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JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 5, 2014 — Christians should care about racial diversity because the pages of Scripture are filled with it, Trillia Newbell told the 51���� community Sept. 3.

Newbell, a writer and speaker, is the consultant on women’s initiatives for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. In an address in G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel, Newbell discussed racial diversity and how the gospel is the foundation for the pursuit of it.

“The holy one, pure and awesome, created us to reflect him, his beauty and his character,” Newbell said. “We are not worthy of this. As God’s image bearers, all of us here, we are equal in dignity and worth. We are also fallen equally.”

Even though Christians know that all people have been created equally, Newbell said they still fight among themselves based on skin color. The solution to this problem is rooted in the “race-transcending gospel,” she said, and the only way for racial harmony to come about is through the transformation of individual hearts that God’s spirit and God’s grace enables.

Newbell challenged Union students, faculty and staff to intentionally surround themselves with diverse friends and to build environments where everyone – including the poor, Asians, African Americans and white males – are welcome.

Newbell’s entire address can be viewed at .