The Segregated Hour

Why is 11 a.m. on Sunday still called the most segregated hour in America--and what does God actually say about it?

The Segregated Hour takes readers back to Scripture to answer a question the modern church has avoided for too long: did God ever intend His people to be divided by race, denomination, or tradition? Drawing on decades of ministry across seven nations, Sylvester Williams traces the roots of division--from the schisms Paul confronted in Corinth to the racial fault lines still running through American congregations today.

With unflinching honesty, Williams examines the Genesis narratives, the interracial marriages of Abraham, Moses, and Joseph, and the genealogy of Jesus Himself, revealing a biblical record that never supported the racial separation later built on top of it. He confronts hard history--slavery, segregation, the O.J. Simpson verdict, the myths of evolutionary racism--and holds it up against the plain text of Scripture.

This is not a book that offers comfortable answers. It's a call for the body of Christ to strip away the traditions of men and return to the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17--one church, undivided by the color of skin or the name on the sign outside.

For pastors, church leaders, and believers who sense something is broken in how the church gathers, The Segregated Hour offers a biblical case for change. Open your Bible, and see for yourself what's been there all along.

-- Sylvester Williams