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View directory on a full page at http://mosaix.info/dir/

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The Multi-ethnic Church Conference is just seven days away! And with more than 350 people currently registered, it promises to be an outstanding experience for everyone involved! To help prime the pump and further prepare you for arrival, please consider the following information and respond as you wish. See you next week! 

Your hosts,

Mosaix Global Network

National Outreach Convention 

WORKSHOPS!

1. To review all workshops, speakers, descriptions and times, please go to http://mosaix.info/docs/WorkshopSchedule.pdf

   

   WorkshopSchedule_(2).pdf Download this file
2. Then, please pre-register for your workshops by the end of this week at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GJ773B2

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

To review the Conference Schedule, go to http://www.mosaix.info/docs/ConferenceSchedule.pdf

ConferenceSchedule_(1).pdf Download this file

LAST MINUTE FREE TICKETS!

14 free tickets have been made available (first come, first serve) to anyone still needing an incentive, some last minute encouragement to come! If you know someone who is interested, have them email dmzakrajsek@outreach.com to claim the ticket.

BOOKSTORE

Yes, a number of books by some of our speaker/authors will be available for purchase at the conference!

GENERAL INFO

1.  Check-in and/or new registration begins at 8:00 am on Tuesday, Nov 2 outside the Regency Ballroom (see hotel map below)

2.  Our first Plenary Session will begin promptly at 9:00 am in the Regency Ballroom featuring Dave Gibbons, Dr. Michael Emerson and Dr. Rodney Cooper.

3.  Directions to the hotel are available at http://outreachconvention.com/travel/#directions

4.  To view the conference grounds, see the attached pdf

T&CPropertyMap2010.pdf Download this file

5.  To view onsite dining options, go to http://towncountry2-px.trvlclick.com/restaurants/index.cfm 

6.  Please take note of the Extra Hours Activities contained in the attached pdf from our conference magazine!

mutli-brochure.page.7.pdf Download this file

Re. denominational gatherings,

A.  The EFCA denominational gathering will take place during dinner on Tuesday; 

B.  The Wesleyans denominational gathering will take place on Wednesday during lunch;

C.  Author-hosted meals and book signings will be announced after each plenary session as they become available.

7.  Ground transportation to/from the San Diego airport can be arranged via Cloud9/Super Shuttle. For Ground Transportation, please call Cloud 9/Super Shuttle: (800) 974-8885 / (800) BLUE VAN (258-3826)

A. Arriving Passengers 

After collecting your luggage, take the sky bridge or cross walk over to the ground transportation islands. Look for the island with a blue sign overhead which reads ‘Shuttles for Hire’. Contact the airport customer service representative. Request Cloud 9/SuperShuttle and give your destination location. The representative will call a van to take you to ...

Town & Country Resort & Convention Center

500 Hotel Cirlce North

San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 291-7131   

B. Departing Passengers

 

To arrange a pickup from your hotel to SanDiego International Airport (SAN) please call SuperShuttle at (800)-258-3826 a minimum of 24-hours prior to your desired pick-up time.

 C.  Time and Cost

The one-way trip will take approx. 10-15 minutes and cost approx. $12

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A whole lot of conversations and learnings to be had at the Multi-ethnic Church Conference happening in 12 days in San Diego! Registration is still open for this historic gathering of church leaders from all over.

You'll want to be there for being a part of history and for great learnings from a diversity of multiethnic church leaders with practical ideas. Here's the workshop schedule from the 8 tracks::

Track 1 - Biblical/Theological

• A. Articulating the Biblical Mandate (I) – Jonathan Seda
• B. Conflict Resolution in the Multiethnic Context – Rodney Cooper
• C. A Theology of Oneness: The Case for Multiethnic Ministry – Ed Lee
• D. The Grand Mix-up: A Biblical Snapshot of the Church Today – Mont Mitchell

