The photo above is exactly how I felt on social media yesterday. It happens every once in a while, not just to me but to many of my friends. We'll be sharing a different opinion/perspective on an issue and be met with serious hostility, usually from a Christian brother or sister. Because of a view I shared on disparities and double standards in perceptions of African-Americans vs. Caucasians. I was shamed and told that I was an affront to the Gospel and not a Christian leader. This really shocked me. 1) I was just posing a question/alternative thought for discussion, 2) I welcomed all opinions (we are not a monolith) and 3) this issue definitely had nothing to do With my love for Jesus or leadership in the Church. To the contrary, these types of discussions are meant to expose the subtleties of the SIN of racism and classism; to bring light to a very dark area in our underbelly and move us to a greater sensitivity and one day hopefully unity. I stated that despite our differing opinions, I would never suggest that disagreement would be tantamount to another person not being saved or a leader. It was not my intent to start or be involved in a quarrel. A QUARREL is an angry argument or disagreement, typically between people who are usually on good terms. So I took the post down. Paul said that quarreling was something that Believers should avoid. God's servants had to learn to disagree agreeably, and have patience with the process of change in people's lives. I'm wondering how some of their disagreements about Gentiles being engrafted into salvation with the Jews might have gone... Again I say,don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants. (2 Timothy 2:23-26) I pray that the Lord will bring us to a maturity that enables us to have hard discussions without judgment and shaming that will not engender strife, but bring about UNITY in the Body of Christ, and that we won't quit along the way... Share with permission Original post: http://gracenotesbysadell.blogspot.com/2016/02/wednesdays-word-quarrel-sadell-bradley.html Feb 2016 Last month I wrote a post saying the easiest way to lose a battle is to not engage, to abstain, to sit out (Easiest Way to Lose a Battle). This is because I feel like that is what the majority of believers do when faced with the racial and ethnic segregation in the church. Today, I want to talk to those of you who are engaged and ask you this? Are you praying? Yes, praying. It’s so simple. Yet so overlooked. I don’t know about you, but it seems that I believe in prayer much more than I practice it. I know the reality of the battle, and that it is primarily a spiritual one, fought, not against flesh and blood. Yet, I have to battle my flesh daily to not battle in the flesh. So, yes, I am telling you something you already know. I’m telling myself the same. Let’s fight spiritual battles with spiritual weapons. Let’s not rely on our words, our programs, our strategies, or, for that matter, even our prayers. Let’s rely on our God. Let’s remind ourselves daily to pray. And as we pray let us remind ourselves that it is not our prayers, but our dependence on and access of God’s Holy Spirit that brings about even the smallest change. “Flesh gives birth to flesh, the Spirit gives birth to spirit (John 3:6).” I don’t know about you, but I’ve sown enough flesh in life already and I am really hungry for “fruit that will last (John 15:16).” I know this was sort of a short post. Take the rest of time you would have spent reading this, and instead pray.
It took over 22 hours of travel to get there and upon arrival the heat literally took my breath away. Yet having the opportunity to witness the reconciling gospel at work at The River of Life AG (http://www.theriveroflifeassembly.org) in Mumbai, India was well worth the trip. I was invited to preach by the lead pastor, Rev. Vivek Dindorkar, after he had heard about the work of reconciliation the Lord is doing at Peoples Church Cincinnati and my time on staff there. I traveled with a pastor named Andrew Stern and a member from his church. Andrew lives in St. Louis and has been called to the ministry of reconciliation at a church named New City Fellowship (http://newcity.org), which has been an intentionally multi-ethnic church since the mid-80’s. They are a Presbyterian Church (PCA) that has been in relationship with Pastor Vivek and The River of Life Assembly of God for over eight years because of their common belief in a Rev. 7:9 church, which shows that the ministry of reconciliation will even bridge denominational divides. I prepared a message from John 17:20-23 to encourage the church; yet when I walked up to the podium to begin my sermon, I was the one who was encouraged. In the congregation were Sub-Sahara Africans, Japanese, Korean, Indians from the Northeastern part of the country (they look ethnically Mongolian) and of course Indians of all shades. They all worshiped together in English, but for every person