You can’t be in multicultural Christian ministry for long without hearing about Dr. John M. Perkins. I was saddened to hear of his passing on March 13, although for him it is a blessing as he goes to be with the Lord.
Besides reading his books, I got the chance to hear him speak at the Mosaix conference in November of 2016 and 2019, and for all of the accolades, he seemed so humble. We could have listened to him for hours. His passing now leaves a large hole in the area of racial reconciliation, Christian Leadership and Christian community development.
For my doctoral program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I wrote a brief reflection on his book Dream with Me, and I thought I would pass it along…
“Upon seeing that Dr. John Perkins had come out with a new book, I knew it was something I needed to read. It was a joy listening to him in Dallas, and I desired to hear more. His book was one that gets to the heart of Jesus’ teaching, the Greatest Commandment.
He speaks of the 3 R’s: Relocation, Reconciliation, and Redistribution. All challenging, but he clearly spells out why they are needed. He also shares that as you connect with them, others follow. He states that redistribution involves more than just taking from the rich to give to the poor. Redistribution should be used to help people learn to take care of themselves.
Dr. Perkins shares about his life, giving details that are enlightening and horrifying. Where was the church, and where is the church? Given our current racial challenges, why is it that we as a church are not doing more to come together?
‘Think about it. If we actually went to church together, if we actually considered our brothers and sisters of different ethnicities and classes to be vital members of the body of Christ, what a great witness we would be for the world in which we live! I am all for churches being a part of the nonviolent marches and protests that have happened in the wake of violent killings, but these protests happen only after a tragic event has taken place. I want the church to be what prevents these acts from ever happening. I want the church to be the community that is so dedicated to loving our neighbors, to caring for the poor and neglected, and to living out true reconciliation that these killings do not even take place. I want the white police officers to be sitting next to the young black boys in church on Sunday, singing songs and praying together, learning to be members of the same family of God. I want the single black mother and the family that recently emigrated from Latin America to go up and take Communion together. I want the older widow, who has been living out a lonely life in a nursing home, to be visited and cared for by the young man whose third-grade test scores said he would end up in prison someday. I want this to be the picture of the church. I want to see a real community of love. Everyone wants to fight crime, fight violence, fight racism, and fight injustice, but love is still the final fight, and unless we have these communities of love, we will never see this dream realized.'[1]
Are we willing to fight for love, and work towards true unity in the body? Reading this book makes it clearer why we should want to do so. As we go through this process, we will hopefully not only catch a glimpse of Dr. Perkins’ dream, but also work towards making it a reality.”
Along the Multicolored Road 
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