Track 2 - Hot Topics

• A. Politics – Daniel Backens and Kevin Turpin
• B. Immigration – Alex Mandes
• C. Interracial Relationships, Marriage and Family – Robyn Afrik
• D. Homosexuals, Hindus, Hard to Reach – Eric Bryant

Track 3 - Stories From the Front

• A. How We Planted a Multiethnic Church – Chris Williamson, Mike Leonzo
• B. How We Overcome the Leadership Challenges – David Nelms
• C. How We Transitioned a Homogeneous Church – Wayne Schmidt, Kyle Ray
• D. How We Engage the Community – Cesar Ortega, Michael “Stew” Stewart

Track 4 – Nuts and Bolts

• A. Creating an Environment Where All Voices are Heard – Dana Baker
• B. How to Create a Multicultural Prayer Movement – Fritz Dale, Pablo Cachon
• C. How to Instill Racial Reconciliation in the DNA – Alvin Sanders
• D. How to Start a Non-English Speaking Venue – Omar Argumedo, Ricardo Palmerin

Track 5 – Essential Ministries

• A. Pastor’s Wives/Women in Ministry – Linda DeYmaz
• B. Student Ministries – Joe Smith
• C. Multi-ethnic Church in a Rural Setting – Artie Johnson
• D. Inclusion Ministries – Anthony Hendricks

Track 6 – Missional and Multiethnic

• A. Merging Movements: Why the Two Are Rightly One – Mark DeYmaz
• B. Who Me? – Brenda Salter-McNeil
• C. Leading in the Missional Context – Marcus Goodloe
• D. From Building Programs to Building the Kingdom of God – Paul Louis Metzger

Track 7 – Worship Arts (Facilitated by the Conference Worship Team)

• A. What is “Heart Music” and Why Does It Matter So Much?
• B. How to Build and Sustain a Strong Multicultural Worship Ministry
• C. Multiethnic Worship: More Than Just Global Songs
• D. Multiethnic Worship Leaders Panel Discussion

Track 8 – Cross-Cultural Competence

• A. Crossing Cultures: How to Make Lots of Mistakes and Offend Lots of People – Michael Emerson
• B. Balancing Perspectives on Secondary Doctrinal Issues – Harry Li
• C. Leading the Majority as a Minority Pastor – Mathew Kuruvilla
• D. Assessing the Readiness of Your Congregation to Make the Transition from Mono- to Multiracial Ministry – George Yancey

Session A @ 10:55 am on Tuesday, November 2
Session B @ 1:45 pm on Tuesday, November 2
Session C @ 10:45 am on Wednesday, November 3
Session D @ 1:30 pm on Wednesday, November 3

(if you're not able to view the formatted schedule, you can download the PDF)

Or, view and download the workshop schedule. Also, see the overall conference schedule.

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[from cnn.com August 2008 http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/08/01/segregated.sundays/index.html]

The Rev. Paul Earl Sheppard had recently become the senior pastor of a suburban church in California when a group of parishioners came to him with a disturbing personal question.

They were worried because the racial makeup of their small church was changing. They warned Sheppard that the church's newest members would try to seize control because members of their race were inherently aggressive. What was he was going to do if more of "them" tried to join their church?

"One man asked me if I was prepared for a hostile takeover," says Sheppard, pastor of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in Mountain View, California.

The nervous parishioners were African-American, and the church's newcomers were white. Sheppard says the experience demonstrated why racially integrated churches are difficult to create and even harder to sustain. Some blacks as well as whites prefer segregated Sundays, religious scholars and members of interracial churches say.

Americans may be poised to nominate a black man to run for president, but it's segregation as usual in U.S. churches, according to the scholars. Only about 5 percent of the nation's churches are racially integrated, and half of them are in the process of becoming all-black or all-white, says Curtiss Paul DeYoung, co-author of "United by Faith," a book that examines interracial churches in the United States.

DeYoung's numbers are backed by other scholars who've done similar research. They say integrated churches are rare because attending one is like tiptoeing through a racial minefield. Just like in society, racial tensions in the church can erupt over everything from sharing power to interracial dating.

