we are an inclusive family
our church should feel like home to everyone
The Bible clearly teaches that the Christian church should be an inclusive community, making no distinction of race, gender or status.
In the book of Galatians, the apostle Paul writes in his letter to the church: ‘Faith in Christ Jesus… makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman’ (Galatians 3:28). In response to Jesus’ teachings throughout the gospels, and particularly ‘The Great Commission’ in Matthew 28, Christians have been travelling to every corner of the earth to spread the Gospel message to every tribe, tongue and nation since the time of Jesus’ death over 2000 years ago.
Sadly, however, in our pursuit to win the hearts of every person to put their faith in Jesus for their eternal salvation, we have somehow woven in the importance of our own white status and white position (now known as ‘White Privilege’) as greater than that of the very nations we have been trying to reach with the message of a non-discriminating God who equally calls everyone ‘His Children.’
It is clear to see as we look back in history that events such as the crusades (1095-1292) caused more damage than good. The slave trade (1502-1863) was embraced by the white Christian churches here in the UK and most churches and cathedrals owned several acres of slave plantations. The Apartheid in South Africa (1948-1994) was supported by churches who devised separate congregations for black, coloured and white participants. Here in Britain in the 50’s and 60’s it was common for churches to prefer black members to go to their own black led churches. Laws to ban racial discrimination only started to come into force in Britain in 1965 through the Race Relations Act which was amended in 1976 and again in 2000 to include the promotion of racial equality.
While the laws on Racial Discrimination have been tightening up over the past 55 years, as Christians we know that unless the law is written on our hearts, it has little effect. With this in mind we feel it important to make clear where our hearts stand on Racial Discrimination at the Bourne Christian Centre.
our beliefs
We believe all people are created equally in the image of God. We believe any form of racial discrimination contradicts Jesus’ command to “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:31), and his summary of the law that states, “So in everything, do to others as you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). We believe every person should feel welcomed, loved and equally valued as they enjoy their freedom to worship at Bourne Christian Centre regardless of race, nationality and skin colour. We advocate that both remarks and actions that focus on a person’s skin colour are deemed as racism.
our promise
While embracing each other’s cultures and learning from what we can offer each other, we will not tolerate any different treatment in word or deed toward any black or ethnic minority groups within our church. Further to this, we promote an attitude of complete unity between all people of all races both within the church and in wider society. We stand united in seeing the need to lovingly challenge any intentional or unintentional words or deeds that could be seen or interpreted as racist. We believe this is part of healthy accountability commanded by Jesus (Luke 17:3), as well as standing up for the justice God is seeking to bring freedom to the oppressed (Luke 4:18).
our aims
We aim to ensure that all at Bourne Christian Centre understand that racism exists even within churches today and feel prompted to challenge it in whatever sphere of life it is encountered. We aim for Bourne Christian Centre to feel like home to all those who enter.