Resisting The Homogeneous Unit Principle

In the last few decades of the 20th century the church growth movement was hailed as the potential plug to stop the catastrophic draining of people out of American churches. Central to this movement was an idea that came to be known as the Homogeneous Unit Principle. The basic idea is that people don't like to cross lines of race, class, politics in general, and are much more likely to come to faith in Jesus if coming to church doesn't force them to step too far out of their usual environments and comfort zones. This was a well-intentioned theory, but I fear misses one of the central callings of Christ - namely, that we are to be a people who manifest the reconciliation of God precisely by crossing lines others won't cross; and so Paul says that in Christ there is no Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female...

The Homogeneous Unit Principle demands that a church "target" a specific, narrowly defined demographic of the population. For instance, I could plant a church for white hipsters who only drink coffee from Starbucks. Who knows, it could work...

So, I'm struggling with this idea. On the one hand, I think it is probably a true theory; people are more likely to sign up for something if we minimize discomfort, and relationships that require crossing lines of race and class will inevitably be uncomfortable at points. Then again, people are also more likely to come to Christ if we drop the whole "repent of your sins" thing, too. So, planting a church for people that look like me, are educated like me, vote like me, and who just like me is probably a lot easier than kind of diverse congregations we are dreaming The CityWell will be. But, on the other hand, do we see these homogeneous churches in the Bible? Do we hear in the scripture a call to do whatever is expedient to grow the church? I don't think so.

I think the reason I'm struggling with this is that, while I can comfortably reject this philosophy, everyone I read and talk to seems to assume it. I read authors and hear speakers say all the time, "Know who your target audience is." Or they ask, "Who are you trying to reach?" These statements and questions are followed by exhortations to be very specific and to base your targeting on personal affinity. Being so utterly surrounded by this mentality makes me feel a little insecure about my convictions.

Honestly, I have a hard time answering the question, "Who are you trying to reach?" at least answering the way people seem to expect a smart church planter to. I want to say things like, "anyone who doesn't know Jesus is their Lord," or "whoever God puts in our path," but these answers don't seem to be adequate, and I feel a bit insecure, wondering if I am just really naive. However, beyond choosing a city, I don't see the great evangelists and apostles in the New Testament employing targeting strategies. I don't think Philip was trying to reach Ethiopian eunuchs; God just put him in the right place at the right time to share the Gospel with a person who did not yet know to celebrate the victory of Jesus. Was Peter working on his marketing scheme for Gentiles, or did God thrust him into relationship with Cornelius and family? And Paul seemed to proclaim the good news to anyone and everyone, just trusting that God would grant the gift of faith to some.

I really don't want to plant a church just for young, privileged, white people, or even more broadly, for the folks who inhabit the same social strata and have basically the same "family values." I don't want to adopt a philosophy of ministry based on utility and rigor reduction. I want to trust God for divine appointments, miraculous conversions, and to tear down dividing walls. I want The CityWell to look like the Kingdom, not a private school. I want to resist the Homogeneous Unit Principle and its attendant practices, but I confess that such resistance is difficult.

What are your thoughts about all of this? 

Living Out the Heart of God

This morning I was sitting in a coffee shop waiting for a friend and I found myself (once again) daydreaming about this church. Specifically, I was envisioning conversations with people who God might call to be a part of this one day, and I was wrestling with how to describe this vision. As I've been writing and talking to others (many of you) about the CityWell dream I have been frustrated trying to put labels on the vision God is giving me. For instance, as prior posts indicate, I think it important for a church to embody Gospel reconciliation by reflecting the racial, ethnic and class diversity of its community. So, am I to say "we are planting a multi-ethnic church?" That description just seems too narrow. Or, as I believe churches should exist for those not yet celebrating the reality that Jesus IS their Lord and Savior, should I say, "Yeah... we're planting a church to bring people to faith in Christ." Once again this doesn't capture all of why we should exist. My list of inadequate descriptions goes on, and so as I wrestled with articulation today this thought occurred to me: everything I describe when talking about The CityWell is secondary; all of these attributes, no matter how significant, are derivative of a greater, more encompassing calling. So, here's my latest attempt to put words to the vision:

The CityWell will be a faith community seeking to know and follow Jesus, that our hearts might come to beat and break with the heart of God.

In short, The CityWell will exist to live out the heart of God. I am excited about this articulation because it encompasses and grounds all of the more particular elements I've been pointing toward, as it begs the question, "Well, for what does God's heart beat and break?" Now that is a question pregnant with implications! Here are a few quick examples:

1. The Father's heart beats for Jesus, and Jesus' heart beats for the Father (see John 17:1). Implication: because the Spirit includes us in the life of God, the church is to be a community of worship.
   
2. God's heart beats for all people, so the church must intentionally embody diversity.
   
3. God's heart breaks for the oppressed and hurting, so too the church must practice compassion and ministries of justice and mercy.
   
4. God's heart breaks for those who refuse His embrace (Luke 13:34-35, 19:41-44), and so must the church long to see people come to worship and exult in Christ. Evangelism flows from the heart of God.

We can go on and on (and I'd love you to add to this list). I think this pursuit of having hearts in rhythm with God's heart can govern all of a church's priorities, values and ministries. What do you think?

Whether or not this ends up being The CityWell's purpose/vision statement I pray it will be true, as I don't think we can go wrong having our hearts synced with God's!