DeYoung, who is also an ordained minister, once led an interracial congregation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that eventually went all-black. He defines an interracial church as one in which at least 20 percent its membership belongs to a racial group other than that church's largest racial group.

"I left after five years," DeYoung says. "I was worn out from the battles."

The men and women who remain and lead interracial churches often operate like presidential candidates. They say they live with the constant anxiety of knowing that an innocuous comment or gesture can easily mushroom into a crisis that threatens their support. 

Read the rest of the article http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/08/01/segregated.sundays/index.html

We can change this together - come to San Diego for the 1st national Multiethnic Church Conference 11/2-3 http://www.mosaix.info

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The Rock Church is a multiethnic church in San Diego started by pastor Miles McPherson. He's one of the many church leaders who'll be at the Multi-ethnic Church Conference in 30 days! In this video, Miles discusses the challenge of creating a multi-cultural worship service with so many preferences in styes of music.

The interviewer in the video, Art Lucero, now edits an online magazine called Unity in Christ. Recent articles follow this theme of multiethnic worship, including articles titled:

• The Top Three Issues Facing Multi-ethnic Church Worship Leaders 
• Multi-ethnic Worship: What does God desire?
• Pursuing Global Christian Music in Worship 
• Music of the Heart, The Key ingredient to engaging a multi-cultural community in multi-cultural worship 
• Our Worship Response to Jesus Prayer for Unity 
• What Music Styles Work Best in Racially Diverse Churches?
• Developing a Multi-ethnic, Multi-cultural Praise Team 

You can read about it, or you can experience multi-ethnic and multi-cultural worship in person! Be there with Mile McPherson and many other pastors, lay leaders, authors, professors, sociologists. The Multi-Ethnic Church Conference in San Diego gathers on November 2-3, before the National Outreach Convention. Get the details at mosaix.info and register online.

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This is your cue to get a free book!

Sign up for the Ethnic Blends blog tour and get a free copy of the book from @EngagingChurch http://bit.ly/9iL2p1 

Mark DeYmaz wants to join forces with you in making the local church diverse. He’s the author of two books on the subject, the newest being, Ethnic Blends: Mixing Diversity into Your Local Church, with Harry Li. It’s part of the Leadership Network Innovation Series.

Register to join the tour of the first national gathering of multi-ethnic church pastors, lay leaders, authors, professors, sociologists. The Multi-Ethnic Church Conference in San Diego gathers on November 2-3, before the National Outreach Convention. Get the details at mosaix.info and register online.

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The United Methodist Church noted in this article, "Church lacks racial diversity, officials say," that the church’s racial and ethnic profile remained constant from 1998 to 2008. And, the article goes on to share great insight about becoming a multicultural / multiethnic church:

The Rev. Yolanda Pupo-Ortiz has this piece of advice for long-established congregations that want to become more diverse: Expect changes.

She is in the process of merging the smaller Latino congregation Camino de Vida (Road of Life), where she serves, with the larger Epworth United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg, Md. The new congregation, for now, is called Epworth-Camino.

Having a truly multicultural church, Pupo-Ortiz said, is more than sharing worship space. It also involves sharing leadership and learning from each other.

“It’s finding a way that everybody feels at home,” she said. “When you have a multicultural church, it’s like a marriage. You can’t do things the same way you did before. You expand your family, learn new traditions and eat new food.”

The Rev. Ronnie Miller-Yow had a slightly different experience as pastor of Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Ark. He decided the key to his predominantly black congregation’s revival was reclaiming the historic black church experience of call-and-response worship. But he added a contemporary twist.

... “The secret to our success is that you can’t put new wine in old skins,” said Miller-Yow, who is the president of Black Methodists for Church Renewal. “We’ve created a space for traditional worship and contemporary worship.”

[ed.note: emphasis added]

We want to learn from you! You are vital to making successful the first national gathering of multi-ethnic church pastors, lay leaders, authors, professors, sociologists. The Multi-Ethnic Church Conference in San Diego gathers on November 2-3, before the National Outreach Convention. Let's learn together!  Get the details at mosaix.info and register online.

