2015考研英语阅读开启黑人牧师时代_大学英语阅读

2015考研英语阅读开启黑人牧师时代

　　1995年，该教会做出正式道歉并承诺做出改善。近年来，教会已经通过了一系列要求教会招募更多黑人会员以及任命黑人领导的决议。

　　Mr Luters accession will be the most visible sign yet that Southern Baptists are makingprogress on this front. And progress is necessary. They may be Americas second-largestgroup of Christians after Catholics16m strongbut their numbers have levelled off, andhave probably even waned a bit. If the denomination wants to flourish, it will have to findnew members among minorities. It is slowly doing so: whereas in 1990 95% of SouthernBaptist congregations were white, only 80% are nowadays.

　　然而路特的当选显然说明南方浸信会已经在这方面取得进步。进步也是必不可少的。该教会有望成为美国仅次于天主教的第二大基督教会，但是他们的教友数目最近有持平的趋势，甚至可能有所下降。美南浸信会要想发展壮大，必须在少数人群中寻找新会员，这种行动已经缓步开展： 1990年时南方浸信会成员白人占95%，而今的白人只占80%。

　　Their next leader is a living embodiment of that shift. Mr Luter took over Franklin AvenueBaptist Church in 1986, when the congregation had dwindled to a few dozen because itsmostly white membership had fled to the suburbs. Mr Luter built it into a mostly blackgathering that had 7,000 members when Hurricane Katrina struck, in 2005. The church, whichstood in nine feet of water after the storm, has been rebuilt; its flock nownumbers about 5,000.