Jesus Valued Diversity
Teach Your Team To Fish 3 (of 4) “He Valued Diversity”
If you could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same it would look like the following:
- 57 Asians
- 21 Europeans
- 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South
- 8 Africans
- 52 would be female; 48 would be male
- 70 would be non-white; 30 would be white
- 70 would be non-Christian; 30 would be Christian
- 89 would be heterosexual; 11 would be homosexual
- 6 people would possess 59% of the world’s wealth and all 6 would be from the U.S.
- 80 would live in substandard housing
- 70 would be unable to read
- 50 would suffer from malnutrition
- 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
- 1 (yes only 1) would have a college education
- 1 would own a computer (an he/she would be blogging LOL)
This compressed look at the world gives some perspective of the need for acceptance, understanding, education and what we talked about yesterday; sharing your faith and inviting a friend.
The Story: If we look at the myriad of diversity in the world we can clearly see that God values diversity. Jesus certainly expressed diversity in his choice of staff: tax collector, fisherman, physician, former prosecuting attorney, women… He valued an array of personalities, backgrounds and experiences around him in order to advance his work. The story of Jacob and the “minority” sheep is another great illustration.
The Thoughts: The bottom line is most organizations and teams do not like to talk about diversity. Teams like to talk as though everyone has the same backgrounds, experiences and as though someone will be offended by a diversity discussion. It’s even more taboo to acknowledge the realization that diversity in the church and organizational teams should exist. It’s not like Jesus just said he took a “group of people” to be on his team; he articulated who they were and there uniqueness to give us a clear perspective of how he rolled. I personally think we need to move from tolerating diversity to embracing diversity.
Fortune magazine states that “diverse groups make better decisions. If everyone in the room is the same, you’ll have fewer arguments and worse answers. Diversity is a distinct competitive advantage.”
The Questions:
- Is diversity taboo to talk about in your team or organization? How diverse is your team, your church…?
- Any thoughts on diversity overall; or is it too taboo to talk about?
“We must face the fact that in America, the church is still the most segregated major institution in America.” Martin Luther King Jr.
10 Responses to “Jesus Valued Diversity”
Scott,
I used the book If the World Were a Village by David J. Smith to teach this concept to my 7th graders. It was very eye opening for all of us!
Mind-Blowing:
* 70 out of a 100 wouldn’t be able to read
* 1 would have a college education
* 80 would live in substandard homes
* 50 would suffer from malnutrition
These are ones that stood out to me.
makes me feel like the luckiest person on the planet
Scott,
Why does it seem easier to discuss substandard living conditions and malnutrition (usually not it the U.S.) than different ethnicities and races coexisting together?
We can feed some poor african girl but can we REALLY love the white/black guy/gal that sits next to us during service?
- I’m so grateful that we have a diverse church: all colors, multiple languages, various backgrounds, and economic diversity … to me, it’s a church that looks like Heaven!
- However, I’m still very aware of how prejudice can creep in and rob or disillusion us. Even with a blended staff, it’s possible to find things that we discriminate. We must be conscious and accountable about these tendencies.
- Thanks for this post, Scott! I’ve shared it with my staff today.
Shelly- I need to pick up that book!
Roger- I agree and you are the one that has the computer.
David- Well said; I always appreciate your heart and candor on this subject.
Chilly- Thanks for sharing and what you are doing in the Detroit area…
On our team we have been talking about how we can be more intentional with our black students and yet we dont have diversity on our team. If we dont have diversity on our team, maybe we need to make sure we are finding another way to expose ourselves to diversity, maybe by leaving our comfort and going into communities of diversity to build relationships. Ministry is an outward action, yet many of our programs (ministries) in church are inwardly focused. Sometimes, without thinking, we expect these relationships to develop, on our terms and in our comfortable environment.
I would hope that I would never let difference keep me from hearing someone, or reaching out to someone with Gods love.
Hey Scott- I remember hearing on NPR recently that of the 5% of American churches that are multicultural, half of those are shifting back to monocultural, with one point of contention being interracial dating. makes me feel like michael scott has it more together than most of us churchy people…
Hi. Found your blog thru the blackweblog awards site. Glad I did.
This was an amazing breakdown of stats. I can visualize 100 people far more easily than 6 or 7 billion. Thanks for doing this.