…Recognize the necessity and importance of homogeneous ethnic churches because of the reality of white privilege. So far, the Rev. Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, is the only white evangelical I know of who can accurately explain why ethnically homogenous churches are necessary in America.

Two of my heroes who promoted racial reconciliation after the civil rights movement are J. Deotis Roberts and John M. Perkins. In different ways these two men both wanted to see the church of Jesus Christ provide a post civil rights era image of racial unity and peace. While there has been much progress, many of their dreams have yet to come true.

But I am convinced that the church will only be able to lead society on race if it moves beyond reconciliation and pursues racial solidarity, which means embracing our common human dignity (Genesis 1:26-28) as a human family in ways that celebrate and respect differences between ethnic communities for the common good. This is beyond the failed concept of “color-blindness” and recognizes the importance of racial, ethnic, and ideological differences as a catalyst for loving our neighbor’s well (Matthew 22:36-40; John 17).

As such, I believe racial reconciliation has largely failed for four reasons:

1. Racial reconciliation fails to interrogate white privilege. There is no denying the dominant cultural group in America is Caucasians. Being a white person in America comes with many unarticulated advantages. In 1988, Peggy McIntosh launched a national discussion by suggesting a framework to engage this discussion—a topic that evangelicals have yet to explore. White privilege has been defined this way: “A right, advantage, or immunity granted to or enjoyed by white persons beyond the common advantage of all others; an exemption in many particular cases from certain burdens or liabilities.”

2. Racial reconciliation advances according to the limitations of white social norms. Because there is little discussion of power in relation to white privilege, minorities are usually put in positions where they have to check their ethnicity at the door in order to engage

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