I have suggested in several of these posts (and in conversations with many of you) that CityWell churches will aspire to be intentionally multi-ethnic. Commonly the response to this hope is, "Why?" I have three primary reasons; congregational multi-ethnicity is a matter of:
1) Faithfulness to the Gospel vision
2) Effectiveness in our Gospel witness
3) Fullness of Gospel life
There is so much to say about this first reason, but for now I’ll be short and somewhat general. I believe that at the heart of the Gospel is earth-shattering, life-giving fact that God has reconciled the world to Himself in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-19), and that this means that in ways we can barely grasp the reality of (but it is nonetheless REALITY), in Christ’s body the dividing walls between God and humanity and between all peoples have been torn down (Ephesians 2:14-16).
Forever.
Continually in the Scripture we are called to live according to the vision of all God has accomplished in Christ and will bring to completion on the Last Day. In Revelation 7:9 John sees “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” In Revelation 21:24-26 we find an image of the kings of the earth entering the New Jerusalem bringing the glory and honor of the nations to God in praise. This is where we are heading - a church of all peoples, undivided, united in praise, not squashing but celebrating the distinctiveness of the world’s cultures. The church triumphant will not be mono-ethnic, so why should the church on earth be? Jesus calls us to live concretely, here and now, according to all that is true in Him, in order that His kingdom would come on earth as in heaven. This is a Gospel vision and it is splendid! We must not be content to pursue anything less.
It is not coincidental that the churches we read about in the New Testament were made up of Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, male and female, slave and free. All of these would-be cultural fault-lines of division become bonding seams in the church because in Christ God created a new humanity, a third race, if you will. This is who we are to be, and I think we are impoverished in the experience of this reality insofar as our congregations are mono-ethnic. More than that (and this leads to the second reason to pursue multi-ethnicity), I fear that to the degree we do not pursue a corporate life that reflects the heart of the Gospel, we diminish our witness to the truth of the Gospel. Jesus prayed for the church’s unity in order that the world may believe that the Father sent Him (John 17:21). This inclines me to think there is a very significant correlation between our visible unity and the effectiveness of our witness.
In addition to this, the demographics of our country are changing radically and rapidly, and I think we are living in a historical moment where the racial and ethnic divisions in the church are more unpalatable to the unbelieving world than ever before. The fact of our Sunday morning segregation only makes the church appear more irrelevant in an increasingly multi-ethnic world. Conversely, powerful will be the witness of congregations who, through reconciliation to God in Jesus Christ, commit to the messy, difficult, but ultimately beautiful work of reconciliation across lines of race, culture and class.
Finally, multi-ethnicity is a matter of fullness of Gospel life. In the midst of Jesus’ prayer for our unity he said, “these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” I believe that real-life, real-time reconciliation and shared worship and ministry is part of the “life to the full” that Jesus came to give the world (John 10:10). I have no doubt that God is doing mighty work and pouring our blessing in all kinds of congregations, whether mono or multi-ethnic, but the presence of God’s blessing should make us hungry for more, not complacent with the status quo. I hope CityWell churches will always yearn for everything God has in store for us in Christ, that we might taste the fullness of Gospel life.
Ultimately, only God can accomplish something so unlikely, and if the Lord does not build the house, the workers labor in vain! Please join me in prayer that God would do just such a work in our midst!
You know, I think that this is a great endeavor. I wonder though how you will bring rich white people together with poor people of other ethnicities in the US. It seems that most affluent white churches do mission trips once or twice a year to get their poor people "fix." If they are aggressive, maybe they are feeding the homeless once a month. It would be an incredibly invasive prospect for most people accustomed to attending church with people who have similar financial status, politics, theology, and ethnicity. It will take a concerted effort on both sides, but I believe the majority of the burden will rest on rich white folks!
ReplyDeleteJohn - I think you're exactly right. This vision is a long reach beyond the typical church experience for most people of every ethnicity in this country. Our national history is one of segregation, so the challenge will confront all of us, though in different ways depending on which side of privilege we come from.
ReplyDeleteGiven the tremendous challenge, this is absolutely possible (not least of all because of the God we serve), and is happening more and more frequently all over the country.
I have never been part of something like this, so I cannot say precisely "how" we will do this, I just feel very convicted that this is what we are to pray for and strive towards. I am pretty certain that this kind of community cannot happen on accident; it must be a matter of priority and intention. I also think that the church must begin, day 1, with a diverse leadership team and core group. I am praying daily for God to bring exactly the right people together to make this possible.
Lastly, I am really excited about the seeming improbability of something like this, because if it happens there will be no doubt that God has produced a miracle in our midst.