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WWW.AGRM.ORGMAYJUNE 2016 17 Jim is an author and speaker who feels privi- leged to have been able to minister to the multi- colored body of Christ in Africa Asia Australia Europe and North America. Contact him at jimjameswatkins.com. The least diverse is the National Baptist Convention which is 99 percent black. Martin Luther King Jr. broke away from the convention which had an official policy of noninvolvement with the Civil Rights movement. The second- least diverse is Evangelical Lutheran Church of America with 96 percent white and 2 percent black members. Bobby E. Mills a college professor and public sector administrator explains the Churchs segre- gation is the result of different worship styles based on distinctive cultural traditions. Experi- ential lifestyles and family differences cause the content of sermons and delivery styles in black and white churches to be vastly different. These facts also account for different motives for worship and church attendance. However parachurch groups tend to be much more diverse. They focus on service rescue missions overseas development and evangelism social services justice advocacy and so on rather than worship. One thing is clear Polls document the fact that blacks and whites differ on the state of racial relations. When asked if racial discrimination is very serious 80 percent of blacks answered yes but only 28 percent of whites did so. Blacks and whites are closer in their views that racial relations are indeed bad 68 percent of blacks and 56 percent of whites. Change has been slow but there has been change. On my latest trip to Florida to speak at a conference I chose a plane over a Buick. The woman at the check-in counter was black as was one of the security agents. One baggage handler was Hispanic. The flight attendant was a black woman with a witty sense of humor who playfully bantered with racially diverse passengers all har- moniously wedged into the tiny commuter plane. Once I arrived in Atlanta it looked like the United Nations was in town as seemingly all races and nationalities mingled in the airports wide concourses. Jewish yarmulkes and Islamic hijabs were sprinkled through the crowds while the gate announcements had a distinctive Indian accent. There were no signs segregating coloreds and whites. The drinking fountains were available for all with even lower fountains for those in wheelchairs. The restaurants and shops welcomed all races. And on the overhead TVs a story about black presidential candidate and former head of neurology Ben Carson told by a Hispanic reporter. Great progress has been made in racial relations but its clear there is still much work to do to fulfill Dr. Kings dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. And will be treated equally. Experiential lifestyles and family differences cause the content of sermons and delivery styles in black and white churches to be vastly different. These facts also account for different motives for worship and church attendance.