Bridge the Divide?

Should African-Americans pursue genuine ethnic harmony with our white brothers and sisters what would that harmony look like?

This thought provoking question from Pastor Lance Lewis has pushed me to finally make the first entry on my blog. I created it a year ago, but had yet to make any entries. Thanks Lance.

To the question asked… The church I serve is intentionally pursuing ethnic diversity for our branch of Zion. So, this question hits home for me because it is one that I had to come to grips with some time ago. As I have reflected on it and been actively engaged in planting a church that is striving to see the local body look like the kingdom in its diversity, I offer the following for your consideration and response.

We Love Our Ghettos
God uses secondary causes to bring his plans to pass. In other words, he decreed that there would be a black church in America. He brought it about through the sinful and unbiblical practices of the white church in America. So, in spite of our sinfulness, he continued to build his Church. If, in America, God has brought, and is still bringing people into his kingdom through the mostly mono-ethnic churches, why rock the boat? Why pursue something different?

Our fallenness plays a large part in the reality of mono-ethnic churches. We’re comfortable in our ghettos. A ghetto is an environment where a group of people live or work in isolation, whether by choice or circumstance, and we love our ghettos. The problem is that ghetto life is a result of God’s judgment upon humanity at Babel seen in Genesis 11:1-9. In that account, we see that there was a time when all humanity spoke the same language and was in solidarity. However, we were in solidarity in our sinful rejection of God’s direct command. Instead of multiplying and filling the earth, we focused our energies in seeking to usurp God’s authority and make a name for ourselves. God comes down in judgment to look at the puny tower we built, confuses our language and forces us to do what he commanded. The spirit of Babel has been with us ever since. We love our ethnic ghettos, our cultural ghettos, our social ghettos, etc., and find it difficult to communicate because we speak a different language.

Volumes can be written on this subject, and I don’t mean to be overly simplistic. I do believe, though, that the root of our struggle with pursuing ethnic harmony is in large part because of the effort it takes to broaden our cultural comfort zones and die to our preferences (on every side).

The Pursuit of Ethnic Harmony/Reconciliation is a Gospel Imperative
As difficult as the pursuit is, the gospel of Jesus Christ compels us to it. The coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost in Acts 2 is the reversal of Babel. Jesus fulfilled his promise to his Church not to leave us as orphans. The Spirit enabled his people to proclaim the excellencies of God across languages. We can worship God because we have been reconciled to him in Christ and have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

As the apostle Paul is rejoicing in glory of the gospel, part of his praise is due to the fact that in his body, Jesus Christ has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile. Paul says that Jesus killed the hostility and made both fellow citizens and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:11-21). Reading through Paul’s epistles leads one to the conclusion that for him the prime witness to the world of the reconciliation and unity that God intended for all creation was seen in the reconciliation and unity between Jew and Gentile in Christ. And I would say that given the history of racial hostility in our nation, a prime witness to our nation of the reconciliation that God intends for all creation is seen in a multi-ethnic local church, not trying to fake it or manufacture some superficial reconciliation; but willing to strive with God and one another in pursuit of the peace that is ours in Christ. Make no mistake about it, this is hard.

Context is Key Because the Expression is Local
Pastor Lance asked what it would look like if we achieved the goal of ethnic harmony. One answer to the question is “it depends”. The Church is all over the world, but we live out our faith as the part of a local body. Each local branch is seeking to live out the gospel in the context of a particular community. What does that community look like? The church I serve exists in a very ethnically diverse community in an ethnically diverse region. So, it would seem “natural” for us to pursue a multi-ethnic expression of the local church. The goal won’t be reached until glory when the leaves of the tree of life have healed the nations (Revelation 22:1-5). I can tell you what it looks like as we engage the pursuit. We will step on one another’s feet. We will make unintentionally offensive statements. We will be confronted with our own prejudices. We will be forced to ask, “Am I holding on to this issue because it is central to the gospel, or is the Lord calling me to die to it as an unessential preference?” We will begin to examine and appreciate the beauty of the image of God in other ethnic expressions. In other words, it will be a mixed bag. But Christ will be glorified in the pursuit. And that makes it worthwhile.

I would appreciate your comments.