Holding Together Unity and Diversity 3: In Church Life. # 119. 23/05/2023
Out of Many, One People
Welcome - to the concluding section of a series addressing what I think is the bedrock of the challenge to the church today. Comments, criticisms, suggestions all gratefully received.
Holding Together Unity and Diversity 3: in Church Life.
If theology provides a way to simultaneously affirm both unity and ethnic diversity in the church, as I proposed last week, that leads on to the question of ‘So What?’ (a question emphasised by Christopher Watkin, whose book ‘Biblical Critical Theory’ is again an inspiration for much of this blog. What are the consequences of our theology for the life of the local church? How, to quote Chesterton, do we attend to both our unity and diversity with ‘full energy’.
1. Its Importance.
Such manifestation ought to be the birthright of the church. Lesslie Newbigin and others have pointed out that in the NT just two characteristics identify the people of God – ‘the Church’ (that is, universal) in ‘Ephesus’ (that is, as one example, local). Yet this characteristic of the church as being many peoples gathered together in one place is often not recognised today, but it ought to be an important part of our apologetic appeal in a multi-ethnic society.
David Goodhart’s influential ‘The Road to Somewhere’ posited the distinction between ‘Somewheres’ who sit lightly in a wide range of contexts, and ‘Anywheres’ powerfully loyal to a particular local identity. Sadly Goodhart did not recognise churches as relevant exceptions to this situation – as places with both a strong commitment to both a universal, trans-national, trans-ethnic identity and yet also a strong united expression and love for the ethnically diverse contexts in which they are set.
Watkin points to the danger of seeing society as polarised between the ‘one’ all-powerful dominating state, and the ‘many’ – the isolated, separated individuals who constitute it. He points to John Milbank’s emphasis on ‘the few’, the gathering of small groups with shared identities and interests: clubs, unions, schools and so on (p 45). Clearly churches are such mediating groups, and by being multi-ethnic expressions of the ‘few’ they perform a positive, encouraging exemplary role in a multi ethnic society. The Canadian/Japanese theologian Kayko Driedger Hesslein argues against psychoanalytic approaches who see the strangeness of the ‘Other’ as creating anxiety, but instead emphasises the positive and creative value of diversity: ‘Political and social theories of difference grounded in the lived experience of people in multicultural communities disrupt this argument [of creating anxiety], as they encounter the realities of transnational living and multiple citizenships. . . They provide new ways of thinking, which argue that difference does not destroy wholeness but constructs it’ (in “Dual Citizenship: Two Natures Christologies and the Jewish Jesus’, T & T Clark 2015). Joyfully united but richly diverse churches can give significant impetus to this socially wholesome vision.
2. The Church as united.
The church is most united in worship, especially when it gathers round the Lord’s Table. A group of ethnically diverse people coming to eat of the one bread and (in whatever Covid compliant way possible) drinking from the one cup is the central expression of unity, thus Paul saw the Corinthians worship invalidated when social distinctions became an element in the shared meal: ‘When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper’ (1 Cor 11:20).
Such unified witness and fellowship is seriously impaired when Christians meet together in ethnically separate group. There are a range of understandable reasons – racist exclusion, traditional loyalty, sustenance of ethnic identity – that lie behind this reality. Nonetheless I believe we ought to take much more seriously the central New Testament stress on the visible and relational inter-ethnic unity of God’s people, and be more distressed and uncomfortable with situation where church identities run along ethnic lines. Meanwhile all church leaders ought to be seriously and sacrificially committed to multiplying occasions when Christians of different ethnicities and churches meet together. Whereas the desire for worship to be congruent with my particular background and preferences is a ‘me’ focus that Christians should be weaned from.
3. The church as diverse.
At one stage our church ran services planned and led by people from different ethnic groups in the congregation – African, Indian, Caribbean, Tamil. One African church member objected, saying that the church should be united (as stressed above) and we should not recognise such distinctions. I respected her scruples. Nonetheless I think there is a scope for giving ‘full energy’ to reflecting ethnic diversity in a congregation as well as unity. Churches need to find ways to express and celebrate the diverse ethnicities in their membership.
In particular it requires ‘cultural intelligence’ on the part of leaders to understand and appropriately welcome people from the myriad of ethnicities in the local community so that whatever people’s background they receive a sense of being welcomed and belonging. This is partly instinctive stemming from the hearts and minds of leaders, and then members. But there are a range of practical measures to enhance that – pictures which show the diversity of members, flags representing peoples different nations of origin, and so on. It is vital that attendees do not get a sense that this is a church for some group of ‘them’ rather than for ‘us’.
4. How can we express unity and diversity’with full energy’
One thing I learned at school was that in Basketball the player with the ball can move one foot in any direction, but must keep the other foot grounded. (I hope they haven’t changed the rules). It is a lesson I have found often illuminates being a Christian. The Croatian/American theologian Miroslav Volf puts it more eloquently: Christians ‘have stepped, as it were, with one foot outside their own culture while with the other foot remaining firmly planted in it. They are distant and yet belong’ (from ‘Exclusion and Embrace’, p 49; quoted in Watkin p 482).
The ‘free foot’ analogy gives us scope for considerable freedom in how we express ethnic diversity whilst still settled on maintaining the overarching unity of God’s people. In this present context we are still explorers in discovering how to hold the two emphases together. I like the image that the black American pastor David Anderson gives in ‘Multicultural Ministry’ – we are like djs trying to discern when to pump up and when to play down the atmosphere of the music; knowing when to stress unity, when to play up the diversity.
