There’s a great article in the NY Times that was published last week [thanks Vanessa for forwarding it to us] entitled, The World Comes to Georgia, and an Old Church Adapts.
Why is this so important? While the majority of the mega churches will survive [and actually will continue to grow], many of the smaller and medium sized churches will die [in my opinion] if they are unwilling to embrace the fast changing landscape of diversity in the United States. Simply, this is important because the church’s viability is at stake. There’s also the issue that ‘Race Matters.’ Huh? Just check out the whole painful fiasco with what is referred to as Jena 6. David @ Wordful shares some thoughts on both Jena 6 and the upcoming discussion @ Quest. Society is divided and consequently, churches are divided – especially amongst economic and racial lines. Finally, it’s important because it’s a Kingdom issue. It’s not the sole Kingdom issue but it’s a significant issue that is ignored by the majority of churches…
When the Rev. Phil Kitchin steps into the pulpit of the Clarkston International Bible Church on Sunday mornings, he stands eye to eye with the changing face of America. In the pews before him, alongside white-haired Southern women in their Sunday best, sit immigrants from the Philippines and Togo, refugees from war-scarred Liberia, Ethiopia and Sudan, even a convert from Afghanistan.
“Jesus said heaven is a place for people of all nations,” Mr. Kitchin likes to say. “So if you don’t like Clarkston, you won’t like heaven.”
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once noted that 11 a.m. on Sunday was the beginning of the most segregated hour of the week in America, and for the better part of 120 years, that certainly applied to this church. From 1883 until a few years ago, anyone on the pulpit would have gazed out at a congregation that was exclusively white. The church is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, a group that in 1995 renounced its racist past. [read full article]
Quest struggles with this as well so we’ll need to keep stumbling and bumbling along. This year’s Faith and Race Depth class will take place from October 15-November 16. Two of the main books we’ll be reading together are United by Faith and Divided by Faith. This large class and discussion is open to the larger Seattle community.
The schedule:
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WEEK 1: theology / faith and race / intro (peggy mcintosh)(tatum)
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WEEK 2: racial identity formation / ethnicity / race as a construct (power of illusion) (sharing their ethnic identity, one page summary)(tatum)
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WEEK 3: race/class/gender (divided by faith)
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WEEK 4: personal/local / neighborhood survey / multicultural church (united by faith)
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WEEK 5: living out our faith / practical applications of lessons learned / how does that look in our community (bringing it home) (united/divided by faith)
I read the article last week as well. This is definitely happening in all the larger urban areas of North America. But most of the urban churches are moving to the suburbs because they’re unable or unwilling to engage with the larger global and multiethnic population. It’s really too bad.
we need to have/host a class like this up in the ham. I’m in dialogue with some Latino folks involved in race dialogue up here — including us, we are the only two groups talking about this in Whatcom C.. And out of all the churches, we are (will be) the only church talking about this…
church changes with demographics
This New York Times article, The World Comes to Georgia, and an Old Church Adapts, is yet another indicator of how the church must change or die:
When the Rev. Phil Kitchin steps into the pulpit of the Clarkston International Bible Church on Sunday mor…
All I have to say is what a messy situation. I think on the my parents had the idea of not bailing us out if we broke the law. It was just unheard of in the black community. They actually sided with the law! Now with that said, I believe if it true the Jena High School is over 85% whites they were having RACE issues prior to this breaking point. The problem today was the same problem from 100 of yesterdays ago…a heart issue not a social issue. RACE or RACISM is not a social issue.