Pastor Mark DeYmaz of Mosaic Church (Central Arkansas) and Mosaix Global Network spoke at Denver Seminary‘s Chapel earlier this week. You can listen below:

Monday 2/19: Biblical Mandate for the Multi-ethnic Church

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Tuesday 2/20: Seven Core Commitments for a Multi-ethnic Church

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Or, you can download the MP3 audios from their Chapel Media page.

Sadly, this whole issue’s still an uphill battle. This true story from Exit Interviews: Why blacks are leaving evangelical ministries shows the glaring relational gap:

One strange encounter typified the underlying racial tension Davis faced. … I got a call from a prominent white Christian leader, asking me to go to lunch with him. As we’re sitting down to eat, all of a sudden this guy starts crying. … “I just came back from an annual conference on the other side of the country,” the man told me. “A bunch of us got together to discuss reconciliation and cross-cultural ministry. Usually, when black leaders come into the meeting, we make them feel right at home and let them be part of the decision-making process. But to be honest with you, Darrell, the decisions are made before your leaders ever get there. … “How can I get over this?” the leader asked me, sobbing. “How can we be friends?” … He was taken aback. He said, “You want me to come to your house?”

“Yes,” I said. “If you want me to sit here and clear your conscience for all the crap you did, I can’t do that. Friendship is not cheap. It takes time and commitment.” I gave him my home phone number and told him to give me a call.

I never heard from him again.

Maybe Megachurch Mythsone way to address it is megachurch diversity, as “more than half of the megachurches say they are intentionally working to attract different ethnic groups”, cf. Trendsetting US megachurches take up challenge of desegregating Sunday worship. Can’t wait for the new book Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America’s Largest Churches by Dave Travis and Scott Thumma. (Pre-order from amazon.com.) [disclosure: I work for Leadership Network.]

Location matters. The Rev. David Anderson, founding pastor of Bridgeview Community Church in Columbia, Maryland, which has about 2,000 members, conducts what he calls the “Wal-Mart test” by driving to malls or Wal-Marts within a 20-mile (30-kilometer) radius of his church to see who is shopping.

“If the Wal-Mart is diverse,” he says, “then your church can be diverse.”

Anderson’s megachurch is unique in that he started it specifically to be multicultural. He estimates that Bridgeview, more than a decade old, is now 55 percent African-American and about one-quarter white, with Asians, Hispanics and others making up the rest.

The name of David Anderson’s church is BRIDGEWAY, not Bridgeview. I’ve worshiped there several times, love the fun atmosphere they’ve fostered over the past decade.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

   

Creative Commons LicenseContent on djchuang.com is licensed under Creative Commons - unless otherwise noted.

Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha