Moving Toward Racially and Culturally Integrated Churches
I’ve always thought that it would be cool to go to a racially diverse church. Combining different races, different cultures, and different backgrounds would produce a unique and fascinating church. Unfortunately, I can’t remember attending a single American church that truly fit the racially/culturally integrated description. In my own estimation, developing an integrated church has simply been too challenging a task for anyone to achieve. The concept sounds great, but very few churches have been willing to rise to the challenge.
I want to start by defining a few terms. Cultural integration is a bit broader of a term than racial integration, because it would be possible to have cultural differences in a church while being of the same race. However, while being of a different race as someone else may present some small issues, being of a different culture can create enormous problems. Races usually develop a particular culture, which makes it very difficult to differentiate between racial and cultural issues. At the same time, cultures that are significantly different are usually represented by people of different races. For that reason, I will include the idea of racial integration under the umbrella of cultural integration.
Also, I want to point out the difference between integration and assimilation. In a church setting, outsiders will often assimilate into the main group. By adapting the practices and beliefs of the main group, a person can learn to fit in, usually by abandoning their own culture. By contrast, when two or more groups integrate into one, each group maintains their own core practices and beliefs. However, these groups bind together over their shared values, choosing to focus on their similarities, while celebrating the unique gifts and perspectives that each group brings. Obviously, integration is much more difficult, but it also offers much greater rewards.
Scripturally, it is obvious that believers of different cultures should be able to work together in a church setting. Galatians 3:28 says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (ESV).” At the time that Paul wrote this, there was an enormous cultural divide between the Jews and the Greeks. If even this barrier could be overcome through Christ, there is no excuse for believers of different cultures not to work together today. In other examples, Jesus ministered to a Samaritan woman, and John wrote about a multitude in heaven made up of people from every nation. In Ephesians, Paul wrote about the value of having different gifts and abilities in the local church, and in I Corinthians, he wrote about not offending a person from a different background. When looking at these examples, there is no doubt that God intended for churches to be racially and culturally diverse.
And yet somehow, this hasn’t really happened. I don’t think Christians have intentionally tried to remain culturally and racially divided, but the challenges of fellowshipping in an integrated church are significant. Ultimately, it is simply much easier to divide into our own comfortable groups, and form churches where people agree with each other about doctrine, and want to worship and practice the same way. The effort that it takes to understand cultural differences is, for many people, simply not worth the potential return. In the end, church segregation happens, not purely by intent, but because people do not actively work against it.
However, for the work that it might take to have a church that is healthily integrated, I believe that the advantages are well worth the effort. As Christians, we need to have healthy discussion and disagreements about issues of faith and practice. Having people from a plurality of races and cultures will ensure that a vigorous conversation about Christian issues will happen within the church. By contrast, when a church is composed of people who are all very similar to one another, religious conversations can easily begin to focus on smaller issues of less importance. A wide range of people will ensure that a wide range of perspectives are heard, which will lessen the possibility that a church will blindly fall into error without being warned. Many times, we learn the most from the people with whom we disagree. A culturally vibrant church will allow many opportunities for its members to learn about a variety of viewpoints.
In our racially charged society, there is a need for the church to set an example of how people of different races can move beyond their differences and work together. Personally, I’ve been inspired by the story of John Piper, a pastor in Minnesota. Piper grew up in the 1950’s in South Carolina, where segregation was promoted both in society and in the church. However, Piper began to understand the evils of racism, attempting to build a racially diverse church, and also adopting an African-American child.
This stands in sharp contrast to the attitude of some professing Christians in America, who look at foreigners with deep distrust. For example, conservative politicians, including President Trump, spoke very harshly about Somali-American Ilhan Omar. This rhetoric culminated in a crowd chanting “Send her back” at a Trump rally. It is safe to assume that some of these people would have claimed to be Christians. However, speech like this shows an attitude of arrogant superiority, far different from the love that Christ commanded his followers to have for people around them. The church must work to bridge the cultural and racial divides that have plagued our nation for centuries. Integrating churches would serve as a powerful example of Christ’s love.
One of the specific challenges that will present itself to a church that seeks to be culturally diverse is that it is difficult to meet the needs of more than one group of people at a time. Some doctrinal beliefs can be left up to individuals, without the church specifically taking a side. However, this is not possible with all issues. For example, worship styles can be become a very divisive issue, simply because a church must make a decision about how they will worship. Either they will have a worship band, or else they will not. Either they will be traditional, or else they will be contemporary. While some compromises can be made in most issues, it is hard to meet everyone’s preferences. This can be challenging when people have very strong preferences that border on convictions. Other issues of this nature include mode of baptism, use of church funds, type of pastor, church programs, women in ministry, and regulations on communion. In each of these areas, the different backgrounds that will be represented in a culturally diverse church will make love and unity difficult. However, as I previously mentioned, these disagreements also have the potential to produce a healthy conversation about important issues. As believers commit themselves to loving and understanding each other, the most intimidating human barriers can be overcome.
While it may be possible to integrate an established church, I believe a better strategy for creating culturally integrated churches is to plant new churches, taking steps to bring in people from many races and cultures from the very beginning. Believers should be trained to understand different cultural perspectives from the beginning of the discipleship process. If a person spends many years as a believer without trying to understand other cultural perspectives, change will be particularly difficult. A church that is begun with a vision for cultural and racial diversity will be much better positioned to actually attract people from different backgrounds.
Whether in a church plant or an established church, there a few key steps that can be taken to move toward cultural integration. The biggest one, I believe, is to understand what parts of our practice are cultural and what parts are Biblical. We should never compromise Biblical truth in an attempt to appeal to people of different backgrounds, but we can and should compromise on cultural forms of Christian practice. On the same note, we must hold firm on major theological issues, but we must not be too quick to judge others for what they believe on minor issues of Scripture. The final step that I would like to mention is that we must learn to appreciate the amoral aspects of different cultures, being willing to understand and even embrace the viewpoints of others, when those viewpoints do not involve religious issues.
Whether or not the American church can begin to racially and culturally integrate is something that remains to be seen. However, each of us can work to love and understand our Christians brothers who come from different backgrounds than we do. God created diversity for a reason, and yet we have often shied away from embracing that diversity. Through God’s grace, the church can be a shining light to a world scarred by barriers and divisions.
Sources.
Desiring God. “Bloodlines: Race, Cross and the Christian- Documentary on John Piper.” YouTube. 2015. 18:48. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us-tvWT2gDo&t=969s
