In light of the coming Aug 15 launch of the Summit en espanol campus, I wanted to continue the discussion of racial diversity. These thoughts first appeared back in 2007, but I think they are good to think through again…
So here's the question: How important is racial diversity in the church?
On one hand, it's easier to quickly grow your church if you only "market" it to one particular group. You can aim at one "slice" of culture and do things that appeal to that culture… you can
play the music they like, speak in their colloquialisms, dress in their
ways, and program ministries for them. Black churches seem to reach
black people best; rockin' uber-cool churches reach the 20-somethings
the best; organized, "intelligent" laid-back church services reach
professional America the best, etc.
On the other hand, Acts 2 gives you a picture of a church where
people from different races, of different ages, and different
backgrounds come together under one commonality, Jesus Christ. It was
supposed to be a miracle and a sign of Christ's Lordship over
humanity… an incredible testimony to the watching world of the
transcendent beauty of Jesus.
It is clear that the early church was this way. Racial harmony
within the churches was one of the things that astounded the Roman
world and caused the rapid acceptance of the church (see Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity). Recently, Bill Hybels
said that if he had Willow Creek to do over-again, he would have built
his church on diversity. I even asked him, point blank, if he would do
it even if it meant reaching half as many people. Without hesitating he
said, "Absolutely. The larger, corporate witness of the church is more
important than a temporary numbers surge for one congregation."
In order to accomplish that type of unity among diversity, you have
to program for it. There have to be elements in the services that
appeal to other cultures and ages. "Minorities" have to see themselves in our
leadership. Otherwise, they probably won't come… after all, why should we
insist they conform to our culture? For example, think of us poor white
people… most of us were silly enough to think that when we finally
got over being racist and announced that black people were welcome in
our churches, they'd all come flooding back in thanking their lucky
stars for the chance to be in our presence. But why would a black
person want to come to a church that doesn't resemble his culture or
possess any of his "kind" in leadership? But if you start to mix
"black" elements into your service, some of your white crowd gets
uncomfortable and you quit reaching them. Or–change the variable… if
you quit playing your music so loud in an attempt to reach older
people, then you won't reach as many young people.
So, herein lies the dilemma… it seems that the New Testament gives
us an ideal of a church that is diverse in every way. But diversity
seems to hinder growth. And shouldn't we want to reach as many people
as possible as fast as possible? And, by insisting on
diversity in our outreach approaches, aren't we insisting that people
act "sanctified" before they're even saved?
So what is the answer?
Here's where I am… I reserve the right to change any of the below on a whim, and with no warning…
I am thinking it is like a "matrix."
I think that the local church ought to have some ministries that are
targeted at a homogenous group–certain outreaches, certain small
groups, certain special services… where people of one cultural-flavor
try to reach people of that exact same cultural- flavor. The Gospel
penetrates a culture best when it is brought by people of that same
culture.
But laid on top of that are certain things that the local church
does that celebrates and promotes its diversity. Things like the
weekend services, where various cultures are displayed–not "young
whitey" reaching only other "young whiteys." Cultural diversity is the
end-game for the local church.
I have found that most everyone agrees with this in theory, but far fewer are wiling to really be in a church that pursues this. I have young white college students who tell me they really want the church to be racially diverse, but then they balk and complain about any changes we make to the service that may appeal to a black audience.
It is also interesting to me that a lot of the newer, younger "emerging" churches, who are reacting against the culturalism of the churches of their parents, are basically recreating a homogenous culture of their own.
David Wells notes this in his rather incisive Courage to Be Protestant.After pointing out that many young church planters are tired of the "impersonal" nature of megachurches and the mechanics of religion and long for more authentic community, he says,
However, while the emergents are
intent on making connections, they do not want to make those connections across
generations. They are niche-driven. The niche is Gen X.
Emergent churches are typically made up from the same social slice. They
are as look-alike as the marketing churches are for those of another
generation.
OK… so, would love your thoughts on this. Keep praying for our church. We really want to be a clear picture of Jesus to our community.