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A great resource for learning and sharing about developing and growing the multi-ethnic church is ReNew Partnership's website at TheNewCulture.org — an innovative new website with one primary emphasis: “Helping Christians of different ethnicities to share life and ministry together”. Check out TheNewCulture.org website for over 600 resources, including links, articles, books, videos, and an e-learning program soon to be launched too.

In an article by Chad Brennan titled, "7 Principles of the New Culture," at TheNewCulture.org, he described why it's called the new culture:

... Why do so many people find it exciting and refreshing when they come together with fellow Christians of other ethnicities?  I believe it is because it is a taste of what we refer to as the “New Culture” — the beautiful, unified, multi-ethnic community that Christ made possible through his life and death on the cross ...

... One of the realities of discussing the New Culture on this side of heaven is that no one has all the answers. There are pastors, lay leaders, authors, professors, sociologists, etc. who know a great deal and can provide us with a wealth of knowledge and experience on these topics ...

In 36 days, you have to be at the on-site, live and in-person, conference like no other. The first national gathering of multi-ethnic church pastors, lay leaders, authors, professors, sociologists, and you is convening at the Multi-Ethnic Church Conference in San Diego (November 2-3).You and your team can share in the wealth of knowledge and experiences through inspiring sessions and seminars! Get the details at mosaix.info and register online.

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For at least the past 150 years of American history, churches have managed racial and ethnic diversity by segregating it. That is, separate congregations — and in the case of Protestantism, separate denominations — were formed for people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Odd really. Think of what this says — race and ethnicity, these social creations of humans, are considered so important that churches organize masses of people into separate congregations and denominations. We’ve been amazingly efficient at doing so.

Let’s be blunt about this. Race really is that important in the United States. And this is indeed why churches are racially homogeneous. But Christians are called to bring down dividing walls, not live comfortably behind them.

This conference is vital for a number of reasons. It moves us beyond those historical dividing walls, and does so with the very best practices of which we know. What is more, the conference represents what is indeed a new spiritual movement. That movement is saying, "What is biblical is that diversity of believers ought to be together, within congregations."

It is an old-fashioned idea, as in 1^st century old, but because we have accepted segregation so long—usually explained away as cultural preference or people’s comfort zones—we need a new spiritual, John 17 movement. we need direction. We need guidance on what challenges to expect, how to address them, how to worship and walk together, how to form community, and how to work for justice. This conference can help move us a giant leap forward on these questions and I’m excited to be a part of it. In our time together, you will have the opportunity to hear from and dialogue with other like-minded ministry leaders, drawing from the best of a variety of experiences. Speakers and workshop leaders will discuss a wide-range of obstacles that those engaged in multi-ethnic ministry will inevitably face. We’ll take on real issues while providing honest, biblical and experientially informed responses to your questions, and more. We are eager to learn from one another, to draw closer to what our Creator designed us to be.

[ed.note: emphasis added]

-----

Michael Emerson is the Allyn & Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Institute for Urban Research at Rice University. Considered a leading scholar on race and religion, Dr. Emerson’s books include Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America (Oxford), named the 2001 Distinguished Book of the Year by the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States (Princeton). This award-winning book serves as a seminal work on multiracial religious congregations.

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Yes, we're doing a countdown. No, we aren't writing a book starting off with "40 Days of ..." We do have lots to share about this growing development in the church, a multi-ethnic church that truly and biblically reaches all peoples right in one's own city and community and neighborhood.

http://www.qideas.org/content/showImage.aspx?image=dave-gibbons.jpg&w=123&h=112

Dave Gibbons is one of the pioneering multi-ethnic church leaders. Dave Gibbons is the author of The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for a Third-Culture Church. And here's several articles and talks he's shared to unpack the principles and practices of a multi-ethnic church, and what's happening around the world ::

From 10 Questions with Dave Gibbons (at ChurchRelevance.com) --

8Q = How can a church become a Third-Culture Church?

