Building Multicultural ChurchesNäide

Overcoming obstacles to true multicultural churches: Antioch Part 2.

We have already seen how fear, in different ways, blocks the building of multicultural churches. Today, we look at another issue – feelings of superiority and inferiority. This is implicit in the passage of Galatians 2v11-21.

I have pondered for a long time on why the Gentiles, especially the Gentile leaders, allowed the Jews to separate from them. The conclusion I have come to is that they, deep down, felt inferior to the Jews, especially in elements of faith. This was something that went very deep. Their experience of salvation had made a difference, but clearly those feelings of inferiority were still there, and when the pressure came, they reverted to old ways of thinking. In contrast, the Jews had centuries of looking down on Gentiles, feeling they were superior. They too quickly reverted to their old mindset and by doing so, undermined the gospel truth that we are all equal in the eyes of God.

This is relevant for today. The legacy of the Empire lingers. For centuries, it was assumed that white people were superior to black and brown people. That was the default setting and used as the rationale for Empire. It is easy for that assumption to be subconsciously buried deep within our being, and it will impact our church building without us even realising.

The result of this can be what people have described as “the Guinness effect” – white on top, black underneath. White led churches with majority black congregations. This is not God’s intention, but too often is the default. White people do not like to be led by people of other races. As a church becomes more multicultural, it is not uncommon for white people to leave – this can be called the “white flight”. We must overcome this if we are to build multicultural churches.

White people need to be purposeful in exalting and following people from other ethnicities. Being willing to listen and learn from them. Those from ethnic minorities must put to death any unhelpful feeling of deference and be willing to speak up and exercise leadership in their own cultural style. This is not easy and takes time. It requires a deep work of the spirit. In the power of God, it is possible, but we cannot afford to be complacent about it.