Diversity in Church and In American Society: Can the church be part of creating racial harmony?

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Permalink Reply by Michael Blue on November 12, 2008 at 11:13pm

My church is in a nearly all-white town, but our congregation reflects a more "diverse" population, and our services (food pantry, etc) support nearly every ethnicity, including whites.
Honestly, the only church I ever felt "unwelcome" in was an all-black church in the Chicago area...Even the sermon was all about "the Man", etc., and how black people are "God's real people" etc...
Now, I'm all for remembering and honoring a person's heritage; be that an African, Cuban, Native American, Asian heritage or whatever...But I have found that much the black community in particular has fallen into the same biases that oppressed them for so long, and it deeply saddens me.
Things like the "Negro College Fund", "Miss Black America", "Ebony Magazine", "Black Entertainment Television" etc are simply racist...If someone tried to do the same thing with a white bias, Jesse Jackson would be knocking down their door.

I believe we are ALL to be the EQUAL men and women of God...NO biases, NO boundaries...And no blind support for (or lack of support for) someone just because of their heritage.

~M

Permalink Reply by Anthony Batiste on November 12, 2008 at 11:33pm

Thanks Michael,

I agree with the sentiment of your post. I however feel the led to explain the significance of black empowerment (not militance, elitism or hatred in disquise). Its important as black americans, that we take ownership and responsibility of our own lives. To that end, it is important for young black people to not only see exceptional positive examples from other ethnic groups in America, but most assuredly to see positive images of black successful people in the media (Not pathetic rappers or atheletes). The need for institutions like BET or Miss Black America or Ebony Magazine is soley to empower black people, not to give the 'shaft' to our brothers of different ethnicities. The very word MINORITY speaks to a diminished popuation sometimes struggling for relevance or identity in the midst of the larger culture. I would like to be clear. We are a minority and as such, we are immersed into a predominately white culture. This is reality. No emotional attachment to the cold hard facts. I personally endeavor to see the beauty of human diversity and psychologically purpose to be post-racial. Its hard sometimes...... I have seen African American kids even in this modern era struggling to find identity. Cultural elements of the black experience are reduced to "thats so ghetto"... upwardly mobile blacks dont admit they love fried chicken or eating watermelon because of social stigma and stereotypes aligned with these elements of our culture. This is the reason for these seemingly 'blackcentric' organizations. In my humble opinion, they serve a valuable purpose in self-esteem building within the black experience. While certainly some blacks are scripturally errant in their racist and exclusionary philosophies, the vast majority of us are not so limited in our world view. Im rambling abit Mike, but the real reason for these organizations is empowerment nothing more.

Back to the core topic though, As to the segreated nature of American Churches, I find this distrubing. Even in alot of the churches I group up in I find nearly 98% black families. I too have gone to predominately white churches and felt out of place. Something in my heart is deeply unsettled by this. Because as a Christian, I am keenly aware of how interconnected the human family is ( by the very design of God). I just wonder what will it take to foster more of a post-racial attitude in the church, or minimally begin to trully appreciate cultural diversity and see it as it is... BEAUTIFUL!.

Permalink Reply by Dale on November 13, 2008 at 6:02am

What makes a black man less empowered than a white man? Explain how BET and all the rest, empowers anyone. Would blacks have lower self esteem without 'blackcentric' organizations?

Back to the topic of non-diverse churches... it is human nature (part of our sinful nature?) to group with those who are like us.

There are a few churches that have a good mix, but they are rare.

Permalink Reply by Anthony Batiste on November 13, 2008 at 6:46am

With respect Dale,

Your comments about black self-esteem clearly shows me that you dont get the affect of being a minority in America. Not a judgement just an observation. There is 'empowerment' in seeing others like yourself as successfull and accomplished. This is substantiated in the very reality of 'ethnocentric' television. This kinda programming in on television, "not by accident" but intentionally to create a voice for minority groups. I have taken the time to expand my world-view so I dont necessarily need to be ethnocetric. I love diversity. Infact, I LOOOK FOR IT. Particularly when you are significantly in the minority. How can you not see this as empowering?

With Respect :)
Anthony

Permalink Reply by Dale on November 16, 2008 at 3:59am

You're right Anthony, I don't get it. I started to write a lengthy reply that included a bunch of other stuff I don't get.

Instead I'll just refer to Ryan's 2 cents below. I get that.

