The Gospel Means Building a Multicultural Local Church
One thing that the gospel seems to demand is multi-ethnicity. We see it around the throne of Jesus Christ in Revelation. Chapter 5, and particularly, verses 9-10, show this to be true.
And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
Then there’s Revelation chapter 7, which emphasizes the same scene.
9 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, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
This is the church of Jesus Christ, gathered around His throne, and look who they are! People from every nation, all tribes, peoples, languages, colors, races, etc. I believe that, wherever possible, each local church should be a reflection of what we see there in heaven. I say wherever possible because it’s not always possible, espsecially if the church is in a small town which itself is homogenous. Churches, however, should never seek to be homogenous…something that the church growth movement has seemed to oddly push for the last thirty years. Again, why should the local church not be a reflection of what’s going on around the throne of Jesus?
This is what I desire for our local church. With the university a mile away, there’s no reason why we ought not become quickly a multicultural church. And indeed we have, haven’t we? There’s Francisco, then there’s Jeremiah, Praveen and the rest of us middle class white folks! To be sure, a local church should never seek purposely to target a specific color or race. The point of the gospel is that it is an equal opportunity gospel - saving everyone regardless of race, color, gender or national origin. When it does its work, it will be reflected in the local church.
Two articles came to my attention this past week which are helpful in teaching us to think more in this direction. The first is Gracism: The Art of Inclusion by pastor David Anderson. Christianity Today did a write up on him, his vision, and his book. You can read it here. Here’s a clip from Anderson:
“Racism is to speak, think, or act negatively against someone else based solely on his or her color, class, or culture. Grace, on the other hand, is God’s unmerited favor extended to humankind. Something you can’t earn, you don’t deserve, and you can’t repay….Gracism turns racism on its head. It reaches out to people in a way that desires true understanding. It means thinking positively about others, in spite of the labels and stereotypes that have been attached to their skin color, economic status, or cultural background.”
Amen!
Another item I’d point you toward is The Christian Manifesto’s interview with Dr. Bruce Milne regarding his new book Dynamic Diversity. Listen to some remarks he made which echoes this doctrine of the church we’ve discussed over and again in Ephesians. (I get excited when I hear or read others’ who see this glorious book with the same vision as I do!!!)
“This is the most passionate book I have written. It arose out of three realities. The first was our ministry experience here in Vancouver. The second was a conviction that amid all the multiple blueprints for ‘Church’ on both sides of the Atlantic, which often stress targeting specific sub-groups, there is an urgent need to recover a model which is deeply biblical, hugely relevant, and evangelistically potent - a model which consciously embraces diversity. But the key factor, underlying the other two, was my work with Ephesians. Paul gives us there the overall purpose of God to which everything is moving: “to bring all things together under Christ” (1:10), which is actually totally mind-blowing! But then I saw that that is not just for tomorrow. God wants it demonstrated here and now in two ways – “under Christ” – that’s the Resurrection (Ephesians 1); and “together” (Ephesians 2) - that’s the Church, as a place where all the great diversities (typically that between Jew and Gentile), are visibly, presently overcome.“
Buys these books and read through them and be challenged by God’s vision of the gospel in the local church!
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