Every so often a book comes along that challenges a dominant
mission and church growth principle. In Ethnic Blends Deymaz and Li take on the
Homogeneous Unit Principle (HUP) which has been the mainstay of the church
growth movement since the 1950’s. Deymaz
and Li say,
“HUP is promoted as a pragmatic guide for
planting or replicating churches that target individual people groups or
certain segments of society. It has
proven quite successful in its application.
But it begs the question: Should rapid numerical growth be so
prominently upheld as the standard of a church’s success?...I believe the HUP
is a valid strategy for evangelism but a strategy that is misapplied to the
local church…In Ephesians 3 Paul makes it clear that it is God’s intention that
the local church reflects the Father’s love for all people through members who
love one another beyond the distinctions of the world that so often and
otherwise divide...Establishing a church that reflects God’s love for all
people is Biblical…The multiethnic church in Antioch, rather than the
homogeneous church in Jerusalem, is our model” (pp.76-77,
43, 42).
The authors have chosen the term multi-ethnic because they say:
“’Ethne’ is the Biblical word for one race that has different ethnicities.” The term “multi-cultural” by contrast has
“become associated with postmodern universalism and the doctrine of tolerance” (p.39).
Their thesis is that the multi-ethnic church demonstrates a Biblical
oneness since Jesus Christ Himself broke
down the dividing walls of hostility between Jews and Gentiles and created in
Himself one new humanity out of two (Eph.2:15)
and made that unity a singular focus of his high priestly prayer: “I pray that all those who believe in Me…may
be one, Father,…as we are one – I in them and you in me so that they may be
brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you have sent me
and have loved them even as you loved me” (Jn.17:21-23).
The 7 core commitments the authors hold up as a model for
the multi-ethnic church are:
1.
“Embrace dependence – it must all be the work of the
Holy Spirit and of faith…Only God’s Spirit can cleanse the mind, heal damaged
emotions and provide strength for the will to overcome the pain of negative
past experiences rooted in racial or class prejudice” (pp. 44, 162).
2.
“Take intentional steps to accommodate each one’s
culture” (p. 45).
3.
“Empower diverse leaders…seeking leaders outside your
same race and friendship circle” (p.46-47). One way to tell if a church is
genuinely on the track to multi-ethnicity is whether or not the staff and
volunteer leadership are of different races and cultures.
4.
“Develop cross-cultural relationships…deal with
prejudicial feelings and thoughts through dialogue and determine to work
through misunderstandings” (pp.47-48).
5.
“Pursue cross-cultural competence [by] surrounding
yourself with cross-culturally competent people who can be trusted to provide
insight and training across the board, from the nursery to the pulpit and every
station in between” (p.48).
6.
“Promote a spirit of inclusion…creating an environment
where diverse people not only feel welcome but also, in time, feel they are a
significant part of the whole.” [This] in no way implies a commitment to
embrace doctrines or practices that in one way or another violate God’s Word” (p.49).
7.
“Mobilize for impact…The outcome of establishing a multi-ethnic
church…is to turn the power and pleasure of God…outward in order to bless the
city, lead people to Christ, encourage the greater body, and fulfill the Great Commission
(Mt.28:19-20)” (p.50).
The bulk of the book is a series of chapters that deal very
practically with overcoming the various obstacles to establishing
multi-ethnic churches – personal obstacles (of misunderstandings,
discouragements, etc.), theological obstacles (of a dogmatism that is actually “personal,
preferential or culturally bound” p.84),
philosophical obstacles (illegal immigrants, intended exclusion, long-range
planning, etc.), practical obstacles (i.e., differing music agendas, etc.),
cross-cultural obstacles (“your effectiveness in ministering to a broad range
of people within the church will hinge on your ability not only to understand
but also to respect and rightly interpret for others various cultural
perspectives related to Christ, the church and the gospel” p.149), relational obstacles (“through our
prayer and actions we are called to love all people with the love of Christ. By this uncommon, unnatural love, the world
will witness the power of God and give glory to Him” p.185). [Yet] “the very nature of a multi-ethnic church
guarantees that at some point you will offend someone with a different
ethnic or economic background… Many people are driven by deep-seated
insecurities, sensitivities and loyalties of which they are largely unaware.
Consequently they live in a state of self-deception and bondage to the hurts and
regrets of their past…Therefore leaders need to be equipped in the art of
conflict resolution”). (pp.171, 173)
Finally, the last obstacles discussed are spiritual
obstacles (these are spiritual forces of wickedness that cause spread slander,
party spirit, criticism and undermine the whole church. “Satan’s desire is to
destroy… leaders through persecution, false accusation, temptation and
discouragement.” The authors acknowledge
such spiritual struggles in all churches but say “the multi-ethnic church
represents a bold frontal attack on Satan’s strongholds…of racism and human
hatred…The pursuit of unity is a collective struggle against unseen forces of
darkness that will seek to separate us from one another and subvert the gospel...the
flaming darts of the evil one seek to divide and conquer…Hence we need
collectively to put on the whole armor of God and fight as a church and stay
the course, guided by a most powerful
truth – ‘the one in you is greater than
the one who is in the world’ (I Jn.4:40). (pp.194-207).
One of the great values of this book is the intentional
effort to connect people so there can be interactions and growth for all those committed
to the vision of a multi-ethnic church.
Deymaz has a blog where he encourages these interactions:
www.markdeymaz.com. He and Li have also
cited numerous pastors and church leaders who give testimonials about the
issues they face in multi-ethnic ministry.
These additions in each chapter are insightful. All of the leaders quoted are also cited with
all of their contact information in Appendix #1 at the back. In addition, Appendix #5 on the conflict
principles used in the authors’ Mosaic Church is most helpful. There are many books on conflict resolution but
these principles are particularly relevant to cross-cultural Christian ministry.
Hopefully, the collective wisdom and experience in this book
will do for churches bound by the homogeneous unit principle what happened to the
western missionary movement when Shoki Coe first presented his paper on
Contextualization at the World Council of Churches in 1972 – bringing new
challenge and Biblical relevance to the church universal, still caught in the
grip of ethnocentrism and division. It is supernatural, indeed, when the church
is a model of heaven where people of every tribe and tongue love one another
and worship the Lord Jesus together (Rev.7:9). My hope is that this book will have a
wide readership and wider application to that end.
- M.L. Codman-Wilson, Ph.D., 1/23/12