Permalink Reply by Michael Blue on November 13, 2008 at 6:03am

Yeah, I'd have to say we're mostly on the same page. The only difference I can see in our opinions is that I view organizations like those mentioned as "self-segregation" among much of the black population.
I have no doubt there is still a lot of racism towards blacks and other minorities, but in my personal (admittedly limited) experience, the hatred against whites by MANY different cultures outweighs it by a large margin, at least in my part of the country. At this point in time, it would not be too out of line to proclaim middle-aged white males as "the" minority in this country...Every other group of people in the nation have tons of free programs, grants and benefits...Because of their otherwise "protected" status.
Legislation such as affirmative action (which if you read it is unbelievably biased) in my opinion do nothing positive for any minority, instead fostering a "hand-out" culture among groups who may need positive direction (and yes, role models) the most.
I cannot express how much I appreciate being able to have this conversation with you. The fact that we can candidly discuss this stuff without either side getting offended is pretty cool. It would be nice if more of the world was like this. :)
~M

Permalink Reply by Dale on November 13, 2008 at 6:36am

I don't there's a difference in our opinions, I just wasn't comprehensive in my comments. I completely agree regarding "self-segregation".

Permalink Reply by Dale on November 13, 2008 at 6:59am

I meant to say "I don't believe there's a difference in our opinions."

Permalink Reply by Patrick Craig on December 2, 2008 at 10:29pm

Anthony,
Great post! Really sees the situation in churches for what it is - an earth-bound expression of worldly cultures (white, black, red etc.) instead of a heaven bound expression of Gal. 3:28:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

If we all discovered that there is supposed to be a "Christian" culture and we could live it, then the churches wouldn't be so concerned about feeling comfortable with their own group and maybe we could stop being citizens of the world and claim our heavenly citizenship together. Have you ever noticed that when we get together one-on-one, it is really easy to be friends. But when we are surrounded by cultural pressure it's not so easy to accept the "different" one.

Patrick

Permalink Reply by Ryan Foglesong on November 13, 2008 at 7:35am

What a great discussion! Here's my 2 cents:
To be clear, I've grown up in a nearly all-white town just like Michael, but that's not to say that I haven't encountered many, and developed close relationships with several people who are in certain minority groups. From conversations with them, I've gathered that it seems like, just as with any society, that minorities tend to assimilate together. Thus, you have different churches being founded and filled by ethnic group. When a group shares a culture, then they tend to stay together. Of course there are exceptions, but this is a trend. Now, I believe that there is division in the Church, when culture becomes more important than doctrine. When race becomes the overarching theme of each sermon, and purpose statement of that church's existence, I believe that it's strayed far far away from the purpose of what Christ intended church to be. Segregation in the Church can occur when a particular minority strays away from the message of the gospel and focuses all its efforts into preserving certain aspects of culture. The more that one group feels 'victimized' and that a heavily white country is out to get them, then that church will tend to exist to shift blame or pour all its efforts into finding 'relevance' or 'identity.' In Scripture, humans are only relevant to glorify God, and our identity should be found only in Christ, thus should be the gospel message preached in every church. That's not to say that cultural relevance or racial identity isn't important, but when it becomes the church's message, they can become idolatry, plain and simple.

Having talked to several friends who are members of different ethnic groups, they felt like they needed to leave those predominantly ethnic churches I spoke of above, because the message was too focused inward rather than focusing on the gospel. Clear theology and doctrine were being traded for the 'victim' sermons. Diversity comes with a unified spirit and mind. When the gospel is clear, and people have the Holy Spirit, then churches will become post-racial. I believe that when some ethnicities come to see that this is not a racist country, though many have bought into the lie that it is, the church can be more diverse. I happen to be white, and am tired of racial tension, tired of being portrayed as racist, tired of children being taught in college that they are either consciously or unconsciously racist, tired of lowering standards for ethnicities. When whites will no longer feel the 'race guilt' burden being heaved upon them by the left-wing media, or scared by the radical beliefs of some 'unapologetically' ethnic churches like Trinity United Church of Christ, when Christian values become more important than Ethnic Values, then we can move towards a more diverse global Church. Diversity is important because “It displays more visibly the truth that Jesus is not a tribal deity but is the Lord of all races, nations, and ethnicities.” -John Piper. Diversity can be achieved through an understanding of the gospel, forsaking our lives as loss, and knowing that Christ did not come to make life fair.