As regards how this may play out in church life, I think the following areas are important:
a) Heart. Essentially it is the heart desire of the church leaders that will enable a church to manifest both unity and diversity. It is loving delight in the difference as well as the deep unity in the Spirit that binds multi-ethnic congregations. Watkin quotes David Bentley Hart: ‘the free and boundlessly beautiful rhetoric of a shared infinite [that sees the other] the object of [God’s] love, the splendour of his glory’ (‘The Beauty of the Infinite’ quoted in Watkin p 48, italics mine). Approaching all fellow believers with a sense of awe, love and respect is the essential context for united, multi-ethnic congregations. Watkins underlines that the mutual glory-giving of the Trinity (John 17:1) ‘sets relationships of mutual service, mutual respect and mutual flourishing at the heart of reality’ (p 44).
b) Leadership. All churches should be striving to have leaders from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. This is not just for display or good PR. Diverse leadership brings enriching variety of perspectives and gifts as well as enabling the congregation to feel confidently that this is a genuinely multi-ethnic church. It is important therefore for whoever currently leads to have sharp eyes (and probably good advice) as to those with the potential to diversify leadership, so that it is not a case of like-producing-like but genuinely different ingredients being brought to the pot.
Having said that I believe we need to be wary of setting quotas (a running fault, I believe, in ‘From Lament to Action’). Churches often seek to have, for example, churchwardens of different ethnicities. I believe that simply appointing on merit is more dignifying to people’s ethnicity; both they and the congregation know that it is the person’s qualities that underly the appointment, not an artificial notion of ethnicity, which can weaken the credibility of appoitees.
c) Mission. The aspiration of every church (given the parish system, especially for Anglicans) must be to make disciples of people from all the ethnic groups in their area. This, of course, is no easy task. As ever, throughout the history of mission there have been markedly different rates of response by varied ethnic groups. Churches should not be over-anxious (or arrogant) about the responses they find. But churches need to have a mission orientation to be aware of who specifically is living in their neighbourhood, and exploring ways of establishing the gospel in those communities. It has always been this commitment to make Jesus known in the diversity of different ethnic groups that is the only foundation to the joy and potency of being a church that brings that diversity into a common, shared identity in Christ.
d) Worship. As we saw above it is united worship that is the primary expression of the ethnicity transcending unity of God’s people. It is also very often one of the most fraught areas of church life. Within that unity there can be ways of unostentatiously expressing the ethnic diversity of the worshipping body. Styles of music and globally aware prayers are simple ways to do this. In my Grove booklet ‘Worship in a Multi-Ethnic Society’ W236 I look in detail in ways of doing this. Suffice to say here that I like David Anderson’s illustration of he and his Korean wife inviting friends to meals – whilst to serve all Korean food may well be too daunting, diversity is added by including side dishes which can be enjoyed or left without too much embarrassment.
It is also worth adding that the recent Coronation of King Charles was, I thought, effective in adding into a very traditional format various ways of expressing diversity.
e) Role of sub-groups. There is a wide range of possibilities stretching from having distinct minority language congregations on the one hand through to occasional, informal gatherings of people of the same ethnicity on the other. Again well-monitored exploration and the humble readiness to work with and learn from the provisional are important here. Particularly for minorities having their ethnicity affirmed and welcomed by the wider church is important, as also is any such events not being ethnically exclusive. The interest and support of individuals from the wider church can be a significant ministry.
Central to the church’s vocation is the call to be a lovingly united, ethnically very diverse body of disciples. We have the privilege of giving expression to this long-standing call in richer and more challenging ways as our society incorporates ever greater ethnic diversity. May God give his people wisdom, faith and boldness to work out that vocation.
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Add Ons:
Welcome Churches are running a number of traIning events:
* Is your church involved with welcoming people seeking asylum or refugees? Come and share your experiences, and hear from other churches across the UK. Join us on Monday 5th June, from 12-1pm on Zoom, for our Churches Connect meeting. Come ready to share what is working well in your church - plus any questions or challenges you are experiencing.
*Cross-Cultural Awareness - Do you work in a cross-cultural environment, including supporting people seeking asylum and refugees? This session will help you to develop awareness and sensitivity in observing cultural behaviours including your own. Cross-cultural awareness is the foundation of communication. It gives us the ability to stand back and look at our own values, beliefs, and perceptions. This, in turn, helps us to understand cultures different from our own, so we can communicate better. It is not primarily about getting all the right answers about cultures; rather, it is about building the ability to ask all the right questions.
This session will be held on Monday 12 June, from 7.30 to 9pm. Register here; www.welcomechurches.org/events
Thanks John..
I like your reference to Goodhart and the thought that churches may not fit the somewher / anywhwere dichotomy. I can see how it is true in healthy CofE parishes in superdiverse neighbouhods.. Our church of less than 50 adults with 10 different national heritages is like that.. as a result. we find ourselves praying for Iran, Nigeria, and Pakistan and are involved in local community work etc.
But there are also many gathered churches, and they tend to attract homgrheous groups of "anywhere people" who commute . orr in some cases "somewhere else" people who self select by ethnicity and cultural heritage.
I wonder (as I did in the 1980s) if we can ever, and if so how, move the wider church to what you and I would see as Biblically normative.
Here is something I wrote ten years ago which may be relevant https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7UDiSlsmmA8TkJndko4TTROd3c/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-iyagV8WpsOMZmNBIEDZVHA