This process is definitely the work of the Holy Spirit! To ask people to enter into pain and suffering, eat foods they don’t like, hang out with people that make you uncomfortable is counter-cultural. I would say the key is for the one who does get it to start living out the third culture life. ....

Unity in Diversity (at Q) What is the benefit of having a multi-site church in a society that seeks to control the empires it creates? How does a multi-site church effectively partner with other churches? Listen to this discussion as Dave Gibbons answers questions on the importance of diversity and how to lead multi-site churches. [free registration required to listen to audio]

And Dave has boldly spoken about an "elephant in the room" with the homogeneous ethnic church:

Ethnic churches have their own forms of prejudice. It's not talked about much. It's okay for people of other ethnicities to come to the church and sit there. But when it comes to marrying my son or dating my daughter, there's hostility.

At Leadership Network's Innovation3 Gathering, Dave Gibbons shared this talk, Monkey and the Fish: An Alternative and Contrarian Way -- here's the notes in PDF format: http://innovation3gathering.com/downloads/i3-summary-Gibbons.pdf

Gibbons comments further in this article at the Christianity Today blog, Liquid Leadership for a Third-Culture Church. A new movement of God is underway, but are we too busy running the church to notice? (Out of Ur) --

The church is called to be a third-culture community. Third culture is about the two purposes of life for every Christ follower: loving God and loving your neighbor.

Without question, there are a lot of effective strategies and fruitful ideas being used in the church and in ministry today. Third culture is not simply a strategy but the way we are to live. One may not be naturally third culture, but we are called to move toward this vision. It seems that more than ever the world is open to such leadership. I say this simply because we have experienced it in communities where we seriously pursued a third-culture lifestyle in diverse cultural contexts spanning several continents and saw how people gravitate toward this adaptive, liquid-type leader.

Talk with Dave Gibbons in person and dozens of other pioneering multi-ethnic church leaders at the first national Multi-Ethnic Church Conference in San Diego (November 2-3). It all happens in 40 days and bring your team to share the experience! Get the details at mosaix.info and register online.

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There's undoubtedly a cost to becoming a multi-ethnic church, whether it is diversifying an existing church or establishing a new one. In this EFCA Today article by Diane McDougall in the Evangelical Free Churches of America, Intentional Steps: Whatever it takes to better represent God’s colorful body, you can read the inside stories about 2 churches that became multi-ethnic [emphasis added]:

... how was it that, 10 years later, Learning to Live Fellowship was a 100-member, mostly black church with an all-black pastoral staff and an all-black worship experience?

... Pastor Michael estimates that Learning to Live lost 15-20 percent of its congregation as a result of all the changes. Those who stayed are battling two different emotions: excitement—already, 20 percent of their church family is now from other ethnic groups; and fatigue—many original church members spend all week being the minority in their work setting, and they were accustomed to the church being their comfortable place.

Yet as Pastor Michael puts it: “In order to be multiethnic, we have to be intentionally comfortable being uncomfortable.”

... The idea of embracing discomfort isn’t limited to any one ethnic group.

... “There’s an institutional force in all of our churches today called comfort,” he says, “even though the gospel speaks against such things and Jesus is our prime example.

... Ryan recently planted Resonate (EFCA) in Fremont, Calif., with a core team that’s 30-percent Asian, 40-percent Caucasian and 30-percent other ethnicities. From 1997 to 2010 he had served at another multiethnic church—Bridges Community Church, outside San Francisco.

Ryan is clear about his primary lesson learned: Pursuing a healthy multiethnic church requires persistent intentionality on the part of church leadership.

Connect with hundreds of other multi-ethnic church leaders at the first national Multi-Ethnic Church Conference in San Diego (November 2-3) -- just 41 days away. Get the details at mosaix.info and register online.

