Church Diversity Sucks!

Posted by Scott Williams
31 Comments
January 4, 2009
Controversy | The Church

diversity-sucks2It’s something about using the word sucks in a blog title that really grabs peoples attention.  I am not saying that “Church Diversity Sucks” for shock value, I am simply stating a fact.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best nearly 40 years ago, when he said “We must face the sad fact that at 11 o’clock on Sunday morning, when we stand to sing… we stand in the most segregated hour in America.”  It’s hard to believe that same statement is still true today, for both Traditional “African American” Churches, Traditional “White” Churches, Contemporary Churches…

 

The Church in general does not have a problem worshipping God with people who might look different than themselves; however if you put a truth serum in people, Church Diversity is one of those uncomfortable, Black Elephant in the Room topics that people really don’t want to discuss.  When you talk about race or diversity in general; a non-minority response will sound something like “I don’t have a problem w/ race, I don’t even pay attention to skin color, I have a good friend who is Black, I have a pair of Black Boots, and I even have a colored TV.”  Maybe not the last two LOL, but you get the drift.  

 

It’s important for churches, ministries, church leaders and “The Church” to understand the difference between Embracing Diversity and Tolerating Diversity. According to Webster’s Dictionary, the two terms are defined as follows:

  • Tolerating means: To put up with or endure without prohibition.
  • Embracing means: To take or receive gladly, eagerly or willingly. 

There is a huge difference between Embracing and Tolerating Diversity; it boils down to intentionality.  If we are to “go and make disciples of all nations,” we need to be intentional and Embrace Diversity.

 

If you are being honest, do you feel like you, your church and “The Church” overall Embraces or Tolerates Diversity?  Does Church Diversity Suck?  What churches are doing a good job with Diversity? Share your thoughts!

  • http://www.dustytakle.com Dusty Takle

    I like what Heady said about how embracing will affect our impact on the world. So true.

  • http://www.TheOldBlackChurch.blogspot.com Ann Brock

    Scott Happy New Year to you and beautiful family. I believe it's more of a culture thing than anything else. if we really took the time to understand our culture difference we would embrace each other in a more Christ like attitude. I believe a church will take on the dominate atmosphere of which culture is stronger and present.

    Different is good. It reflect the diverse nature of God. I believe all Christian worship the same God but we celebrate him through different means (different languages, expressions, music, cultural contextualization). There’s diversity in unity. It’s a beautiful thing. If you put a diverse group of people together each group will move toward what's familiar.

    The fact that we are culturally different is the reason I don't have a problem with diversity in churches as long as it's based on our culture. But when it comes to diversity based on race then that becomes a problem.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/ScottWilliams ScottWilliams

      Two Claps and a {Fist Bump} well said… If the culture does not breed the attitude of embracing, that's where the challenge will be. If the embracing attitude is there then it makes it ok for someon else to indulge in what may be a culturally different church.

      Again well said from "The Old Black Church" blogger! :-)

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/CaroleTurner CaroleTurner

    We go to a very mixed campus of Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge. We serve at their Dream Center location, which is in the inner city BUT we have a very mixed congregation, white black and hispanic.

    The deep south is still so segregated, especially in church but they are making strides to change that and I think that's great.

    We have a white daughter, a 4 yr old bi-racial son and in three weeks we will bring home another son from Africa who is black. I would not do well in a whitey white white church.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/DreadedRafifi DreadedRafifi

    I was born in Hawaii. My mother was Japanese, Hawaiian and Chinese; and my father is Irish, African-American, Puerto Rican, Columbian, Chactau, Cherokee. This kind of racial mixing isn't uncommon in Hawaii. Cultures are celebrated in Hawaii and aren't something kept secret among cultural groups. Anyone can practice the cultures of others and it is encouraged.

    Why should it be any different in the church? Why should we allow ourselves to be cut off from each other rather than learning and practicing each others cultures? It's an excuse to be separate. The Church is called to be one Body in Christ. What does it matter if an Irish guys wants to STEP or an African-American girl wants to dance the hula?

    Embracing the creativity and expressions of each others cultures makes us healthier people and gives us perspective into the God of the universe who made us all. It's an adventure to see God through eyes of our opposites and a blessing to worship Him in all forms of cultural creativity.

    • http://www.TheOldBlackChurch.blogspot.com Ann Brock

      I agree and I believe we are guilty of using our cultural difference as a way and a reason to continual worshiping separate.
      It's hard to separate a people from their culture so, why not embrace and accept our difference and move on with "Kingdom Building".

      • http://intensedebate.com/people/ecabello ecabello

        this was really amped up during the presidential campaign where young and old, & white and black became very divided even though we would call one another brother and sister. Even afterward the sense of fear and trepidation from far right wingers was disconcerting. That will continue to be an issue within the "kingdom of church" culture. These next months and years with a new president will be very interesting, especially if it goes well!