If the New Testament calls for diversity, but diversity hinders growth, that is no reason to ignore the call for diversity. Similarly, if our stance on inerrancy hindered growth we wouldn’t want to cast it away.
The church (especially Southern Baptist affiliated churches and similar evangelical groups) not only needs more racial diversity, it needs more political diversity. Often political diversity runs along ethnic lines.
So many times, in church, I have heard the pastor basically tell the congregation to vote Republican, or at least to vote “pro-life” (which most often is the same thing). So half the nation (the blue half) is offended and pushed away. At the least, political hot topics should be avoided… and at the most all political leanings should be overtly welcomed. I guess pastors can/should discuss abortion if they must, but they must not relate it to politics *at all*.
Look the following information up. Please educate yourselves, church. All past Republican Presidents (and many powerful Democrats) have been members of the male-only Bohemian Club. The rich and powerful are members. CEO’s, etc. of all major lobbies. They gather at the Bohemian Grove “campsite” (luxury camping) every July where they worship a large stone owl and engage in fake human sacrifice. There are drugs and homosexual activity everywhere there, according to interviews with many past employees. Look this up. I’m not kidding.
This same group of men then make those drugs (and some forms of homosexual relationships) illegal for others, and speak about “moral legislation, abortion, and whatever else tickles your ears in order to get your vote. They also discuss what countries they want to invade next at these meetings, how many lives they can sacrifice for their own good, etc. Wake up people.
http://www.sonomacountyfreepress.com/bohos/bohofact.html
Regardless of their political rhetoric, there is no “moral majority” or moral political party… notwithstanding even the abortion issue. The Republicans are full of it. They don’t practice what they preach and haven’t done what it takes to end abortion with all the power we’ve given them in the last 30 years anyway.
Most Democrats are corrupt also. I don’t have time to go into that. But wake up church… do NOT let politics get in the way of bringing diversity to our church.
Is Summit en Espanol an attempt to address the issue of racial diversity or is it the fruit of efforts we have already put forth to address the issue? What else are we doing to spur racial diversity among out english speaking campuses and small groups?
Sometimes, when people try too hard to “target” or “market” a specific culture in evangelism, it doesn’t come across as genuine. I think that its important that we don’t make assumptions about people’s preferences based on their races.
the Summit en Espanol is addressing a legitimate language barrier.
I think that if members continue to join small groups and invite each other into their lives, then the appreciation and understanding of cultural differences will happen over time. And then we’d know for sure what people actually prefer.
At any rate, you’re not going to be able to please all of the people all of the time; I think that because of the multi-campus strategy [including the many services in Brier Creek] we’re doing a good job of appealing to different preferences as far as musical selection goes [since that’s a common example]. Some AM services have the full choir, some have the contemporary feel, and the PM even has some rock elements. But even these services vary from week to week. If music preference is enough to keep someone out of church then I don’t think there’s really much we can do about that.
Maybe the “cultural” differences and “preferences” are just excuses we promote to disguise the real issue, which is that a lot of people are still hurt and confused about perceived and experienced racism in their personal lives and in our nations history. Some of us are defensive when it comes to racial issues and others are paranoid of being offensive.
The good news is that Jesus is bigger than all of that. One of the best versus that expresses this is Colossians 3:11.
The gospels address this issue much more simply than we do, and maybe its because we take ourselves too seriously and value our culture, preferences, or hurt feelings more than we should.
Christ’s Church IS obviously diverse; RDU is already diverse and its diversity continues to grow rapidly; link those two together and we have a need for a diverse body witnessing to a diverse RDU. Nevertheless, 1) we are not here to “fix” racial issues, we are here to “fix” sinners to faith in God through Christ (whatever those sinners are ethnically from). 2) We are not here to give ourselves glory for being a diverse body, we are here to give God the Glory. We do not boast in what we look like, even if we look like “the best church” in town, we know we are sinners, saved by God’s grace alone, through Christ alone. We boast in God’s love for us, we boast in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!