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This article by Michael Palandro (Southwest Regional Diversity Task Force Leader and Senior Pastor of the Houston Vineyard.) in the Vineyard USA publication aptly makes the connection between the multi-ethnic church and its mission being culturally relevant: Culturally Relevant Mission in a Multiethnic Society [emphasis added]--

... We have recently become aware of a significant cultural reality in the United States - that we are not a "melting pot" but a "stew pot." We are transitioning away from a dominant European background population and culture that could more easily shed its distinctives and become "American." And we are moving toward a much more diverse population, whose very color and culture defy "melting" and now coexist in a multiethnic and multicultural stew. In this new reality we still stand together as Americans in one society but we retain much more of our ethnic and cultural distinctives.

... Peter Drucker, widely considered to be the "Father of Modern Management" said that a successful entrepreneur is one who "identifies that future that has already happened." The future America is one of diverse cultures and ethnicities with a shrinking population of Euro-Anglos. Houston Texas is a good example where, since the year 2000, 75% of those under the age of 30 are non-Anglo. The future that has already happened is a nation of diverse cultures, races and ethnicities where each maintains aspects of its unique identity while at the same time creating something new that is a blend of each.

In order to have a serious opportunity to reach and disciple a significant segment of our society, and especially younger generations, we must take into account the multiethnic nature of our nation. This means giving more consideration to planting and developing multiethnic churches.

... We need to think missionally in this new cultural reality and consider how to contextualize the Gospel in a multicultural and multiethnic society. Part of the answer is multiethnic churches that take seriously the differences in culture and language and are willing to learn and adapt in order to make the Gospel understandable, credible and accessible ...

Read the full article in its entirety.

Let's come together and learn together how to contextualize the Gospel for a culturally relevant mission. Meet with pioneering leaders from around the United States (and elsewhere) at the first national Multi-Ethnic Church Conference in San Diego (November 2-3) .Get the details at mosaix.info and register online.

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The Lausanne Movement has been hosting conversational events around the country leading up to a global gathering of church leaders from around the world this October in Cape Town, South Africa. One of those conversations was hosted at Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, and addressed the issue of diversity in the church. (By the way, there is one tonight in Nashville, and the conversation will be live-streamed online -- you'll want to watch it.)

In this "Implications of Diversity in the Church" video clip from the Saddleback Conversation Gathering, panelists Kay Warren, Miles McPherson, Soong Chan Rah and Jena Lee Nardella discuss the implications of diversity in the global Church.

And, in 46 days, join the conversations with leaders from around the United States (and elsewhere) gathering at the first national Multi-Ethnic Church Conference in San Diego (November 2-3) .Get the details at mosaix.info and register online.

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Evangelical Free Church of America ReachNational is major sponsor for the Multi-ethnic Church Conference 2010.

Our mission is to multiply healthy churches among all people.  We can go further in that mission with like minded friends, says Dr. Alejandro Mandes, Director of Hispanic Ministries and EFCA GATEWAY.   For that reason they are proud to support our conference.  

Click on the video or the blue link below to watch this short informative video about the heart of their ministry.  

AM_RN_segment.mov Watch on Posterous

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David Anderson is Pastor of Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, Maryland, launched 16 years ago, and a pioneering multi-ethnic and multi-cultural church in the Baltimore / Washington DC area. He's one of the main stage speakers at the Multi-ethnic Church Conference this November in San Diego -- 47 days away!

Anderson has authored a number of books, including Multicultural Ministry: Finding Your Church’s Unique Rhythm and Letters Across the Divide: Two Friends Explore Racism, Friendship, and Faith. He also hosts a radio show every weekday called Anderson Speaks to continue building bridges across racial, political, and cultural lines. You can listen live on wava.com between 3pm-4pm Eastern.

Another book by David Anderson is titled Gracism: the Art of Inclusion, and he talks about the book and its content in this video: 

You'll want to hear from David Anderson and dozens of other pioneering multi-ethnic church leaders at the first national Multi-Ethnic Church Conference in San Diego (November 2-3) and you'll catch more than what's taught. It all happens in 50 days and there's room for you and your team. Get the details at mosaix.info and register online.

