** This is the 2nd post in a series on the book The Monkey and the Fish by Dave Gibbons, find the 1st post here**
That is a question I have asked myself for virtually my whole life. Why are there so many white people in my church? Growing up in the DC area we went to a church that was 90% white middle class. The street I lived on was unbelievably diverse. There were Iranians, Irish, Vietnamese, Koreans, Blacks, Whites, and Italians just in our little neighborhood. My high school was ridiculously diverse with something like a 100 different countries represented in the student body. There was a bit of everything.
But I have never been in a church that came close to enjoying a multiracial congregation. In the The Monkey and the Fish by Dave Gibbons, the author tries to offer a mandate for change in church leadership and a manifesto for how to do it. Expressed through the term Third Culture leadership, which Dave defines as the mindset and will to love, learn, and serve in any culture, even in the midst of pain and discomfort.
To look at areas of our current church leadership that must change, Dave delves into the issue of culture and the homogeneous growth principle. For three decades now most churches who have sought to grow in our country have embraced the reality of this principle. The homogeneous growth principle simply states that people naturally gather together with other people who are like them and encounter faith best in this setting. The results of this principle have been obvious, we have a lot of churches that are almost entirely made up of the same demographic and but making this particular group of people very comfortable we have been able to gather together huge groups of people who look and live the same way.
The question is whether or not we should celebrate this reality? Dave suggests that if this if the focus of our churches we miss out on something uniquely beautiful about what it is to be the church. Reflecting on the parable of the Good Samaritan Dave says, “Anyone can love people who are like themselves. The Father’s love is best reflected – and is most irresistible and potent – when we love those who are unattractive to us.”
This is the best quote I have found in the book so far. Dave is on to something that has lingered in my spirit for my whole life. We learn to love God and to be the church better when we are intentionally crossing our comfort zones and learning to love people who are different than us. We are simply missing lacking in our understanding of the church, on who God is, and on our own limitations and cultural flaws when we are only ever surrounded by people just like us.
If this is true the questions we must grapple with are these. Can existing homogeneous churches change and become multicultural? Can you have multicultural churches without multicultural leadership? What are our homogeneous churches missing out on? How has our homogeneous history allowed flaws to become embedded in theology?
Thoughts?
December 30, 2009 at 11:14 am
My family is currently part of a church that maintains obvious diversity in the congregation. The sermon is translated into spanish and the faces range in shades. We recently had an international dinner where close to 25 countries represented. I LOVE IT! What a blessing to be part of a group that represents the nations. It makes me smile every time I think about it.
January 16, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Greg, great post. I think is something we really need to consider. It is amazing how much politics, race, and class have divided the church. I think people need to realize how much of our social divison has shaped the church.