It’s all so simple to me, our church is about sharing the Gospel to ALL peoples, whatever it takes. We Love God, we Love Each Other, and we Love Our World. We have a limitless God, and we’ll use all we got, all God has entrusted us with, and all we are to bring Christ Glory, and to take His Gospel to ALL people. I know that may be very simplistic for some, but at least it keeps me focus
http://www.fellowshipmemphis.org
I think that diversity in the church is something that the church body needs to work through itself as individuals. It’s not all on the leadership to figure it out and “feed it” to the congregation. What I’m saying is, the leadership can figure out how to reach different groups of people, but it comes down to the congregation to have the right attitude to make it work. If you are going to have a diverse “large meeting,” there are going to be aspects of that meeting that some people will not connect with so much, and others will deeply connect with.
Music is probably the best example here. Some people will like certain types, others will not. I think as long as the leadership provides a good balance, it’s left up to the people to change their attitude about the things they may not connect as deeply with. Perhaps a realization and appreciation that someone else within their church body is connecting deeply.
Paul writes we should be unified for the sake of the Gospel. Let’s get over the “small things” like those few songs we don’t like that much (or whatever). I think a lot of times we selfishly grumble about what’s not working for us about a church service without thinking about who it may be working for sitting next to us.
P.S. Jay, that’s awesome to see. I’m sure a lot could be learned from them.
Brandon S. – your comments pricked my conscience. “Perhaps a realization and appreciation that someone else within their church body is connecting deeply.”
You are right…thank you.
As a black woman, i have frequently been one of a few people of color in many spaces, something that has made me uncomfortable many times in the past. But I decided to confront it at Summit (Brier AM/PM) because I love Pastor JD’s messages. Unfortunately, I’m starting to change my mind– as great as it can be to see ‘color’ reflected in the congregation or in leadership (which I haven’t seen here yet), there’s more to unity, particularly as it concerns cultures/races/classes. And the more I go, the more I feel out of place rather than connected. However, I think there are ways to change this:
1. Anti-oppression conversation/work/education: I went to a christian high school that was intentionally fairly diverse. But that didn’t stop a friendly classmate from saying to her friend “that’s why i don’t hang out with those (black)girls” in response to a conflict that had nothing to do with race. If the church is serious about unity, it needs to facilitate thought and education about what anti-oppression unity is. We can’t pretend racial or class (etc) bias doesn’t exist or think that adding ‘cultural’ elements will gradually effect change– it’s not enough. I do anti-oppression work full-time and one tenet we hold is that if you’re not actively and intentionally challenging racism, classism, sexism, etc. in your self and in your community, you’re part of the problem.
Also, one of the reasons black people go to black churches it that “being black in america” is discussed. that very big part of our lives is addressed and deconstructed, which is why the churches played a big role in the civil rights movement. It was necessary to black communities– and predominately white churches need to confront the privilege of not feeling that necessary and see that if you want to create diverse spaces you need to talk about the elephant in the room. sure i’m a christian, but unfortunately christians don’t love like Jesus taught– so let’s confront and change that.
2. Cultural diversity: as i said i do anti-oppression work, and in my office i’m the only person of color. This is sometimes a big struggle for me, because we are culturally different. We are similar in many ways, but we don’t communicate the same, we don’t support the same, we don’t connect in the same ways, and we don’t celebrate the same things. Right now, I’m in a bible study black women where i have a cultural community that taps into that and makes me feel at home and pours life into me. I mention this because for me, while I feel I should join a small group or get more involved in the church, part of me doesn’t want to be in more spaces where i feel culturally disconnected. it can be very alienating and disconcerting to be in those space, particularly when they are meant to be supportive- which is definitely something i’m looking for. So to me, if you want your church to be diverse you have to think about culture and be intentional about creating different spaces. i hear white people often say they have no culture, but that’s not true– there are no ‘cultural neutral’ spaces. So yes, it means on some level more work and on other levels resistance, but we need to be intentional. And i’m not saying we’re here primarily to fix racial issues- i’m saying that racial issues affect how people are able to build christian communities. Our faith challenges us to overcome bias and bigotry, and to show how Jesus overcomes that through our lives of love that work to end oppression- spiritual, physical, political, and economical.
