HT: @davidmbailey and @cscleve for tweeting out this article on racial reconciliation efforts in churches in Richmond, VA. Here’s a city that has its own ugly past regarding racial issues. So it’s an awesome testimony to God’s grace and the power of the gospel to see the Lord at work to heal the old wounds through Christ.
The article does a good job of bringing out both the blessings and challenges of being the diverse people of God united in Christ. Mention is made of privilege, power, equality and the like. As we’ve seen in many posts of late, reconciliation work ain’t easy, but it’s worth it. Moreover, the article helpfully illustrates one of the concerns Wilson points out in all of this: the way even good efforts at something like reconciliation can be seized upon by things contrary to Scripture. For example, one pastor commented, “Multicultural worship is an image of the kingdom of God, and in the kingdom of God everybody is included — black, white, gay, straight, young, old, liberal, conservative.” Interesting to note how “gay” sauntered into the list as an aspect of “multicultural worship” as an “image of the kingdom of God.” We’re always in danger of righteousness being abused by unrighteousness.
The article reminds us that the number of diverse (more than 20% from a minority group) congregations has grown but remains low. I’m encouraged by the progress but there’s still work to do in living out the reconciliation Christ purchased (Eph. 2:14).
Which brings me to a question asked somewhere in the comments thread in my exchanges with Wilson. Someone asked something along the lines of why “diverse churches” tend to be churches where African Americans and others attend predominantly white evangelical churches. The sense of the question, as I remember (or misremember?) it, was something along the lines of “if White pastors and churches were so ‘racist’ or ‘racially insensitive’ then why are most of the ‘diverse’ churches predominantly white and led by white pastors.” I hope I’m remembering this correctly because if I’m not then this will be a needlessly contentious issue.
But here’s my answer: I reject the premise. I could list a long list of African American pastors and largely African American congregations that have substantial numbers of white members and members from other ethnic groups. It’s a significant overstatement to say “all” or “most” of the diverse congregations are headed by White pastors and then conclude there’s no problem with ‘racial sensitivity.’ If anything, most of the pastors I know who lead diverse congregations would say they’ve been made more aware of their blind spots and thereby more lovingly sensitive to people from different backgrounds. And the relative higher numbers of African Americans willing to integrate into predominantly white churches compared to the relatively few white Christians going to Black churches might actually be a measure of African American willingness to sacrifice for integration. Lots of leaders remain discouraged that by-and-large white Christians don’t demonstrate their heart for reconciliation by intentionally seeking ethnic churches to join. A great memoir on this theme is Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove’s Free to Be Bound: Church Beyond the Color Line. Wilson-Hartgrove, a White brother in Christ, tells his story of joining and serving on staff at a traditional Black church in Durham, N.C. Good read. But the Wilson-Hartgroves of the world remain few in number it seems to me.
But there’s something else to say about all this. I don’t have any empirical evidence. This is just an observation that could prove false, but I think I’m not far from the truth. Whether predominantly Black or White or Asian or Hispanic or whatever, the churches that experience the most integration across ethnic lines are likely to be the churches with the ‘thinnest’ cultural layers surrounding it. The ‘thicker’ the cultural requirements for fellowship the less likely cultural ‘others’ can get inside and fellowship fruitfully. Or, to put it another way, the more “traditional” the church is–whether “traditional Black” or “traditional Southern Baptist” or “traditional Dutch,” etc–the less likely people from other cultural backgrounds will be able to stick it out in those worship communities in any significant numbers (20% or more).
Why is that? It’s likely because such churches have something in addition to/apart from Christ and the Scripture at the center of their congregational lives and their worship experience. The closer “tradition” or “culture” lies to the center of things, the less room on the periphery for those who don’t share that tradition or culture.
Now, it seems to me that all of this means we have to be careful with our interpretation of diversity statistics even as we pursue the reconciliation Christ has purchased. A church that fails to reflect the diversity of its community might be less diverse than we’d hope, but that doesn’t mean its ‘racially insensitive’ or ‘racist.’ It may be, but there may be other factors that better explain things. The traditional Black church is not a ‘racially insensitive’ or ‘racist’ church (though surely there are racist persons in these types of churches just as there are racist persons in every type of church). Yet, the traditional Black church is still called the ‘traditional Black church’ because that tradition is pretty prominent in its self-understanding and identity. That valuing of culture and identity, in part a self-protective response to the wider church’s historical practice of racial segregation and refusing church membership to African Americans, no doubt alienates some who don’t know the ways of being, speaking, and worshiping very well. But it doesn’t necessarily amount to ‘racial insensitivity’ or ‘racism.’ In the same way, I have a pastor friend who loves to talk about the Confederate heroes of the Civil War, attends re-enactments, and gives out Civil War books. It’s a passion for him. I’m sure others in the church share that passion. But the man is no racist. His church isn’t very diverse even though he ministers in a pretty diverse city. Might culture and tradition play a part here? I think so. After all, when most of us say “Southerner” we tend to think of White people, not the many others who live in and love the South as well.
Okay, I don’t have an eloquent way to end these ramblings. So I’ll just stop. Let’s keep battling in faith for a deeply reconciled church.