Cheers,
Ryan

Permalink Reply by Michael Blue on November 13, 2008 at 9:37am

Ryan, simply could not have said it better myself. Perfect.
~M

Permalink Reply by Justin Kirkendall on November 13, 2008 at 4:08pm

Oh- how i love this post.

To justify and clarify my statements: I am a bi-racial worship leader of a multi-cultural church in a predominantly segregated town. Whites worship with whites. Blacks with blacks. and that is the way that it is. However, our church is the ONLY church in the COUNTY (encompassing 5-6 cities) that has multiple ethinicities attending (partly because of me-hhaha)

I have experienced ridicule for being a "minority" (i use that loosely) leading worship for a majority- My leadership style has been criticized, the songs we sing have been critiqued- you name it- i heard it from both sides of the color scheme.
but i wouldn't have it any other way. it's been a fight- but it's so worth it.

I am not about to get into this long drawn out debate about blacks being equally or more racists than whites- I think the "minority" groups tend to be alittle bit more vocal and demonstrative of their quest for separation because Caucasians get in trouble if they are vocal about wanting to be separate. I think we're equal- and that's a sad statement.

I believe that when we find our identity in Christ (and Him alone) and we realize who we are in CHRIST- that all of our club affiliations, our ethnic background, our ___________ (fill in the blank) should fade to the background- (NOTICE, I said FADE not that we lose our heritage or our culture- but we realize that that is not what we are defined by)
I think that any person regardless of their color should respect another's racial background. There are some things that make people unique and those things should be celebrated, but not every time they meet. Sermons and music should not be focused on How bad peopel have treated me (or my family, etc) and how I have been victimized; but yet should focus on Who to turn to when people treat you bad- how to deal with the victim mentality- because it gets the focus off of the "man" (like Michael was saying) and to "THE MAN". you know what I'm saying?

Our racial diversity has recently exploded with our youth group and it's amazing to see people from every back ground laying aside their pride and egos and coming to worship the Lord. I was suprised just last night actually- one of our youth group members that to me (in my judgemental mind) only comes because of his dad makes him.... who is into hiphop and rap and all that jazz came up to me and said "Hey man, i really like "Desert Song" can you sing that tonight? that's one of my favorite jams" I was so amused and floored because just the culture difference and how music bridge that gap (music that I didn't even think they would care for)

Because we are a predominantly white church- most of our music reflects that- Tomlin, Crowder, Fraser, Hymns, etc
So one of the things that I did was, I found some more "gospel" style songs- Songs that they sing in black churches and I incoporate them into our church services. Songs like "Can't Nobody Do me Like Jesus" "THe Presence of the Lord" "Victory is Mine". and you know? IT WORKED. Whenever we do those songs, I can just tell on the faces of our "minorities" that they feel like somebody took the time to make them feel welcome in worship- and i have found that they are more apt to love the Tomlin, Crowder, and Hillsong sonngs when we do them because we brought in an element that they were familiar with. Same thing with Hispanic congregation members (songs like Glorious, etc)

A church that I really admire for their diversity is Lakewood and Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff. Youtube their church services and you will see how they bridge the gap and to me it's amazing.
Now I am nowhere near the size of the musical capabilities of a Lakewood- but it's the little things that count.
Now, I'm not trying to people a "seeker-friendly" church that is trying to please everybody- but peopel should feel welcome and have something to identify with and know that THEIR church supports them and celebrates their culture. (and you'll find that those styles of music are challenging (and fun) to play and will help you sharpen your musical abilites and widen your playing range)

I'll leave you guys with a story: We had a joint service with an all-black church, and I led worship. I was nervous as all get out because I don't really play Black-gospel music (not well, anyways) so i was scared but I prayed (hard) and went for it- It was funny to see our whole lilly-white church in their sanctuary- but we were excited to bridge a gap- I had no drummer with me that night but I got started and one of the guys from the other church just came and sat down- and I promise you, He was about 14- but one of the best drummers I've ever met. in my life. We did our songs- and they loved it. So It taught me that there really isn't that big of a difference between us- we make a big difference...but we can and SHOULD bridge the gap. All of our cultures have something amazing to offer (whether it be in a friendship, in a band, on a worship team) and we should recognize and celebrate that and welcome the challenge that it offers us as worship leaders and Christians.

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