there English was their second language. They sacrificed worship in their native tongue so that they could worship together as one and invite others to worship with them. I imagine that the first century church worshipped in Greek for the very same reason, despite being from all over the Middle East and Mediterranean. Pastor Vivek and his wife Adeleine began The River of Life Assembly in 1999 and only had modest success growing for the first 6 years. In India it is illegal to openly proselytize and pastors are often put in jail for converting Hindus so it is hard to advertise or go out to reach people. However, in 2005 people began to hear about a church that welcomes all ethnicities and castes of people. From that point on the church began to grow rapidly. People began to come to Christ because the gospel of Jesus loving everyone was clearly seen and new believers told their family and friends that there is a place where God loves them. The church is now holding three different services in two locations, with over 600 in attendance and is planting churches in other states. A 600-member church in a city where only 4% of the population is Christian is like a mega church in the US (Especially because a vast majority of the Christians are Catholic, and the church is under persecution by the government and other religions). I have heard this story many times in the U.S., God pouring his blessing on a church where the gospel of reconciliation is preached and lived. And, it was amazing to see how God is doing the same thing in a country half-way around the world. God is definitely moving His church on Earth to look like the church in Heaven, and I feel privileged to be a part of the multi-ethnic church movement in the U.S. and now India. To God be the glory. So you want to see greater diversity in your group or church but feel that you are stuck. You’ve read the articles here and elsewhere and think to yourself, “Yes that is all right and good, but I can’t get people of color to come here, because there are no people of color here.” This can be a very true reality on your journey from homogeneity to multi-ethnicity. It’s human nature; we like to be with people like us. On top of that, our country’s history of racism and discrimination has made it difficult for people of color to feel comfortable, and at times, even safe being the “only one” in a room of majority people. So what do you do if you don’t have enough people to attract more people? Well, you need some pioneers. The history of everything that has ever been accomplished includes those who left their place of comfort and safety to accomplish a greater vision. Think of the Civil Rights Movement, the Protestant Reformation, the modern and ancient missions movements and even the incarnation itself. Jesus left his place of security and benefit in obedience to the Father’s plan to bring salvation to all nations of the earth. Wow, what an example! "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-- even death on a cross!" These are the kind of pioneers you need and most likely they are not just going to show up on your doorstep, or at your service, and say, “I am here to be a pioneer in this group to help you become God’s vision of church like heaven on earth--no matter the cost to me personally.” Pioneers respond to a call, so if you need them, make the call. What does this mean? It means you first need to pray. Yes, pray. There are so many reasons that this is the right and best place to start. One, you really need God help because you may not even have someone to make a call to. Secondly, you want to make sure you end up with the right pioneer. Nothing kills something faster than having the wrong people at the start. You need those who, first of all, are committed to Jesus, then committed to the vision of church of heaven on earth. So pray, pray, pray. Pray specifically and then keep your eyes and ears open. Next, make sure that while you are praying, you are also studying and teaching. You need to study so you know well the theology of kingdom diversity and you can make a Biblical call to be a part of bringing God’s kingdom to your campus/city. Also you need to teach your current congregation to prepare them for the changes that will eventually take place. Lastly, you need to make the call. Do so with passion and vision. Do not be ashamed and do not feel the need to “sugar coat” things. Hey, people of color know the reality of segregation. They are mostly excited to find those in the body of Christ who are broken hearted about it too. So tell it like it is and then ask them to help you fulfill the vision God has put on your heart. They may so no, but they may say yes. And once you have some pioneers, your journey can begin in earnest. What would racial healing in a city look like? Why is racial healing even necessary? Aren’t we years beyond the pain between black and white? Important questions. Maybe more than we have any idea.
