Big Is The New Small

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.

I posted a guest blog on Swerve today entitled: “Unstereotypical.”  Check it out and post your comments there!

Martin Luther King Jr. 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.”  This statement still rings true today.

Does Church Diversity Suck?  Share your thoughts, as it relates to Church Diversity!

Check out my post on Anne Jacksons Blog today entitled “Church Diversity Sucks.”

I would like to get some input from everyone who reads Big Is The New Small; including those of you reading through RSS.  Your feedback will be helpful  for some upcoming posts on Church Diversity.  OK, here is the question:  ”In your opinion, what is the percent of racial diversity of those attending your Church?”  Particularly; White, African American, Hispanic & Asian.  If you could simply post a comment and in your response include the name/location of the church; as well as your guess on the racial make-up.  If you feel a particular population is less than 1% you don’t need to include them in your response, or if you have a significant population other than the ones listed, please include them.   

It does not matter whether someone from your church has already responded or if you feel as though you don’t have a clue, I am more interested in your perception!  I will post the first comment and I want to thank you in advance for your responses!