Donald Sterling's Racist Remarks?
April 28, 2014
Much is being said about Donald Sterling's alleged racist remarks. From the landslide of articles written, Facebook and Twitter posts, the verdict seems clear. He made racist comments. While I would love to weigh in on the controversy, I cannot. I did not listen fully to his remarks, whether the shortened or extended versions. I must say, however, this is something we can expect from the world. Unbelievers divide themselves based on the color of one's skin. I would further suggest that they also intentionally segregate based on one's socio-economic status and cultural preferences.
Do Christians, however, do the same?
We are in the world but not of the world. We should not be identified as maintaining the same unfortunate patterns of segregation that the world harbors. In most churches, though, it seems that we have succumbed to the world's principles. Put differently, many of our churches are segregated for the same reasons the world divides themselves: ethnicity, cultural, and socio-economic status. To say otherwise would be foolish! Yes, the 11th hour is still the most segregated hour in America. I wish Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s statement was a lie!
Although I believe this is a sad commentary on the church today, there are reformed and Presbyterian churches that desire to do something about it. Without compromising scripture to garner diversity in the various aforementioned areas, these churches desire to accurately reflect the ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic reality in their communities. To name some:
How did they get there? Whether an established congregation or a church plant, they had to ask, "How do we attract the people in our community that are underrepresented in our church?" It is an extremely simple question but one that requires self-examination, research about those in the community, prayer, uncomfortable conversations, and Bible reading.
When confronted with the previous question, some churches have had to realize they are unfriendly. It was their lack of warmth to visitors that caused those in the community to retreat no sooner than they entered the church building. When considering the aforementioned question, others have had to recognize their lack of evangelistic zeal in the community. Since many churches are largely commuter churches, there is no need to reach out to those in the community immediately surrounding the church building because the church building, many times, is nothing more than a place where people meet on Sunday or the pastor meets to conduct counseling and study the scriptures.
Many, I am sure, reading this post thus far would suggest that if those things are present in a congregation, it should be something the session or consistory and congregation immediately need to change. Who would claim that, according to the scriptures, local churches should be unfriendly? Who would suggest, according to the scriptures, the church should not be interested in seeing those in the community surrounding its meeting location come to saving faith? It is a third suggestion, however, with which local congregations have had to deal where many begin to push back--intentionality.
With whom do you have close relationships? Since, in my experience, this saying is true: birds of a feather flock together, it is likely that most of your close relationships are with people who look like you (ethnicity) and act like you (culture) . Yes, you may interact with those unlike you in the work place, especially if you work outside the home, but I wonder if those same people are the ones who frequent your dinner table and take trips to the park with you.
You see, it is those close relationships with others where we sometimes feel most comfortable sharing the gospel and inviting people to church. And since those close relationships are often with people who look and act like us it is no wonder most of our reformed and Presbyterian churches are homogenous (whatever ethnicity, culture, or socio-economic status present). By the way, let me go on the record as saying this applies just as much to all black churches as it does any other ethnicity. I am an equal opportunity, "Let's look like the community in which we are planted" pastor. (I probably should add some caveats to those last two statements [e.g., historical realities to segregated churches], but you can make of it what you desire. I hope it is what I intended).
Intentionally building relationships with those who are unlike you will help the church, and you personally, in many ways. If, after building those relationships, you invite someone to your church who is either looking for a church or an unbeliever you desire to see saved, and they visit but do not return, you have a close enough relationship with the person to ask, "Why?" The answer to the question might surprise you.
It might not be the liturgy as some suppose. At our church plant, which is primarily composed of minorities presently, we will have a standard, perhaps some might even suggest, hyper-standard, reformed liturgy. We will have a call to worship, reading of the law, confession of sins while kneeling, various other prayers, singing, an Old and New Testament scripture reading, sermon, confession of faith, Lord's Prayer, Lord's Supper, covenant baptism (when necessary) and benediction weekly. No one, at least to my knowledge, who is committed to our church plant is allergic to this liturgy.
Contrary to popular belief, the reason many people of color or those who differ culturally and socio-economically do not remain at your church may not even have much to do with the music. Yes music helps, and if visitors hear their heart language in the music, it may make them feel more comfortable, but to place all of one's emphasis on the music regarding why visitors are not staying in your congregation is a bit shallow and speaks unfortunate realities about how you, personally, view other ethnic groups.
At one time my family was a member at an Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The music they employed was a complete shock to me. I was accustomed to either so-called black praise music or contemporary music. To enter a church where people were singing mostly hymns and psalms was unearthing to my previous experiences. Nevertheless, people intentionally befriended my family even from the first day we visited. Although it took some getting used to, we remained at that church for some years.
This is not to say we should not consider altering our musical preferences, which are not biblical standards, to help those in the community feel more comfortable at our place of worship. Rather I am suggesting that it was the intentional relationship building that made it easier for my family to remain at that particular OPC.
I recognize the intentionality that occurred in our visit to that church and the intentionality I am espousing in this post are different. My family visited that church before anyone in that congregation had a relationship with us, but that was a fairly unique situation. Our gateway to that church was seminary. If you take that factor out of the equation, visiting an OPC was not on our radar. In fact, we did not know what an OPC was. This is all the more reason to be intentional in our relationship building.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not claiming that we need to establish relationships with those who are unlike us for relationship's sake. No! I confess and believe that the gospel transcends all ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic boundaries. The book of Acts proves that (cf. Acts 1:8; 13:1-3). The church at Philippi proves that! What I am saying is that we should build these relationships, as uncomfortable as it may be initially, for Christ's sake! Just as intentional as he was to claim a people who were unlike him, so, too, we should seek to do the same. No, we cannot save people. That is Jesus' service to humanity, but we can walk through our personal Samaria (John 4) and be intentional about building relationships with those who are culturally, ethnically, and financially unlike us.
I believe the promises God gave to Abraham! "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations" (Genesis 17:4). In our diverse community in Richmond, Virginia, I desire to see that reality manifested every Sunday! Do you?
