Tiffany stood behind the counter waiting for the next customer. I stepped up and we talked. She told me she had just moved to Jackson, Mississippi, from a tiny town in the Delta. She was a single mother with one child and had been raised in the church. I mustered up all my evangelical boldness and invited her to our congregation.
"The preaching is great," I said. "The pastor sticks to the Bible. The people are welcoming and would love to meet you." Then I felt compelled to explain a bit more. I didn't want Tiffany to show up and be unpleasantly surprised.
"I just want you to know," I began, "Our church is intentionally multiracial." She stared back at me with a blank expression. I quickly added, "The pastor is black, and the music is excellent. It may not be what you're used to, but just come for a visit."
Members don't put their deeply embedded cultural beliefs away when they attend a multiracial church on Sunday mornings.
Tiffany is African American. So am I. Why, then, did I feel sheepish about inviting her to my church, where I am a small group leader and pastoral intern? We rejoice over what the Lord has done. Our congregation is a blend of ages, races, and ethnicities in a beautiful preview of Revelation 5:9 and 7:9. Our elders are an almost even mix of black and white leaders. Even great Civil Rights leaders like James Meredith and John Perkins had given their nod of approval to our efforts at racial integration.
But I had to give my new friend a heads up. Because Tiffany had been raised in a predominately black church context; if she came to my church, she would be giving up a lot of what makes church feel like home.
The black church has developed beloved and unique characteristics over the past several hundred years. It has a canon of songs that stir the soul. There are meaningful roles like ushers and junior ushers, signifi ed by their white gloves. Preachers speak in familiar cadences. Topics are relevant to black experiences. The people are family, and they know firsthand the challenges and blessings of being black in this nation. But a multiracial church sheds most of these distinctives or presents them in a less robust form.
Many of us see multiracial churches as a place where racial reconciliation and understanding can fl ourish, but does racial understanding and reconciliation automatically happen in a multiracial congregation? Not necessarily.
United by Faith?
In a study, "United by Faith? Race/Ethnicity, Congregational Diversity, and Explanations of Racial Inequality," researchers at Baylor University, the University of Southern California, and the University of Chicago asked people of different races to explain the main causes for socioeconomic differences between blacks and whites in the United States. Typically, African Americans point to structural issues (e.g. racial discrimination and lack of access to quality education) to explain the differences, while whites attribute them to individual choices and personal morality.
Interestingly, the perspectives of blacks in multiracial congregations tend to resemble those of the dominant white culture. White attitudes remain static whether or not they are a part of a multiracial congregation.
In practice, multiracial congregations tend to refl ect one culture, and that culture is typically white. Rather than demonstrating the value of every culture, the very congregations attempting to deconstruct harmful ideas about race and culture may unintentionally promote them, conveying white culture as "normal."
Why does this happen? Either the dominant culture is so strong that blacks adapt to the attitudes of whites, or multiracial churches attract blacks who are already predisposed to accept those attitudes. I suspect both reasons apply.
Even in a multiracial church, minorities end up sacrifi cing more for the sake of diversity than whites.
In her book, The Elusive Dream: The Power of Race in Interracial Churches, Korie L. Edwards writes: "The cultures and structures of interracial churches emulate those more commonly observed in white churches. Interracial churches tend to cater to the predilections of whites. The worship styles and practices mainly suit the desires of whites."
Change Begins With Relationships
Despite these challenges, multiracial church leaders should be encouraged. The number of these churches has nearly doubled in the past 10 years, and in spite of white cultural dominance in multiracial churches, they do have an impact. Efforts at racial reconciliation are needed and these churches are an important fi rst step toward cross-cultural understanding and reconciliation.
But pastors and other church leaders have an opportunity to cultivate churches that are not only multiracial but truly multicultural.
While there is nothing wrong with white cultural preferences, the dominance of white culture means that even multiracial churches tend to be more accommodating to whites than minorities. Simply attending a multiracial church does not ensure multiracial thinking. Members don't put their deeply embedded cultural beliefs away when they sit beside people with different skin colors on Sunday morning.
In order to address these concerns, churches will need to actively pursue opportunities to acknowledge and discuss racial concerns. Many church leaders are still uncomfortable talking straightforwardly about race. They don't want to say "white" or "black." They don't want to talk about "privilege" or "structural" explanations for inequality. But without open conversations, perspectives aren't shared, and mindsets remain unchanged.
Church leaders can facilitate dialogue by encouraging members to gather in small group settings to discuss issues of race and culture, or using a Wednesday night series or Sunday school class to talk about race in places other than the pulpit. Make sure these events are interactive. Give people the chance to process, whether in writing, with a partner, or in conversation with a small subset of people.
It helps to start with existing content, a book or a short article on race, to spark conversation. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Emerson and Smith is a short and essential introduction accessible to people of all levels of racial awareness. Even a discussion prompt like, "Describe your earliest memory involving race," can get people started.
Naturally, these conversations involve some risk— hurt feelings, rancor, misunderstanding are all possible outcomes—but all important discussions do. Whatever you do, always start with unity in Christ as the foundation for any conversation about race among Christians.
Ultimately, the most reliable way to transcend white cultural dominance is by cultivating relationships. Deep, authentic friendships with people of other races provides the opportunity for deep interaction with their culture.
Dave McMurry, a white senior pastor of Grace Bible Church in Killeen, Texas, knew his church needed a formal, programatic diversity effort, but he also knew he wouldn't have credibility unless he cultivated diverse personal relationships. He started seeking out friends of other races. "I began to pray that I could establish relationships where I could listen, learn, and understand."
His initial attempts were frustrated, but the Lord intervened. "I tried, and tried, and tried, and it didn't seem like it was working. Nobody wanted to be my friend. After a couple of months of praying, a black church planter walks up to my front door, and we started a friendship."
Building cross-cultural relationships isn't as intimidating as it seems. Alex Shipman, an African American and church planter of the Village Church in Huntsville, Alabama, says, "Look at your contacts. Look at where God has you, and the practical reality of where you function. Are there minorities in your kids' school, or your soccer league?" You can start nurturing cross-cultural relationships right where you are.
Pastor Shipman also urges pastors to just be themselves. "If you don't normally speak slang, don't speak slang to African Americans." Instead, fi nd a common interest and simply pursue a friendship. "Be friends with them, not so they can come to your church, but just so you can be friends," Shipman advises.
Although it might take some time for Tiffany to feel comfortable in our congregation, I believe the gospel transcends even our cultural preferences. Still, there's something to be said for taking baby steps. Maybe I'll start by inviting her and her son to dinner with my family first.
Jemar Tisby is president of the Reformed African-American Network and director of the African-American Initiative at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi.
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