“Reconciliation among diverse peoples is hard work. The apostle Paul clearly compels me to live out daily reconciliation in the very concreteness of human relationships with people unlike myself."

I grew up on the plains of North Dakota. Diversity was not talked about, but we knew we had differences. We were German or Norwegian, Lutheran or Catholic. Being Pentecostal, was definitely “different.” I sure felt that way.

Later, while living in Chicago, I watched the civil right struggles through TV images emanating from the South. Though my high school was integrated, I did not realize the depth to which our nation was divided nor the fullest meaning of the struggle for justice that was being waged by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others.

Reconciliation among diverse peoples is hard work. My experience in over 50 nations of the world has taught me that everyone doesn’t see things in the same light.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, the apostle Paul clearly compels me to live out daily reconciliation in the very concreteness of human relationships with people unlike myself.

To give visibility to the doctrine of redemption, we need Spirit-empowered communities of Christ’s followers to live humbly and make people welcome, treating them with respect, so all who enter can be unified because they are all embraced by the grace of Jesus Christ.

President Byron D. Klaus