The Scriptural foundation that must be kept in mind when participating are the following (click on the Scripture reference to see the passage from “The Message” then close the new tab to return to this page):
Ephesians 2:14-18 Christ broke down the walls of separation between human beings.
1 Corinthians 12:13-27 We are all necessary parts of the Rock Church body.
John 13:34 How we love one another is a witness to the world.
1 John 4:20 If we do not love those in our body, how can we say we love God?
Rock of Our Salvation Evangelical Free Church has been a multi-cultural church since its foundation.
We are equal in God’s sight and all necessary members of Christ’s body here. We are commanded to love one another so that the world can see that we are really Christ’s disciples.
There are challenges in a multi-cultural church that do not exist in a homogeneous congregation. Can we love and work with others without getting to know them?
Years of slavery and segregation have created stereotypes that are hard to escape. The news media, in their quest for readers, emphasizes occasional events and makes them seem ‘normal’, thus generating lots of fear about specific areas in the city and re-enforcing the stereotypes. See Historical Overview to see how Austin arrived at its current state.
We are called to move beyond the stereotypes and get to know each other as individuals.
Remember, the Evil Spirit of Division wants to prevent relationships and sow dissension.
Tolerating each other is not enough. We need to know and love each other.
Fudge Ripple is a process that Glen Kehrein and Raleigh Washington developed for Rock Church, to encourage and enable discussion of pre-conceived notions, stereotypes and misunderstandings to resolve current disagreements and to prevent future ones.
On February 19, 2017, Rock Church revived the practice. During the Sunday School hour, Chocolate and Vanilla meetings were held. In both meetings, participants were encouraged to write down anonymous questions which were then discussed. After church, a Fudge Ripple meeting was held where summaries of the Chocolate and Vanilla meetings were given and some of the questions discussed again.
Our goal is that both Chocolates and Vanillas feel free when interacting together.
The meeting ended with this reminder: God is our Father whether we’re Chocolate or Vanilla. Matthew 23:9
Link to Fudge Ripple Meeting Write-up
Link to Fudge Ripple Photographs
Link to 2017 Fudge Ripple Explanation
Link to Historic Explanation of Fudge Ripple
