Racial tension and conflict has flooded the news lately. Rather than point fingers and cast blame, I submit THE answer is quite simple. Not easy or quick, but transformational.
Racial (I prefer using the word ethnic) tensions exist in large part because we don’t listen to one another. It’s hard to understand someone who is different without knowing them. How many ethnically and culturally different people do we really know?
Excited and scared! Those words describe how my wife and I feel about this season of our lives and ministry. We are excited to be on a church planting team, and to be raising prayer and financial support. We are scared as we step out in faith like never before! Have you ever felt that way? Here’s my personal update and a few lessons I’m learning that might help you navigate a similar season of life.
After years of preparation that included doctoral studies, reading stacks of books, attending conferences, church planting boot camp, and formal church planter assessments… we’re stepping forward to be part of Restoration Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland!
I’m excited and honored to speak at Mount Pleasant Church’s Sunday afternoon service. The third Sun of each month they focus on Evangelism and Missions.
My message will come from Luke 10:25-37, “Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing!”
| Date: | October 19, 2014 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 04:00-5:00 p.m. |
| Event: | Speaking Opportunity |
| Venue: | Mount Pleasant Church and Ministries |
| Public: | Public |
There are at least three reasons many churches should be multiethnic. Last week I shared some biblical reasons for multiethnic churches. You can read that HERE. There are at least two more reasons to consider.
The biblical rationale for a multiethnic church is strong. But there are other reasons. Here are two you should consider.
There are massive shifts in diversity in America. It is increasingly difficult to say there is little diversity in most places. For example, in November 2005 the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education noted the sweeping changes in the U.S. workforce:
The U.S. workforce (generally ages 25 to 64) is in the midst of a sweeping demographic transformation. From 1980 to 2020, the white working-age population is projected to decline from 82% to 63% (see figure 1). During the same period, the minority portion of the workforce is projected to double (from 18% to 37%), and the Hispanic/Latino portion is projected to almost triple (from 6% to 17%).
While Caucasians are still a large majority, most live in areas where more than 20 percent of the population is non-White. If the church should be a reflection of the community, then most churches should reflect the increasing diversity. When possible, churches should make intentional effort to be multiethnic.
In a November 2013 WSJ article, Conor Dougherty states,
Whites will comprise less than half of the U.S. population by 2042, about eight years earlier than previously thought, according to a report to be released by the Census Bureau.”
In the same article William Frey, senior demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank added,
We are going to become more diverse in more parts of the country and in more of the age structure sooner.
Gerardo Marti, in his case study on Mosaic Church LA A Mosaic of Believers
(Erwin McManus) says,
The United States continues to become more and more diverse in every societal sphere, bringing a new challenge of integration to both civic and religious organizations.
He goes on to cite three major demographers who suggest that by the year 2050, and some say sooner, America will have no single majority group. The changing face of most domains of society is feeling this shift. However, the majority of churches in America do not yet reflect this new reality.
Consider what McIntosh and McMahan say in their book Being the Church in a Multi-Ethnic Community
The new ethnic marketplace is forcing government, businesses, and churches to rethink how to speak the language and adopt the culture of the new multi-ethnic and multicultural reality.
The multicultural and multiethnic reality cannot be ignored.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said…
“It is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o’clock on Sunday morning.”
How does that make you feel? Is there still a problem with churches being “segregated?”
I’ve been pastoring in two immigrant churches for the last 12 years. That experience taught me a lot. It’s also fueled my passion for multiethnic ministry. Not to mention being 1/4 Chinese, 1/4 Czech, having a half African-American sister, and growing up in a diverse community. My life is multiethnic!
NOTE: As long as immigration flows into the US immigrant churches need to serve them. However, the next or second generation usually wants a more diverse experience. Especially when growing up in a diverse community.
What does multiethnic mean? My concise definition* of the term “multiethnic church”:
A multiethnic church is defined simply as having a minimum of 20 percent of its make-up being from one or more ethnicity outside the majority. Thus, a multiethnic church would not have more than 80 percent of any one ethnicity.
*based on the definition used by the authors of United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation As an Answer to the Problem of Race. This definition is the standard used by the Mosaix Network. They state: “Mosaix promotes the goal of seeing 20% of local churches achieve 20% diversity by 2020.”
McIntosh and McMahan devote an entire chapter in their book Being the Church in a Multi-Ethnic Community
That the study of this topic is still in its infancy is evidenced by the fact that many people use a wide variety of terms to describe roughly the same phenomenon. At least four terms are used to describe churches where the people come from diverse background: multinational, multiracial, multi-ethnic, and multicultural.
Should your church be multiethnic? I don’t know. Here is the first of three things to consider.
“We are called to participate in the reconciling work of the cross, that tore down racial, gender and class divisions.”
Later this week I’ll share the other two things to consider. Demographics and Beauty.
QUESTION: Does your church reflect the diversity of your local community? Why or why not?
For the last sixteen years I’ve been building teams. Identifying and recruiting leaders has been one of if not my top priority. For the next week or so I’ll be unpacking some of the lessons I’ve learned. My interest is leadership in general but specifically leadership in a multiethnic context.
I asked, “What do senior pastors do to identify and recruit leaders in multiethnic churches?” Derwin Gray, Lead Pastor of Transformation Church answered, “For 93% of them, nothing!” That bothers me, how about you?
Leadership is vital in every organization. As John Maxwell has aptly stated many times, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” The impact of leaders is significant across every domain of culture, whether in business, non-profits, sports, or the church. In his book Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code
Having the right staff members and top volunteers is crucial to fulfill a church’s vision. Eric O. Long, general manager of the Waldorf Astoria in New York, observes that finding, recruiting, selecting, and placing outstanding staff are becoming more difficult in our society, but good selection yields amazing results. In an interview for Leaders magazine, Long observed, “Our organizational-development team recently made a presentation to our executive staff, sharing the results of several well-documented studies. It revealed that one great team member had the impact of multiple [mediocre] team members, and in some cases the ratio was as high as 8:1.”
In Aubrey Malphurs’ book, Leading Leaders
Quality leaders shy away from bad boards, especially those packed with spiritually unqualified good old boys or good old girls. However, quality leaders are attracted to properly functioning boards with carefully thought-through processes led by spiritually mature people who want to have serious, spiritual impact in their ministry communities.
A plethora of literature addresses leadership issues. However, little has been written on the topic of identifying and recruiting leaders. Add to that the dearth of literature written to address leadership in multiethnic churches.
With the massive shifts in diversity in America, it is increasingly difficult to say there is little diversity in most places. For example, in November 2005 the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education noted the sweeping changes in the U.S. workforce:
The U.S. workforce (generally ages 25 to 64) is in the midst of a sweeping demographic transformation. From 1980 to 2020, the white working-age population is projected to decline from 82% to 63% (see figure 1). During the same period, the minority portion of the workforce is projected to double (from 18% to 37%), and the Hispanic/Latino portion is projected to almost triple (from 6% to 17%).
While Caucasians are still a large majority, most live in areas where more than 20 percent of the population is non-White. If the church should be a reflection of the community, then most churches should reflect the increasing diversity.
This series will be an attempt to encourage more dialog & resource leaders to turn the tide. The need for more and better leaders is obvious.
The question is, “What are we doing to address that need?”
I’m especially curious to hear from and engage with those leading, planting, or wanting to be involved in multiethnic churches.
Tomorrow I will write about the rationale for multiethnic churches. Followed by the three essentials for identifying and recruiting leaders to lead them.