Healing takes time. Not only that, but it’s hard for wounds to heal without attention to them. If a wound is not cleaned, dressed and bandaged, it will persist unhealed. There’s been very little cleaning, dressing and bandaging of racial wounds in America. The Church itself hopes for a moment of repentance and forgiveness, and then let’s move on. Right? The urban cores of American cities are rife with pain. Sure, there are many good things happening, but in the shadow of most of the good things people’s lives are torn up, and neighborhoods are blighted. Young fathers are missing, young mothers are fending, and many children are raising themselves. What does this have to do with racial healing? Lots. Decades of de facto segregation, generational poverty and racial fear and ignorance have helped cause devastated family systems. I would argue that the call of the Scriptures to defend the cause of the fatherless, the widow and the orphan is a call to what’s real in America’s most at risk metropolitan neighborhoods. Measurable involvement by the whole Church of Jesus Christ toward solutions would in time lead to racial healing across the nation. Healed wounds don’t hurt anymore. Racial healing would involve joining the work, the pain, the healing process with our very life energy and strategies as the Church. Racial healing would look like health, life and wholeness for people in the urban cores of America. This would lead to racial healing in America’s deepest divide, the black/white fracture. I know everyone in the core is not African-American. I know that all the issues there are not racial. But many of them are. Just look at Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and Cincinnati for starters. Much of the uphill challenge in these city centers is found in the lives of people of color living in historically segregated communities. So here’s the opportunity: What if instead of avoiding the issue, we studied it, prayed into it, built intentionally Christ-centered cross-racial friendships and congregations, rolled up our sleeves and got to work? I’m reminded of Isaiah 65:20-22 and what a Kingdom city might look like: “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years…. They will build their houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit…. For as the days of a tree so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will enjoy the work of their hands.” original post: April 4, 2013 Biblical Rationale for Church Like Heaven - by Pastor Chris Beard, Peoples Church Cincinnati10/9/2015
In Revelation 7:9 we see the Church gathered before the throne in heaven, a multitude from “every tribe, tongue, nation and people,” proclaiming that “salvation belongs to our God, and to the Lamb.” Jesus taught us to pray in Mt. 6:10, “Father your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” What if local churches on earth became microcosms of Church in heaven (every tribe, tongue, nation) in so far as their community’s demographics allowed? Another prayer Jesus prayed found in John 17:21-24 explains how church like heaven is connected to the Great Commission, “Father, I have given them glory as you gave me, that they may be one…. Then the world will know that you sent me….” Is the unity that the Gospel produces across deep human barriers of racism, culture, class and ethnicity the missing apologetic in the American Church? Is this what the world is waiting for in order to believe Jesus is the messiah? Paul writes in Ephesians that the “mystery of the Gospel is this, that the ethne (Gentiles) are fellow heirs, members of the same body….” The book of Romans is predicated on this same vision, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile” (Romans 3:22). As if to really drive the point home Paul adds in 3:29, “Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too?” So what will happen when the Church becomes united on earth as in heaven, every tribe, tongue, nation and people? The world will begin to believe. The Antioch church leadership team in Acts 13:1 demonstrates what can happen: Barnabas and Paul (Saul) were Jews, the rest were Gentiles. They were Simeon called Niger (a sub-Saharan African), Lucius of Cyrene (North Africa) and Manaen (a Gentile raised wealthy). The diversity of this team is remarkable. It was fruit of a many nations church. It is this church and this leadership steam that launches the New Testament missionary movement. Azusa Street in 1906 catalyzed this same possibility. We have this in our DNA. The world wants to believe; they are waiting to see church like heaven on earth. original post: January 11, 2013 There seems to be no more divisive issue, at least in the initial stages of diversity development, than music style in your congregational worship service. How do you meet the needs of everyone you are trying to reach and create the kind of cultural experience that is appropriate to all? Well, first let me say that you need to be asking the above question. If you have not, then your goal may not be diversity but a diverse group of people attending a mono-cultural congregation. Now if true Biblical diversity is your goal, then you need to process some cultural, sociological, spiritual, and practical issues. First thing we need to realize is that different cultures have different ways of connecting with God. There are different histories, different journeys. What it boils down to is that people have different comfort zones when it comes to connecting with God. Can a Spanish believer worship God in English? Sure, (if they speak English). But it can sometimes feel like walking around in someone else’s shoes. Making the effort to give attendees something they feel comfortable “putting on” communicates value, respect and hospitality. Sociologically speaking, minorities are used to adapting themselves to the majority culture. Majority people rarely, if ever, are asked to make such adaptations. The truth is that most everything in our society caters to the majority person. In a campus experience, classes, dorm life, and even cafeteria food targets the majority population. While minorities are aware of this fact, majority members don’t notice it. For them this is simply the “way things are.” It is the status quo. Due to these sociological realities, making changes in your music styles to create a more broadly accessible congregational experience will produce two simultaneous results. While minority people will feel more at home and, hopefully, appreciate the effort at hospitality; majority people will most likely, perhaps for the first time in their lives, begin to feel uncomfortable. Reactions may range from annoyance to anger. Having become accustomed to always having