Ron Karriker grew up in North Carolina in the segregated world of the ‘40s and ‘50s, a member of the so-called white oppressor group. The inequalities of life made no impact upon him for he hated no one. He was too busy growing into young adulthood to recognize the differences that society engineered into the human population.
As a teenager Ron thought God had called him to be a Christian minister. You Ain’t My Preacher is the story of his quest to fulfill the call and how it led him at age 54 to become the only White student in an historically Black seminary. But not before he had held positions in social work, business management, and mental health counseling.
Ron’s appointment by the United Methodist Church to Scotts Chapel and Philadelphia, two African American congregations, began a saga about personal growth, disappointments, trust, and experiences of overt racism.
Reflections on his seven years in a cross-racial ministry will bring you to laughter and tears and will open your heart to the true meaning of “Love thy neighbor.”
