Two years ago, I released a book on multi-cultural ministry. (Multi: The Chemistry of Church Diversity, The Pilgrim Press) There has been such a surge of multi ministry in recent years - something that many have deeply desired is suddenly coming into reality in many churches, and in so many places - all at once - a Pentecost kind of phenomenon! That is great news.
Since that book, however, my clarity about our multi challenge has intensified. I don’t retract anything in the book - but I want to add something. For historically White churches, multi-ethnic focus is now no longer an option for those who feel the call - it is the work we all must do. In the last two years, we saw ever more clearly that most White Americans do not get the Black Lives Matter movement. They minimize it, marginalize it; they “All lives matter” it. There has emerged a whole industry of internet commerce and politics devoted to extending White rule in America, at almost any cost - even to the point that we saw on January 6 of this year, when mostly White people (and a few who seek White people's blessing) stormed the US Capitol seeking to overthrow an election in which a White supremacist lost. They can cite QAnon or political philosophy as their motivation - but this is all about race. It is about the end of a White-centric society, which has existed on US soil for most of the last four centuries.
The current White disconnect with reality must end or the United States will end. One or the other. There is no way that our country will hold together if the White bubble is tolerated. This means that news rooms, police departments, political parties (plural), student bodies, churches and church leadership teams, faculty lounges, movie studio corporate offices MUST be integrated with persons of color. Otherwise, we risk cataclysm.
Bringing Persons of Color into the spaces that have been dominated by White people is not primarily a private justice issue related to the career possibilities of Black, Lantinx of Asian private individuals. It’s about healing the soul of our nation. Getting White persons into spaces where they too seldom show up is equally important. It’s about the Kingdom of God. It’s about rediscovering a common reality as a people, so we can roll up our sleeves and work together to build a better world. When White institutions (progressive or conservative) think they can be a constructive part of the solution without intentional and sometimes difficult inter-ethnic collaboration, they deceive themselves. Liberal movie studios and news corporations and even churches gave rise to Trumpist White supremacy as much as anybody.
The church, by its theology and heritage, is well-resourced spiritually to lead. Even if our congregation is not multi-ethnic, we can…
1. Work with partner churches and pastoral colleagues across race lines to create leader tables where the critical issues of the day are discussed, and people’s stories are heard.
2. Convene community conversations between Black men and law enforcement.
3. Create shared ministries that are truly multi-ethnic in spirit, which serve to break down the walls that separate us and block mutual understanding.
4. Integrate children’s and youth ministries very intentionally in order to equip our children to lead and to heal a multi-ethnic nation. (But the leadership has to be shared!)
5. Begin to build our church staff to reflect the diversity of our community more than simply the demographics of our current congregation.
6. Worship styles may tend to draw disproportionate numbers of Black folks, Brown folks, White folks - but we can still unite our worship communities on a regular basis, and not just once a year.
7. Encourage discipleship partnerships/accountability groups that cross ethnic and political lines.
I grew up in Evangelical churches composed mostly White people. We were in California, and we welcomed diversity of people, worshiped in Black churches, and invited choirs and preachers to our church. We were taking the baby steps. We had a long journey before us, but we were on the journey! When I see what has happened with the politicization of the White Evangelical community, it breaks my heart. The church in America is becoming more of the problem than the solution in many instances these days. I could never have imagined this when I was a teenager. Anytime that we organize, worship, do business, debate school curriculum - and only White people are in the room, a red light should go off as if to say “There is a fire in the building. Please proceed to an exit and leave safely. It is dangerous to remain in this space.”
Anti-racism is a core component of Christian discipleship, especially in White-majority communities. It is not an elective, or a side dish. It is at the core of our work. It is as much a part of the work of following Jesus as learning how to pray.
I work part-time with Discipleship Ministries, an agency of The United Methodist Church, and I am delighted to see the primacy of the anti-racism challenge dawning on leaders across that organization! But we have much work to do in the churches. This is our job in the 2020s. There is no escaping the urgency of this work in every congregation.
A blessed Lent to you and the people you serve!
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