Mine is Black American…no Dominican…no Californian…no, no…White American…oh yeah, Palestinian. My God is also gray haired, wears a dress and rides a scooter to work. My God speaks so many languages that linguists can not keep track. My God is kingdom minded and post millennialist. My God is soft on sin and hard on brokenness.

What color is your God?

Individuals who use the word “multicultural” to describe churches of different “ethnicities” have already mixed the message of the kingdom. Any AME or Presbyterian church can be multicultural by way of geographical and economic differences. So, we are not talking just multicultural. Neither should one think that blacks and whites getting together for worship equals a multiracial congregation…that’s called bi-racial and still substandard to the gospel mandate.

We are…rather, the Gospel speaks of what this picture is like in Rev. 7:9 “After this I beheld a great multitude…of all nations and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the Lamb..”

Now, before you pass this off as the picture of the future read Gal. 3:27,28 in light of the baptismal confession. “As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek [The Racial and Cultural Mandate], there is neither bond nor free [The Social and Economic Mandate], there is neither male nor female [The Gender and Sexual Mandate]: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Do those words sound like a framework for ministry to you? Do they sound sensitive to our [black + american] history and past? Or do they sound like the clarion call for a radical profession of faith in a colorful God who desires to reconcile a colorful people? Dare I say…A Faith in Action! I should hope so. Because it’s from THIS history that we should draw our models and uphold traditions. We belong to a “faith” of two millennia … not a “pratice” of two centuries.

I am a strong advocate of multiethnic/multicultural/multiracial communities of faith. They are happening across the globe and black pastors are among the fastest growing. For further reading I recommend Alexander Venter’s Doing Reconciliation, David Anderson’s Letters Across the Divide, Michael Emerson’s Divided by Faith, and George Yancey’s One Body One Spirit. It’s a smattering of theology, history, sociology and church polity.

BTW…What color is YOUR god?

I am not a big “multicultural church” fan because of the issue that the author (and anonymous above) raised in the piece. From my experiences, “multicultural church” has meant White pastor and African congregants. This sight has never sat right with me. (Isn’t it curious that one rarely sees Black pastors with a majority White congregation?)

I know that people say that Sunday at 11am is the most segregated hour in America blah blah blah, but the fact of the matter is that America is still largely segregated. Drive around any major metropolitan city and you’re still likely to see the “Black part of town” and the “White part of town”. You’re likely to see the “Black schools” and the “White schools”. Let’s not fool ourselves. Segregation is still alive and well.

As it pertains to the church, I think African Christians in America must be careful about just giving up the denominations and churches that have been historically classified as “Black”. When one looks at the history of what these churches have meant to our people, it’ll be clear that our churches have meant more to our community than churches might mean to White communities. Just study the history and tradition of the African Methodist Episcopal denomination to get a sense of this.

So, I can’t say that I’m a fan of “multicultural churches”. I’m sure they could work if honest people got together to celebrate “the divine” in all of our cultures, but history and my experiences warn me of the dangers that lurk around this possibility as well. Perhaps a less threatening first step would be to have churches from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds to partner on short term projects and see how it “feels”.

We make excuses. We want what is comfortable for us. But, if Christ is truly who I believe He is, I must die to my own self, “preferences”, and comforts. Church cannot be about me. It’s must be about a communal expression of Christ’s love.

It might not be your “thing”, the way that you’re used to worshiping, it may even seem a bit awkward, but it is definitely worth it to build real relationships and connections with your church family that is truly diverse and rich with culture. Don’t miss out!

I also loved that the author didn’t shy away from discussing the importance of churches needing to promote and celebrate the leadership of minorities. Too often will churches be open to a diverse congregation, but the leadership is as lilly white as it was 40 years ago. Churches need to support the tremendous value of diversity and be instigators of reconciliation.

I am an ordained Elder in a 220-year-old historically African American denomination, called to pasto people committed to doing the work of ministry in a multicultural context.

Is it a challenge? Yes. Nevertheless I am committed to the process.