When the words came out of my mouth, I wished that I could bring them back. There I was sitting in the middle of a debate in my seminary class titled “Race and American Christianity” and I said it, “Any monoethnic church in a multiethnic neighborhood is sinful.” I had just recently come home from a conference on multiethnic ministry, and I was especially passionate at this point. My already strong feelings in support of multiethnic ministry had been intensified by a charismatic and bold keynote speaker.
In retrospect, I see that my words lacked compassion and skill. As soon as I said them, I could feel the reaction from two of my sisters in the class. Two young women, good friends of mine, ladies I look up to as big sisters in the faith, African-American sisters, immediately reacted with vehemence and zeal.
I could hear a sense of betrayal in their voices, as if I had just committed treason. How could I, a son of the traditional Black Church, make such a comment? What I remember the most is the emotion in their voices and the pain on their faces as they rebutted my statement as they rhetorically ripped me to shreds. In the heat of the argument, I refused to change my position.
As I drove home from class that day, I pondered my statement and the reaction that it evoked. Was I wrong? Was my statement unfair? Why were my two sisters so offended? I thought and prayed about this issue long after that conversation. While I have not wavered in my commitment to multiethnic ministry, I now honestly can affirm the importance of monoethnic minority fellowships, as well.
It is somewhat uncomfortable for me to challenge the clear call that has been made throughout this book for multiethnic fellowships. God’s Word gives this call to fellowship, worship and serve across cultures to everyone. However, considering the racial makeup of our country, its history of racism and its rich traditions of monoethnic minority ministry, I do believe there is still a place for these types of fellowships to continue.
We need monoethnic and multiethnic fellowships; these two types of situations can work in concert with one another. This is certainly the model of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship on many college campuses. InterVarsity is a campus ministry committed to multiethnic ministry but its leaders still cultivate ethnic specific fellowships—Black Campus Ministries, LaFe (Latino Fellowship) and Asian American Ministries. During my time at Amherst, I was a part of the Amherst Christian Fellowship, a large multiethnic Christian group, as well as a member of the Mrs. Hermenia T. Gardener Bi-Semester Christian Worship series, a committee committed to putting on an African-American-styled worship experience twice during each semester.
As much as I embraced the idea of multiethnic fellowships, I always felt especially renewed and energized whenever we had a service in the tradition in which I grew up. It takes real work to be in multiethnic worship environments; sometimes it is refreshing to be in worship settings where I am not constantly uncomfortable.
Churches that are founded and committed to multiethnic ministry might still encourage ethnic specific gatherings within their congregations. We are one body, joined in one baptism, with one Spirit; but there is something unique that happens in an ethnic specific environment. In the same way that many churches have age specific or life-stage-specific small groups—young parents, singles, empty nesters—churches might consider encouraging ethnic specific groups within their multiethnic congregations to provide a place of support and comfort for the minority members of their congregation.
Ethnic specific churches historically have served as a place of cultural cultivation and identity affirmation. It is in the black church that I first learned God made me black on purpose and that I can be proud of how God made me. Who I am as a person was forged within the confines of an ethnic specific congregation. In a country where the worth of many minorities often is put into question, monoethnic churches have served as a place where people are affirmed in their God-given ethnicities. Said differently, monoethnic churches often create a sense of somebodyness for ethnic minorities.
Regardless of how individuals might be viewed and treated throughout the week, their monoethnic congregation can be a place where they feel like a person, feel like somebody and are affirmed as such. Before any of us can move towards reconciliation, we must have peace regarding our own ethnic identities and racial heritage.
Reconciliation cannot happen if the individuals involved do not love themselves. Monoethnic congregations have served as a place of real comfort for many Christians. Most minorities are deeply involved with the majority culture throughout their week, often causing great stress. Many look forward to their worship experience and church participation as a time where they don’t have to pay the cost of majority culture involvement. In other words, many minority Christians expect worship to be a time when they can relax and put down the guard that they have up throughout their week.
One of the points my sisters made in that classroom confrontation was that some people were not ready to worship in multiethnic environments due to long-standing hurt across races. It stands to reason that people who fall into this category may not be immediately comfortable moving into a multiethnic environment. A slow and gradual process of reconciliation may be necessary for some minority individuals before they could become healthy and participating members of a multiethnic congregation. This is not to diminish or modify the gospel call to reconciliation, but simply to allow for a “baby steps” approach to this great work. Practically speaking, forcing people who are not ready out of their monoethnic churches into multiethnic churches would cause great harm to all involved.
America’s history of racism makes multiethnic fellowships difficult. As we seek to emulate the vision of the great multiethnic fellowship portrayed in
Adapted with permission from A Transforming Vision: Multiethnic Fellowship in College and in the Church is available at leading book stores including Amazon.
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