        • http://intensedebate.com/people/DreadedRafifi DreadedRafifi

          Isn't it ironic how something so inconsequential such as the color of ones skin or the shape of their eyes or the type of clothes one wears becomes such a focal point in division? The Enemy is so good at turning the smallest of our differences into insurmountable obstacles to true relationship. We Americans seem to be stuck in this quagmire of racism. I hope it ends soon … for my children's sake.

  • http://cyndiakadisneyqueen.blogspot.com/ Cyndi

    We are not there yet, but hope to be one day (so keep checking in…lol). Thankfully we have a good "example" locally in which to draw from.

  • http://www.thepewview.com Milan Ford

    great post scott. framing an article about this concept for a magazine this week.

  • http://dturn.wordpress.com david

    I think there is still too much "tolerating" going on.
    I dont go for the "colorblind" angle either.
    God made us all the way we are. We should be able to set aside our cultural differences for the sake of Christ.
    Ya heard!!

  • http://gregatkinson.com Greg Atkinson

    Preach! I'm with you all the way. Embrace and appreciate diversity.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/SCBubba SCBubba

    I agree with david about tolerating. What I see mostly is the "not in my backyard" atitude. Meaning that people are all for providing lip service to it but have a different reaction when "others" come to "their" church. Yes I'm in the South (Chas, SC) and I see it in many different kinds of churches/denominations/locales around here.

    I think we need diversity. Diversity of race, socio-economic background, nationality, gifts, talents, attitude. But he is the same God for us all.

    Peace.

  • http://preacherpen.wordpress.com Pastor Ron

    Great post, pastor. Just my two cents: if we embrace merely for the sake of seemingly being more Christ-like than those who don't, we've missed the point of your discussion. Do we intentionally pursue people who are different than us in order to make a statement, or do we intentionally pursue everyone who needs the gospel of Christ? In other words, do we desire to have a culturally diverse congregation to be novel, or do we have a culturally diverse congregation because our people are reaching out to anyone who breathes?

    It's similar to the old "change for the sake of change" mindset. Some people are thrilled to stay where they are, and I see nothing wrong with churches being made up of predominately one race. When my wife and I pastored in south Georgia, we became acquainted with some people from a predominately black congregation. It wasn't long until our congregations began to fellowship with each other on a regular basis. We would pack up and have service with them, and vice versa. It was more than that, too. We were involved in ministry in each others' churches. I was afforded one of the greatest honors of my life when their pastor appreciation committee invited me to be a guest speaker for their event.

    My point is this: we can be separate while still embracing other people. We don't need to go out and attract diverse people simply because they are different than us; we do need to embrace other people because they are … people. Hope that makes sense.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/ScottWilliams ScottWilliams

      I think it's the later… I we embrace diversity it is the whole doing "anything short of sin to reach those who don't know Christ" embracing creates more opportunities. There is definitely a place and niche for all churches cultural or not…

      What happened in Georgia for you is embracing diversity in "The Church." Thanks for the comment!

  • http://basementseven.com heady

    good stuff. we need more. i think once the body of christ walks in this we will make a greater impact on the world.

  • http://knowgreaterlove.org Avery

    If you mean racial diversity and tolerance … cool… I feel ya…

    But a lot of churches mean something different when it comes to diversity…
    Some mean sexual diversity, (gay couples, and pastors)…
    Some mean diversity of faiths… (mixing faiths for social interaction)

    Same thing for tolerance, and the redefinition of those poest-modern buzzwords… lets be clear… the church is here to challlenge the culture, and to be a change agent… so by those perverted definitons I hope there isn't many practicing here in OKC…

    But for the definition I think you mean… I know a good one in OKC… People's Church… very diverse in the good way…

  • http://www.billaycock.com @WildBillAycock

    I agree with david and SCbubba. I think we as a church need to embrace diversity but we mostly just live out the tolerance. As a church we need to do something different, not just partner with a church primarily of a different race, once a year for a mission, but to truly become ONE. I have to admit that I would be very guilty of tolerating more than embracing. This is definitely some good food for thought and prayer.
    I do have to give props to someone here in Tulsa that really does live out the embrace. Bob Dail.

  • http://twitter.com/Yochanan John

    Out here in the Az things are just as bad as in the South (and the rest of the "church" world) really. So many congregations here are either/or (i.e., White, Black, or Hispanic). There are a few that fully embrace the diversity in each other, but not many I'm afraid. The best example of one such congregation that I know of is a fellowship in South Phoenix call the River of Life Tabernacle. It's a place where one will see every skin tone known to man, every type of back ground, and every kind of "position" all loving each other without thought to any of it.
    As a partner with the Lifechurch.tv/Phoenix campus I can honestly say that we have a mixture of age groups, backgrounds, and current "position," but we really lack in the diversity of skin tone. Here in the Southwest there is a huge language barrier in reaching out to the Hispanic population not to mention the dug in tradition of religion barrier. I absolutely believe that these walls must be brought down if The Church is to turn this part of the country upside down (or would it be right side up) for the Kingdom and Glory of our God.

