I have this problem. It's this thing that I care about deeply, but don't know how to address without seeming like I'm addressing it. And I can't seem like I'm addressing it. Because that seems...well...
Let's start again.
Years ago, when I was still in college, a group of friends went to a Promise Keepers rally. I knew very little about Promise Keepers at the time, know even less now (does Promise Keepers still exist?) and wasn't interested in tagging along. However, I did hear a story of something that happened at the end of the rally.
A speaker stood up and began to address the fact that Promise Keepers rallies tended to look...rather...well...white. And he saw this as a problem. And he'd come up with a solution. The following year, every man who came back to the Promise Keepers rally was to bring a friend of color.
I'm not going to lie. I heard this story and was embarassed. Embarassed for the guy, embarassed for my friends, embarassed by the idea. I vocalized my embarassment as sharp critique and a debate soon ensued. Who wants to be the token "friend of color"?, I exclaimed. How demeaning is it to ask someone along so that they can help you fulfill your obligation?
To which my friends replied with a simple (and important) question:
What would you do?
And my simple answer is...I don't know.
Because we have a problem in the church. Statistics show that the time when our nation is most racially divided during any given week is for those few hours on Sunday morning. And that simply cannot be. We can't claim to have unity in Christ alone and diversity in everything else and then perpetuate a bunch of economically and racially and politically divided churches.
But we do. And as a pastor and church planter, I feel this keenly. And I want to address it. I want to change it. I want people who walk into the Immanuel Community to witness a diversity so great that only Jesus could bring it together. I don't want white, middle-class folks to walk in and say, "oh good, I belong here" simply because they see a bunch of other white, middle-class folks.
But I can't set up a booth and start recruiting various races. And I'm not going to host "bring a friend of color Sunday". So what should I do? I can't answer the question much better than I did a decade ago. But I can ask your advice. Assuming you see the racial divide in churches as a significant problem, one that Jesus would find intolerable, my question to you is this:
What would you do?
8 comments:
Manhattan CofC is incredibly diverse. The story is that one of the preachers (Burton Coffman of the 1950s and 60s) was intentional about going to Harlem and bringing residents of Harlem to MCOC located on the Upper East Side. Yep, recruiting. The incredible diversity that can now be found at MCOC is, according to many, evidence of Coffman's recruiting and his instilling that value in the church.
We in Brooklyn are fortunate to have that carry over into our small congregation.
So is recruiting the answer? Don't know, but I like the word intentionality. I use it quite frequently these days and maybe it's appropriate here - we have to be intentional regarding those beliefs we hold dearly. So if diversity is a key value of yours then by all means, be intentional about making it happen.
I'm thinking about Barak Obama's home church in Chicago, Trinity United C of C. One of their values is staying true to their African roots. It's a value of theirs and they are intentional about honoring that value. So preach diversity. Go out and live it. And maybe it will have practical ramifications within your community.
I was at MCoC in the sixties. While I don't doubt Burton Coffman might have recruted in Harlem, Harlem had a strong church also and so there was not a LOT of diversity, maybe 4-5 people. One of our beloved deacons was Moses Allen. I can still see him greeting everyone with a big smile. John Rainbow, I believe is still there.
Harlem indeed has a strong church but because of Coffman's efforts (listen, I'm not fan of Coffman's commentaries, etc) MCOC is probably the most diverse restoration church in America. It may not have been that way in the 50s and 60s but Coffman led the way. And now the results are apparent. And yes, Rainbow is still part of the congregation and still talks of Coffman and his recruiting tactics.
Current minister, Tom Robinson, has been asked to speak on several panels about ministering to such a diverse congregation. He routinely speaks of Coffman's efforts.
I remember something that Roger Paytner said in preaching/seminary class that all the new mission starts want to build around the middle class/upper middle class/rich side of town while nobody is setting up a mission on the east side of Austin. It makes you think.
I know it would take more than just setting up a mission there. The question is how do we start having conversations with those other than our own group without looking like we are on a mission for them to be like us and become more of a diversed body of believers?
I wonder if pastors of predominantly African American churches also see that there is a lack of diversity. To sit by and hope a white person walks in the door - that's probably unlikely. But why aren't the white folks going to the African American churches? We tend to go where we are comfortable OR we tend to go where we are called (which could coincidentally be a location of comfort as well). Often the style of worship in these two settings are quite different - a cultural preference really.
