The 10 Anchors of Union Church are theological convictions and philosophies of ministry that we are tied to in order to remain faithful to our core values of Gospel, Community and Mission. These Anchors inform everything from our partnerships and budget to our church government and Sunday liturgy. We believe that a strong commitment to these Anchors will create a culture that will bring God glory and us joy.
Anchor # 7 - Racial Reconciliation
We are committed to the racial reconciliation of the family. Salvation can only be achieved through belief in the gospel and any attempt to earn salvation through social justice or minority advocacy campaigns (instead of the gospel) will always fall short. However, given the violent history, systemic biases and political climate of the South, we believe that racial reconciliation is both an urgent implication of the gospel in our specific context as well as a normative pattern found in Scripture. The multiethnic church was Paul’s primary means of gospel advancement in the New Testament – intentionally designed to minimize (not eliminate) the ethnic identity of Jew and Gentile and maximize the new identity of being united with Christ (Gal.3:28).
We also believe that the church should be a prophetic voice within the culture – the lead advocate for justice and defender of the powerless (Isaiah 1:17). The church should also be a forerunner of the Kingdom of Heaven which currently exists as a theologically united yet ethnically diverse community (Rev. 7:9-10). We are signatories to the Charlottesville Declaration – a document calling the church to occupy its rightful place a prophetic institution that condemns both racial superiority and racial apathy.
While every church has a biblical mandate to pursue reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:17-19), not every community’s barriers to unity exist along racial lines. However, in praying for God’s will to be done in Auburn/Opelika as it is in Heaven, we feel that racial reconciliation must be a top priority and specific ministry of Union Church.