Or we can just be comfortable in communities that teach and support certain pockets of the population. I guess it depends on the heart of the church…
JD, you stated: “Black churches seem to reach black people best; rockin’ uber-cool churches reach the 20-somethings the best; organized, “intelligent” laid-back church services reach professional America the best, etc.”
Bekkah stated, “I think that its important that we don’t make assumptions about people’s preferences based on their races….Maybe the “cultural” differences and “preferences” are just excuses we promote to disguise the real issue, which is that a lot of people are still hurt and confused about perceived and experienced racism in their personal lives and in our nations history. Some of us are defensive when it comes to racial issues and others are paranoid of being offensive.”
In response to your comment Pastor JD, your statement was offensive and did not address the issue at all, but rather continues to excuse the reality that most (and I mean most) Sunday services remain the most racially divided hours of this nations weeks. Preachers can preach about sin (if they still do that), yet continue to do just the opposite in their actions and leadership. What do I mean by this? Take Jesus’ comment toward the Pharisees. The Pharisees were enforcing the law, yet they neglected to take care of their own parents – just to name a few of their wrongs pointed out by Him. It is a false statement, throughout the history of our nation and the world, to say that “black churches seem to reach black people best; rockin’ uber-cool churches reach the 20-somethings the best.”
Man is a creature of habit in his flesh and will continue to do what he has always done habitually and remain where it is easiest. Pre-dominately black/white/asian/hispanic/etc. assemblies remain pre-dominate, in big part, due to their leadership. Nothing is done out of the norm. Assembly leaders make statements like, “We are missional minded for Christ and out reaching the communities,” yet will not make serious efforts to connect, plan and carryout ongoing cross-cultural fellowship with the assemblies next door to see actual change. Sound familiar? Let’s not talk about walking by faith, until we’re actually “walking by faith” in the areas we talk (or don’t talk) about.
The world is not blind. While many (along with some who previously posted on here) are comfortable reasoning away why they and their local churches know virtually nothing about their sisters and brothers of another color, nor walk in daily fellowship with them, the world continues to rightfully point the finger at the local church and say “hypocrites!”
Thank you for reposting the issue that Summit (along with most other assemblies still have not serious addressed), but talk is cheap if we can’t walk it. (James 1:22; Galatians 3:28; Matthew 6:10)
PS…to not keep the problem a “discussion”, here’s a solution in action. Maybe your elders and the elders of your neighboring local church (WO) could get together and plan joint efforts like joint “small groups,” and linked YP nights and joint marriage groups. I’ve seen it done before and those congregations are now reflective of a heavenly assembly that we know to soon be. They are also more effective in their community ministries than they were without one another. Plus, the elders grew in their spiritual understanding and realized, yet some more areas of the flesh needing to be killed off.
Hopefully you will prayerfully and seriously consider all that has been said. Forgive me if none of it is true. My desire is to see the local churches be true “parts” of the Church Christ is building, and not pleasers of man’s fleshly desires.
Stay blessed and keep looking to Him in all you do ~ L J Smith
One last thought to ponder: Is there not only one race biblically – the human race come from one man? Shouldn’t we be attracting all men of the faith?
(Genesis 10; Acts 17)
Pastor JD & Summit Church,
around 2003 or 2004, Pastor JD give me the honor of preaching at Summit Church. As I preached at Summit, God give me a small glimpse into my future.
God used that experience to create within me a passion to church plant. I’m now the founding and a lead pastor of Transformation Church. God has blessed us in amazing ways. One of the ways is through of multi-ethnic diversity.
If you are interested, check out our web site: http://www.transformationchurch.tc
One of our passions and callings is to help the rest of the body of Christ become ethnically reflective of the community in which they minister.
Jesus said make disciples of all nations. The word nations is ethnos which means ethnic groups. In essence, Jesus is make disciples of all ethnic groups, black, white, latino, asian, etc… the ethnic groups are all around us.
We must be prayerful and intentional.
Pastor Derwin
http://www.derwinlgray.com