Better Together

I love Jack Johnson and his music. In his song entitled “Better Together” he repeats this chorus, “It’s always better when were together.” I think he is on to something especially when it comes to the church in America. There has been a great deal of talk in our culture today on the issue of racial equality and specifically racial reconciliation. These conversations and sentiments are much needed and have been a long time coming. To be honest, in many ways I wonder why as Christians we haven’t been talking about these issues until now. One aspect of this growing conversation is the need for more multicultural congregations in America.

It was Martin Luther King, Jr. who famously said, “it is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is 11 o’clock on Sunday morning.” That truth is a far cry from Revelation 7 where we read of the worship of Heaven. John records, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10). It makes sense then that the local church should attempt to model itself after Heaven where, every nation, tribe, people, and language are together and united in adoration and praise.

The question is asked how then do we bring cultures together in Worship and Mission? Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. We must have a bigger view of God than self. That big view of God is what compels multitudes to look past differences in one another and instead see and savor the Savior together. The reason that many of us do not engage in multi-ethnic worship is that we see God as looking like, talking like or being like we are. The result is we surround ourselves with believers who also look and talk just like us.
2. We must daily fight prejudice. Each of us has conditioned prejudices whether we acknowledge them or not. Our task as Christians is to take “every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). In doing so, we must allow our lives to be shaped by the Word of God and view others as made “in God’s image” (Genesis 1:27). To daily fight against our prejudice, we must repent from evil thoughts and allow God to shape our understanding of others and how to love one another through His Word.
3. We must be intentional about building relationships with those who do not look, talk or vote exactly like us. If internally we are repenting of sin and being transformed by the Word of God, then externally we must be looking for ways to build relationships with those who are not like us. It is only through intentionality that we will see our churches grow more diverse. Only as we commit ourselves to building diverse relationships will we see diversity develop within our congregation.
4. We must be willing to listen more than talk. The key to growing together is engaging in dialogue and the key to really knowing someone deeply is by closing your mouth and listening to the desires, dreams, and difficulties of those around us. If we hope to learn anything from another culture, it will be from listening and asking questions not from doing all the talking. We must have a desire to learn and grow from one another as well as a willingness to close our mouths and open our ears.
5. We must all continue to engage in conversation and grow together. Building relationships and continuing dialogue lead to deeper growth. There are some who claim to want a multicultural church but are unwilling to listen to multicultural voices. Without engaging in that kind of dialogue, there can be no cultural change or growth together. For those who claim to want a multicultural church without engaging in necessary multicultural dialogue what they really mean is “I want a ‘multicolored’ church.” There is a vast difference between a multicultural church and a multicolored Without being willing to embrace cultural conversations, we are unwilling to learn from the plight, perception, and promise of another culture. In effect, we fail to be influenced by or become an influence on another culture. The result of that mindset sounds something like this to another culture: come to our “white” church, embrace our “white” worship, listen to our “white” leadership, become sensitive to our “white” problems… And that is not a multicultural church that is a church that wants a multicolored face but not multicultural voice. It is only through ongoing dialogue and growing together that we truly find unity in diversity.
6. We must be willing to change aspects of our ministry to serve other cultures. Without compromising doctrinal identity and integrity, we must make efforts to implement ministries and methods of assimilating other cultures into local congregations. As we engage and interact with those of other cultures, we must pray for God to show us ways in which we can find a meaningful action that displays our love and cooperation with one another. When opportunities arise, we must leverage our people, resources, ministries or facilities to the purpose of forming multicultural ministries. After all, It’s always better when we’re together. And Sunday worship should be preparing us for Heaven.

What are your thoughts or suggestions? I would love to hear them.