things as they desire, some may even feel that their needs are being “completely overlooked and ignored” and that everything now is for “them”. The solution to this apparent lose-lose situation is the gospel. One the surface it may appear that building a multi-ethnic congregation means no one gets what they want; how much easier to have a homogeneous group and keep everyone happy. Even if God would be happy with us segregating ourselves into our own groups to satisfy our preferences and desires, it simply won’t do. We are called to be a church of everyone nation, tribe, people, and language. And while asking everyone to die to self and prefer their brother and sister over themselves may be anathema to our American culture, it is right at home in the kingdom of God. So what at first seemed like a lose-lose, turns out to be a win-win where everyone gets to practice the gospel in true Christian community. Now- please don’t tackle these issues in secret. Deal with them up front. Teach through scriptures like Phillippians 2, John 17, and Romans 12:10 to challenge your people to true discipleship. Don’t just make changes and hope for the best. Teach, preach, inspire, encourage, rebuke when needed, guide, and lead your people into a true kingdom manifestation of Body life. Oh, and don’t forget to pray. The battle is not just against sociological and cultural realities, but against powers in high places and strongholds that are not broken except by truth and prayer. Finally, there are practical considerations. You may want to make changes to your music style, but simply do not currently have the resources to do so. This is the place most of us start. You can begin by incorporating recorded music wherever doing so is appropriate, before and after service or during a special tims. This is good. But here is the thing, you can start here, but can’t stay here. What do you do? Pray, ask, pray, and ask. Get your whole group praying. Pray at your meeting. “You know part of our vision for our group/congregation is to be fully diverse, not just in the people that attend, but in our culture too. In order to do this, we need a variety of music styles as part of our services. But right now we don’t have the people do to so. Let’s pray that God provides what we need to make changes.” Public prayers like this serve many, many purposes. In the end it’s your commitment to a full, Biblical expression to Christian community that will overcome all cultural, sociological, and practical obstacles. Dictionary.com defines hospitality as “the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.” Our God is most gracious and hospitable. He created a world that would meet, not just our physical and spiritual needs, but provide us with enjoyment for all of our all our senses. Since he made us all unique and special, he has provided sufficient diversity in the world to satisfy every taste. Wow, this is a good place to stop and give Him some praise! When you are in the initial stages of your diversity development, your goal is to see the fullness of ethnic diversity found in your town or campus in your congregation. In order to do this, you must transform your perspective from “meeting the needs of those currently attending” to creating a place of welcome and comfort where guests and strangers can be received in a warm, friendly, and generous way. In this context, hospitality becomes a strategy for helping you reach the goal of diversity. In another sense however, hospitality is not a strategy at all, but a goal. God created the world, I believe, partly as a revelation of his heart of hospitality. In the same way, one of the reasons all local congregations are called to reach every nation, tribe, people, and language around them is that the church’s mission is to manifest God’s heart to the world, and this includes his heart of hospitality. When we only serve/reach part of our community, while ignoring those it would take “extra effort” to reach and serve, we are not being hospitable. Thus, we are not accurately representing God to those around us. So we first begin with the motivation to manifest or “incarnate” God’s hospitable heart to the world. We realize this means, “all peoples” around us, not just the ones like us. We then think about how we can practically express hospitality through what we do. Here are some suggestions: 1. Think through the messages you are giving outsiders about who belongs and is welcome in your congregation through what they see, hear, and experience. Are the pictures that tell your story of diverse people? Are the people on your platform representative of those you want in your seats? What about the activities you sponsor? Do they appeal to a variety of people? Consider the language you use and the music you play. 2. Think through the culture of your congregation. Is it accessible and understandable for guests and strangers? Is there a bunch of “inside information or ways of doing things” that everyone who regularly attends knows about that is never explained. More than once I have attended a church where only one of the many entry doors are unlocked during service times. Everyone who goes there knows which door to use. Imagine how I felt when I tried a door to find it locked. The message to me was very clear; “if you were one of us, you would know which door to use.” This is not hospitality! 3. Realize hospitality comes with a cost. In the same way David refused to give God an offering that cost him nothing, hospitality that costs us nothing, isn’t hospitality at all. There may be true financial cost of redoing your publications or website, changing the look of your gathering place, and purchasing foods that appeal to a wider variety of people. Still, these are the easy ones. The greater cost comes in inconveniencing our congregants and ourselves as we make changes to appeal to the stranger. Leaders often fear this cost and decide instead to leave things as they are. But it does not have to be this way. Instead of avoiding the issue, deal with it head on. Take advantage of the opportunity to teach and share about God’s love for all people and how Jesus left his home to come into our world so we could know the Father. Challenge your people with the gospel that demands that we pick up our cross and die to ourselves. These are wonderful opportunities for real discipleship that it would be foolish for us to miss. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Once, you, a stranger, were brought near to the Father and now you have become part of his family. God had been working all of your life to draw you to Himself with warm, friendly, and generous hospitality. Now, it’s your turn. |
Categories
All
Contributing Authors
|