But not everyone WANTS a diverse church. We’ve had people NOT join our church because “the diversity is beautiful but that kind of diversity is not for me.” I wish I wasn’t quoting someone who chose to go an all white church in our area but I am. Diversity sucks. Our church would be bigger if it was homogenous, but it would also be emptier because it wouldn’t be filled with what we believed a church could and should look like. Diversity is uncomfortable and will challenge your sensitivities sometimes. Talking about money is interesting when your church has millionares and homeless people sitting next to each other. When the person on the right is a DIE HARD democrat and the person on the left walks in checks off the republican candidate and walks out without even reading the name. Its hard when 2 black sitting next to each other thinks one is a sell out because of his white wife and college education and the other thinks he is simple minded because he came to church wearing a throwback football jersey and has a 4th grade reading level. When the seaman who earned his stripes looks down on the officer who hasn’t seen real combat ever and they in the same small group…it sucks. Its hard.

And I think that’s why people don’t want to really talk about it. Besides…I wonder how many of the pastors who want church diversity have a diversity of friends. Not twitter followers, not people they know but people they break bread with, go to the movies with, take day trips with, have meaningful conversations away from the office with, crack a beer with.

Some of the reasons why they don’t want to talk about this…

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I’m not sure I agree that people aren’t talking about it. Is it a problem that American churches aren’t diverse? Yes. But are people talking about it? Absolutely. In fact, a lot of churches are being really intentional about it. I rememember our church in Chicago making a very big, intentional deal of it, which I supported. But I was also disappointed when as a worship leader, I didn’t get asked to sing as often because I was white. They were knocking themselves out to get different-colored faces on stage, and they had an abundance of white singers. It was a big disappointment for me, even while I was happy to see new faces leading us in worship.

If I may play Devil’s Advocate for a minute, here’s something I’ve thought about a lot. It’s not an answer, though — another question When we moved back to Denver after being in Chicago for 12+ years, we knew we wouldn’t be going to the church we got married in (for a variety of reasons; not the least of which is lack of diversity of thought). So we spent a significant amout of time looking for a church after the move. There were several churches downtown that would have been great, but the fact was that although we wanted a house downtown, what we could afford was in the suburbs. And the thing is that if we want to bring our neighbors to church, we needed a church closer to home. Certainly we didn’t mind driving downtown, but that wasn’t the point. If you invite your neighbors to something in Denver, they don’t want to drive more than 15 minutes or so (different from Chicago where people are used to driving a minimum of 30 minutes for something). And we knew we wanted to invite our neighbors to church.

Anyway, the suburb we live in is, well, pretty white bread and generic. The fact is that most of the people here look just like us. That fact makes me sad, but that doesn’t mean Jesus loves them any less.

So, onto church. We did find a church that we love that meets about 12-15 minutes from our house. And while there are a handful of people in it who don’t look exactly like me, the majority definitely do. But its fed from the neighborhoods nearby, which are mostly white. If the neighborhood were mostly Hispanic, I’m sure the church would be mostly too. Likewise if it were a Greek neighborhood, or a Korean one.

I guess the thing I’ve never fully understood is that if people want to go to a “neighborhood” church, and their neighborhood mostly looks just the same as they do, is it *bad* that their church would reflect that too? I don’t know the answer, and frankly, I don’t want to only be friends with people who look just like me. But in general, the people I interact with on a daily basis do.

Do I want more diversity in my life? Absolutely. One of the ways I have gotten it over the years is with online friends. But here’s the thing: I don’t want to only be friends with people who THINK just like me (regardless of race). I try to surround myself with diversity of thought, so I’m not living in a Christian subculture bubble that uses a language the rest of the world doesn’t understand, or worse; doesn’t interact with the rest of the world at all. I don’t have the answer to racial diversity — I really don’t. And I love when my church isn’t just a sea of white faces. But if that’s all that is around me, for now, shouldn’t I do my best to do and act and be what Jesus wants me to do and act and be to introduce them to him?

I’ve often thought that if the church (any church) spent more time just full-on ministering to the neighborhood around them, they might naturally experience some diversity, but regardless if they did or not, they’d just be doing what they were commanded to do. Honestly? I think that might be more of a “miss”. Should Christians in general be intentional about relationship with each other across boundaries (age, race, socio-economics, politics)? YES. Is it necessary to attend the same church with each other on Sunday for that to happen? I’m not so sure.

It’s a good discussion to bring up, regardless

I was taught to love everyone. Now, because my father fought in the Pacific during WWII and Korea, he had a bit of an issue with those of Asian ancestry, but he and Mother taught me to not see color or other differences. To me, people are people. The color or style of their overcoat (skin) is of little consequence to me.

What I have experienced is its own form of racism. Because I’m white, and live in the South, I MUST be racist and am treated as such. Before I’m even given a chance to open my mouth. Some of the most amazing people I’ve met are people of color and I’ve learned much from them.

My point? That judging of a book by its cover goes both ways. It’s a problem for every human being on this planet. Diversity is great, if one lives in an area that is diverse. But don’t assume that because a church doesn’t have people of color in attendance they are racist. Sometimes it’s the area in which they live.

Our church? Little church in the Smoky Mountains? We have a few black folks who attend from time to time. Some come from a halfway house an hour away. Some have driven the half hour from a nearby town. All have experienced the same love that was shown to the strung-out prostitute who came with her friend to prove that church people always treated her badly.