apathy or even opposition towards God’s ultimate plan for humanity. It is important to intentionally seek interaction with Christians of other races.
I really believe this is something we need to pursue, and that’s where BRU comes in. As I looked around and saw so little interaction across racial lines in the church, I saw an opportunity to encourage that interaction. The idea of BRU is to provide an intentional space for conversation and relationship among believers of different races. My vision is for the group to be defined less by its activities and what we do, and more by its community and who we are. Here’s some of what I think that might look like:
We want to have difficult conversations about racial issues, particularly as they pertain to the church. We want to be exposed to and shaped by new perspectives. We want to be honest about our shortcomings and failures with an eye towards practical solutions.
We want these conversations to take place as part of ongoing relationships that are not limited to the group. We want to get to know each other and share our lives with one another, to have genuine and authentic friendships.
We want to be a group where people of different races, church denominations, cultural backgrounds, and political persuasions are represented.
We want to be open, honest, and vulnerable. We want to be able to say hard things and hear hard things. We want to be humble and kind in our interactions. We want to lay aside our need to be right.
We want to be unified in such a way that shows the world the truth and power of the Gospel in its ability to overcome any worldly divisions.
These seem like lofty and difficult goals, but I believe that we can get there. Luke 1:37 says that “nothing will be impossible for God,” and I believe that He will bless this effort to better align our lives with His will. I encourage you to consider getting involved if you are able to do so, and regardless, I ask for your prayers as we navigate these difficult issues.
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From our founder, Will
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Reach out to Brynne (brynnes@g.clemson.edu) or Malaysia (malaysb@g.clemson.edu) for more information or to get connected!