  • http://www.intensedebate.com/people/ecabello ecabello

    United By Faith is a terrific book dealing with the history of diversity with a cultural perspective on the Day of Pentecost. The primary idea is that the chuch, that's right I said 'chuch', should model this embracing we're all praying for. Historically the 1st and 2nd Great Awakenings seemed to impact the embracing between whites and blacks. It's a very interesting read blending the spiritual and sociological factors that make up the church at large.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/iChilly iChilly

    I don't know a church more diverse than ours… honestly. I think that this, however, could make us intolerant of churches that aren't diverse. And, that can be bad too. Hmmm… I'm going to have to think about this.

    Thanks for the provocation.

  • http://paravane.wordpress.com jimmy paravane

    Diversity in the church is a reflection of the diversity in the local community, isn't it? If the local community the church draws on for it's congregation is diverse, then won't the church be as well? And vice-versa? While we were on vacation in Orange Beach Alabama, my wife noticed that we hadn't seen a single black person there, except for a couple of cleaning staff people coming out of the Hilton Hotel next to our condo, the entire time we were there. That includes at the Walmart. We did see some Hispanics shopping at the Walmart. This is what I remember from growing up in the south.
    Except for the really really white audience at McCain's resignation speech, I didn't notice as much racial division in this election as I expected to see.

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  • http://jeffsdeepthoughts.wordpress.com Jeff

    It seems to me that tolerating is easy because it doesn't challenge us to change who we are or what we do. If we tolerate diversity, we say "I'm going to do things the way I want to do things, but you're welcome to join in." If we embrace diversity, we have to be prepared to change the non-essentials in a way that invites others in by operating within their comfort zones. For example, a church which tolerated diversity would mantain it's style of worship mucic or expectation about appropriate dress to church, might invite others to their service, but expect that everybody will get on board with the way the church does things.
    I think Jesus' heart breaks with this kind of rigidity (again, only in the area of non-essentials) This truly wounds church unity, our witness to unbelievers; it also closes us off from the fullness of things we might experience if we'd be more open.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/Avery Avery

    I can't wait for the days when we don't even have to make an issue of this issue…

    Very few people preach on diversity of noses, or fingers, or the need for us to be diverse with them… because mostly everyone has one… they are all different, and well to be frank.. it just isn't an issue.. kind of like the color of our skin…but it seems we aren't ready to see it that way…

    I think the fact that we make this an issue shows that we aren't ready for this to not be an issue yet…

    I guess it might be heaven before this isn't an issue… but who knows… what silly creatures we are sometimes..

  • http://www.intensedebate.com/people/Avery Avery

    I can't wait for the days when we don't even have to make an issue of this issue…

    Very few people preach on the diversity of noses, or fingers, or the need for us to be diverse with them… because mostly everyone has them… they are all different, and well to be frank.. it just isn't an issue.. kind of like the color of our skin…but it seems we aren't ready to see it that way… until we are.. it is an issue…sadly

    I think the fact that we make this an issue shows that we aren't ready for this to not be an issue yet…

    I guess it might be heaven before this isn't an issue… but who knows… what silly creatures we are sometimes..

  • Nichole

    My church in West Orange, NJ – The Life Christian Church – is completely diverse. I mean completely. Africans, Filipinos, Indians, Jamaicans, Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, young people, much older people, singles, and married folks. I love it. It represents the world we live in.

    If you're ever in the area, check us out.

  • willohroots

    My church is not diverse at all. we are all sinners. Different colors, but sinners in need of a Savior.

  • http://www.leebezotte.com Lee

    I agree wholeheartedly, but I seldom hear anyone giving ideas on how a church can embrace diversity.

    The only idea I’ve heard is to hire a multi-ethnic staff and that’s unrealistic for most churches simply because few churches can afford staff pastors these days.

    What are 2 or 3 things that the average church can do to live out this value?

  • jimmy paravane

    Lee, don’t stir the waters. This post is a year old and nothing’s changed. We like it that way. Look, tolerance is the enemy of reaction, reaction leads to the possibility of obedience, obedience only happens if you are listening. Please don’t interrupt the white noise of life. Just go back to sleep. Good puppies.

  • http://www.simplediscipleship.com drthomreece

    Well said, Scott! I have pastored three churches; one resisted diversity, one polerated diversity, and one embraced and welcomed diversity. The church I pastored that embraced diversity was my best experience of God and people together. I think that embracing diversity is a sign of a growing disciple of Christ.

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