Growing up, the pastor of my home church organized for a local African American church and our church to combine services once or twice a year. While those services were always fun, I don't believe many of us developed deep relationships with the folks from the other church. Why? Well, definitely 1 or 2 days aren't sufficient. Also, while the pastor might have had a vision, the congregation did not feel his urgency.
I now live overseas and the diversity in my church is astounding. Literally there are people from ALL over the world. Why is it, that while everyone has a different worship style, a different culture, they have chosen to join a church that has a one style likely different from what they are accustomed too?
For me, I admit it wasn't a church that had "my culture" of worship. But as I seek to glorify Christ, I know that church shouldn't be for me, but for Christ. I knew He had called me to this church and I knew it was a place where I could glorify Him. So, to follow Him, I endured a few months of unfamiliarity... as I suspect many in that church did also.
But that does not mean conformity.
I am blessed (literally) by worshiping with those who worship in different manners. If we had all joined different churches, my understanding of Christ would have been limited to the understanding of those who think in the same manner I do. Likewise, if they had conformed to a one style of worship, the cultural benefit would have been lost.
I wonder if these individuals would have conformed in Texas. Perhaps given a freedom to worship in their own style, then not. But while many churches say "feel free to worship in your own way", when it comes down to it, there is a schedule they're trying to keep to.. whether through a bulletin or desire to finish by noon. And come to think if it, how often do you see someone do anything drastically different? Ex. If God reveals a word of prophesy (gift of the spirit) or gives a verse to somebody, can that person just stand up and start speaking...even in the middle of the sermon? (not that this has happened in the middle of a sermon at my current church but I am trying to give an extreme example). And if that person started speaking in the middle of the sermon, would someone ask him to be quiet? Or would no one say anything but then later make witty comments?
What I am trying to get to, is that perhaps there is a lack of freedom in the church. Freedom to worship differently, to glorify the same God in a different style at the same location and time.
My opinion: So whether it's a color diversity, (which is really just cultural), age diversity, income level diversity or whatever else - to be intentional about recruiting is only good when you know God has asked you to do so. If these diverse people are already Christians, shouldn't we really just be concentrating intentionally about witnessing to those God puts in our path?
God is still sovereign over everything, and even if there is no diversity in the church, He can still reveal all aspects of Himself to the members... In other words - the benefits of the cultural diversity are not lost when there is a lack of cultural diversity in the church because Christ is Lord and He can bring it about through other means.
I think it begins with truth. Hard truth. Truth that says, Christ is making me a new creation but the old creation is fighting that process. Thus, though I know that race is irrelevant, that Christ has torn down these barriers, my racism remains. The blood of Christ is getting rid of it it, slowly. So we may have to say, I am trying to end my racism, but to do that I must consciously seek out those who are different. I must go out and seek out people who look different from me. (I must also spend time with those who are in a different economic class.) Only with the help of "others" can I really see my own "whiteness." Until I can acknowledge that, I can't escape my racism. I won't be able to even recognize much of it, until i start to see my own race, and what it means. So I don't think we should find token friends, but maybe we should be willing to be a token friend. I think we, as a culture/country, are not nearly as free from racism as we wish.
Great question! I took an "Urban Ministry" class last year at my school in the Denver area. In this class I was exposed to sections of the city, people, emotional pain and joy that I was unaware due to my own ethnocentricism and cultural upbringing. In other words, this class was an eye-opener, flattener, and gift from God. As we went through different sections of town and came across several different social strata including the poor, poorer, African-Americans, Korean, Mexican, the rich, the richer, he question kept nagging me...how do I connect with these people as a white suburbanite? Someone finally had the courage to ask. Our professor referred the question to the African-American leader, who was helping lead for the day. He responded, "Ask us?" "If you are struggling over whether to call us 'African-American' or 'Black'" he encouraged us to ask." If we are not sure how to approach a specific situation, he said....ask. I think there is a lot of wisdom in this and could be an option for you and all of us that genuinely want practical unity in the church.
I think having a "successful" multicultural church is an uphill journey for someone who is obviously white. The churches i see that have a strong multicultural community are led by people that are not white. One we might all know is Erwin McManus at Mosaic in LA. You can't quite pin down his ethnicity from just looking at him and i think that is a huge advantage. I think if you are white either pray like mad for some People of Peace from other cultures while engaging people from that culture or bring someone else into leadership that isn't white. If you are white i think it has to be intentional or it won't happen.
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