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| Monday, June 23, 2008 |
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Forming Multiethnic Congregations
Church of God Ministries, Church of God - General
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By MaryAnn Hawkins
Monday morning found Anderson University School of Theology professors Dr. James Lewis and Dr. MaryAnn Hawkins with a group of pastors and laity from across the country discussing the why, the what, and the how of multiethnic ministry.
The why was established from Scripture in an understanding of the missio dei, God’s mission, as God seeking relationship with all people, from the call of Abraham to be a blessing to the nations (Gen 12:1–3) to the apocalyptic vision of John the Revelator of “every tribe and nation, and language and people” (Rev 5:9; 7:9).
The what was addressed first in terminology: Is there a difference between multiracial, multiethnic, and multicultural? The answer is yes! Is race biological or sociological? Sociological. What do we mean when we talk of racism, ethnocentrism, and white privilege? These and other terms and concepts became the working words of the dialogue.
The second part of the what covered the different models of multiethnic congregations—assimilated, pluralist, and integrated—and worked to establish how we know when a congregation is indeed multiethnic.
The how segment was given the most time as the conference looked at the challenges that face those congregations who wish to become multiethnic. Though the challenges are significant—requiring not only pastors, but the congregation as a whole, to move out of comfort zones, to address their assumptions about themselves and others, and to make deliberate choices involving personal sacrifice—research has provided principles and encouragement to those who wish to follow God’s lead in gathering the nations.
Conference participants were provided with a beginning bibliography to use for continued exploration in what it means to become a leader who is forming a multiethnic congregation. All are committed to moving in multicultural directions but felt the conference was just too short. We need much more time to talk about these issues.
A version of this article appears in the Tuesday, June 24, 2008, edition of the NAC roundup/08 newsletter. To view the newsletter in its entirety, click here (2.34 MB). The document is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat in order to read and/or print it. If you do not have Acrobat installed on your computer, you can download a free copy of Acrobat Reader here.
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