Globalization has challenged prejudice in the church beyond any other event in history. Churches and denominations have found old structures of mission and evangelism being challenged to the point of forced change. In the past it was very common for churches to talk about and financially support overseas missions and feel good about it, but now those same people groups live in all urban centers. Now individual believers and churches are faced with considerable cultural groups living within walking distance of their churches and as a result are experiencing strong internal spiritual conflicts. These churches cannot admit their “ethnic prejudices” because it conflicts with their belief in the authoritativeness of Scripture. This spiritual conflict has led to a “new norm” in segregation that seems to be acceptable to the majority of churches and denominations even though it is contrary to Scripture and the early Christina church model found in the New Testament. This new norm is being “justified” with terms like “culture” or “class” and supported by sociological and psychological arguments often built around ethnomusicology and homiletical styles.
American churches are accepting the belief that God desires the church to be equal but separate. It seems that nearly every large urban church now has an autonomous ethnic church meeting within its walls. The idea is to help an ethnic church plant become established, grow, and then move out on its own. These churches do not blend into the larger urban church, but are totally independent and separate with the two groups worshipping together once or twice each year. The greatest interaction of the two congregations occurs in the parking lot as the two distinctly separate groups pass to and from their segregated services. This type of arrangement usually provides the larger urban church a sense of satisfaction and pride, as they can provide this assistance with little or no personal investment. This arrangement gives the appearance of the “host” church being more multi-cultural than it is in reality.
In a similar fashion, churches sometime extend their ministry by created ethnic house churches. The mother church may budget for the cost of the teacher, evangelist, or pastor to lead the small ethnic group. Usually beginning as Bible Studies, these house churches consists of people who are different from the mother church, but who are still of a single culture and class. In time several of like house churches may band together to form a self-sustaining congregation.
Most urban areas have mega-churches with multi site ethnic congregations within their buildings. Sometimes these churches grow strong enough to move out as a self-sustaining church, but others remain small for years. It is common to walk through a mega-church facility on a Sunday morning and hear songs and sermons coming from different areas of the facility in different languages.
Motive is always important to God and I have no doubt that God sees the true motives of the Separationist. Southern Baptist Churches have long adhered to the homogeneous unit principle for evangelism. Like so many other denominations, Churches practicing the homogeneous unit principle often make the argument that multi-cultural churches are not necessarily better or more spiritual than mono-cultural churches, and that multi-ethnic churches often find it is harder to reach people for Christ, but this seems to me to be little more than an excuse to practice separation views. The teaching of the New Testament does not support the homogeneous unit principle. Paul did not start separate churches for the Jewish believer and the Gentile believer. Just the opposite, the New Testament Church was filled with believers of various cultural origins and class. Wealth and poverty, educated and uneducated, young and old from every culture joined to worship God. The biblical principle of church growth is not aimed at how many people we can assemble, but rather by disciples created. Smart marketing can pull thousands of people in a sporting event and a rock concert, but few if any disciples of Christ ever emerge from one of them.
A local pastor once asked me, “What event made you want to reach and minister to people of different ethnicity?” As I thought about his question, I could not think of a single event. I had grown up in the South with active Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in the community where we lived and several KKK leaders within the church I attended. As a young youth worker, I received a letter from the Grand Cyclops of the KKK thanking me for working with the “white” youth of the community. This was the background of my youth, but the love of God indwelling his children melts away hate and prejudice. He will have no part in such sinful behaviors and the church will never be able to whitewash their tombs of worship enough to win His approval. It sickens our Lord.
Jesus was ethnically and culturally a Jew, would he really be welcome in your church? Jesus was a street person, usually dirty and sweaty, and sometimes smelly. He slept on the ground with no place to lay his head. Jesus did not speak English; and in our country, he would be considered a foreigner, an alien, and a non citizen. So ask yourself, “Would Jesus be welcome in my church?”
So what do you do if you sense prejudice and hatred in the mission arm of your church? First, you talk it over with Jesus in prayer. Second, you lovingly confront the evil. Begin by enlarge the multi-ethnicity and multi-culture of your friends. Remember that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the powers of darkness. unbiblical at its core. Third, using Scripture, be prepared to show those you lovingly confront the error of their way. I suggest you begin with your pastor. Some pastors are cowardly on the subject, in part because they think they stand alone. You can show you pastor he is not alone. Fourth, ask you pastor to consider a special Sunday several times each year where the church holds a “joint” service with another church of like doctrine but of a different culture. This will be an enriching experience for both churches and new friendship will emerge. Fifth, specifically look for inter-racial and bi-racial friends and family you can invite to church to begin breaking the ice. Prepare to handle some stinging remarks from separatist church members. Not everyone will share you enthusiasm to become a biblical first century church. Sixth, evangelize your neighborhood with a purposeful mindset having predetermined to share Jesus with all people and invite them to your church. If a Hmong family moves into your neighborhood, you share your faith and invite them to your church; you do not send them across town to a Hmong church. The only time I have ever referred other people to a church other than where I served the Lord was when they did not speak our language. Seventh, be prepared for losses. As the church become more biblical, some people will leave. Be prepared to let them go and do not try to talk them into staying. Realize that every Christian is responsible to Christ for their personal walk. I suggest you only pray with them, assuming they want to be obedient to Christ, and pray that Jesus guide them into a greater depth of service to His kingdom.
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