We're going to start a series tonight on racial reconciliation or racial harmony. We'd rather talk about it.

And I call those series even though the five or six sessions will go from here probably on into May with lots of interruptions in between.

It is the seminar for a TBI course in the making. So this is kind of a rough draft run through these sessions. I'm trying

to get up to speed, I'm trying to learn, I'm trying to grow, and that's the context in which you'll

hear these.

We'll be off next week while Millard is here and I'll be here to hear Millard because that's

going to be good. Then we have a business meeting but I think

I'll get 30 minutes before that business meeting the week after that. Then we take a

break till January 17 at least break from my teaching and and then we're back there for two weeks and then we'll space

it out after that.

Now one of the things I want to do is in each one of these 45 minutes sessions have somebody do a little, this is my idea, a little

mini I have a dream. We all know Martin Luther Kings, I have a dream. And I would like to hear from varied people what's their dream for Bethlehem or any way they want to do that.

So that's the context for asking Ken to do this for us tonight. So now, it might make a little more sense why you're doing it. So come, you can hold it, you can whatever your preference is. Can he ask me to just share a little bit in terms of a vision for our church in this whole area of diversity, racial harmony, and that whole thing.

And one of the things that just, you know, as I look around the room, it just, it dawns on me with more intensity, that the vision that I would like to cast

for us is one that is pretty close to, well, it's going to be difficult.

It's going to be difficult for us to be able to fulfill the vision that we have.

And for all of us who be able to embrace this vision.

And one of the reasons why I say that is because this issue, racial harmony,

this issue of looking at diversity from a biblical perspective is one that is that is very

difficult for the Western American white evangelical community to deal with.

And one of the reasons is because lots of us just don't even see a reason to even begin to think about this issue.

Because for lots of people, the issue doesn't exist.

...