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Increasingly, church leaders are recognizing the intrinsic power and beauty of the multi-ethnic church. Yet, more than a good idea, it's a biblical, first-century standard with far-reaching evangelistic potential.

How can your church overcome the obstacles in order to become a healthy, fruitful multi-ethnic church of faith? And why should you even try?

In Ethnic Blends, multi-ethnic church pioneer Mark DeYmaz provides an up-close and personal look at seven common challenges to mixing diversity into your local church. Through real-life stories and practical illustrations, DeYmaz shows how to overcome the obstacles in order to build a healthy multi-ethnic church. He also includes the insights of other effective, multi-ethnic local church leaders from the United States and Australia.

Get in the same room and spend a few days with pioneering multi-ethnic church leaders at the first national Multi-Ethnic Church Conference in San Diego (November 2-3) and you'll catch more than what's taught. It all happens in 50 days and there's room for you and your team. Get the details at mosaix.info and register online.

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Craig Weidman has pastored for more than a dozen years and is now at the Eastern Pennsylvania Christian and Missionary Alliance District Office. Craig recently shared some great thoughts about what Martin Luther King Jr. said 40 or so years ago: "... the sad fact that at 11 o’clock on Sunday morning, when we stand to sing… we stand in the most segregated hour in America,” at his August 22nd blog post, Why Isn’t There More Diversity in Local Churches? --

"... As applied to church growth and church planting, the homogeneous principle has led many church leaders away from diversity and toward uniformity.

It has been said often by these same church growth and church planting experts that the most segregated hour of the week is during worship services on Sunday morning. But doesn’t the conventional wisdom of the homogenous principle as so often applied to the local church actually facilitate the continuation of Sunday services as the most segregated hour of the week?

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Pastor Russell Rosser served as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Flushing from 1978-1999; currently, the Senior Pastor is Henry Kwan, serving since 2001.

Pastor Rosser authored this Direction journal article, A Multiethnic Model of the Church, describing how his church lived out its worship and witness as a multiethnic, multicultural, and multicongregational fellowship of believers. The article itself is worth reading in its entirety, as First Baptist Church of Flushing is an earlier example of intentionally being a multiethnic church in America. These 2 quotes stand out, one from Billy Graham and one from Paul Hiebert, the world's leading missiological anthropologist:

Diane Sawyer, the veteran broadcaster on “Prime Time Live,” recently asked Billy Graham, “If you could wave your hand and make one problem in this world go away, what would that be?” Without pausing for breath, Dr. Graham quickly replied, “Racial division and strife.” This will not be achieved with the waving of a wand, but through the reconciling gospel of Jesus Christ in local churches that experience the {190} power of Pentecost. ...

And, later in that article, Paul Hiebert offered the following definition of the multiethnic church:

A multiethnic church is a church in which there is 1) an attitude and practice of accepting people of all ethnic, class and national origins as equal and fully participating members and ministers in the fellowship of the church; and 2) the manifestation of this attitude and practice by the involvement of people from different ethnic, social and national communities as members in the church...

In Paul Hiebert's final message delivered at the 2007 Commencement of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, he wrote these powerful words :

We need new kinds of ministers and missionaries who learn to think in new ways, to exegete their social and cultural contexts as well as others, and faithfully communicate the Gospel to our new world. Most of us leave seminary with a deep understanding of the Gospel, but with few ways to exegete humans. The message we preach often touches the surface of people's lives but does not transform them deeply. We must develop more effective methods of understanding and go deeper to understand the central questions people are facing. We need to show them that the Gospel provides definitive answers to their felt needs and their deep theological needs. In other words, we need theologians and missionaries who do both theological and anthropological reflections on the human scene more deeply and who learn how to incarnate faithfully the Gospel in contemporary human contexts. [bold emphasis added]

Will you be that kind of a minister? Missionary? Church leader? Let's learn together at the first national Multi-Ethnic Church Conference in San Diego, November 2-3, in 51 days! Get the details at mosaix.info and register online.

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